AM - Headed to Pisa, just a short 30 minute drive away. Here we marveled at the beauty of Miracle square, the leaning tower (bell tower to the cathedral), cathedral, baptisery and the graveyard. Unfortunately, like most other stops time was minimal, and we were unable to get inside the buildings. I would have loved to climb the tower, but with only 20 people allowed in every 30 minutes, we just didn't have time to wait. It was interesting to hear a local's perspective on the tower. How amazing it was that people still come to marvel at Italy's greatest failure.
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PM - This was the best part of our favorite shore excursion. We headed to a villa in Tuscany that produces olive oil and wine. We were expecting a "wine tasting" not unlike those in Northa American wineries. What a surprise! What we got was an authentic, Tuscan Sunday family dinner. We started lunch around 12:30 and were not finished until 3pm. We were told that as of lunch we were converting to "Italian" time - meaning minutes don't matter so much.
We went through 3 courses, with 3 different wines. If your table finished a bottle, you simply held up the empty and another full bottle was brought in its place. After the 3 main courses, we were brought a dessert wine and fresh biscotti. Finally we finished off with an espresso and a shot of grappa. I didn't feel brave enough to drink the 90 proof wine spirit, but Aaron did, and it was almost to much for him to handle. The food was amazing too: olive oil, balsamic vinegar and bread, proscuitto, Italian sausage, olives, pasta, zucchini, beans, salt fish, onions, and cheese. It may not seem like much, but we went away satisfied.
After this experience I could safely say that I could live in Tuscany - that is what I always pictured Italy to be.
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