We stayed close to home today as we toured the 14th century Davanzati house museum and the Ferragamo shoe museum. Salvatore was a poor Sicilian boy who hit it big making shoes for Hollywood stars and other famous ladies. Tonight was the annual "Notte Bianca" or White Night when everyone crowds into the streets to hear music, eat, drink and be merry. Tomorrow is May Day - a national holiday - so most people can stay out late tonight - not us! We have an early morning train to the Cinque Terre!
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
Navigating Venice - April 29
You're invited to come along to the floating city of Venice with us today - it's a nice day and the city doesn't smell bad anymore! However, there are thousands of tourists (like us!) but no cars, scooters or bicycles to deal with - it is truly a pedestrian place. After our two-hour train ride we floated down the grand canal on the vaporetto (city bus) to reach St. Mark's Square. After looking around at the sights there and visiting the cathedral we looked for lunch! The rest of the afternoon was spent ambling back to the station though some of Venice's 2000 streets and alleys and crossing over some of the 400 bridges. We're one short of a hundred photos today - so sit back and enjoy - we did!
A Serene Sunday - April 28
We visited the Medici-Riccardi Palace this morning. The palace was started in 1444 and took nearly 15 years to complete. It was home to the powerful Medici family, including Lorenzo the Magnificent, for over 100 years. The wealthy Riccardi family bought it and remodeled it in the 1600's. Today it is owned by the city and is a museum and administration offices. The best part is the Chapel of the Magi fresco but we are not allowed to take photos in the chapel. You might like to Google it in images for look yourself. Just as we came out we saw about a dozen Fiats racing by and blowing their horns - they went around the block a couple of times and all the other traffic moved over for them - always something interesting going on! After another walkabout, we spent a quiet afternoon at the residence and Patrizia cooked a pasta dish that we ate out in the courtyard. We're off to Venice tomorrow - stay tuned!
Pasta, Pasta, Pasta! - April 27
Today's highlight was our class at InTavola cooking school. We had a great time with our chef, Fabrizio, as he taught us how to make three different pastas and three sauces. The real treat came afterwards when we ate it all up down in their wine cellar. The cooking class is always a big hit and not to be missed on Patrizia's tour! On our way over - we had to cross the Arno - we stopped by the Santo Spirito church to see a beautiful wood sculpted crucifix by Michelangelo. He created it in 1494 when he was only 18 years old (he lived to be 89 and was still painting in Rome). It was a little rainy today but it didn't hold us back!
International Fair and Lucca - April 26
The annual international exhibit of handicrafts, foods and many other things to buy is being held this weekend at the old Medici Fortenza just down the street from us. We wandered over this morning and spent a couple of hours browsing and buying (a little). Then we were off on our first train trip, to lovely Lucca. The beautiful city park surrounds the entire old town atop the medieval city walls. It was truly lovely with the Spring-green trees and flowers. The annual plant sale was going on in the piazza where we had a nice lunch. Some purchases were made on our slow stroll back to the station for the train that brought us back to Florence about nine o'clock.
Florence and Fiesole Today - April 25
Today was a national holiday - Liberation Day in Italy - celebrating the 1945 freedom from nazi/fascism in WWII. As we walked to the river we encountered a parade featuring a band and some men in Renaissance costume. We took a look at the gold shops on Ponte Vecchio and ended our orientation walk back at the residence before beginning our afternoon jaunt all around the city and up into the hills to visit Fiesole. Our transportation was via the open-top hop-on-hop-off bus complete with a taped guide so we could hear about the sights with our earphones. We enjoyed a nice lunch and walk-around in Fiesole. We hopped off our tour bus again at Piazza Michelangelo where there were amazing views of Florence. The weather was springtime fine as we had a great tour - enjoy the pics!
Welcome Jan and Dianne - April 24
Long-time friends, Jan Doyle from Michigan and Dianne Miller from California, flew in today to begin their two-week tour. We took a short walkabout then enjoyed a nice "welcome to Florence" dinner at our neighborhood restaurant, Nerone's. We're looking forward to a good time together, so keep checking the blog to see what we're up to!
Perfect Tuscan Day - April 23
On this day between the two tours I decided to go to the ancient hilltop town of Volterra. I have been wanting to go for several years, but it's not too easy to accomplish transportation-wise. However I decided today was the time to give it a try. I took a regional bus from Florence that got me as far as Colle val d'Elsa at 9:45 a.m. only to find hat the next bus to Volterra was not until 2:45 p.m.! There are only four a day and two were gone already. So, I began my nearly five hour visit in Colle and what an interesting time it turned out to be. The town was established in the medieval times and the upper "old town" is very quaint and virtually unchanged since the 1400's - you'll see that in the photos. I visited the crystal museum, sat in the "lower town" piazza to watch people, had a delicious lunch and went on to Volterra. More than 2000 years ago it was settled by the Etruscans who were the forefathers of today's Tuscans. It is still a walled city with many interesting sights. Alabaster is plentiful in the area and there is a lot of alabaster art and jewelry for sale there. The history is remarkable and the city is well preserved. Both places were well worth the time and effort to get there. However what made it the perfect Tuscan day was not only the great weather, but the scenery was absolutely the most beautiful of any I have seen anywhere in Italy! It rivals the Amalfi Coast drive - just no Mediterranean Sea here. It was a feast for the eyes - true Tuscan landscapes with a background of amazing cloud formations. Well, enough said - "a picture is worth a thousand words" - so enjoy your Tuscan tour for today!
This and That - Here and There - April 22
Monday was a catch-up day in preparation for Sherol's departure tomorrow. There's always something of interest going on in Florence as we walk about, so today's photos show a little of this and a little of that. I took in the Dali exhibit which was both interesting and strange as was the artist himself!
Lovely Lucca - April 21
Sunday afternoon found us on our way by train to visit one of my favorite Tuscan towns - Lucca. The city walls are wide enough and paved so you can walk or bike around its two and a half mile circumference. Sherol biked while I opted for eating a pizza! We enjoyed walking through the antique fair on the streets and seeing, but not buying, all the treasures for sale. A short rain shower did not dampen this lovely experience of a Sunday afternoon in Lucca!
Saturday Evening Opera - April 20
This was a leisurely day in Florence topped off with attending a condensed performance of Puccini's opera, Madame Butterfly. We had front row seats at St. Mark's and enjoyed being so close to the performers. The voices were wonderful even though we could not understand the words - Italian, you know! Our night- time walk through the city ended with a very late supper and we got back home just at the stroke of midnight!
Venice - The Floating City - April 19
Kathy took a plane home today while Sherol and I took a train to Venice. What a city of sights! At every turn there's another wonderful photo opportunity. Venice is the only pedestrian city in the world - no cars, no motors scooters, not even bicycles are permitted. You move by foot or boat! From the train station we
took a vaporetto (a floating city bus) down the grand canal to St. Mark's Square. We had cappuccino at Harry's Bar made famous by Ernest Hemingway. The weather was great and we had a good day in Italy's floating city. Enjoy your tour via today's slideshow!
took a vaporetto (a floating city bus) down the grand canal to St. Mark's Square. We had cappuccino at Harry's Bar made famous by Ernest Hemingway. The weather was great and we had a good day in Italy's floating city. Enjoy your tour via today's slideshow!
Thursday in Florence - April 18
We toured the Medici-Riccardi Palace today just a few blocks away. The Medici family first moved into the palace in 1444 and lived there for over 100 years. The Riccardi family acquired it in the 1700's and did an addition and restoration. It now belongs to the city and is used for administration and conferences. The jewel of the palace is the Chapel of the Magi that still has the amazing wall paintings from the 1400's. No photos allowed in the chapel, but there are some from the other rooms and garden. Kathy goes home early tomorrow morning and we had an "arrividerci" dinner tonight at Nerone's.
In The Chianti Countryside - April 17
We rented a car today for our drive from Florence to the beautiful Chianti area. Our first stop was the American Cemetery where there are 4,398 burials of World War II soldiers. Such a peaceful and serene place to honor our war dead. A few miles later we were climbing up the hill to the Verrazzano Castello birthplace of the New World explorer, Giovanni Verrazzano who not only discovered New York Bay in 1524 but was also the first known European to enter the Cape Fear River at Southport! We toured the lovely grounds and the wine cellars and then enjoyed our delicious lunch and wine tasting. Afterwards we drove to the charming town of Greve where we happened on a commemoration for Verrazzano there as it was on April 17, 1524 that he discovered the New York Bay and they claim that as Verrazzano Day in Greve. By the way, Verrazano was captured and eaten by a tribe of cannibals on his third exploration to the Caribbean in 1528. Getting the car back into Florence at rush hour was a little harrowing, but we did it!
Just Around Home Day - April 16
We had a restful day in Florence today after our day-long excursion yesterday. We strolled around some, ate lunch - of course! - and shopped - of course! Kathy had an Italian hair cut this afternoon at the salon a few doors down from La Contessina. Photos of the breakfast room are included today. More later!
The Best of Tuscany - April 15
Another great day in Italy began this morning when we boarded a motorcoach for the Best of Tuscany Tour. Our first destination was the city of Siena - longtime rival of Florence throughout the centuries and still with a little of that competition today. Our visit was informative with our vivacious guide, Donatella and we enjoyed the beauty of the Campo and the cathedral as well as the medieval feel of the streets and courtyards. We then moved on to an organic farm where we enjoyed a lovely lunch on the terrace and a wine tasting of some of the wines produced from their vineyards. The view of San Gimignano from the farm was fantastic and the visit to that town after lunch was very pleasant. Called the "Manhatten of the Middle Ages" because of the many tower houses during that time, it now still has seventeen standing. A beautiful afternoon drive through the Tuscan countryside brought us to Pisa to see the "Field of Miracles" where the famous bell tower leans toward all the tourists trying to take the perfect picture of it. It was a full day and the camera was full of photos we hope you will enjoy - get ready - there are a lot of them!
Bella Cinque Terre - April 14
What a beautiful, sunny day we had for our adventure to Cinque (five) Terre (lands or villages). Situated on the seaside cliffs of the Ligurian Sea on the Italian Riveria, these five towns are part of a national park and are connected by hiking trails and a local train - guess which means of transportation we took! We only got to four of the five, but maybe we'll see Corniglia next time. You'll see from the photos how unique the area is and why everyone likes to go there. What a great day! Enjoy the pics!
Now We're Cookin' ! - April 13
Today's photos will show you our pasta making class at In-Tavola cooking school here in Florence. We joined a group of about 20 cooks (or "wanna be"cooks) to make three pastas and three sauces along with lemon sorbet for dessert. We had a lot of fun and eating the results was "fantistico"! Wish you could taste it
too, but we're bringing home the recipes!
too, but we're bringing home the recipes!
Visits to Assisi and Cortona - April 12
The morning train took us to Assisi to see the birthplace of St. Francis (born in 1182). He began the Franciscan order of friars and we saw many modern day ones in their traditional brown robes and rope belts. St. Clare is also from Assisi (born in 1193) and both she and St. Francis have large churches dedicated to them. The weather was cool and windy, but beautiful scenery and sights made the visit very nice. Another train took us to Cortona where we enjoyed some shopping and a great dinner. We chugged back into the Florence station about 11 o'clock and were happy with our day down South.
Around Town and Fiesole - April 11
Our hop-on-hop-off tour around the city on the double decker bus was a great way to spend the day. A taped guide told us what we were seeing as we drove by the sights in Florence. Up into the hills we visited the small town of Fiesole where we enjoyed lunch and a little shopping. Back in the city, we stopped at Piazza Michelangelo for some great photos of the river and the famous dome. We are about over the jet lag and are getting used to Italian time - 6 hours ahead of home - and indulging in "la dolce vita" (the sweet life)!
"Ciao Tutti" - Hello Everyone! - April 10
Welcome to the first of our 2013 "we're in Italy" posts! My travelers for these two weeks are Kathy Holbrook from Caswell Beach and Sherol Lappala from Southport. We arrived on time with all our belongings and have settled into the Residence La Contessina here in Florence with our Italian family. Today we did our orientation walkabout. The San Lorenzo market is just a block away so we started there, had lunch at Za-Za's and continued on to the river and back. Dinner at Nerone's and gelato at Tullio's was a delicious ending of a "bellisimo" day!