Vogue Hotel Arezzo

... Osteria Gucini Restuarant: Grilled Veal with Shaved Truffle and Hand Rolled Spaghetti with Smoked Ham, Tomatoes and Cream, followed by Pana Cotta. Our first experience with truffles, more smell than taste!<br>Next morning a 7.00 am departure from the apartment took us on to the Autostrada, this time, north to Firenze Airport.<br>After a bit of a delay we were on our way to Spain!

On a drizzly morning we set off in the Panda and in an hour and or so got spat off the Autostrada at 130kmh!<br>Only about 80km further than we needed to go, so we followed a few back roads to arrive at the hillside town of Cortona.<br>After parking below the town's walls we were greeted by a posse of cats.<br>Guess what? Jane has bought another bag. Apparently two was clearly not enough, so now she has to carry the extra one.<br>The sun finally came out and we found ...

... make that TWO, hand made bags. Not sure how she is going to carry both but I''m sure she will work it out.Walking past the Duomo, we then ventured onto the Ponte Vecchio, the old bridge over the Arno river. The shops on the bridge were almost entirely gold and jewellry shops, not many punters inside them thoughTomorrow we will attempt a day trip in the Panda, wish us luck<br><br>

... an exploratory sortie of about 100km and 4 hours.. <br><br>Eventually we somehow made it to the designated free parking area, which is situated about 10 minutes walk from our place. This is because the old walled town has restricted vehicle access due the narrow confines of the medieval streets.After a restorative cup of tea (see, we don ...

... south east of Florence and dates back to around 300BC. According to Ricardo who is the owner and an architect, this apartment is 537 years old and was restored by him several years ago.The floors are quite creaky (wouldn't you be after 500 odd years?) but the rooms are like one of the museums we have visited. High vaulted ceilings, shuttered windows and an eclectic mix of furniture, no doubt gleaned from Ricardo's antique shop (he is a man of many talents ...

... worked tirelessly over the past ten years to return it to its formal glory &#8211; at the same time, they are doing this work in an earth-friendly bio-dynamic manner. <br><br>Next, the boys (Guiliano, Alex, and Michael) and I began the climb to learn what the land could produce for dinner (Susan drove my father back to the house). First, we found the wild chestnut groves &#8211; there are two types of chestnuts, the Castagna and the Marron. Interestingly, the Marron which is ...

... down and up another pair of elevators and changed platforms. I found stairs down to a busy pedestrian tunnel, reached the station, fortunately had E .70 for the WC, and quickly returned to the platform where I asked an off duty conductor about our train. "No," he said, "you cannot take this train to Venezia; you must change platforms and catch another train." Down and up the elevators we went one last ...

... us to the club" the one that cost $20 to get in and $10 p** drink....sorry girls, I'm too old for that trick. Tell your boyfriends back home "hello" when you text them goodnight. We leave and look for the Red Gart** again. It was close. We walk past it 3 times. It was closed, but right next door was some dive that had some Am**icans inside. We go and sit down...who do we run into, the big girl that told is to go to The Lions Fountain. She was a sea donkey for sure. More lat**......

... thinking that I had a chance of getting some of my tan back before I came home since I'd be ending my trip in Italy and what actually ends up happening is that I end up freezing in only a thin Lululemon jacket in the freaking SNOW!!! That being said, it was very gorgeous to see all the red rooves covered with a dusting of snow. It is very cold here though. Yesterday we made soup. I have more stories, but I think that you all need a rest from reading right ...

... the views of the Baptistery. With the bell in the bell tower, halfway up the top I am so out of breathe by the time we get to the top, not to mention the thigh muscles screaming in protest, that I take some time to rest and recover before heading outside to take in the view of the magnificent skyline. God I wish I had taken the time to have an ...