Oh yes, that's right boys. Tuscany! The place you read about and see in the films, the rolling green hills and vineyards for miles on end. While it was by no means overrated, I will say if you've been to any wine country anywhere, Tuscany just about resembles what you would expect, EXCEPT it is unique because it has that Italian charm that nowhere else seems to match.
So I booked a tour online and didn't really know what to expect, but alas I showed up at the meeting point at 7:30 in the morning knowing we were going to see Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa all in one day with food included as well. At some point after solo traveling for a bit, I hit a wall where I no longer felt the motivation to spend hours and hours researching my next destination and kind of wanted the expert to do the navigating for me, so this was nice to relax and enjoy.
The bus ended up fitting a good 60-70 people on it, mostly all older couples and then me, the one youth. Many of the people thought I was really brave and independent for traveling all alone but I kind of laughed because this tour was the most dependent thing I had done all week. We started by driving to Siena and had to be dropped off a 15 minute walk outside the city as it is entirely protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
As soon as we were left free to roam in Siena, I thought this must be one of the most beautiful places I had been in my whole life. There were no cars because of the protection of the old city grounds, so it was entirely walkable, sunny, and most of the buildings were a perfect red-orange color straight out of a fairytale. While the stop was only for a mere two hours, the city was so tiny that I walked a full circle around it in that time and got to enjoy a ONE euro cappuccino in such tranquility I thought my life was a dream! This city was absolutely enchanting and the pace of life just completely different. I tried to Google photos to capture the beauty but nothing can do it justice-- so make sure you go in your lifetime that's all I gotta say to that.
We then took a bus ride to San Gimignano which is like a huge fortress or castle on a hill. The entire city is enclosed in cobblestone and the edge of the city is nothing but picturesque views of Tuscany around you. There was not much to do other than walk around and enjoy the view, but the wind there was entirely something else! We also got our tour meal at one of the wineries, so the typical bread and pasta and wine and a yummy Italian dessert. That is when I talked to the other couples on the tour who thought I was really brave, but I was like, I'm going to Cape Town you ain't seen nothing yet.
At this stop, I also got some of my favorite photos of myself at the expense of shattering my phone (nice).
The last stop was a bit more out of the way but you bet I wouldn't miss it for nothing: the Leaning Tower of Pisa! This was the dodgiest place I travelled in terms of pickpocketers which you couldn't see but you knew they were at every corner. I took all the classic shots with the tower as the sun set, got some gelato, and got the free ticket to enter the main church there. This was a super touristy bit (as you can imagine) so it was literally just the little zone there and then not much else to see. Glad I saw it, it was a big meme, and probably don't have to go again in the near future.
As I sat back down on the bus, exhausted, I really thought the places I saw that day were so different from anything I've ever been exposed to and they were so very beautiful. I am more of an outdoorsy gal but these cities really did rival natural wonders in their absolute wonder and peacefulness. The bus got back to Florence in the evening and I made one more pasta microwave meal before falling asleep. The next day I would have one more chance in Florence then be on my way to Roma!
