Sun. Day 6 My quest for great Pizza is over!

Today we're in Siena, It's about 11:30. I have wifi at the hotel, so I'm going to update before a big day, Vineyard tour in Tuscany! We're really looking forward to this. It's going to be a few high marking Brunello vineyards of the tour guides choice. Brunello is a big deal in this area. They make a lot of Chianti also, but Brunello is a relatively big red which they are very proud of.. There is a soccer/football stadium outside of our hotel, so I'm typing on a patio overlooking the "pitch". Siena A.C. and another rival team have a match today, the crowd is starting to show up, and they are singing team chants and waving flags, you can really feel the excitement.

I'm going to jump around a bit here, because there's a lot to update and remember. I'll rewind to Florence and try to stay on track.

We left for Florence from Vernezza Cinque Terre. We had a very easy time out of the tiny village and to the highway. Steve was really good at getting accustomed to the way the highway works, I would have struggled a bit. We arrive in Florence and WOW, mayhem.. Bumper to bumper traffic, with no rules... I mean besides stoplights and stop signs.... NO! rules! Mopeds by the thousands zip between cars and trucks zig zagging and weaving.. We were at a dead stop at one point and a moped snuck between us and a bus at 40 mph with no room in between. They are crazy, but the skill is amazing. It's not human, the reflexes they have. I wish I got video, but I was not going to be able to hold the camera still, it was very tense in the car. After some close calls and wrong turns we made it to the hotel, we parked and all took a deep breath.. I had to laugh a little. At that point we all wished we skipped Florence, but that passed quickly. We got settled in and went for a walk to lunch.

The architecture was amazing, All the doors are 10 feet tall minimum and wide enough to fit a small car through. The people seemed a lot more friendly than some of our other stops, and as we strolled I realized Florence aside from the drive was very great. Once again beautiful shops, with pastries, pizza and gelato. High end fashion shops and bars all in these amazing old buildings, but it really seems like they were meant that way when they were built.. The Italians are truly artists with architecture and streets, most things, even when rundown, just seem right. For lunch we found pizza, and I mean we found the best pizza I've ever had.. ham, artichoke, and mushroom on one, and Gorgonzola and eggplant on the other. The sauce was light but flavorful, the cheese was far to good to be on a pizza and the crust was very thin and crispy, it was so amazing. Just to side track a bit. I've had pizza for lunch everyday and each day is better than the last. I think the cheese is really what makes it, these pizzas would cost $30 in the US, just for the cost of cheese.

After lunch we went and saw Michelangelo's David, It's pretty much everything people say. I didn't have a religious experience or anything, but the pure height and detail is overwhelming, I couldn't imagine creating something so amazing with Marble and a chisel, I assumed it took a life time, nope, 4 years! Once again, doesn't seem human to accomplish such a thing. I'm glad we went to see him.. I suggest they put a fig leaf over him though, quite offensive! ha ha! After that we strolled through the streets and shops, had a beer or two, then prepared for dinner. Dinner only gets better and better, and I'm sure it's not too interesting to hear about. I will say the wine was spectacular, we didn't do the house for a change, and we had the waitress recommend it. The names escape me, but I took pictures with my phone that I will upload at some point. Leaving Florence was not nearly as tough since, it was Sat morning and the streets were empty, easy escape! Florence overall was a great place, there are some rough edges, but I really like the people there the best so far, extremely helpful and pleasant. Looking back, I could spend some time there, but not for a relaxing vacation, more for the sites and people!

Thanks for following. All of the comments have made it very easy to keep up with this blog, and it will really help me to keep this whole experience fresh! I miss you all, and the Nigro family wishes to tell you all the same.

I can't do these places justice with words so hopefully the pictures help, at some point I will group them together by locations, but you can follow them in order, each place looks extremely different.