Tour de Tuscany

The last day in Florence began with an early morning. After a long night of socializing with other Honors students, some of us woke up very early. We not only had to leave early to get bus tickets to Siena, but had to pack and set out to the Museo Bargello. Why the Bargello? The day before, the class did not get a chance to visit this museum, so we (Steve, Geoff, Jenne, Laura, Aston, and I) decided to gain group intelligence. The highlights in this museum included the two competition panels by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, and the two David replicas. It was unfortunate though because we only got to see Donatello's David and not Agostino's David. The section containing Agostino's David was closed. Following the museum, we met the rest of the group at the Cappelle Medicee, which was a museum dedicated to the Medici family.
Inside were the tombs of the Medici line. It was amazing to see the grand dedication to the Medici and is still there for many to see.

The class then went to Mercato Centrale for olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting. We tasted different types of balsamic vinegar, the olive oils all tasted the same (which should not have been the case, but I probably did not have sophisticated taste), and delicious truffles. Once this was done, the entire group separated. Some of the students went back to Rome, others went to Cinque Terre, and the rest went to Siena.

After riding the bus for a few hours, the group I was with, including Won, Geoff, and Ashish, arrived in Siena. We were lucky to meet the rest of the group that came to Siena before us when we got off the bus. From here, half of the group went on the first van to our hostel, Castello di Selvole. The other half waited for the van to come back. While waiting for the van, we went grocery shopping for dinner. The list comprised of pasta, vegetables, water, and wine. When the van had arrived we all got on except Steve. Steve had rented a bike to ride around the city and to visit the family he stayed with last year. However, he did not know how to get back to the hostel. So Steve, in his new, pink, bike jersey and his road bike, decided to follow the van to the hostel. Not knowing how far this hostel was, we were in the van feeling like the cameras following the bikers in Tour de France. But no...this was Steve in our Tour de Tuscany.

Going past streets and busy roads, it seemed to be a simple track for Steve. However, problems occurred in the country side. The brutal road conditions turned to extreme slopes, up hills, down hills, and the pattern continued for a long time. At one point in time, Steve caught up and toward the window he said, "My life sucks ... but the view is great!"

Yes...Steve was right.
When we arrived in Tuscany, the view was extraordinary.
The hostel was part of the winery so all the grapes were in mathematical rows one after one another. That night we had pasta, which Won prepared, and wine. After good stories from life and a few games of Mafia, we all went up to the hill to see the stars. Our first day in Tour de Tuscany was...
N~ICE!

-Jonathan