I am still the only guest at the Villa and Silvia gets up early to make all of these baked goods, so really how can I pass those up? I’m obviously on a high carb plan in Italy. Yes – of course, I’d love a croissant with a side of butter and a side of another kind of bread you baked with butter and jam. Yes, I’ll take the eggs, the yogurt with granola, the meat slices, the honey, the fruit salad, and bottomless cappuccinos. Hey, at least I’m not snacking.
While I am staying in the hamlet of Fiesole, I’m not actually in the City Centre. The sky was bright blue this morning and I thought it would be a great day to try the loop walk at the top of the walled City. I also needed to go there to figure out how/where to get my COVID test I needed to take on Saturday. I had an appointment at the lab in Fiesole that Silvia had booked for me that morning, but think the type of test is overkill and I don’t need that fancy of a test that gets sent to a lab. I just need a rapid antigen test before I head off to the farm.
I head up to Fiesole City Centre about 10:30 am – when I think everyone who wants to drive my direction on a one-lane road has already gotten to where they want to be that morning. That plan worked out pretty well. Also me studying where the parking lots were on the map – like it was a treasure map – was also another good pre-plan. I felt like I knew what I was doing all the way up to Fiesole and had a parking lot in mind.
As to plan, I found a great lot outside the walled city and parked without issue and headed up to the top. The views, as advertised, were spectacular- you can see all of Florence from the top and then some.
I walked around and headed first to the ‘Lab’ – to inquire more about my test. There were several people waiting. We all had our masks on. It goes through my head – wouldn’t it be ironic if I actually got COVID while waiting to find out how to get tested for something I absolutely feel no symptoms for at the moment? I try to assess each person – do they look sick with COVID or are they just there for blood tests, while I wait.
A hot mess of an old woman with a flashy red hat walks in with about the dirtiest blue mask I’ve seen in a while. She keeps switching between her mask and her scarf. I think oh boy – I wonder what her story is. She starts speaking to me in Italian and I tell her I don’t understand. Then she starts speaking to me in good English with a thick accent. She says, ‘Are you American? I’m from New York but I live here now.’ It’s so funny, because she seems like she blends in with the old ladies over here so well, I don’t picture her to be an American. But she starts talking about politics. ‘Do you like Biden?’ She asks. I say, “I don’t like what he is doing to our country.” She says, ‘Me neither, I voted for Trump.’ I wanted to laugh, because that is the last thing I expected out of her mouth. But wow, she knew a lot about US politics and the border crisis and the economy. More than I could ever tell her about Italian government. I really know nothing about the Italian government. Anyway, then she goes into telling me she plans to go to Hawaii soon to go visit a granddaughter living there. Another thing I don’t expect out of her mouth. But she has the whole trip planned, flight to L.A. – a few days there, then on over to Hawaii. She asks if I think she’ll have to wear the mask the whole flight, I answer – ‘Yes, yes you will.’ Anyway, she was a real character to talk to and before I knew it my questions were answered by the lab and I was on my way. I wouldn’t need the test there, I just needed to go to a pharmacy to get a rapid test on Saturday.
I find a place Silvia recommended to me for lunch and they have a cute little table in a cubby outside. So hard to explain. But I fit perfect there. I ordered what I thought was a salad with goat cheese. Not so much. See photo. But it tasted just fine and then the pasta came and it was perfect. Another spectacular meal. I’ve started making lunch my main meal of the day, complete with wine. When I get back to the Villa, I just eat a piece of fruit if I get hungry. Between that and walking – hoping not to gain any kilos over here.
After lunch I head out for the ‘Pietra Serena E Leonardo’ route which means ‘The stonemasons and Leonardo’ – it sounds so much more appealing in Italian, doesn’t it? It’s a 2.5 kilometer loop that goes through a forest and has some steep inclines. Silvia said it is a beautiful hike. So off I went, and yes – it WAS beautiful. As I got deeper and deeper into the woods, I thought, hmmm, I am out here alone. What if someone attacks me? Isn’t that said, our minds have to go there? I thought, ‘Well, Silvia wouldn’t have sent me here solo if she thought it wasn’t a good idea.’ Then I get on a real rocky descent and think, ‘What if I twist my ankle? There is no one around that I have seen that can help me. I would have to wait for someone to come.’ I keep trying to shake these thoughts off and enjoy the walk.
I come up to the top and there is an older man there -probably in his 70’s. He is Italian speaks no English, but is really trying to give me directions on the loop and telling me to be sure to turn left at the tiny church. I understand that much. It was reassuring to see him and have him be helpful and to know there is another soul on this route. If I were with someone, these thoughts wouldn’t even be entering my head. It’s just the solo factor that spins up in ‘what if’ moments like this that I’m not used to back home.
Well, I finished the hike and managed to enjoy the views, my time in nature, and all the good hiking/walking I did on this day. The sun will be setting soon and I wanted to be sure to get back before dark. I found the car and headed home, feeling more and more comfortable with my little route home as the days go by.
