Why do they change the name in different languages? You would never find Florence on a map or on a road sign, so why doesn't the rest of the world just call it Firenze? Good thing we did our homework since the trains only went to Firenze and we would have missed the best part of the trip otherwise. Speaking of maps - may I recommend one for Firenze as well. We walked right by our hotel, but fortunately on our way back, the doorman at the Savoy (right next door) spoke english. I always wondered what lay behind those massive wooden doors. Our hotel used to be a bank, and was renovated into a delightful bed and breakfast with only about 10 rooms.
We were so lucky with the weather for the whole trip. Rain was in the forecast before we left, but we didn't see a drop. Wandering around town our hotel (Il Salotto di Firenze) was minutes from the famous Ponte Vecchio which is chock-a-block full of jewelry shops - bank to bank on both sides of the bridge. We were just looking of course. From there it was only another 15 minutes or so to the Piazzale Michelangelo for a lovely view of the whole city. We also went to a concert at the Basilica di San Lorenzo. So what if you don't speak Italian - the choir was magnificent and a few of the selections were accompanied by a superb organist. The acoustics were phenomenal.
The next day was the highlight. We took a bus tour called 'The Best of Tuscany'; and it lived up to it's name. Siena was a lovely village that Dale had read about and actually wanted to stay at, so I was really pleased that it was on the tour.
The next stop was a farm called 'Fattoria Poggio Alloro' where we had a fantastic lunch and tried several of their wines. They also run cooking classes and made everything that we ate except for the cheeses - yes they grew the vegetables for the salad and the Bolognese, made the pasta, made the salami and the prosciutto, made the biscotti and of course all the wine.
Thank goodness we only had to walk as far as the bus then we went on to the medieval village of San Gimignano. Most of the buildings are still in use, and you really felt like you had stepped back in time. What a lovely place - and the best Gelato in the world (according to our tour guide, so we had to try some and she was right). The last stop was Pisa. It wasn't something that I thought I would see on this trip, so I was delighted. It is definitely more amazing in real life than in pictures.
http://www.walkaboutpass.com/nqcontent.cfm?a_name=bestoftuscanytour_homepage
Thank heaven we only planned a couple of things for our last day. The main attraction was visiting the Academia museum to see Michelangelo's 'David'. The rest of the museum was pretty good too, with a very interesting exhibit on musical instruments through the ages. We also took in the Duomo, especially since it was so close to our hotel.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/florence-duomo.htm
I should have taken notes as we were going along, as I feel that I may have missed one or two things. The pictures don't do it justice - especially the countryside and rolling hills of Tuscany. If they had had a painting or poster that did it justice, I am sure that I would have lugged it home. It was truly a memorable and believe it or not, a relaxing holiday. Our feet were sore, but we loved every minute of it.
So now back to reality. Dale is back at work and I am catching up here at home.
Hope all is well with you and yours.
Take care and bye for now. Ciao.
Love,
Laurel
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