Waking up, in the bottom bunk of a hostel to Mick saying,
“Let’s go to a coffee shop so I can journal and you can type.” Then checking the time and realizing our train was nearly three hours away, immediately sent me back into a slumber. Until about thirty minutes later when I decided I should take advantage of some free breakfast from the hostel. But first, I had to watch goodmorning snapchats from my love to wake me up like coffee, better than coffee actually (if I’m being honest).
The breakfast was actually great at the Madama Hostel. There was an array of cheeses, meats, breads to toast, jellies, juices, cereals, yogurts, they had it all! And it was damn good for being free. While eating, Sam came to say goodbye and wish me good on my future travels. It’s always a bittersweet moment when you realize you might never see those wandering souls in your stories ever again… I carried on eating, but this time just in silence, thinking.
And because I ate breakfast, Mick and I did not get the chance to go to a coffee shop and catch up on some writing. Instead, it was us somewhat rushing to check out and call for a taxi to Milano Centrale.
Ah, goodbye Milano. You were pretty, but I cannot say I’d rather stay longer than go to Tuscany…
Firenze Santa Maria Novella Station. Sure, it is a weed in sidewalk cracks compared to Milano Centrale, but it’s the first thing many people see of Florence, and it was the first I saw of the city. So, the Firenze SMN station holds special significance for me. It means that Chianti is just a SITA bus ride away… My heart is just a 45-minute ride across the river.
I’ve hyped it up quite a bit for Mick. And I still didn’t think I did the place justice by bragging enough. But, when we arrived at the station, it was raining with such ferocity I thought it’d take us. I was semi-okay with the rain because I am infatuated with storms and the city of Firenze, but also because I had a water-resistant coat… And Mick did not. We saw where we needed to go, it was to the other side of the ginormous street. I mean, honestly, the street could not have been bigger.
This is when some Jamaicans began pressing her to buy an umbrella. First, she said no, then logic advised her otherwise. She needed the umbrella. So, she bought it for €5! The girl did not even try to bargain with him. And with that she sealed her fate, which was an inevitable scam. She popped the umbrella, while I made sure to put my jacket over my backpack and we started running through the monsoon.
Until I realized that I was leading us the wrong way, then Mick got out her phone and we began running the other way. That’s when things went from bad to worse for Mick. The wimpy umbrella was simply no match for the rain and it flipped inside out. Even then, she was determined to work with the umbrella because a bad umbrella was still better than no umbrella. That’s when it happened. I saw her left ankle buckle like a baby deer learning to walk, and she went down from there. In front of everyone. On one of the busiest streets of Florence. And before immediately helping her, I had to scream in laughter for a solid moment before I could do so, the laughter just overtook me. It was free comedy. Finally, helping Mick up from the pool of water, that was the street, we discovered the sorry-excuse-for-an-umbrella was caught in her hair. Great timing to detangle a girl’s hair.
Afterwards and a sprint later, we reached the SITA bus station and caught a bus to a village in 45 minutes out in my favorite region. The ride was just as I remembered it. In every way, was Tuscany magical.
Brief Disclaimer: I will not be posting this particular location onto my blog because it is fairly, easily accessible and yet nobody knows about it. There is virtually no tourism here and I want to preserve this place on earth and keep it as authentic as it is. It would break my heart to see this place filled with foreigners. Having said that, if you would like to know the location of this secret place, contact me.
Continuing with the blog, we finally arrived to the Tuscan village. Completely starved, we simply couldn’t wait to check-in then eat. So, on the way we stopped by my favorite restaurant for bruschetta and lasagna. Oh! How that cheese just melts in your mouth. No Olive Garden could ever to this place justice, not even in their dreams. And while I ordered a glass of the local red, Mick took a Spritz. (She had fallen madly in love with the cocktail and I am the one to blame for it).
Finally, checking into the hostel, we walked into our room to find our roommate Tom. Tom was an Aussie who had some Japanese in him and he was rather… dark. But, that didn’t stop Mick from forming a crush and talking about zodiac tarot readings for the next 24-hours. And Lord help this girl, because Tom grew to hate us that night. I personally think he contemplated and maybe even conspired to kill us the next morning. But that comes after dinner…
We had time to kill because we arrived in the village at around 4pm. So, naturally, we decided we’d take a little cat nap before riding bikes in the countryside and eating dinner at my even-more-secret restaurant that’s in a castle village with a view that should kill you, it’s so breathtaking. Except that’s not what happened at all because in Mick and I fashion, our 40-minute nap turned into five hours! Panicked and starved we headed for the castle village, at nearly 10pm.
You see, this walk is one of my favorite walks ever. And as if the views couldn’t get better for me, as we walked along the road and cypress trees, we saw them. Fireflies! I had never see the pinch-worthy bugs in the flesh before. They were brilliant. The way they lit up the blacked-out brush like the night sky above us was breathtaking. It added to the whole ambiance of the village that is my love and I was glowing.
Hiking up the cobblestone hill to enter the castle village, I saw the restaurant lights. Then hope sparked in my chest at the thought that they might be open. They were! The owner recognized me from last June when I took limoncello shots with him and a dear backpacker named Madeleine. And because he remembered me, he reopened his closing restaurant for Mick and I, and rolled out the red carpet for an old friend. It was great.
I asked him what he recommended and I guess that signalled to him the greenlight to order all the food for us. Because he did just that. We started out with most the three most amazing antipastis with a bottle of the local red that was smoother than any wine you’d ever taste, then had lasagna and ravioli for first and second entrees, and finished off with tiramisu and limoncello.
“MAMAMIA!” I believe the owner put it. And goodness, was he right. The meal was classic Italian and my senses were buzzing from it all. And the song Cara Italia came on they were on fire. I loved it all. I was so full.
When Mick and I deemed it time to head back, it was raining again. So, the owner was nice enough to give us a lift. And being back at the hostel was when things got interesting.
Mick was drunk. She had underestimated limoncello’s innocent taste. And because of this, Tom suffered. I felt bad because we proved the obnoxious American stereotype true that night. We went from wrestling, to laughing, and simply acting fools. Then, Mick wouldn’t quit with the zodiac predicament. So to keep her quiet, we made a deal, a deal she failed to uphold, but I had to ask him his birthday. Poor Tom woken up for the sake of astrology. How insane and how us. Haha.
Calling my boyfriend to update him on the situation was hilarious. He lectured the hell out of us, and rightly so. I missed him. He was the only thing missing. I needed to bring him to my favorite place on earth and experience both of my loves together.
Anyways, we said our i-love-you’s and goodnights and then Mick and I were supposed to got to bed. Supposed to. But, before we entered the room, we spotted Tom’s clothes drying on the rack and broke the drying rack, and all his socks and things fell to the cold floor. It was hilarious, but I knew I couldn’t entertain her. Even though I did. Forcing her to pick it up and promising me to be quiet when we entered the room, we finally realized how exhausted we were. We hit the sheets silently and fast, ready for another day of adventure.
xoxo,
J
The Lost Diaries 