It was a mid October morning in Florence, Italy when we rented a little manual Fiat 500, grabbed a map and headed out of the city. We were ready for an adventure, a road trip through Chianti from Florence to Siena. Stopping along the way to take a million pictures, we fell in love with the tuscan hills and all it had to offer. Miles and miles of olive trees and vineyards. Picturesque, lush and enchanting were all words that came to mind as we followed the winding roads. It was non-stop laughter in the car as we tried to find an English speaking radio station and almost stalled going up one of the steep, small streets. Note to self, the Fiat 500 does not have much horse power. We stopped in a little town called Greve for some shopping and unforgettable, green, true Italian olives. Speaking of unforgettable, shortly before we had those mouth watering olives, we drove down a one way street the wrong way and had to talk our way out of a ticket from a police officer who spoke very little English. The laughter continued. But really, what’s a road trip in a foreign country without some kind of run in with the authorities, right!? We made it to Siena in the mid afternoon with a little time to wander, take pictures and shop. Like Florence, most all of the buildings in Siena are a uniformed shade of burnt orange. This makes the cityscape a beautiful, bright color in the day, casting a pink shade over the city at sunset. Being the explorers that we are, we could have spent another 3 days wandering through Siena and the small towns in Chianti tasting different wines every meal but our 6pm car rental deadline was right on our tail. Taking the less scenic route back into the city included driving on the Italian freeway. This was kind of nerve-racking in the Fiat because, if you ask me, its just a glorified golf cart. Somehow we made it back all in one piece and truly by the grace of God we made it back just in time. With all of Florence’s one way streets and maps that don’t specify which way they go, we got back JUST in time. It was one of our favorite days in Italy and one we will always remember.

Siena