waiting, waiting, waiting

Mollie and I have talked about what we've learned about ourselves since coming to Italy. In no particular order, Mollie says that she:

likes to vacation, but not travel and is OK with that, doesn't like smelly men, hates mountains and nudity, can go without hair appliances and high heels for a month, can't wait to see the dogs and sleep in her bed, enjoys bright happy colors and landscapes like Capri, and has a definite work hard, play hard mindset.

I, Megan:

feel more comfortable in my constant state of indecision, embracing it as a part of who I am; finally reconciled my LOVE for mountains and nature as different than, rather than inferior to someone who loves cities; love traveling, especially to green places; have oodles of patience for people under the age of 25, and very little for obnoxious adults; will not die if i eat all carbs, sugar, and dairy (and so far, will not gain weight or feel different, which shakes the foundation of everything I believe in...) and most importantly, I am far more resilient and laid back than I gave myself credit for. If you're interested in more details, feel free to ask when I get home. =)

And we both are totally crazy about animals of all kinds, which will be evident in the fact that there are an equal amount of pictures of random animals as there are of us and buildings-landscapes.

So yesterday, Mollie and I woke up early and got to the train station at 845am, only to find out that the train workers went on strike and all the trains were canceled until 1230. The other people at the train station looked like they were about to have a stroke. They complained, yelled, stormed off. But what did we do? We chilled. Waited. Talked. Laughed. Read. Then we took our train half way to the destination and had to wait for another one. So our 52 minute train ride ended up taking 5 hours. We had two choices: flip out at no one and raise our blood pressure, or just take it. And thus we are perfecting the art of living life, enjoying the moment, il dolce fa niente (the beauty of doing nothing). Stuff like this has happened too many times on our trip, so we refuse to let it ruin us. Let's see if this translates to the US...

Last night we had the most amazing meals. We had two huge plates of antipasti filled with grilled veggies, fresh cheese and meat, and delicious bread. Then, when we were full, they brought out the main course. Mollie had linguine and mussels that melted in her mouth, and I had spinach and ricotta gnodi with tomatoes. Our friend Massimo had lobster linguine. It was one of the best meals we have had, followed by the creamiest, most delicious gelato.

Today we're going to Volterra, which was the home base of the Etruscans, and has the most beautiful view in all of Tuscany. Tomorrow we hope to take a bike tour of the Chianti region, and my plan is to bring back some wine and olive oil, but I don't know how well that is going to work on a bike. I may just have to drink it all there. Again, I don't know how the bike part will fit into that either, but we'll manage.

Ciao for now!