We enjoyed The Best of Tuscany bus tour today that took us on a 12-hour adventure. We began with a drive to Siena then a walking tour around the city. Next came our very interesting visit to the organic farm and vineyard where we had a lunch that was 95% grown on the property - grain for the pasta and bread, beef for the ragu sauce, tomatoes and other vegetables and the four wines served with our meal. The scenery from the wine farm was fantastic as we looked over toward the "tower town" of San Gimignano, our next stop. It was fun to shop, explore the streets and have world famous gelato (ice cream) there. Our final destination of the day was Pisa where of course we visited the leaning tower in the Field of Miracles. The church, baptistery and bell tower were beautiful in the setting sun. We had fun on the "choo choo" that took us to and from our motorcoach. It was a long, but rewarding day and there are lots of photos in today's journal - enjoy! More later . . .Ciao!
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
"Bellissimo Lucca" Lovely Lucca - Sept. 19
The trains were back in full service today so off to Lucca we sped this afternoon. The one and a half hour ride was smooth and relaxing. We walked through the famous walls of Lucca passing by the Guinici tower (which some of our folks later climbed to the rooftop garden) on our way to Piazza Anfiteatro. This grand plaza was built around the ancient Roman amphitheater walls during the middle ages. It is a wonderful place for people watching as you will see in the photos. The rain forced us into gelato and coffee shops for more indulgences - ha! But the skies cleared as we headed back to the train station for our trip back home. It was nice to be in lovely Lucca today! More later . . .Ciao!