Villa Collalto Colle di Val d'Elsa

... ever been inside and it was so cute! She had these three huge bookcases that her architect sister designed filled with books, paintings and drawings on the wall and a baby grand piano that a girl in our class played while we sipped our tea. The apartment itself was pretty large by Italian standards and our class of about 25 fit inside her living/dinning room with ease.

As far as the ...

... and houses. Each have a large central cathedral, rather plain compared to others in Italy with barely any stained glass or extravagance. There are multiple wine, cheese and pasta shops as well as bakeries. Old Italian men sit at the bars talking and the women hang laundry out their windows. In Montepulciano the Etruscan tombs are part of the walls buried in the foundation of the streets and buildings. Pienza was the very first Pope's dream city and ...

11.28.09 A Much Nicer Day Trip To Siena

[First, a shout-out to our dear dad Perce, who is recovering from surgery today in Sydney. We love you and are sending you and Jan our thoughts and prayers!]

Murray and I are feeling much better today, thank you very much, so we are headed out today to attempt another day trip from Florence that, hopefully, will be an improvement over yesterday's quicky sicky day trip to Pisa!

After ...

Siena photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album. php?aid=164853&id=613699523&l=d 7d2db6b42

Thursday caught a bus to Siena with Nonie and Kerrin.
The Duomo there is one of the best and most beautiful churches I've seen inside and out - and I've seen more than enough churches to last ...

... Mike Krause. Mike is a long time Bianchi owner and this shop was rumored to be the oldest Bianchi dealership in Italy and probably the world. We got to the bike store just as it was opening. A middle-aged man took care of us and seemed to be the only worker in the shop until there came a doorbell ringing in the back of the shop. The keeper went back and opened the door and in walked an old lady. I wondered what she was doing at the store but soon I found that she was helping run ...

... station. When I finally spotted what looked like the back of Eloise, I was unfortunately loaded up like a pack horse and on the wrong side of a busy street. When I made it to the other side, she'd vanished. Fortunately, after crossing that same busy street about three more times, I eventually found them. Florence could be a beautiful city. Ok, I'll concede, it is a beautiful city. I saw the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio and other lovely ...

Took a trip with Monica up to San Miniato, one of my favorite churches in Firenze. We took the number 13 bus up to Piazzale Michalangelo where there was a beautiful sunset. I could see some mountains far off to the west which I later realized was a rare event in polluted Firenze. The heavy rain the night before must have cleared the air ...

... for them to wheel their giant suitcases down to the first class cars. So the men and the luggage stayed in the entryway with me, while the women found a few seats in the second class car. I had an easy walk to the Archi Rossi hostel where I stayed for the next 2 nights for 22 euros/night for the 12 bed mixed dorm. That was a new experience for me.

... admiring all the art work. The highlights of the gallery are the Botticelli paintings, The Birth of Venus and Spring. I enjoyed this gallery, there is just too much to see and so much is religious. Feel like I've seen the same thing over and over again, when each artist paintes their version of a religious scene. Walked to the Basilica of San Lorenzo. This was the Medici's family church and most of the ...

On this trip, I have tried to avoid returning to places I have already been to. But with Florence, I had to repeat because it was a big city that I could base myself for day trips to nearby Pisa and Tuscany towns. I also have a good impression of Florence from before and remember wishing I had more time there. With my three days in Florence, I decided to spend one day in Pisa, one day in Florence and one day in a small Tuscany ...