HOTEL PLANET 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 ...

... 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.

Hello all,<br><br>Well, we are leaving Arezzo in about an hour, so I decided to write a blog to say Ciao. The time here has been great. I've seen a lot of performances and made some new friends. I am continually surprised how young artist continue to inspire to do what I do. I know I will not be able to dance forever, but I know I will have the knowledge to teach what my mentors and my colleagues ...

... without a hitch and survived four trains. My god, what a mass of people and lack of signage. Not to worry, there was informazione directly in front of us. I asked, "Where is check-in for American" and was told, "Over to the right." We walked around an enormous line of people waiting to go the same direction, until we were stopped by armed guards who gestured to the line. We asked, "Is the check-in line ...

Hello again. We were very happy to leave for Florence because we would finally have a warm room to sleep in. Our first night there we just relaxed and cleaned up our stuff after 8 nights of camping. We got up early on the 6th and went to the Gallaria dell Acadamia, and after a short wait got to see Michelangelo's David. Laura and I were very impressed at the size of the ...

Wow I've been slacking off BIG time haha. So I guess I should finish up my time in Rome for you, if I can remember it all. I finally got into the Vatican Museum and holy **** did I have to wait in line, I got there at 9 am and didn't get into the Museum until noon, ya I stood in line, 3 hours, in very intense heat....I wanted to die. It was really amazing inside and well worth the wait though once I did get in, saw tons of great artwork, there was one that was so detailed the people ...

... to crash. This the end of our stay in Florence. It was just enough to get an overview of the city without having to explore every nook and cranny of the place. I'm satisfied that we have managed to cover a lot of ground in one day and I'm ready to head for Rome in the morning. Coming up: 20. All roads lead to Roma! 21. The Sistine Chapel 22. Ancient Rome Fiasco