I arrived safely. Not without a hiccup or two, but I am in my Apartamento Poppy, sitting at the kitchen table working on my laptop. It is a nice place; a converted farm. The owners (Gino and Antonella Giannatti) have olive orchards and grape vineyards and rent out this little place and one across the hall that is twice as big. The one thing that was not listed in all the information was that there are about 15 stone steps to get to the apartment. Fortunately, Gino carried my luggage up and all is well. I take my time carefully going up and down the stairs.
Gino and Antonella greeted me with toasted bread with their own olive oil (yummy), some kind of pork with fennel appetizers and some pizza. Gino opened a bottle of red wine that was made from his grapes in a cooperative here in the region, and it was a very nice welcome.
When I arrived in Paris at 8am, I was surprised to see that it was still dark. I kept rechecking my watch and itinerary. By the time I connected to my flight to Florence (passport control and security screening), it was almost time to board. The sky was light when my plane departed at 9:30am. I arrived in Florence a little after 11. No Uber cars available, so I had to take a regular taxi to Reggello. The driver called Gino, who gave him very clear directions to the farm.
So, that’s Day 1 in Italy. I am quite tired from my journey, but looking forward to walking to the train station tomorrow and checking out how accessible everything is. More tomorrow.
Ciao!