I planned for sunrise but my body says otherwise. Finally have a decent sleep and do a little exploring before breakfast. I swing by the car rental place to confirm the location and that they have my reservation. I’m all set for tomorrow morning.
And then the adventure begins. I’m attempting to locate the entrance for Boboli Gardens but Google Maps has taken me to a dead end. I meet a French couple in the same predicament and we decide to join forces to find this elusive entrance. We end up walking a very LONG way around and once again meet with a shut gate. I’m beginning to wonder how badly I need to see this garden when I ask a local woman out walking her daschund in my pidgin Italian if she knows where the entrance is. She points us in the right direction and we finally arrive. High fives all around. It’s now after 1pm and I’m wishing I had brought lunch with me. I hadn’t expected it to take me two hours to get here. I’m not really in the frame of mind to wander around a garden now, but feel like I should at least check it out since it was such an odyssey to get here.
I do a quick meander and realize I should’ve saved myself the 10 euro ticket price and went for lunch instead. When I’m hungry, I get “hangry” and it’s best to shove some food in my face asap. I want to find Berbere Santa Croce which boasts the best pizza in Florence. I race down the hill and speed walk through the streets to arrive before the restaurant closes. I find a table on the little patio and as I’m sitting there, who do I see but Greg, the guy I nerded out with over camera gear! He says his Vespa tour was amazing and I’m wishing I had done it as well. He was taken outside of the city on the country roads and then stopped for lunch at an old farmhouse. Sounds like the perfect day. I make a note to research if I have an option for a similar tour in another town.
Lunch is perfecto. Salsiccia e parmigiano pizza with a glass of white wine and my afternoon is complete. I love the street side seating where you can watch the world go by surrounded by ancient stone walls and bright yellow shuttered windows.
I’m off to Siena tomorrow so time to pack up and get myself organized for the morning departure. Readying myself for driving in Italian traffic 😳
