Day 45, July 5th

This morning I was pretty wrecked after I eventually arrived in Arezzo around 6 in the morning. My host, Luca, picked me up at the station and thankfully he was very warm and friendly with long crazy curly hair and Harry Potter glasses. He had a gorgeous apartment in Arezzo that was within walking distance to the town center, but all I wanted to do was sleep, which I did, until about 2pm. Thankfully I had my own room - I’ve gotten so lucky with Couchsurfing so far - I haven’t actually slept on a couch. Ha.

I went out a bit later to explore the neighborhood and by the time I returned Luca was home and ready for dinner. How is it that I am meeting all of these people I feel like I have known forever? It's like I have come to Italy to be reunited with all of these long lost friends. Luca and I get along so well and have so much to talk about. He wants to know all about my work as a doula, and about Care-A-Lot. He starts making dinner and he tells me about all of his little projects. He never has done anything for money and he managed to work for many years for no money - just working in exchange for things, or he was on school scholarships. He is forever a student and loves to learn. Even now, at 42, he is working on a masters degree through a distance learning program in Venice. In addition to the camps he organizes, he also heads up a program that promotes peace between teenagers from different countries in the middle east. He also works with an organization that sounds similar to Alcoholics Anonymous. There are group meetings that he leads and everyone has a sponsor. He is really an amazing man. He is so happy to serve and is really a great example for how to live. His walls are filled with photos and thank you notes and gifts that people have made for him.

For dinner he simmers a ton of garlic in olive oil and then drizzles it over some pasta and tops it with cheese. So simple and so delicious. We also have this thing his mom made - in a jar there is tuna, oil, vinegar and bell peppers. They have been soaking together in this jar for months and the result is like total perfection. It was one of the best concoctions I've ever put in my mouth. Must figure out how to recreate.

After dinner he receives a call from his friend, Margherita. She is super psyched to hear he has an American friend with him and she wants him to bring me over to meet her. So we go pick her up and she is freaking adorable. She is so funny and joyful and has such a strong personality. She also loves the opportunity to practice English. We take a walk around town and they take me to the best gelato place in Arezzo. I have chocolate and almond. The chocolate is so incredibly rich and thick - like fudge. And the almond was amazing - tasted like pure almond extract with ground up bits of almond in it. It was heavenly. We stopped in Piazza Grande, which was not under construction anymore so I actually got to see it. Luca was pointing out medieval towers in the square and he said that back in the day you always looked at the top of the tower in a town because if the towers were triangular on top it meant the town supported the emperor. And if they were flat it meant they supported the pope.

Margherita and Luca refer to beers as being black or white instead of light and dark. I don't know why, but this cracks me up. Margherita invites up up to her place for drinks. What a great apartment! She really has an amazing sense of style. Everything in her home has a story, and almost everything is second hand. She also loves to restore old furniture and there are many beautiful pieces she has worked on. We sit at her kitchen table and drink sambuca and talk until the early morning. Another new friend.

Day 46, July 6th

This morning Margherita picked me up and we went shopping together. Then she invited me back to her house for lunch where she made this amazing cold pasta salad - penne, tomatoes, pesto, little chunks of mozzarella. Then I tried out my new camera and took a bunch of pictures of her beautiful apartment:

We spend the rest of the afternoon chatting at the kitchen table with the windows open listening to the rain. What a beautiful day. Later on she dropped me at Luca's and I actually just left my shopping bags, freshened up and went back into town. I ran into Margherita on my way back in - she was on her bike headed to her English lesson. I love small towns! And Arezzo is great because it is small, but it's big enough to not be boring.

I went back to the cafe with the scones and the adorable owner, Gabriel, remembered me. He made me a super yummy blended coffee drink in a beautiful glass and I sat out front people watching. At one point he brought me part of a sandwich he is experimenting with. It's freakin delicious. Then he came out with two flutes of sparkling wine for us. What a nice guy!

I felt so happy and content as I was walking home and I ran into Margherita again! She was on her way back from teaching and she hopped off her bike and walked with me part of the way. She invited me to come to Florence with her the next day!

Day 47, July 7

This morning I made my way to the cafe for coffee. Margherita had said she wanted to leave for Florence around lunch time, so I figured I'd just hang out at the bar until she was ready to go. She rode up on her bike a few minutes later and said she had an idea. She wanted to spend the night in Florence at her apartment and she wanted me to stay with her. Sweet! I went back home, packed a bag, and Margherita picked me up a little while later. The drive over was beautiful and so much fun. We listened to The Muse and talked the whole ride.

Apparently Margherita's family is pretty well off. They seem to have little places all over Italy that are fabulous. And this apartment in Florence was no exception. It was right in the town center up on the 6th floor of this super cute building.

We dropped off our stuff and her neighbor popped her head out and invited us in for coffee. Her name is Camilla and she is English, but fell in love with an Italian and has lived in Italy for 17 years.

After that Margherita took me out for a walk and she pointed out different things I should check out. She drew me a map of how to get back to her place and then she left me in the town center and went back to get ready for dinner with her colleagues. The first thing I did was walk to the gelato place she recommended. Then I walked down the river and across the Ponte Vecchio.

I made my way to this sandwich shop Margherita recommended - Gusto Panino. She really knows her shit because it was the best sandwich ever. I had tomatoes and mozzarella and pesto on focaccia. The focaccia was so fresh and it was perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I sat on the fountain in Piazza Santo Spirito to eat and then made my walk back across the river towards the Duomo:

I could hear everyone scream at the World Cup match. That was really fun. I mean people were ROARING. It was crazy. Such energy.

Day 48, July 8th

This morning Margherita made us coffee and we sat at the kitchen table and filled each other in on what we had done the night before. Then we got ready and went to IKEA. So fun! We had more coffee and muffins at the bar there. Then we shopped - things were laid out a little differently and there were a lot of different products. Then we headed back to Arezzo.

I took a long nap and then walked back into town to the cafe. What a great day!

Day 49, July 9th

Today I had to leave Luca's because he had to go out of town to organize one of his camps. I had been in touch with another guy on couchsurfing in Arezzo and thankfully he was free to host me. His name is Mauro and I met him at the train station later that afternoon.

He was an older man...56 I think. It's funny though because my dad is 52, but he seems so young. Maura is only 4 years older and he seems like such an old man. Anyway, we got back to his apartment and he lived farther away from the center than Luca does, but there is a bus stop right outside the door. His apartment was very nice and he has unlimited high speed internet and a webcam so I can finally Skype!

Mauro had an appointment that afternoon (he teaches yoga and leads meditation groups) so I took the bus into town and hung out at the cafe and then I met Mauro for dinner at 8. I had ravioli drenched in ragu sauce. I think maybe it was the meat in the sauce, but something about the meal gave me like the worst gas of my life. Seriously. I almost passed out from my own fart stink. And like it wasn't humid enough without my hot stinky farts making my ass even swampier. But thank god that happened while I was with Mauro and not with someone I could potentially bone.

Day 50, July 10th

This morning Mauro started making noise way too early. Oh well. I rolled out of bed and we had breakfast. Then he made some sandwiches and we took a drive up the mountain. We parked at the top and then walked over to San Franscesco's Monastery.

I suppose it would mean more if I was religious, but I didn't see what the big deal was. I mean it was beautiful, but it was like any other super old super sacred site....didn't seem worth the hour + drive up the mountain. But that's just me. We walked around the grounds and then went and sat in the chapel - they have the spot marked where supposedly San Francesco experienced stigmata.

Afterwards we drove a little farther up to a big piece of land where 40 white monks live. Then we drove further into the national park - this was very nice. It was like being up in Flagstaff in the woods or something. We stopped and ate our sandwiches, which were...questionable. It was just a bad combination - sweet bread with butter, cheese and tomatoes....kinda ick if you ask me. But I ate it anyway to be polite. The flavors just totally didn't go together.

We got back home and Mauro went to take a nap. I took the bus back into town. And, of course, went to the cafe. Gabriel made me a delicious coffee drink that also had whiskey in it. We sat outside again I just hung out. It was so fun.

A little while later he went back inside and I followed because I wanted another drink. He asked if I wanted a lot of alcohol, or a little. Then he started rambling off drinks he could make. A long island iced tea sounded good. A little while later his gruff and tough friend came by. He sat next to me and said, "Iced tea?" I said, "Yes, but a long island iced tea." He said, "Oh, si, si, si - alcohol. Bene, bene."

Days 51 & 52, July 11th & 12th

So Mauro had to go out of town, but he welcomed me to continue to stay at his place so long as I watered his plants and took care of his cat. Sweet! Thus began 48 hours of not leaving the house. I was a total and complete hermit. I cooked. I took hot baths. I deep conditioned my hair. I skyped for hours with my friends. I finished season 5 of Grey's Anatomy. I ate way way way too many cookies. I was lazy. I didn't even have the motivation to get up and go to the cafe. Oh - and I made this great sandwich, my new favorite sandwich.....white bread drizzled with olive oil, a nice pile of thinly sliced tomatoes, one minced garlic clove sprinkled on top, loads of dried oregano and some salt. Grated fresh parmesan cheese is nice too, but it's still super good even if you don't have that. I bet that would be a good grilled sandwich too, but I didn't try that. I also decided I wanted to go to London, so I I spent a chunk of time getting that all planned out.

Day 53, July 13th

This morning Mauro came back and brought me the most delicious chocolate filled croissant. I packed my backpack and left the corpse in Mauro's shed so I didn't have to cart it around London, since I knew ultimately I’d be coming back to Italy.

Arezzo has these funny rules as it is an old town surrounded by a wall - a wall that has expanded and been moved over time as the town has grown. So you either live inside the walls or outside the walls, but this is very important. Because if you live outside the walls, you are not allowed to drive inside the walls. Weird, huh? So Mauro couldn't drive me to the cafe - he had to drop me at the train station, which is just outside the town's walls.

I walked up to the bar and Gabriel said Margherita had been there looking for a few minutes ago, but she said she would come back. So I went inside and we started chatting. I was telling him a story and he said "Oh....well in that case you should just write and say 'Fuck you very much'." Hahahahaha. Then he made me the most amazing sandwich for lunch: a thick cibatta roll cut into three pieces, each dipped in oil and toasted. Then on the bottom layer he put hunks of cheese, then another slice of the cibatta, then spicy salami, more cheese, tomatoes and arugala, and then the top piece of bread and he put that all in the oven for a while. So delicious. And he poured me a coke. Perfect combo. He peeked out at me eating it and I said it was the best sandwich ever. A bit later I went back inside so I could pay him and he's thinking out loud saying, "Ok, so you had.....the coke......the best sandwich ever....and the coffee."

Then Margherita popped back in and we went to get ice cream. Then she walked to the station with me and helped me figure out the train to the airport in Pisa. It involved switching trains 3 times. Fucking Italian rail system does not make it simple. I had allowed myself plenty of time just in case I missed one of the connections or got confused or whatever. But everything was fine. The only place I have ever actually gotten fucked up is at Termini in Rome. That place is like the fucking bermuda triangle. Anyway, I got the three trains and then got to the airport in Pisa and got to walk across a runway again! I don't know why, but that is so fun.

I got into London and then had to go through the passport check line, clear customs, take a bus, the tube, and a train so I didn't actually get into Maidenhead (suburb of London where my CS host lived) until like 6 in the morning, fucking hell.

A week in Arezzo + An overnight in Florence {solo summer travels 2010}