Fiesole

Today was another beautiful spring day -- warm, not hot, and sunny. I decided to take the bus up to Fiesole (pronounce: fee-EH-so-leh), a small town on the hills outside of Florence. That seems to be a pretty popular thing to do, and the bus was full of tourists. I think the bus authority wanted to take advantage of unknowing tourists, and this was the first time since I arrived that someone checked the tickets (and that they were validated!). Anyway, the bus made its way through the city and then up some windy roads and past some pretty impressive villas until it arrived in the main square of Fiesole about half an hour later. The town dates back to the Etruscans, and hosted a Roman settlement as well, of which an amphitheater and some other ruins can still be seen. I didn't actually visit these, since they cost admission and I'm waiting for Kristen to get here to visit places that charge money, though I did manage to see some of the ruins through a fence. I walked around a bit and then walked up a steep hill to a 14th century church and monastery, from where there's a spectacular view down to Florence in the valley. I've read that it's a bit cooler up here in the summer, and I can imagine that this place would be ideal for a picnic then.