God has been so good to me on this journey so far.
On my first day, I was so exhausted and in pain due to my SIJ that I sat down at a random restaurant just outside the Duomo. The owner was very nice and I stayed for really long as they had free wifi. It wasn't as though he needed the seat but when he gave me the bill I thought he was chasing me out. I paid and quickly left. He came running down the street after me - I had paid him €52.60 for my €12.60 meal and walked off without my change. What an idiot!
Last night I booked a final cycle tour of Florence. I was supposed to go in the morning but it was too full and they asked if I could kindly go on the night tour instead. It was a city tour and I'd actually already been to all the sites in the city...I just wanted to cycle.
I arrived at the office at 5:30pm for a 5:45pm departure. I met my guide Mario who advised that I was the only one. Private tour! Mario asked which sites I'd seen or wanted to see. Turns out that he is also the guide for the free walking tours which I'd been on over the past two days so he knew exactly what I'd seen and hadn't seen. As such, he told me that we'd do a custom tour of the area on the other side of the bridge as long as I felt physically able. Sweet!
Florence is such a great city to cycle. The roads are flat and there are lots of cycle paths. There had been a cool change and by the time we set off, it was a cool 22 degrees with a light breeze. If I had gone in the afternoon it would've been a full tour of 6 cyclists and more like 35 degrees. We stopped for a gelato at about 8pm where I met a Taiwanese family struggling to translate the flavours into Chinese. Admittedly my assistance was limited...who knows how to say "pistachio" in Chinese?
After watching the sunset from a different vantage point, we made our way back to Florence city. We even cycled past the restaurant owner who recognised me and waved. I asked Mario if I could borrow the bike if I promised to return it before the office opened at 9am - he said no problem. So this morning I got up at the the crack of dawn (for real) and made my way back up to Michaelangelo's hill to watch the sunrise.
The boys at the Tuscany Bike Tour office were already there when I got back and invited me to join them for a croissant and coffee. The company is run by a combination of Italian and English men who share a passion for cycling and Tuscany. They mostly do country cycling but took in Mario last year to lead city bike tours. I highly recommend that anybody who is visiting Florence go look for these guys. They are friendly, professional and you can count on having a good laugh when they're all together. Best decision I made in Florence so far.
Before I left last night, I went to say bye to the guy who mans (see what I did there?) reception at night. We had a glass of wine and got talking. He's been in Florence for 21 years, originating from Florida. I later learnt that all the amazing paintings that were hung up were done by him. He showed me a copy of the work he had been commissioned to do for a gallery in Boston. Amazing!
The girl I met in Rome, Emily, came to meet me before I headed to the station and we did some quick shopping in the leather markets. She is heading to Pisa today before going back to Rome. It was so nice to have a friend in Florence and it made meal times so much more enjoyable.
It's sad to say bye to Florence but I truly had a great time and hope to be back again one day.
Venice, here I come!
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