Copenhagen to Florence and Vagliagli
Our journey to our vacation home for the next eight days.
We had a five-hour layover in Copenhagen after flying in from Washington DC (Dulles). The five hours gave me the opportunity to write about our flight from DC to Copenhagen. This posting describes our flight from Copenhagen to Florence and our drive to our destination in Tuscany just east of Siena.
When we boarded our flight, passengers seated in the front half of the plane got to board through the airport telescopic ramp while those at the rear, which included us, had to lug our carry-ons down a flight of steps, walk across the tarmac to the plane and climb the steps to the rear of the plane. As inconvenient as this was, it made for an efficient loading that filled the plane and got everyone to their seats quickly. This was good as we did not begin boarding until just ten minutes before the flight was due to take off. Our SAS flight from Copenhagen took off just a few minutes late and despite a noisy flight of animated conversations around us, I had a good hour’s sleep on the two-hour flight.
On landing at Florence airport, we deplaned the same way and got onto busses that drove us to the terminal. Since we had already gone through the border check in Copenhagen and had no check-in luggage, we were able to quickly exit the airport where our friends Rick and Trudy who arrived earlier on a flight from Zurich were waiting for us.
Just outside the airport, there was a shuttle bus that took us to where all the car rental companies were housed. We had booked a car online and the lady at our counter soon began processing our rental. We were persuaded to rent a small SUV since our car was not yet ready. As it cost Euro 50 each to add additional drivers, we only added Rick, leaving Rhonda and Trudy to navigate. On asking if we needed a GPS system, the lady very honestly replied that if we had google maps on our iphones, we already had the best system we would need.
A short walk brought us to our SUV, which although larger than what we originally ordered was much more convenient and comfortable for the four of us. After loading the luggage and orientating myself with the car’s instruments and stick shift, we were soon out of the airport and on our way to Siena. Just as we hit the highway we got to a toll booth where we retrieved a toll ticket which allowed us on the highway.
The ride was smooth and my iPhone connected immediately with the car’s console which gave us excellent directions in English. The only mishap we had was when we were leaving the toll gate onto the highway. With our windows down and gathering speed, the rental contract which I, unfortunately, placed on the car’s dashboard, flew out the window onto the busy highway. Needless to say, I kept going.
After about forty minutes on the road, we got off the highway just before Siena. We had to insert our toll ticket into a machine and place a Euro 1 coin into the machine. Thankfully Rick and Trudy had some coins with them for this payment as we had not bothered to get any Euros in Copenhagen or Florence airport. Soon we were on a gravel road to the town of Vagliagli, just a mile from where the villa we were staying in was located.
After 5 kilometers on the narrow gravel road we arrived at the Villa we were invited to share. We were soon in our rooms at the beautiful villa and enjoying wine and cheese outside with views of the beautiful Tuscan valley. This was going to be our home and staging area for the next eight days!
Here is a further account of our first day from my wife Rhonda.
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