France and Italy continued...

Day 7

Wine and Sightseeing Day...

We were picked up around 9 to start our tour for the day. We were joined by another 4 people- 2 from Canada, 2 from HK. Off to the vineyards we went! Our tour guide was a former wine specialist so was quite knowledgeable about the wines and wine making process. We did two tastings at two different vineyards....both vineyards were excellent. I purchased two bottles- story about these bottles to follow on day 10. The afternoon was spent touring around the small villages and towns in the region. The sights were to die for. Fast forward- we end up sleeping in Nice....fast forward

Day 8- we leave Nice and end up stopping in a beach town in Italy. In order to get there though, we had to obviously cross the French/Italian border. OMG, madness. So many people, such insanity. We spent a really nice day at the beach and had delicious pizza. Italy was welcoming us well! Fast forward....

Day 9- Florence- we begin the day by looking for breakfast. Ok, well apparently in Florence you eat Gelato for breakfast. Not that I mind dessert in the morning but was hoping for maybe a little protein or carbs even?? We ended up finding fresh foccacia which was fine by me! The lines into the museums were nuts so we made a reservation (4 euros) and sat down for lunch. Let's be clear....that was probably the smartest 4 euros we'd spent the entire trip. If you could have seen the line. I get that the Italian Renaissance started here and all but my god. Anyhow, we had another amazing meal. Who knew that pear and cheese within a fresh noodle could produce heaven. Went back to the museum (sorry, no pics allowed) and then back to the hotel for a rest. We needed a plan for our last night on vaca so we asked the concierge for a dinner suggestion. For anyone who has been to France or Italy in Aug knows that literally everyone is on vacation. Hence when we got to the restaurant it was closed. Fearing we'd end up in some tourist hell hole we walked around for a while in search of Italians eating in a restaurant (our rule..if locals eat there, it must be good). Luckily, we found one and it was probably the best Italian meal I have ever had. If you ever go to Florence, let's talk so that I can give you the name of this place. It was so sweet...as we were leaving everyone was so appreciative of our business/tip that they were shaking our hands, wishing us safe travels.

Day 10

We really couldn't leave Florence without seeing David, so we got in line at 8am. Doors opened at 8:15 and we were in (minor slow down bc of a bottle of wine in ra's purse..this is one of the wines from above which will continue to have a story). Saw David which was much larger than expected and left for the train. We were attempting to drink this bottle of wine on the train because we weren't checking bags so didn't want it to go to waste. Needless to say, we had issues opening it on the train so some kind soul took pity on us and opened it for us. Upon arrival in Pisa, we checked our bags and went over to see (what else?) the leaning tower of Pisa. Cool but not that exciting. Now to the airport drama- I will summarize by saying based on that experience the following is now true: I hate Ryan Air, dislike a particular Italian woman at security, a very nice bottle of wine was wasted and I will never fly during the afternoon unless absolutely necessary.

Home

This trip was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. We did an insane amount of traveling but went through two of the most amazing countries in the world while surviving train mishaps, creepy ally ways, screaming babies, breast feeding moms and roller bags that don't like cobblestones. I am so happy that we were able to take this trip and enjoy ourselves as much as we did.