Hello lovies!
Today is the day we will talk about Fiesole. Ole!
Uh, okay.
Dammit, can't stop rhyming! Anyway (ack!), yesterday I visited the adorable village of Fiesole. Set in the hills about 30 minutes outside Florence, it is the perfect (and cheap!) day trip. Apparently native Firenzians jet up to Fiesole quite often in the summer to get away from the oppressive heat, mosquitos, and tourists (not necessarily in that order). I can completely understand why; it is the type of darling town I could definitely see myself inhabiting.
I started the expedition by trooping over the bridge and up to my new friend's (K&J) apartment. Jennie decided to take a day for herself, so it was just me and the girls! They led me to the bus area; we thought we needed to buy tickets at the ticket pagoda, but no, you bought them at the Pasticceria across the street. Duh, who wouldn't know that. So we bought tickets for both there and back (apparently it is hard to find a place to buy tickets in Fiesole - probs cause they are hidden in a pizzeria or gelatteria or something), and hopped on the number 7 bus. 30 minutes and we were there (minus a brief rest stop for the driver to read his newspaper)!
Fiesole is darling and small. There was a craft fair set up in the center of town so we browsed around. We sampled some excellent wine from a local vineyard which we ended up buying later - 3 bottles for 15 euro! An investment for weekly group dinners! But, I will get back to that later.
Female J has the best travel guide book ever - the DK Eyewitness Guide to Florence and Tuscany - and it was a two hour walking tour around Fiesole! We didn't end up doing the whole walk because you know, being a hill town Fiesole is...hilly. Go figure. But we started our tour with a viewing of the requisite town Duomo. Due to a bare shoulder issue I was unable to actually go in the Duomo, but the girls assured me it was nice. Looked a little like San Minitao, they said. I can tell you from the outside though, considering the church had been around for hundreds of years it looked remarkably new. Perhaps Mr. Duomo had a little work done?
We did combat my intensifying dislike for hiking up steep hills to reach the "scenic viewpoint", and were rewarded with a glorious view of Florence and Tuscany. Afterwards we headed towards the Monastery of San Francesco. This is a darling monastery, still in use, located at the top of yet another hill. We tiptoed into the chapel and listened to a monk practicing on the pipe organ, and then wandered out into the courtyard. The building was deceptively large; after viewing the tiny courtyard, we somehow found ourselves in a gallery holding all sorts of chinese and egyptian relics. Apparently the monks had been sending over missionaries for a very long time, and in return for saving a few souls they got all sorts of cool stuff! There were silk robes, giant jade basins, gold buddhas, and a real (live?) Egyptian mummy!
After viewing the treasure troves from the Orient, we moved on to the austere quarters of the monks of yore. The rooms were SO TINY. Like, barely enough room for a wooden plank bed, and a small desk with chair. I am not sure how the monks live now; the currently living quarters were blocked off from the public.
Pooped, we wandered back into the main piazza and hopped on the bus back to Firenze. We ended the night with a wonderful home cooked meal, courtesy of J & K (Jennie came and joined us for that part!). The first of many! Don't be jealous:
And now I must go because I am being eaten alive. WHEN WILL THEY DIE??!!
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