Euro Trips, Tips, and Grandparents

Its been a few days since my last post since my grandparents (winners of the Papa and Nana of the year) wisked my off for a long weekend on the coast then through Tuscany!  Wednesday night, they met Caroline and I at our apartment (my Papa really wanted to see how big the place was and make sure that it was in a nice area).  We mozied through Florence on our way to a restraunt recommended by our advisors as "the best Tuscan food in Florence" ... Food here really doesn't disappoint.  The restraunt was across town, so after passing the duomo (and after rolling my "winter suitcase" from their hotel) my Papa was scouting out places for a cold beer WITH air conditioning.  We stopped in this really hip little bar off the main drag.  There, we sat with locals while my grandparents enjoyed their first time drinking with their oldest granddaughter.  Wednesday night, I learned my first trick to being a young American girl: Smile at the waiter.  Not only did I get a free chocolate cake and an explanation of every dish on the menu, but he brought us an order of trippe (that's cow intestine...), a famous Florentine dish that I was too scared to order but certainly brave enough to try.  Not too bad, by the way.  After a stop at my favorite and frequently frequented gelato stop, I left my grandparents for the night with a plan for a 9 am departure time in the morning.

I left Florence without a good night of sleep and without knowing if I'd have wifi to talk to James/Caroline/my parents.  It was tough breaking out of the little routine that I've gotten used to.  But, Thursday morning, we left Florence for a pit stop in Pisa to catch a not-so-unique tower shot.  After about 25 mins in Pisa (my Papa doesn't spend any longer in any place than he has to), we headed up to the coast of Santa Margharita Ligure, a port town with beaches and too many sailboats to count.  We spent two days there, cruising the city, enjoying the water and the breeze, and realizing how lucky we were to be in Italy.  The weather has been unusually hot for this time of year: Usually it is about 75 degrees in September. We've been pushing about 90-95 everyday.  Each day, we woke up and went exploring, one day in Santa Marghartia, one day in Portofino, and came back to a little trattitori on the water for a cold drink and some focciacia, roasted veggies, rice balls, and of course some vino.  Nana and I tried a house sparkling vino bianco that this place had on tap... for 1.50 Euro. Yes please.  Each day, Papa disappeared for a little while, only to return with a bottle of wine for us to enjoy on our terrace before dinner.  While there, I ate pesto penne, muscles, lasagna, and squid. Yum.

One thing I learned this weekend is that even though tipping is not customary in Europe, it is definitely built-in.  The seating/service/bread charge which can reach up to 3 or 4 euro per person can surprise even the most carefree patron.  Our 1.50 euro glass of wine, if delivered to our table, cost 2.50.  I'll run up to the bar for the extra euro.

On Saturday, we left the coast for my grandparents' other favorite town: Siena.  The namesake of my cousin, the walled medieval city was reminescent of Florence, but smaller, with a younger median age, and fewer tourists.  We stopped in Monteriggioni, a walled castle and fortress about 10 kilometers from Siena on our way in.  Everything in the entire town, the church, well, hideout, and housing, were located within the walls of the city.  It was easy to travel back to the middle ages and imagine little italian boys fetching bread from the market for their mother.  Siena was much of the same.  A college city in a medieval town seemed right up my alley.  We walked around and I got to listen of reminescents of my grandparents first, second, third, or more trips to Siena.  How lucky am I to get to travel to the favorite places of my grandparents, WITH my grandparents as tour guides.

Today, we drove home through the Chianti region of Tuscany, famous for its red wine producing vineyards and picturesque rolling hills.  We stopped at some vineyards and villas to "sample" some local culture.  After a few hour car ride and a search and find mission for diesel, I'm back at home. Yeah, Florence feels like home already.  We grabbed a panini on my street (before another gelato), and I told them both that I feel more comfortable here, not only because I've been here before or the finally cooler temperatures, but this is where I live.  Nice to say that I LIVE in Italy.  I posted some pictures from this weekend and I hope that I haven't rushed through this blog post, but I do have a few things to finish up and some homework to complete before class tomorrow. Yeah, we are studying here too, even as minimal as it may be.

All-in-all, having some company made me even more excited to have my guests for the rest of the semester. I've started making mental lists of all the places that everyone has to see.  Maybe one semester isn't enough time after all.  James arrives on Thursday, so I just have a few more days until our month of separation is over. I look forward to sharing all of this with him. And Mom and Dad, I'm still thanking you for the best gift you never knew you gave me: young grandparents.