Take a hike - from Settignano to Fiesole, that is!

It snowed in Florence on Thursday. I was sitting in the big, pink comfy chair reading and listening to the rain drum against the window when the steady drum beat slowly changed and disappeared. I looked up from my book and out the window where beautiful thick snowflakes were gently easing their way to the ground. Instantly I felt a warmness in my heart - snow! Just like Colorado. It was a comforting feeling of being at home. I wrapped a warm blanket around my shoulders and stood at the window watching the snow flakes tumble to the ground. Sigh.


The snow didn't last long and turned back to a gloomy drizzle for several hours. Later in the evening, we went down into the city to see a movie at the Odeon Cine Hall, a movie theater that shows films in their original language. Thursday night An Education was showing. The theater was fairly crowded considering the weather, or perhaps because of the weather! A rainy/snowy day is perfect movie-going weather in my opinion. We enjoyed the movie and were excited to see that the rain stopped in time for our walk back to the apartment. Florence is funny because whenever it rains, it's actually warmer out. It was a nice walk home.


Friday morning the sun was shining, so we decided to take a day trip to San Gimignano, a charming medieval town on a hill. The bus ride was roughly an hour, with a "layover" (bus transfer) in the town of Poggibonsi. When we stepped off the bus in San Gimignano we were met with a sharp, cold gust of wind. Boy was it chilly in the little hill town! We spent a little while walking around the mostly-empty streets of the old medieval town and quickly decided that San Gimignano is one of our favorite towns. It's exactly what I picture a Tuscan town to be - complete with gorgeous views of the surrounding countryside. We walked up to the highest public spot in the town, which was an old fortress turned into a garden filled with olive and fig trees. Although the trees were not in bloom, the view from the top of the fortress was spectacular. We wandered around a bit and found a little trail called the Passeggiata delle Mura that wrapped around the outskirts of the town. It was a pleasant little trail lined with trees which helped to block the chilly wind. If (when) we come back to Italy, I would love to stay in this quaint little town. I only hope it's a touch warmer the next time.


Sadly, many of the shops and restaurants were closed on our visit, perhaps due to the weather, or the fact that it's off season for tourists. After walking around the town in search of lunch, we finally found an open risorante. It seems like it was the only place open. And it was packed! But it was good. Our pastas were warm and delicious, and the vino della casa was a local white wine and probably the best vino della casa we've had in a restaurant (it wasn't all watered down). After lunch, we did a quick wine tasting at the local enoteca and then decided we'd had enough of the cold, so we headed back to Firenze.


Saturday we planned a hike from a small town called Settignano to Fiesole (the town with my favorite view of Florence!). We took a bus to Settignano and had a small picnic in the main piazza before we began our hike. Ian had mapped a trail online and downloaded images onto his phone in case we got lost, but we were pleasantly surprised to see that the trail was clearly marked all the way from Settignano to Fiesole! I felt a little pang of homesickness on the hike because it reminded me of Colorado, but it was a good homesickness. More of a fond remembrance than a longing to be home. The hike took about an hour and a half and was just under four miles. Most of it followed a dirt trail, but we did have to walk along the road a few times. Once we made it to Fiesole, I was delighted to discover that a small chocolate market was taking place in the main town square. What a treat after our hike! We sampled a few chocolates and took pictures of the creative chocolate pieces, but we ultimately chose to reward ourselves with a crepe filled with nutella. Yum!


Today, we're taking it easy. My mom and brother will be landing in Roma today and we'll be meeting them at the train station in Florence on Tuesday, so we're cleaning and preparing for their visit. I can hardly wait to see them! I'm so looking forward to spending time with them and showing them around this beautiful city. I know they will love it!