Such a fun, Tuscan hill town. I had a flight from Budapest to Florence and then train to a little town called Poggibonsi. I didn’t realize that it was yet another several miles to San Gimignano and that at 9:00 pm the local buses stopped running. Lucky the person managing the place I was staying in San Gimmy drove over to Poggibonsi and picked me up. Not sure what I would have done if he did not do that. My place in San G was okay but they could have done some small tthings to make it more comfortable. But…. I walked around the small town…lots of hills to walk up but when I saw some people going up on their bikes, I just shut up.
First couple of days were slow to get going but then I put on my big girl pants and with the help of Google Maps figured out where to walk to get the bus that would take me to Siena which is only about an hour + away. At the bus stop there were two English girls who had been staying at a hotel and they pointed me to the little office around the corner where I could buy bus tickets. That is one of the advantages of a hotel. While waiting for the bus another wonderful couple – Steve and Anne from Cornwall, England – came along and we just started talking and got on very well. Rode to Siena and then had lunch together. We split up to roam the city but caught up again on the ride home. Shared info and I might get to see them again when I am in England as I would like to go to Cornwall. I know I won’t see Poldark but there is beautiful scenery there…very dramatic.
After walking back from the bus stop to San G (15 min) I decided I needed a cup of coffee and stopped where I had been eating breakfast/lunch. There I met Stan and Lisa. New friends for sure. About 27 years ago Stan purchased what I think of a classic Tuscan home with 5 acres of olive trees. He has since planted another 100 trees. Spent much time fixing up the home. He and Lisa also have a place in Paso Robles, California that also have olive trees!! They go back and forth to care for both places. They sort of adopted me a little bit – I saw them at breakfast as it was a place they often come in to eat at, they did a load of laundry for me (geez how wonderful is that) and then invited me to their home for wonderful appetizers, proseco and wine!! Meeting these four people certainly made my stay in San G so wonderful. Monday the 20th Stan and Lisa drove me to the train station and helped me with ‘the suitcase’ and I was off to Florence and then Rome. Had quite the adventure getting to Rome but that is for another day.
