Nothing ever works perfectly. We were on a roll until this very moment.
Today the plan was to take the train to Florence and take a tour of Siena, a vineyard and Piza. All was going well until we got to the train station and noticed that our ticket and the information on the board did not match. Our train number and time according to the board was going to Venice and the Florence train was leaving earlier and from a different platform. Not much time to get there we went to the Florence platform even if it didn't match assuming they just switched platforms or something and there was noone around to ask. The train was a little late but I had a feeling something wasn't right but we didn't want to miss our train so we didn't want to leave the platform in case.
Fast forward 24 hours...
Sometimes I have moments of pure genius. Not often... but it sure is nice when it kicks in when I need it the most. Not long after I finished typing the above and sulking in our misfortune/tourist moment I decided to email the tour company (and I will likely pay massive roaming charges for it) to give them the scoop, tell them we clearly won't make the 830 departure and ask if we could either get a refund or if there was just an afternoon tour of sorts we could go on to make up for it. No go on both fronts. Unless one of us drives a stick then we could rent a Fiat for the afternoon and go galavanting in Tuscany. Note to self - learn to drive standard PRONTO! Super disappointed not even so much about the lost $ but because I'm going to miss the wine tour, the biggest thing I was looking most forward to. Then it hit me... I email them back and ask (on a whim) if there was any chance we could catch up to the tour somehow. It took a while for them to get back to me but when they did I almost got up and danced the happy dance right there in the train. I was informed that if we got to Florence and could catch the 10:10am bus to Siena we would get there in time to meet the group as they were walking by a hotel outside the bus terminal. They notified the tour guides to look out for us. Robyn, Moo and I are THRILLED! Only thing is the train arrives at 9:50 if it's perfectly on time and we don't know where the bus depot is. It's close we are told but not sure where. Luckily the train arrived on time and we rushed, forgetting we haven't eaten or had coffee yet... asked 2 different people and found the bus on time and HURRAY we made it! Another 8 euro each but we were on our way. Got to see Tuscany from the road and it's quite lovely but it was HOT and uncomfortable in the bus. We made it to Siena with plenty of time and even had a sandwich, cappucino and restroom break before our tour guide met up with us. I don't think she's ever seen 2 girls so happy and relieved to see her. Stress level 0. And the best part? We missed the tour of Siena BUT next up was the vineyard! WOOHOO!!!
This was one of those bus tours with big groups of people. The guide Suzanne was great and brought us up to speed but the group was very quiet, no one said much. Until we got to the vineyard I mean... WOW! I really don't have any words to describe how beautiful this part of the world is, and not only because it makes merlot and chianti but it's just beyond breathtaking! Pictures don't do it justice either...but go to Facebook if you want to see them. It's nothing but green green green rolling mountains as far as you can see with Tuscan mountains scattered throughout the mountainside. AMAZING! I'm in love and haven't even sipped the wine yet. It's farm country at it's finest and well I'm a farm girl so I guess for me, this is HEAVEN! The vineyard is an organic vineyard and not only grows grapes but also olives and other herbs and vegetables. It has it's own cows for milk and manure and if you didn't know...roses and artichokes are used as natural insectides for grape trees. They plant them on the end of the rows to protect them from insects. COOL! We got a quick tour of the grounds before being treated to a 4 course italian meal along with 4 different wines. When I say 4 different wines, I don't mean "samples", I mean they plunked down 2 bottles of each for every 10 people. We couldn't drink it fast enough... we only had roughly 30 minutes to eat if we wanted to snap some pictures and shop. Meal was delicious and wine was very good. I may or may not have picked up some bottles for the road... From the vineyard in the distance on the top of a hill you can see a small medieval town - San Gimignano. That's our next stop!
I had no idea we were going here - this was a bonus! I booked it when I read "wine tour" and "climb leaning tower of Piza". SOLD! San Gimignano brought me back to my Vieux Antibes days in France and although it was so amazing to be walking through the cobblestone streets and alley ways and seeing the amazing panoramic views of all of Tuscany, I felt a little sad and missed my life in the Riviera... According to the sign on the shops - they have the "World's Best Gelatto!" and well I've had alot of Gelatto in my day (and Gelatto every day since I've been here - yes Gelatto deserves a capital G) and if this isn't in fact the best, it's pretty darn close. The 15 minute wait was worth it! Check that off the bucket list! 
Last stop on the tour was the city of Piza. The city itself is filled with history but is not as pretty as the other places we've seen. The leaning tower though is something to be seen. It really is LEANING and leaning ALOT, I didn't expect it to look like it was going to fall over. Very cool! We also got to climb it, which was tricky (because the tower is leaning) but they reinforced it in the 90s to protect it from falling. The views from the top were spectacular but the tower is really just a tower of pure marble, nothing else. Just a giant cylander. Worth the visit because I was not expecting it to look that dramatic.
We made it back to Florence with enough time to grab a McCafe (almost North American medium size) and triple-check we were getting on the RIGHT train this time. We couldn't afford not to be (in terms of time or money). We did find the right one and boy oh boy was this train WAY NICER! Comfy seats, wifi and high speed on top of this - this puppy hits 300KM/H! Ya Buddy! This ride only took an hour but we were exhausted and knew we still had to pack to head to Naples first thing in the morning, we couldn't get back soon enough. It's been a long day... LOL. My legs and back are taking a beating from the endless walking and I'm still sick from the cold I caught from my friend and it's getting worst because my insomnia is at it's finest. I have barely slept since leaving on Thursday (maybe 6 hours) and it's Tuesday now and I'm wiped out mentally but can't fall asleep. This isn't new for me but it's frustrating because I know I need the sleep or I will just keep getting sicker and crabbier. I'll sleep when I'm dead?
As you can see it was quite an eventful Canada Day for this trio of travellers! Everything always works out the way it should, the trick is to not panic, stop, breathe, think it through - there is a solution... and if not, just go with the flow and make your own fun. Besides, these
types of days always make for better stories anyways. Alls well that ends well.
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