Hotel Manzoni Montecatini Montecatini Terme

... market (without the sampling) with lots of lovery deli's, cafe's and patisseries. Ofcourse we had to buy the local pastry called a buccellato which is kind of a cross between a biscuit and a fruit loaf... yummy with the morning coffee.<br><br>Before too long Kim pointed out her favorite bar from last time and pull me in to join her in a wine or 3. The tapas were as good as Kim had ...

... difference, so much so that Kate wondered why some of the lesser-known artists' work was even hung. (Kate: An insult I know and I'm sorry! I just couldn't help but wonder!) Similar to Siena, there was a ton of art dedicated to the Virgin Mary, who seems to be highly revered in Italian culture. The Uffizi also holds a tremendous number of sculptures and the Florentine artists paid tremendous homage to their Greek and Roman ...

... or die, the favors given to the masses that were imprinted with famous gladiator's names (we still do this today!) and the entire Colosseum, 50,000 people, could empty out of the structure in 15 minutes. (And the Latin word for that is where the word vomit came from. No joke.) <br><br>As we headed back toward our hotel to catch our afternoon train we...drumroll...were able to get that famous salad!! It was unlike anything I have ever had ...

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 ...

... off, so I have to get those pictures from others. The pillars looked like they were inspired by Beetlejuice (black and white stripes), but everything else in that building is worth seeing. Works by Donatello (Bronze statue of John the Baptist), Michelangelo (Sculptures that covered a 20'x30' high section of wall that he did in his early twenties), and Pinto Recchio (The painted walls and ceiling of a side-room that was absolutely breathtaking. It was one person in, one out, and no ...

OK....Now I can die !!!! We went to the villa tonight for a true Tusacan dinner !! What a night, It was just something out of a movie. Incredible food, incredible place. All the food and wine that they served was made and grown right on the villa. We had Risotto (3 kinds), ravioli in walnut suace, tuscan chicken, olive oil spuds, italian beefsteak,brushetta...and on and on and on...There is now way I ...

... residential areas near the place where I stay. My new shoes are really good for walking (and so that is what they'll do ;-D). Now I am leaving for a Christmas Fair at the Station Leopold. It is open for last day today. I hope I wont spend all the evening there, for I am planning to study and write tonight also. For the proper Chritsmas spirit, here are some photos of lights at Santo ...

... once! So once we had the chance to break, we went to get coffee and lunch at a fantastic pizza place. This afternoon we're braving the elements and going to a church called Orsanmichele (Michael, I'll take a picture for you). We're having a great time, I wish every one was here to enjoy it with us! It's so much fun, and a very relaxed pace. We walk around museums for 3 hours in the morning, have a 3 hour siesta time when ...

... this place and the girl running it and so far it's all be true. I then whipped open the doors to the outside and the view was amazing. 3rd floor room from which you could see the green mountains in the distance speckeled with the twinkling lights of houses and villages, a quite little alley full of cats, huge evergreen trees, and falling leaves. It was almost completely silent, and reminded me of the serene, fresh feeling you get when you're standing somewhere in the ...