June 1 – train from Florence to Siena
I managed to purchase a few scarves today from a vendor near the rail station. We also had delicious tomato & mozzarella sandwiches with caffe latte for breakfast. We are traveling by train from Florence to Siena. The rail fee was €17 and it will take 1 hour 30 minutes to get there. Fairly nervous about renting a car today. We decided to stay in the countryside of Siena so we will have to drive today. Hoping that Steve can figure it out easily. And the cars are so small, I hope we can fit into one! Steve thought we should each get a moped, but I think there’s a fair chance I’ll crash & burn, so I vetoed that plan.

The countryside is very similar to ours. There are more hills but the vegetation looks the same essentially. Everything is lush and green. One distinct difference are the hillside vineyards and lots of olive trees. The sun is shining today, we can go without jackets so this is a wonderful change from rain & chill.

Almost got thrown off the train today. We had the right ticket, but we used the self service ticket machine for the first time & apparently you have to validate the ticket before you board the train. We did read that, but weren’t sure where to validate at, so we just got on the train. A group a few rows ahead of us got thrown off, they had a ticket issue. That put me into a panic because I figured ours wasn’t quite right. Here’s the thing….many times you ride the train & no one even checks your ticket, so I was hoping that would be the case this time. I also like to push my luck with “rules” that i think are foolish…like validating something I just bought! But when I saw those people get tossed, I started to worry what it would feel like to get thrown off a train. The ticket guy was irritated with us & put the validation card in front of my face. They’re kind enough to validate manually on the train for a mere €5. Lucky for us, we paid the fine, learned a lesson & got to stay on our seats. Whew!!