Today will be a day to remember. Oh yes, there was one more church, Santa Croce and a little more wondering around Florence for starters. But, the real excitement came when we thought Joe was going to be hauled off to prison. And the funny thing was that we really didn’t do that much wrong.

It all started so simply. Our plan was to get out of Florence for the afternoon and head into the Tuscan hills. There is a little town, Fiesole, just outside the city. The great part is that it is perched on top of a good size hill so it has incredible views of Florence. It also must be a great climb because cyclists were going up and down all day. The best way to get there is by bus; the number seven from Piazza San Marco. So with all good intentions, we purchased our round trip bus tickets and got on the bus. We literally went to the next stop when a member of the Bus Polizi boarded and began to ask for tickets. We proudly showed our tickets and he said, “Oh, but this is not validated. How long have you been on the bus?” About 30 seconds, replied Joe as he pointed to the location where we got on. It was less than half a block away. Too bad, said the Bus Polizi, your fine is $50 Euros EACH. Not panicking, Joe tried to explain that we just purchased them and they should be good. “Oh, but argue with me and you are going to jail,” he replied. At this point, other riders were panicking, and trying to distance themselves from the crazy Americans who didn’t know to validate their tickets. Joe kept his cool and in the end, we only had to pay a single 50 Euro fee, simply for not punching our tickets into a machine on the bus. Lesson learned. Other than that, Fiesole is a nice, quiet respite from the hassle and bustle of Florence.

The day ended, however, on a much happier and festive note. When we sat down to dinner (at 9:30 PM), there was a large party of perhaps 14 people next to us. It was a birthday celebration for their 77 year old mother/grandmother. As happy birthday was sung, we joined in and clapped at the end along with the family. Apparently, they were quite touched by this and “adopted” us for the rest of the evening. Cake was shared, stories told, laughs frequent, and kisses exchanged at the end of the evening. The Italian government, or at least the transportation department, may not be so great, but the Italian people are wonderful.