From Rome with Love: The Tuscan Countryside

Monday was our day at Castello Banfi, one of the largest wine producers in the world. We were taken on a tour and during, saw a massive wine barrel. It contained enough wine for one person to have a bottle a day, 6 days out of the week, for 50 years. After the tour, we went to a tasting in the castle. I didn't like all of the analysis that went into each wine, but I did thoroughly enjoy the wine itself. After the tasting, we had a fancy meal. Accompanied with several glasses of wine, we had two dishes and a dessert. The starter was spaghetti with a meat sauce and the main dish was olive crusted veal, roasted potatoes, and palenta. For dessert, we had biscotti and espresso. That main meal was sooooo good. The veal was so tender and palenta may just be one of my new favorite dishes. After lunch, we bussed over to Siena. We were only there for about 45 minutes, but we were able to soak in the hilly town. Here, I got my first gift for my family! We got back into Florence at like 8:30 (left at 10AM) and went out to the Lions Fountain around 10 for a fun night out. I actually like beer now! What a milestone lol. Whether it be the foreign taste or the cheapness compared to mixed drinks, I guess it's good to have acquired the taste? Probably not ha.

Today was our free day. We got up early to see a museum but ended up leaving due to the excessively long wait. There were 7 girls out and about so we instead went to the main part of town. I had gelato from the Lindt store (hazelnut and white chocolate hazelnut) and then we went to the river to soak up the sun on the bridge. After an hour, we went to the shopping market where I got the rest of my gifts! I'm so excited about them. After that, we went back to the hostel where I'm still parked on the terrace. We've been writing in our required daily journals (they also have been neglected while in Florence) since then. It actually just finished raining but the clouds are still looking ominous. Sarah and I are headed out later on for our last night in our beloved city.

I've made a few comparisons between Rome and Florence, mostly in favor of Florence. Though Rome was rich in the history I love, Florence was much more manageable to navigate, cleaner, had fewer cars, less graffiti, wider streets, and nicer, more safe people. If I were more interested in art, I would have loved it completely, but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. Since the Medici family was so in love with Renaissance art, the city is covered in it in both it's tangible pieces and also the style of the buildings. The whole appearance of Florence is just what you would imagine Italy to be; warm, colorful, and rustic.