Hidden Gems of Italy

Castiglione della Pescaia. 

This place. Totally worth the craziness it took to get there, but really. It was quite the adventure! We bought tickets to go to Castiglione for Saturday and it's about a 2 hour bus ride. We got to the bus station just in time and then ended up sitting there for an additional 30 minutes because the bus was late for who knows why. Italians have a tardiness issue. (Not that I don't also have that issue...) But we finally left and had to make a bus change in Grosseto. Well, since our bus was late we thought we had missed the connecting bus and were going to have to wait 2 hours. Luckily they put us on a different bus passing through Castiglione. All was well. The bus ride was beautiful and then we saw the ocean for the first time since being in Italy. 

Well, one thing led to the next and we ended up getting too excited and getting off at the wrong bus stop... 30 minutes before the one we were supposed to get off at. 2 hours walking distance. We were stuck in a little town that I don't even know the name of. We went into a bar (bars are different in Italy - it's a little eating place with scones, not just alcohol) and talked to the owner, hoping maybe they could help us figure out what to do. The next bus didn't come for 2 more hours. I swear Italians are the kindest and most hospitable people ever. He said he would let us use their private beach for free until our bus came. So thankfully we didn't waste any beach time and were finally on our way to Castiglione. Or so we thought. We got to the bus stop at 1:20 and the bus was supposed to come at 1:45... 2:00 comes rolling around and we still see no bus. Remember how I said Italians were always late? Well, finally the bus pulled around the corner and we were OFFICIALLY on our way. 

We reached Castiglione, this time asking the driver where to exit. And found the most beautiful little beach town set on a hillside surrounded by the walls of a castle overlooking the ocean. We spent a couple hours just chilling on the sand and it was perfect weather. We hung out, took pictures, waved off annoying vendors, and soaked up the sun. Then we went exploring around the town and got gelato. You could climb up the old castle steps and see a view out over the entire town and ocean. I have to say I caught my breathe a little. I think the ocean just may be more beautiful in Italy than anywhere else in the world.... But maybe that's just because it's Italy and I'm in love with that place. Castiglione is somewhere I definitely plan on going back to before I leave. And the best part is that it's not too touristy. Not as bad as Florence or Rome. It was just an easy-going little piece of heaven. 

Cats are everywhere in Italy. Today we saw one on our roof too. Oh and gelato is just as common :) 

The ride back held a few adventures of its own too. On the first bus I had to endure the creepy flattery of a short, fat Italian man while his smelly armpit sat way too close to my face. We were packed in and sadly I was in the aisle seat, the creepy little man standing next to me. I tried to ignore his stares for a while, but Italians are persistent. The only things I understood were, "you have beautiful eyes," "your teeth are so white and you have a bright smile," and "bellisima." Every time I would try and continue to read my novel he would come up with some other creepy line and then cackle in a very serial killer sort of way. Luckily the smelly little man had to get off at the next stop. 

But va bene! Castiglione was totally worth it :)