Thursday - Today started out with a first-time breakfast for our newcomers followed by a walk through the market and around town a bit. Then it was time for catching up on rest from jet-lag and "bike-lag" as well as getting some laundry done. I had been reading about the old, old, town of Arezzo and made a spur of the moment decision to take the train over to check it out. Well . . . move over Siena and Lucca! This may be my next favorite (to Florence) Italian city . . . so far! It was wonderful as you will see in the photos (I took 108, but I've spared you and have posted only a few!). After almost five hours of walking around Arezzo, I boarded the 8 p.m. train for the 45 minute trip back to Florence. A great day! More later!
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
Ciao e Ciao! Hi and Bye or Bye and Hi!
"Ciao"(chow) is an interchangable word for both hello and goodbye. We used it for goodbye first thing this morning at as Bobbie, Terry, Louise and Carol took off for the "areoporta" for their flights back to Southport and Boston. What a great time we had together! Then it was "ciao" again - this time hello to Bob Shapiro and Al and Margaret Bishop as they wheeled their way into Florence after weeks on their bicycles - Bob rode from Amsterdam and the Bishop's from Basel. I forgot to get a photo of them on the bikes, but we'll do that later. Bob's wife, Nancy, flew in later from the US and everyone was reunited. We are disappointed that our friends Dan and Karen couldn't come because of Karen's recent health concerns - they will be missed! After a little rest for the weary travelers, we took a stroll down to the river and back stopping for a nice supper and some good ole' gelato! Grateful for a good transition day with everyone traveling safely. More later!