Conquistadora Feliz: Goodbye Siena and Hello Again, Florence

Sunday, we packed up our stuff and headed back to Florence to return the rent car and spend our last days in the city center. We discovered who has been drumming all this time! There was a little parade out front right before we took off.

Cute Italian men in tights.

Ev has been telling me he never met a Chianti wine that he liked, so today our goal was to change that by taking the scenic route back to Florence through Chianti. I had my eye on a vineyard that looked pretty and had an interesting history. They offered tastings with lunch and a tour. Whether or not we could find it, or if there would be room at the table for us or if we would even arrive at the correct time was all in question because we've discovered we're not that good at sticking to a schedule on vacation.

It was misty and rainy the entire drive but the hills and curves provided Ev with a little opportunity to get his Mario Andretti face on.

He liked the drive, see the smirk?

I loved the region, I think it's my favorite, The villages aren't walled off like fortresses, you actually drive through them. It's a heavily wooded area, the vines and olive groves are just barely on the wrong side of perfectly groomed. The vistas were incredible from the road.

We found our way to the vineyard by way of a few "this can't be right" "is this right?" "are you sure?" moments.

I Immediately located and harassed the I am The Vineyard Cat And You May Not Touch Me.

I learned some things about Chianti Classico and it's roostered label and the consortium that controls them.

Couldn't hear what this clever green glass thing was or what it did, all I heard was that DaVinci invented it and there have been no improvements on the design.

See the rooster on the bottle's neck? That tells you it's a classic Chianti and will taste like cherries and roses. Maybe.

We had an incredible meal.

We shared the table with this darling couple from Quebec.

I watched the guy during the entire tour-he was so much like the men in my family: quietly wandering off to get a better look the air whatevers on top of the casks, chewing his cheek studying the way the casks were held toether, turned his back to the group guide looking at an ancient hinge, he surreptitiously ran his hands over a tap in a cask. When we found ourselves seated with them, I introduced myself and asked, "are you an engineer?" His wife and I shared a chuckle about all his "tells".

We made it to the Florence airport, through a series of back alleys, hanging laundry, low income apartment housing and general Sunday craziness. I still don't have the hang of Italian city layouts to know if Google maps was just messing with me or if that was a good route. Ev is certain I have selected the "take me through crazy town" setting on the app.

We stopped at a weird 5 way intersection and I looked up to see Mary on the streetcorner (just like Mexico) and we were on the right track for the Amerigo Vespucci Airport.

Today in Florence was for the Lego store and Central Market-it was super crowded down here and I was getting twitchy so we came back to the hotel to put our feet up before finding a place to eat. I learned at dinner that Monday is cruise ship day in Florence and today was exceptionally crowded.