Vico d'Elsa is very tiny. But it has a church, great views and a botanical garden, which is quite astonishing. People were generally super friendly. I decided to get a drink at the local Circolo ACLI, which is actually something like a local pub, but run by the christian workers, I believe on a voluntary basis. They had home baked cake and gave me a very generous slice and as well a very generous red wine. For very little money. An old guy was pretty curious what I was up to, and we had a nice conversation. Nice as it can be with no shared language, but we were laughing.
My AirBnB was at an old farm yard. I hoped to meet some locals, but the host was actually german. She was friendly, but there's a kind of people which would consider themselves very likely left, open and alternative, but then they're really not like that. I find them sometimes a bit self-righteous and not very entertaining. But well, the village was cute. On my rest day I visited the Giardano Sottovico, which is not only a botanical garden, but basically as well a social space with workshops and things alike. I think it's great when these sort of places exist in smaller communities and if you find your way ever to Vico d'Elsa you should definitely go there.
