Hotel Ercolini & Savi Montecatini Terme

... on internet and then back to the bar for more wine and tapas.<br><br>Sun 15 <br>Did some chores... yes we have some, we are not totaly void of resposibility. Went to the supermarket to stock up on food and went to an Aire d'service to empty Theo (our Thescott cassette toilet). Enough of that and we were back in the walls checking out the Antiques Market and eating Gelati... YUM!!<br>

... 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 ...

... 25 minutes until we reached the tiny town of Impruneta. It's eat-your-heart-out adorable. Our B&amp;B is a working farm and they are in the midst of their annual olive oil production. Our apartment is original and from the 1500s. Chris selected this sweet spot and bravo!! We are looking forward to the view of the valley in the morning.<br><br> We were told that there is a tiny restaurant about five minutes away that is the best one around ...

Just realized those not on facebook haven't seen pictures from Pisa and Florence. No long recap of Anthony and I's weekend in Tuscany, for obvious reasons. Also note that "Anthony and Alison's Great Adventure" was like taking a knife.<br><br>Love you guys! :)<br>

Rented an apartment in a villa which was at the top of a mountain (like most villas in Tuscany), however, our journey to the top was not on a paved road which made for some challenging driving. The villa was really nice with its own pool and great view over the countryside. The owners also provided fabulous meals in their other ...

... for parking, to ask about any mail that might have come for me (sorry, Celia, no dice), and to use the internet. I read through my e-mails, checked on my Cubs, and booked a hostel for two days in Venice for my cousin and I. I showed my mom a little bit of the school, then we headed back to my dad who had luckily found a spot to park for a minute on the street the school is on, via Pandalfini. We parked the car on the Arno, paid for a few hours with the machine, and headed to lunch ...

Sunday I woke up to find that it looked pretty ****** outside. We had planned on going out to Fiesole (just outside of Florence, where we could find a higher vantage point with which to view the city) or on a wine tour or something, but once it started pouring we just assumed that all trips were off. I was still in a great mood and decided that I wanted to try and get a work out in. Evan and I did push-ups and the like for about ...

... Bernie made friends with the various pigeons. We then managed to skip the line as it is winter. We recommend going in winter as there is no way we would have been able to see all this if we had to wait at all. By this stage we were getting quite good at a fun dance known as the "security strip". Bernie was best at it and could perform it on the run. It basically involves getting all your valuables which you have securely stowed upon your person, off your person so that they can go ...

... nobody was there to let us in. After trying to use the Italian pay phones unsuccessfully we decided to forget it and go find another place to stay, ending up at the Hotel Montreal, which worked perfectly. And that's just getting there... We spent the rest of the day walking around and seeing the sites. Going into the Accademia Galleria, seeing the famous David there. Also going into the Duomo dome (a 460 stair hike), we tried twice to get into ...

... will you bugger off! He wanted to take my picture with Florence, how long have I been here, do I like it, do I speak Italian, am I alone? no I am with friends (always am), what's my name (Sarah, that's my made up name of this trip, use it on all the annoying guys), am I walking, do I want a ride on his scooter? AHh! Finally I just said I was going to go and look over this way, pointedly shook his hand and said nice to meet you so as to signal an end to this interaction. But oh no, not so easy ...