Michelangelo 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 ...

... 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 ...

... a slice of pizza, we went to this restaurant that served a dish of pasta in a sauce with wild boar meat. Tasty with a good red wine. We went back to the main Piazza and played hackie-sack in the drizzling rain while most all other people found shelter in arches, restaurants and buildings. Next came San Gimignano, which was on a hill and shot 14 towers (out of an original 76, so they say) into the Tuscany sky. The streets held mostly tourists, as well as what just so happened to be ...

... shared many fun tidbits about the sites, and we have high hopes for learning lots and lots about the history and local culture. Tomorrow we have a full day planned in Florence. Arrivederci!!! Jen, Linda, and Rebecca PS - The keyboards here are a little different than what we're used to, so please forgive any spelling and grammar errors and/or typos.

... was one, I said it would be good for. Eventually he did, he had a trip around Europe and then ended up in London. A year later, we met in Spain, and then as he was born to Austro/German parents, he grabbed a passport and made it a regular occurrence. Every year, he went to Italy to ski, but this year was different, before skiing he was going to Italian school in Florence, and as we hadn't been since 98, we decided to meet up. We had our usual trip, and once there, our chosen ...

... became one of the strongest currencies. To me one of the most interesting facts was that it was home to so many men who became world famous in their fields. There must be something in the water--it should definitely be bottled and sold. Imagine, Dante in literature, Botticelli, in painting, Donatello, in sculpture, and the two most famous of all, Michelangelo and Galileo. We wound our way to the old city center after crossing the Arno ...

... treated to an Italian street performance. Most of the actors were on stilts and most of the audience was children, and all of it was delightful. We were warned by the travel agent that the train station that we arrived at in Florence was not the same place from which we would leave. We left the hotel in plenty of time to walk to the other station listed on our map. We got there and couldn't see the entrance. We asked several ...