D178 -- Farewell Mayowa & Leslie

All of us would be leaving Italy soon, so we made a mad dash through the streets of San Gimignano for last-minute shopping. I'd been keeping my purchasing urges at bay for almost two weeks, and oh did it feel good to finally buy those items I'd been eying.

Mayowa and Leslie were leaving on a train this evening from Florence, so we decided to get into town a little early to enjoy one of the most famous museums in Italy, the Uffizi Gallery. On the way there we stopped at a restaurant just outside the city, and then headed over to the nearby Florence American Cemetery, one of only two in Italy for Americans who were killed in World War II (the other is outside Rome). The cemetery was lovely, and it made Thomas feel comforted to know that our country had provided a fitting burial for its soldiers.

From there it was on to Florence and its parking nightmares and crowds. The Uffizi was jam packed - that plus the lack of air conditioning made us all a bit crazy. And the tour groups! While it was neat to see The Birth of Venus up close and personal, all of the hassle and stress left us with a bad aftertaste.

And an even bigger bummer, our next stop was the train station, where we had to part with our wonderful friends Mayowa and Leslie.

Can our week together in Tuscany really be over?!? Those of us left behind felt that they deserved a proper (i.e. embarrassing) farewell, so Michael, Sarah, Thomas, and I ran along side the train waving just like in the old movies.

We remaining four headed back for our last night at the villa, stopping to enjoy the beautiful sunset over the towers of San Gimignano.

-Elva