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wow today was soooo much better. got up early this morning and had a ok breakfast at the hostel, i swear all hostels is the same, cereal and toast and oj, but better then nothing. today i was going with some people from my hostel on a bus tour of tuscany. going out to the actual rurual tuscan region and checking out small towns then hitting a winery with a light lunch, it was a whole day thing so afterwards the bus lets us out right at the train station which was perfect for me cause i had a 730pm train to catch to rome tonight. so we head out and already u can tell its going to be fun, its nothing but us people from the hostel, so we are all chill and the guide is this 27 italian girl and she is great. we first go out of florence to the countryside to a part of tuscany where they make pottery, but its a special terracotta that the dirt used for it is only in this region of the world and so its only made there, plus they do it all the old way. this was actually more interesting then it sounds. the place is run by a family, great bunch of guys and they are true italians, not any of them spoke english, thankfully we had out guide translating. these older italian men were the best hosts, they were so kinda and funny showing us eveything and took great pride in the work they do. my favorite was Giannie, the older grandfather who was running around without a top on lol. afterwards they treated us to some refreshments, they had water, wine and coke and champagne, which was my fav, it was this awesome stuff that tasted like sparkling apple cider. after that we headed out to a small town right in the tuscan country, it was very cute, with shops and knows for its cold cuts and cheese and olive oil. me and some girls wandered around for about a hour going in and out these lil shops. there was this one cool wine shop, had some really old wine, 1914!! after that we all headed back on the bus. during this time i got to know some more of the people from the hostel, there was this one guy charlie, from australia, man i keep meeting them, and he just has been traveling since last november and working here and there under the table, which i think is so kool. i cannot even tell u how many people i have met from different places, around the world, its so interesting to talk to all these people and here what they are doing and swap stories. so anyways back to tuscany, so we then head out to this winery, its up in the tuscan hills overlooking some amazing views of beautiful tuscany. we tour this winery , which is very nice and its a family that owns it and the son, who is the only one who speak english, shows us around. they also make balsamic viniger there and have super old wine there. after touring it we sat outside overlooking down the valley, and had a light lunch, homemade by his mother. now when me and the others where thinking light lunch, we thought cheese and crackers, umm no. we forgot this is italy. light lunch just means nothing very hot and heavy since its so hot outside, like a full on chicken or spaghetti course, but my all means it does not mean little. in front of us we each had this huge place of brushetta, bead salad,mmm my fav, breads with olive oil, differnet types of meats and cheeses, all the wine we wanted and sparkling or reg water. it was so much food and by far the best food i have had since i have been on my trip i think. it was soo good, so after good food and wine we then took some pics and were off. this time we went to a distillery for this drink called grappa. now the tour guide , cant rememebr her name, warned us, she said its clear like water but tastes like fire, its 60% proof . reminds me of absinthe, which ug i dont even want to think about since barcelona lol she was even saying u canàt smell it upright, u have to pass it under ur nose horizontally, quickley or else it burns ur nose. all this was making a lot of us scared as hell to try it. we end up at the distillery and get a tour by this german women, who can speak 5 different languages and has lived many places. she tells us all about this grappa, which is very popular in italy. its basically made from the skins of the grapes they use to make the wine in that region. during harvest time, once they are done with grapes for the wine they ship them to this distillery where they make it. ok so taste test time, 1st she starts with a sample of the 40% proof, omg itsa like fire going down ur throat, its horrid, then we do the 50% omg not as horrid tasting but still, fire, like everyones face was on fire with this stuff, omg the 60% almost made half of us hit the floor! i still am smelling the stuff and its like 10pm here and im sitting here in my hostel in rome, thats how bad and crazy that stuff is. but somehow , italians luv the stuff, i dont see how cause not one person liked it with us. so it was hitting 5 and we were dog tired and it was a great day. we head back and i say my goodbyes and then wait for my train. so now im in rome!!!! cant wait to go out and see stuff tomrw, i pretty much am feeling ok, except for this dang cough i have now. oh and one other thing, on the train ride to rome, like the whole way, nothing but field after field of sunflowers, sooo pretty, its tru they are plentyful here!!! ok im out, im super tired.. chow chow!! (thats italian)
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