Castello di Querceto Greve

... for our walk through the walled village. There is a 14th century fort with make up part of the walls. Today it is used as a prison - your not supposed to take photos of it, but I snapped a couple off before I knew... luckily I was not spotted by the local polizi. The town was cute for sure but I'm not sure it deservered all the accolades given to it by other travellers we had met in Lucca. Having said that we did take more photos than usual.

... room in the afternoon and played cards on the terrace and drank the last of our beer. People were gathering under our terrace to take pictures and we had the terrace all to ourselves. This place has been so friendly and wonderful. Coletta and her sister E'letta have been such help. I think I spelled the names wrong and will check when I get home. We went back to the square to have another gigantic slice of ...

... of me. She yelled at me and I snapped my hand back. In Italy the Italians eat at the counters after ordering and stand there and eat. It was funny, Mick and I were laughing and then decided we should order a little of meat and sausage. In Rick's book it talks about a picnic lunch they make for around 15 euros. I told the guy just small plate, please. Well 21 euros later the stupid americans were taken again. We went to our balcony and drank some wine and ...

I hope this works, it has been hard to attach some of the video because it times out. FYI to all my not so computer literate friends and family. When you first open the video, it will start and then stop in the middle to keep reloading and then start and stop again. This can get frustrating but is necessary until it is completely ...

... bridge to survive World War II) over the Arno River. The jewelry shops that line the bridge are still owned by descendants of the original owners from the 15th century. <br><br>After completing our walk, we hunted our notes for a fun place to have dinner on our last night in Italy. We found just the place at Il Latini. The wait staff does their best to not hand out any menus, and they basically give you whatever they feel like ...

onday - August 3, 2009<br>Andrew and Michael are having the hardest time adjusting to time zone.  They were up in the middle of the night.  We went to the internet cafe to put in the first couple of days.  A very nice place - people were rehearsing for a piano concert here.  We then headed to Castellina di Chianti.  A very beautiful city.  Of course, winding roads through the town and an underground ...

... it is the medieval heart of the city. Italy as a country is very young, being united in 1860 and this piazza commemorates that occassion. Walking around we saw many medieval watchtowers that provided refuge and protection for the rival groups of the medieval age. Two warring factions in the 13th century were the Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Guelphs supported the rule of the papacy and the crenullations at the top of their watchtowers were square, in ...

Our day began with an unexpected stop to the little town of Greve on our way to our second winery. It was a charming little village in the Tuscan hills. As do most Italian towns the streets were filled with little shops on smooth cobble stone roads. We only stopped for an hour but it was plenty of time to buy an authentic Italian cook book and fresh salami, cheese, and bread for an afternoon snack. Right before ...

It's impossible to take a train from Pisa to Siena without going through Florence, so Valentin and I took advantage of this by spending a few hours in the city. It was the only chance he got to see it, so I tried to show him as much as possible. We walked by the huge Duomo and in Piazza della Signoria in front of it, taking pictures of the cathedral, the David, and the other statues. Then, we began ...

Hello from the road. Just left Florence on our way to Cinque Terre. We should only have about a two-hour drive, just enough time to watch a remarkable sunset through Italian flurries. We took a three-hour detour in Florence for lunch and a quick visit to the Duomo and the street market. After a tricky arrival in downtown and following a debate with the girls, we parked the Subaru illegally at the train station and bee-lined for my favorite ...