Considering mainland Europe is so close to England, it’s surprising I haven’t visited it more. That it is so close is in fact probably the reason I haven’t seen much of it. It’s certainly not that I don’t want to!
So while I’ve been back in the UK, working under my own schedule, I figured it was time to buy a cheap ticket and go. The pretence was a working holiday. You can after all, write from anywhere.
With a daypack full of clothes, camera, laptop and journal I flew to Pisa, took the train to Lucca for the day and then on to Siena to stay with a friend for a couple of days. She let me borrow her bike (she needs in back in England so I am going to fly it back, win-win), so I cycled through Tuscany, spent a couple of nights on an olive farm with perfect hosts who kept me amply hydrated with wine and then took the train to the coast. A lovely way to spend the week and I even got some writing done.
