Relais la Commenda Anghiari

Arezzo, la ville qui a suposement inspirer michelange !! 500 ans plus tard, on se deman de bien ce qui a pu l'inspirer! Puis c'est roberto bellini qui a fait son fillm "la vita est bella" dans les cantons a l'extrerieur des murs de la ville. C'est vrai que ...

From Chianti went south to the Le Crete region. The drive provided us with more quintessential Tuscan scenery. We stayed overnight in Asciano as we could not make it to Montalcino before dark. We had vowed not to drive in the dark as the small windy roads and excessively erratic Italian drivers are not good for our nerves!

... there are more locals than tourists and every one likes to get out and about and socialise.
Jane manged to root out an 80 year old gold watch which belonged to the shopkeeper's uncle.


We wandered in to a terrific display of old radio and movie equipment dating back to Marconi. John & Pat will appreciate the photos.

For our last night we went to ...

... dellightful cafe for lunch: Margaharita Pizza, with a thin crispy base, belissimo! This cafe is well known as a meeting place for Hollywood stars.

Cortona has very narrow and steep streets, purrfect for pets.
Finally we arrived back at Arezzo and after booking a haircut for myself tomorrow (the hairdresser doesn't speak English so that will be exciting) I am sitting at the La Dolce Vita cafe writing this entry while Jane is off looking at the shops (gulp)

... 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

... class we would just go.. absolutely anywhere but out apartments ( umm i didn't pay to Stay at home with other Americans!). My Italian sucked and caused me many many times of embarrassment such as asking for a glass of "football" instead of ice.. 'calcio' 'gaulcio" i mean really!. once while i was with an Italian friend and he asked my my favorite foods i said (in Italian) all kinds of pasta and said pene instead of penne ..pene meaning penis and penne meaning just that..penne ...

... guide book that I picked up mentioned the church so I went and found it on the western side of town. A plaque on the front (written in Italian and Russian) stated the hours of services, none that day. So I left pondering if i could get fellow student Max from Russia to come back with me on a day when it was open.

... downer (other than the rain) is knowing we can't see it all. I'd just like to wish happy birthday to my Dad for Saturday and my Grandma for Sunday (Richard) and hope they're watching and following in trepidation. And to the rest of you, feel free to post your opinions to us. It would be really great to know how you're all getting on and to hear from you about your opinions of our adventures. Love to you all, Richard and Eleanor

... and really expensive! On to Tuscany... We took (another) train up to the Tuscany region of Italy. We stayed in Florence (of course) and had the toughest time finding a hostel, so we bucked up and decided to stay at a two star hotel. Major improvements! Television, telephones, private bathrooms... heaven!!! Florence is great... probably one of my favorite spots in Italy. It's the vibe I get from the city... not sure how to ...

Hello from the road. Just left Florence on our way to Cinque Terre. We should only have about a two-hour drive, just enough time to watch a remarkable sunset through Italian flurries. We took a three-hour detour in Florence for lunch and a quick visit to the Duomo and the street market. After a tricky arrival in downtown and following a debate with the girls, we parked the Subaru illegally at the train station and bee-lined for my favorite ...