This day was bound to come - the last day of our Tuscany tour. Free time this morning gave us time to pack and shop for last minute treasures then it was off for our final "walkabout". We toured the Duomo and the Baptistery then we crossed the river for our Oltrarno tour. The photos will show all the sights we saw along the way and we especially enjoyed our visit to the apartment Elizabeth and Robert Browining lived in for 14 years and our fantastic photo spot high up at Piazza Michelangelo. We ended the day with another "delizioso" meal at Nerone's with a Happy Birthday to Jerry. Early morning flights will take everyone home tomorrow (except Patrizia who will spend one more day). What a great time we have had on this springtime Tuscany tour and I can't wait to come back in September! Thanks for following us around - maybe you can come experience it for yourself in the future. Arrividerci and ciao from Patrizia, Dolly, Laura, Cindy, Helen, Jane, Joyce, Colete and Jerry!
I HAVE SET UP A NEW PHOTOBLOG SITE FOR THE 2014 TOURS. YOU CAN STILL SEE PHOTOS FROM 2008 TO 2013 HERE. TO VIEW THE LATEST TOURS GO TO: WWW.INTUSCANYWITHPATRIZIA.BLOGSPOT.COM
Under the Tuscan Sun - May 8
We really did have a beautiful day "Under the Tuscan Sun" in Cortona. Frances Mayes put the town on the map for American tourists with her book and movie. It is an authentic Etruscan hilltop town having been established over 1500 years ago - it's older than Rome! It is right on the edge of Tuscany and Umbria and we could see Lake Trasimeno where Hannibal defeated the Romans in 217 b.c. We took the train to Camucia then a bus wound its way up to Cortona where we enjoyed a great lunch and a few hours of shopping and sightseeing. The weather was perfect and the day delightful. Everyone always enjoys the trip to Cortona! More later . . .
Off to Rome and Staying Home - May 7
Jane, Joyce and Helen took a day trip to Rome, leaving on an 7 a.m. train that got them there in less than two hours. The rest of us took a morning walk over to the Santa Croce neighborhood. We passed by the Duomo, Dante's house, the Bargello and lots of shops on the way. The leather school behind the church was our destination, but no big purchases were made - very expensive! The rest of the day was spent doing our "own thing" including another visit to Tullio's cafe, the Bermuda Triangle, for gelato and coffee. It's just down the street from La Contessina and hard to resist! The girls returned from their successful trip to Rome about 10 p.m. and all are safely home. More later . . .
A Serene Sunday - May 6
Today everyone was free to follow their own interests and pursuits. They included museum visits, art exhibits, napping, reading, lunching and just having a "free" day. The photos today include random shots taken on my walks around the city this afternoon and later in the evening. None of our travelers are in the pictures today, but you are welcome to see Florence from a different and more serene standpoint. More later . . .
Our View of Venice - May 5
Seven girls took off on today's adventure - Jerry and Colete opted out. We have a lot of photos for you to see as you come along with us to Venice! That beautiful city built on water is the only truly walking city in the world. No cars, no scooters, no bicycles - but many, many boats! What a perfect day of sunshine we had for our train trip, our vaporetto "sail" down the grand canal and the miles we walked (well, at least two!). There are so many tourists, so many twists and turns, and so many things to buy! The streets are full of shops, cafes and people. The canals are full of gondolas and boats of many sizes, styles and color. It's all a sight to behold, so sit back and enjoy the trip! More later. . .
A Lovely Day in Florence - May 4
Today was one of our "home days" as we saw more sights in our beautiful Florence. A visit to the Medieval Davanzati tower house gave us a look into the home of a noble family of the 1300's. Then we moved on to one of the palaces of the powerful Medici family during the Renaissance - 1400's. After a quick lunch it was on to see Michelangelo's masterpiece - "The David". Sorry, no photos allowed there, but you can "google" him up to see that magnificient work of sculptured art. We had a nice dinner in our residence courtyard prepared by Patrizia and the night was completed when we attended an operatic performance of "Love Duets" across the river at St. Mark's. More later . . .
Cinque Terre Adventure - May 3
Up and out to the train station at 7:30 this morning, we began our beautiful day along the Ligurian Sea visiting the five villages known as Cinque Terre. Dolly and Cindy stayed in Florence to visit the Uffizi gallery so you won't see their smiling faces today. Riomaggiore was our first stop and from there we walked to Manarola along the Via Amore. It was an easy thirty minute stroll with breathtaking scenery and warm sunshine. The rest of the villages were reached by catching the local train for five minute hops between towns. At Corneglia we took the little green bus up to the top of the city for a short look around before going on to Vernazza. Last October 25 Vernazza was flooded by heavy rainfall and mudslides and suffered a lot of damage. It was so sad to see the ruined homes and businesses, but they are bravely working to restore and repair the damage. Our last brief stop was in the beach resort village of Monterossa then we made our way back to Florence arrving at 10 o'clock. A long, but interesting day in a unique part of Italy!
More later . . .
More later . . .
The Chianti Countryside - May 2
This afternoon we had our own mini-bus and driver to take us into the Chianti area just a few miles from Florence. Our first stop was the beautiful and serene World War II American Cememtery. Then it was on to the Castello Verrazzano for a visit to the estate grounds and winery. Giovanni Verrazzano was the first European explorer to come into the Cape Fear River back home in 1524. The special treat was tasting five of the wines made there. Our guide was Simone who gave us a lot of information on the history of the Verrazzano family and the production of Chianti Classico wine. A short visit to the charming town of Greve ended a beautifully sunny day here in Tuscany! More later . . .
Cooking in Florence - May 1
Today is Labor Day in Italy but everything seemed to be open like every other day. We had a "free day" to do whatever was on our personal agendas until late afternoon when we went to our Tuscan cooking class. There was rain this afternoon, so we took a taxi rather than walk to the other side of the Arno. Fabrizio and Francesco were waiting for us at InTavola Cooking School to begin two hours of creating our four-course dinner. We made our own papadelli pasta, a ragu sauce, eggplant appetisers, turkey with mushrooms and a delightful chocolate mini-cake for dessert. Then we went down to the wine cellar to taste our efforts. You will enjoy seeing the photos of our culinary adventure. A young Japanese couple joined our group too. The rain had stopped when we left the class about 9 o'clock so we enjoyed a refreshing walk back to the residence. More later . . .
Touring Tuscany - April 30
Get ready for lots of photos of our day-long drive through beautiful Tuscany. We boarded the bus with the Walkabout - Best of Tuscany Tour guide and off we went with 40 other folks to visit Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa and the organic farm where we had a delightful lunch and wine tasting. Our local guide in Siena was great with lots of humor in the history she told us. Our lunch consisted of foods from the farm except for the cheese. The ham, pasta, meat sauce, salad were all farm-grown along with the four different wines from their winery. It was delicious! Some rain fell on us in San Gimignano, but it was still a fun visit with the addition of lots of colorful umbrellas! The day ended in Pisa as we spent some time viewing the leaning tower and other sights there. This truly was a "best of Tuscany" day! Enjoy your phototrip along with us! More later . . .