HOTEL PLANET Arezzo

... older, larger and more desirable variety of chestnut is biologically unable to reproduce – therefore it is grafted to the Castagna tree for continued reproduction. It is still a bit early in the season but we were able to find plenty of burred fruit on the forest floor which we crushed to find the nut inside. Of course, we were hoping to find large parasol and porcini mushrooms but Tuscany has seen a few very dry weeks and so we were out of luck. Mushrooms grow best ...

... 1627 to 1799, again with a bank loan on pledge, but also with a community itself.

The Jewish pawn shops are spread throughout central and northern Italy, from the fourteenth century. Practices affect smaller than those used previously, Christians from providers, and are more easily controlled by the authorities, which stipulate, to this end with the holders of the bank, real contracts renewable every five to ten years.

The most important period of stay of the ...

... at the "Drunken Rooster" (that is the English translation) so we headed over around 6 had a couple of glasses of wine in the town centre before our meal. David ordered a fresh pasta with meat sauce dish and I had pizza. We sat outside and enjoyed looking over the town of Gaiole for our final meal in Tuscany. Once we were back at Le Miccine we did some final packing and David loaded the car with most of the luggage before our 3:30 a.m. wake up call.

... earlier in the week. David made us pasta with bolgnase sauce and we once again tried another kind of bread but still YUK!

We did have clear skies tonight so we walked up to the pool area to get a closer look at the stars. They were very bright and beautiful so we enjoyed looking at them.

... hill towns of Tuscany.
The next day, we were off on a day trip to Siena. While the bus ride from Chiusi to Montepulciano was peaceful, up winding hillsides, this one was a little different. We were fortuante enough to be on the same bus as the 200 high school kids from Montepulciano... apparently they get out at 12:00 in Italy! So the bus was filled with rowdy kids, which would have been ...

Arezzo é uma comuna italiana da região da Toscana, província de Arezzo, com cerca de 91.582 habitantes. Estende-se por uma área de 386 km2(38600 Hectares), tendo uma densidade populacional de 237 hab/km2. Faz fronteira com Anghiari, Capolona, Castiglion Fibocchi, Castiglion Fiorentino, Città di Castello (PG), Civitella in Val di Chiana, Cortona ...

... Oberlin; then I would be assured of seeing my friends for at least a couple of minutes every day. According to Kate, a girl who studied here last semester as well, all you need is to know one of the people walking around at night. Then, you're in. So far, I've only talked to the host mother of one of the students on the program. I've seen her twice and said hello. Maybe by the end of the semester I'll ...

... all around the city. Construction of the medieval Cathedral began in 1296 and continued for another 150 years. Across the way from the Duomo is the Battistero (or Baptistery) with its famous gilded bronze doors. The doors now hanging there are reproductions as only eight out of ten original panels even exist and those are housed at the Museo Dell' Opera, which was my next stop. This place was fantastic as well with all manner of statues and relics including the index finger of ...

... our friends Ryan and Bri (I know Danielle, you're laughing) and had an awesome night despite the fact that some angry Italian workers at a Mexican restaurant were the nastiest people that we've ever met...We were so excited for Mexican food, and the place seemed really nice, but it all went downhill when they put chicken in my supposedly all vegetarian meal. When I POLITELY told the waiter what had happened, he stomped away ...

... We're a little early, so when we get off at the station, we spend some time snapping last minute pictures of the Grand Canal. The train is on time, we find our seats and settle in for the short 1.5hr ride to Florence. I'm in the middle of the Agony and the Ecstacy, a book on the life of Michelangelo, and I can't wait to get to Florence, the city he grew up in. We get off at Santa Maria ...