"All good things must come to an end." Sadly that's what's happening tomorrow so today was spent packing and last minute shopping and sightseeing. Our morning walk took us across town to visit the beautiful Santa Croce Church. Built over 85 years in the 1300's, this large church is also the final resting place for many notable Florentines. Beautiful sculptures adorn the ornate tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machivelli and others. There's even a tomb for Dante but it's empty - his 700 year old body and bones were buried in Ravenna. We also visited the leather school where the finest of Italian leather goods are hand made. The school is housed in the former monastery at Santa Croce. We enjoyed another delicious dinner at Nerone's and said "goodbye" to Tulio and Silvia at the gelato shop on our corner. And a good time was had by all . . . arrividerci, Firenze and Tuscany!
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
Chianti Countryside - May 6
Patrizia rented a car today - a snappy blue Nissan - and we were out of the city and into the countryside. Just out of Florence, we stopped for a short visit at the American Cemetery. Over 4,000 World War II soldiers are buried there and it's a very peaceful and beautiful place. After about a half hour of driving we arrived at Castel Verrazzano in the heart of Chianti. We toured the castle grounds and the centuries-old wine cellars. New World explorer Giovanni Verrazzano was born here, became a sailor, and discovered much of America's East coast including North Carolina's Cape Fear area, New York Bay and Nova Scotia in 1524. His life sadly ended in the Bahamas where he and others in his party were captured and eaten by island cannibals - 1528. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch and wine tasting then stopped in the small town of Greve before returning ourselves and the car back to Florence It was a lovely day in a lovely place!