Continentale Arezzo

Well, our last day in Arezzo.<br>My haircut turned out OK I think.<br>Turns out that the head (excuse the pun) hairdresser had lived in Australia for a few years, and although she couldn't remember much english, I emerged unscathed sans mohawk!<br> <br>We spent the last day wandering the streets of Arezzo in the raiin and discovered new nooks and crannies, it's that sort of town ...

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 ...

Today we hopped on the train to Florence, for those unfamiliar with the Italian rail system, make sure you validate your ticket by having it stamped in an obscure yellow machine on the platform before you board.Fortunately we had read about this, otherwise the guard can get a bit nasty. In an hour or so we were in the middle of Firenze, the first stop (after 1/2 hour queue) was the ...

... 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 ...

... let the photos tell the story.I am writing this in the kitchen as the afternoon sun streams through the windows and listening to the sounds of some local musos entertaining the market crowd in the Piazza Grande with some romantic Italian ballads.The days are quite cool (min 8 to max 15 degrees) so we are making good use of our jackets.Tonight we plan on having a quiet night at home after finding a cafe with Wi Fi so I can send this dispatch. Happy Birthday to me.

... Queen of Sheba and Constantine&#8217;s conversion. <br><br>Upon returning to La Petraia, it was time to begin our "foraging class." The 165-acre self-sustaining estate is predominantly forest woodland with a small portion designated for vineyard and olive tree cultivation. So, the best way to learn how to cook is to first learn where it is that your food comes from. <br><br>Our foraging guide was Guiliano, the resident agronomist and ladies, he is adorable &#8211; he reminds ...

... main levels and two Metro levels. The ground level includes shops, broad passageways and trains. The mezzanine has a few shops and a large bar, and the lower level includes shops and a small bar. The WC is left of the main entrance and costs E .70 (in exact change). We found a place to wait with a good view of the large electro-mechanical display of arrivals and departures and took turns exploring the ...

... some wine and watch a good movie. Maybe they rent DVD play**s h**e. Around 1:00 pm this morning I went down to the Int**net cafe to check my hotmail account and post my last 3 blogs. The Int**net h**e is only 2 Euro and hour...that's cheep. This Int**net Cafe is run by some kind of black people...like real Africans or something. They are really black. One dude looks like a struck match. They had 6 clocks on the walls with the diff**ent time zone like they do in banks ...

... It is your quintessential cute Tuscan town. There are olive groves in the surrounds, red roofed buildings, old Cathedrals in the valley below, Piazzas to amble, coffees to drink, and a few frescoed churches to finish it off. Those of you seeking the perfect little town to invest in an Italian villa should look no further than Cortona. It is what you are looking for. Diane Lane is around here, somewhere....

... studying the map, trying to find the Museo Zoologico La Specola . It's a small obscure museum I had read about, which houses a large collection of stuffed animals, birds, insects, etc. I'm also interested in seeing the human anatomical wax models. We finally find the place and rush inside because its Saturday and the museum closes early. We ...