LA RUBIA.: DAY 37: ITALIA; TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE.

Day 1 in Tuscany seemed to last forever. Starting with our five hour bus ride from Granada to Madrid, followed by a quick taxi ride to our Madrid hotel, a few hours of sleep before our 6 AM flight to Bologna, and many trains (and one bus) until we arrived in San Casciano, a small town outside of Florence.

When we arrived, our bus driver dropped us off at the bus station, seemingly in the middle of nowhere in a town a country completely foreign to us. Not only that, but when Spaniards tell you they can understand Italian language, they are definitely stretching the truth. Besides yes and the colors, I was completely lost on the language.

We were starving, so we wandered around to find a restaurant. Except, like here in Spain, everything closes over the lunch hour! Luckily we ended up running into a fresh produce market, where we bought fresh mozzarella cheese, a pound of olives, and fresh fruit. A few blocks down the road we bumped into Antica Dolce Forneria, which, if you ever happen to find yourself in San Casciano, I highly recommend you go. There we picked up homemade crackers, fresh meringues dipped in chocolate, and pesto. From there we walked back to the bus station and sat in the sun to eat.

Oh. My. Goodness. I have never in my life felt drunk from simply eating food. I can't even begin to describe how fresh and amazing the food was. If only they spoke Spanish in Italy I would study there in a heartbeat!

The concierge from our hotel picked us up shortly after and we headed to our hotel, which is actually someone's summer house in the country outside of San Casciano that was converted to a hotel.

We took a walk through the olive trees (groves?). I feel like I could spend the rest of my life here.