The last couple of days have been interesting, to say the absolute least. Leaving Florence was one of the worst experiences I have had in Europe, by far. There were some hard days when I lived in Spain, but nothing like what I experienced while leaving Florence. First of all, if you are ever in Italy during Easter, or any holiday for that matter, and you want to rent a car, reserve it in advance. Of course, all cars were sold out when we went to check. We went by a couple of markets on our way back from attempting to rent a car and then caught a taxi back to the hotel because it was lightly raining. When returning to Hotel Rita Major, the older gentlemen asked us if we had seen the remote in the hotel room. The night before, when we returned from dinner at fabulous Del Fagioli, we tried to watch the news and we could not find the remote. It was so late, though, that we gave up and went to bed. I wish we had asked about it right then and there. Once we both tried to explain that we had not seen the remote he started to raise his voice. It was absolutely ridiculous. I have never seen anything like this. I paid him and we were out, but he knew I was furious by my expression. FURIOUS! Then the taxi…oh this idiot. So he drops us at the train station and when we got there it was 7 euro then he added the 2 euro… which is normal. The total was 9.40 euro… no big deal. I handed him a 20 and he handed me back a 5 euro bill and a 1 euro and some change. I was counting it in my hand and he became irate. He kept yelling something in Italian. I didn’t care so I started to yell back and finally he left giving us the “you know what” sign. Whatever. Then we realized we needed to be at the bus station, which was luckily, right next door to the train station. We walked over, purchased our tickets to San Gimignano. The bus stopped at the first stop, and not knowing where we were, we got off. No idea what the town was, we just got off. I was upset, to say the least. Here I am, in the middle of Europe, I don’t speak Italian (regrettably) and I have no clue where I am. We walk into a restaurant and I begin to ball my eyes out… very typical of me when I am this confused with no way out! It’s embarrassing looking back, but if you ask Matt, it’s the best thing I could have done. The people at the restaurant were wonderful. They found someone that spoke English, they gave us a bottle of water (that we tried to pay for) and they called us a very nice taxi. The driver was very kind. I will never forget the woman behind the counter. She was hugging me and kissing me and making sure I was ok. I think I simply felt lost and very alone. With Matt not knowing a thing about Europe and me not having anyone who could relate to this situation, it felt hopless.. Nonetheless, we got through it and conquered it together J God picked the right guy when he picked Matt for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, now onto our fabulous afternoon, once arriving at Voltrona... If you are going to travel to this area of Tuscany, GET A RENT CAR! Do not rely on public transportation. Seriously! Once we arrived, we had 20 minutes to get ready for horseback riding. What a way to start our vacation in Tuscany. A beautiful ride! The horses were saddled with English saddles, which was perfect for me. Matt, on the other hand, had no idea how to ride a horse English style. Holding the reins was also very different for him. He did great, though. He did, however, offer some comic relief to what was a very stressful afternoon. I had a great time riding. If you venture out to Voltrona, you must make reservations, which I had, to horseback ride.
Linnea, who is the instruction, is excellent. She is from Sweden. She even let us unsaddle our horses and let them loose in the pasture. For me, that was refreshing and brought back my pony club days. I was missing Audrey, Jenny, Brooke, Katie, Alex, Mary and the rest of the pony club gang!
Now, let’s talk Voltrona. WOW! If you have ever watched “Under the Tuscan Sun” which Kelly and I watched at least once a week in college, the part where they are on the tour bus going into Tuscany, the beautiful rolling hills and amazing scenery… it’s even better in person. WOW! These pictures do now do it any justice, but I hope you all get the point here… BREATHTAKING!
Our room is great, the food is fantastic, the people are very accommodating, etc. I highly recommend it!
Now for San G. What a neat town. Very medieval feeling to it. Great shopping, good food, great views, and I would suggest it for a tour of Tuscany.
In the square, Matt found a great sandwich stand. The locals running it smoke these big pieces of pork and slice it fresh and serve them on fresh baked bread. He was in heaven! Like a local Jersey Mikes :)
This town was like a maze. Very small alleys, cute little shops, great food everywhere. The views were outstanding!
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