Otherwise called The Autumnia Festival!
But first, we must get to Figline Valdarno from Roma, because I believe that is where I last left you. We met up with our group after spending the morning in Rome. We did not leave the airport, although I truly believe we could have, best not to rush things, we were awfully tired. We walked around the airport, exploring every nook and cranny, and then we sat down and some of us closed our eyes.
Our plane had a little issue, and we did not board, nor leave on time, but it was only like 30 minutes. The pilot made up for the lost time and we were in Florence in no time.
There were 3 other planes which landed at the same time we did and unlike the planes in New Zealand, I was not scolded for taking a picture outside the airport on my way in.
We gathered our luggage, made our way to the pick up area and met our lovely tour guide, Susanna. We then made our way to Figline Valdarno. Susanna gave us a little Italian lesson and kept us entertained, while George expertly drove us to the Villa Casagrande. Once a stately home, now a quaint spa hotel in the middle of downtown Figline Valdarno. There is even a secret door to get downtown!
Our room is very quaint and let’s just say this is a great acoustical building. #IYKYK It’s a good thing Jim and I are not loud people (except maybe when we are watching football 🤔🤣).
After putting away our baggage, we decided a glass of wine was in order, so we walked to the Sfuso. A local wine store around 4-5 blocks away. Now I will tell you it is quite warm during the day, but as soon as the sun goes down, it does get a wee bit chilly. Not so much that I need a puffer coat (which is a good thing because it is in the van at home), but you may see pictures of Jim in his tuque. The whole town has a festival atmosphere and on our way to get the wine, there was a man chain saw carving. I took before and after pictures!
Back to the hotel to drop off the goods and then… The Autumnia Festival. We only made it around the first block or so.. there are so many tents with offshoots and goods, but you will get the picture!
And then this happened
This is only a small clip of the band performing.
Jim and I decided after trying some of the food, that we might be hungry later, so we ventured back toward the Sfuso where we had passed a pizzeria. Lovely little place, managed to score a pizza with wurstel dog, just a hotdog, but not… and went back to our room to warm up and maybe rest up before our big day on Sunday.
#HowFortunateWeAre #RetiredAndLovingIt #MakeOurOwnSunshine