Hiking in the hills of Sesto

Early Sunday morning I went on a hike in the hills of Sesto Fiorentino with Hafiza, an artist born and raised in Firenze. She often does this hike through olive groves and cypress forests and we walked various trails up the hills and back down, completing the journey in four (4!) hours.





There are many shrines in these hills. At one point in our hike a motorino (scooter) passed us. As we arrived at this shrine we found the gentleman placing flowers on the shrine and saying a prayer. Then he placed his helmet back on, got back on his motorino and descended the hill. I like to imagine he does this every Sunday.



The olive trees are blossoming. I felt like I was in a E.M. Forster novel while wandering these olive groves.



We found fragoline (strawberries) on the trail, which were tiny, but ripe to eat and so sweet! And along the top of the hill we made our way on narrow trails through a pine-scented forest of cyprese (cypress), an experience not unlike hiking a trail in the California redwoods. Ok, maybe the trees aren't so tall here.



The red poppies are in bloom. And they're more difficult to photograph than I imagined. They are so lightweight that they sway in the mildest breeze.




Related links:
> Map of Sesto Fiorentino for the geographically challenged