Buonasera from Pistoia

Ciao to everyone! Our apologies for another temporary blogging absence. Our hosts do have wifi but for some reason it is not working on Steve's phone. However, we are in Tuscany, safe and sound, and it is wonderful. We took the train from Venice to Firenze (Florence) yesterday afternoon. Then we transferred and took another train to Pistoia which is about 40 minutes by train from Firenze. Pistoia is something out of a history book. It still has its original 12th century city wall as well as its city center (cathedral, duomo, the works!) Before exploring the town, we checked in with our hosts, Federica and Filippo. They are wonderfully kind and hospitable people. Filippo is finishing the book he is writing so we have not seen much of him but Federica has been eager to point us in the right direction on what to see and do. We went into town for an 8 pm dinner (normal for Europeans) and split an order of olive and mushroom mac and cheese and a margherita pizza. Yum! Federica and Filippo were hosting a dinner party with two of their friends, Lorenzo and Sara, when we returned. They invited us in to join in a glass of wine (ok, maybe more than one), limoncello and good conversation. Federica was kind enough to translate a heated Italian discussion on the rights and wrongs of nuclear power. Wow :)

This morning, we tried to get up early...not much luck with that but we did try! We took the train into Firenze to see the sights. We waited for an hour to get into Uffizi Museum, which included plenty of pieces from Rafael, da Vinci and Michelangelo. We also visited the Duomo and set out for the Accademia, home of Michelangelo's David. To behold something so old and beloved as this statue was rather humbling. And by the way, it is MUCH bigger in person than either of us were expecting it to be! Throughout the day, we ate---of course! Pizza, gelato (this time chocolate and chocolate mousse) and pastries. We strolled around Firenze and while we are happy to have gone, it left us feeling rather unimpressed. Perhaps if we knew more about Renaissance art it would have captivated us a bit more. It also had a very touristy feel and by the early evening we were ready to head back to our quiet Pistoia. We just returned from another night on the town, although it was much more subdued this evening. Sunday is the day of rest in such a small town and there was a quieted hush over the city. We managed to find an open restaurant where we indulged in mashed potato stuffed ravioli with mushroom sauce and vegetarian pizza. Have I mentioned we love Italy?

Now, let me tell you a bit about our accomodations. Federica has an apartment very close to the city wall I mentioned earlier. Their area of the apartment is on the second floor while ours is on the third. That's right folks...we've been put up in our own, very private section of this house. And the best part? We have a french door that leads to a private rooftop patio where we can see for miles...snow-capped peaks, vineyards and all of Pistoia. Sometimes there just are not words for such a sight so I will leave it at that and let your imaginations run away from you  :)

We originally expected to spend two full days in Firenze but we have changed our plans. Tomorrow we are headed to the coastal region of Cinque Terre. It consists of five small towns, all close to the coast and each with its own style and culture. We will check in tomorrow night and let you know how it goes!

Ciao for now!