A beautiful week has passed out here. Well, it's no point being nostalgic; it's important to live in the present. So far, everything has gone just about as well as hoped for, and every day has been special. It has been wonderful. Yes, I have had to toil a little bit, but nothing that was truly worth complaining about. The trains, the moving between places, the roads, the daunting museums, it sometimes feels arduous, and I'm quite glad with my general positivity. Of course, I've also been fortunate on this trip; one thing in particular stands out - when intending to reverse, I accidentally stalled the car out just in time before my excess acceleration would have made me hit a parked van behind me. The manual car! I probably shouldn't have taken it, in hindsight. And on the whole, I've probably packed too many museums into this trip - which is fine doing solo, but not with companions. I've enjoyed the museums a whole lot though, and I've tried to place chill-out things to do in between.
Driving is fun; but it's tough to do so in Firenze. There are so many one way streets, packed-in buildings, and an odd circular laneway that runs around the city, with lots of tunnels and turnoffs so it is pretty hard to get a gauge of where to go and where to turn. Especially, driving right handed. The GPS I got on the car was also outdated, naturally, so it sometimes asked me to take one way streets the wrong way. I didn't much like the whole crowded feel I got in Firenze. I did get to meet a Norwegian family while queueing outside the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, a couple travelling with their boy. They said they see the auroras all the time from their place, and there's good hiking out where they stay. That's crazy. So I might plan a visit sometime; I've kept their contact.
Driving out to a farmhouse vineyard in Greve in Chianti was so much fun, I really enjoyed the whole experience being out there in the country. The winemakers were really nice, and they explained the winemaking that the grandfather started, and the olive gathering and pressing, and the vegetable garden. It rained a little bit while we were out there, but I still saw a bit of the earth, the cultivated hills, the whole rustic charm. Driving up and down the hills on winding paths was very fun. We had a little dinner as well, pasta, cold meats, and their wine, which unfortunately I couldn't bring with me. I would probably really enjoy being out there at harvest time, between August and October.
Well, I have to get to the Galleria dell'Accademia at eight fifteen am tomorrow. I don't remember why. To bed, then!
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I spent (in EUR):
36 - car rental
7 - breakfast
17 - parking in Firenze
18 - Il Grande Museo del Duomo
3 - risotto for lunch
14 - tolls
23 - Greve in Chianti winemaker visit
30 - petrol
53 - apartment in Firenze
