We've come to realize transit days are hard...but it's the trade off for seeing more parts of Italy. On our way to our room in Tuscany today we had moments of "I can't handle it! Pull over so I can take a picture!!" We were convinced Tuscany would be our favorite of the trip. And then, many hours later, confused by directions and checking into our musty house that does not actually have wifi anywhere near it we had the "oh my what have we done, let's go back." In actuality, there is amazing charm to this house-especially from the outside. :).
Our day started off with a train to Pisa, where we picked up a rental car (we'll drop it off in Venice). As much as I was anxious about driving in Italy, I knew that the landscapes and little towns we want to experience are just not reachable any other way. I must have asked the guy at the counter 20 questions about road signs and toll protocol. Jess was an awesome navigator, considering the crazy route we chose that was basically all small winding roads with an infamous town (to us) called poggibonsi (poochee boojee). It was beautiful, but took us hours longer than the faster autostrade. A notable driving moment was when we hit a stoplight at the top of a hill of a town (pop 15 maybe?). There was not a car or person in sight but we obeyed the sign that directed "red light time: 3 min. Turn off your engine."
We routed through Volterra for the alabaster-making history on our parents' recommendation...and because it's of Twilight fame. We parked outside the town wall and walked through a gate down stone and brickways...in many ways similar to the winding and tall streets of places we've been but at the same time a completely different feel. It's so fortified.
We had the biggest calzones of our lives for a late lunch and visited the alabaster worskshop. Volterra was a highlight for sure--especially because we didn't get a parking ticket (past experience has me paranoid, I'm just never confident in my interpretation of the signage here).
After a lot of driving and some handholding from a little old lady, we finally found our place, in a little hamlet (collection of buildings) at the top of the hill called Borgo di Dudda. I dare you to find it on a map...it's near Greve in Chianti, in fact that's where we had to go to find dinner and luckily a little wifi. The neighbor and about 14 feral cats and one very protective dog received us.
We're settled now. We're fed, showered (a story in itself), and happy to rest and recoup for a new day tomorrow. The adventure continues!