4 chianti region = vino

Friday night, as part of orientation, we rode up into the hills of Florence to a little town called Settignano for dinner. We ate at this cute little outdoor cafe and the food was amazing, of course!

these little three wheel cars are everywhere in Florence.
they're like scooters with a top!

me and my roommate becca waiting on the bus to settignano.

walking through settignano to the area where Michealangelo grew up.
there was a beautiful view of Florence but its so hazy with heat that my pictures didn't show!

statue of Michaelangelo near the villa he grew up in.
apparently there are still scribblings on the walls from when he was a child,
but its a private residence now and we weren't able to go in.

This was the best picture I could get of the view but it doesn't do it justice!

The restaurant where we ate in the hills. Everything in Italy is about food.
They take so much care in serving you, it's great. Every meal has three courses and wine is cheaper than soda so they have it already on the table when you get there with water.
And all of the wine is great because that's what they do!

at dinner

stephanie and I + the tuscan sunset!

Saturday, our Resident Director took us too a winery further out from Florence to finish orientation and just to visit. The owner of the winery was so funny and she had a 10 month old baby boy that was adorable. She gave us a tour of where they ferment the wine, explained the whole process and then we had lunch in the restaurant there. There was a pool on the grounds so we got to swim for a little bit before heading back to Florence. It was so good to swim because it was around 90 degrees today and very humid!!

outside the restaurant at the winery

the winery

lemon trees outside the winery

the courtyard within the winery; we walked through the tower to get here.
they were setting up for a wedding there this weekend!

The whole day was great.... and the views of the Tuscan country side on the way back were breathtaking. I tried to get as many shots as I could from the bus.... here are my best!!

Ponte Vecchio as we enter back into the city.

That's all for now... Ciao! ;)