Villa Rossi Mattei Arezzo

... there are more locals than tourists and every one likes to get out and about and socialise.<br>Jane manged to root out an 80 year old gold watch which belonged to the shopkeeper's uncle.<br> <br> <br>We wandered in to a terrific display of old radio and movie equipment dating back to Marconi. John &amp; Pat will appreciate the photos.<br> <br>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.<br><br>Cortona has very narrow and steep streets, purrfect for pets.<br>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)<br>

... Museum where we saw Michelangelo's David, quite magnificent in all his glory.<br><br>I snuck a papparazi photo while the guards were not looking. Also showing was a Robert Mapplethorpe photo exhibition which was also interesting. Next was lunch; Florentine Steak and glass of Chianti, yumm. After leaving the restuarant, we wandered past a leather shop where Jane bought a ...

Sorry for not including this text, a small internet cafe issue! Today we picked up our hire car, the mighty Fiat Panda, and with some trepidation set off on the wrong side of the road into peak hour Arezzo traffic!<br><br>After the adrenalin subsided a little we found ourselves, well we still don't know where we ended up, let's just call ...

We have finally found an internet cafe, after a lengthy search! After successfully boarding the train for a two hour ride to Arezzo (Rome's Stationale Termini was a challenge!), we arrived at our new digs &#8220;Casa San Martino&#8221;. After a confusing discussion with some older Italian ladies where none of knew what the other were saying, we were greeted by our host Ricardo.This apartment is in theancient Etruscan town of Arezzo, population of 100,000 about ...

... of a tall, tan cherub with his curly brown hair, olive-complexion and beautiful green eyes&#8230;foraging, what foraging ;) First, he provided us a historical account of the land on which the farm sits &#8211; the farm has been inhabited for some 2700 years and during this time has been at the center of many wars; at times during its history the land sat barren and at other times it provided a significant food source for its feudal owners. Its current owners, Susan and Michael ...

... stairs leading to another tunnel, we knew we'd never make it! Then Bettie spotted an elevator. The operator invited us into a giant freight elevator. Another operator greeted us as the door opened on a deserted freight tunnel. "What track?" she asked before guiding us to an elevator and taking us up to the platform. "The train to Venezia?" we asked. "No, just left," we were told. We found a schedule ...

... thank God! The oldest someone has guessed was 26.... I still got it! I talked to the few girls hanging back that thought they w**e too cool to party with their friends. You know th**e is always one or two of those buzz kill** girls in a group. We w**e asking the good places to go on the weekends. They had been h**e for a few months and had the city figured out. We found out the places and w**e about to leave. These two girls tried to play the ol' "hey, will you go ...

... so much fun with it. I can't believe that it is already half over. They organize activities for the afternoons and on Thursday we went on the tour to Cortona, a beautiful Italian village, perched on the side of a hill, surrounded by Tuscan countryside. In fact, it is the village where the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun was filmed. Very beautiful. But there was a catch. It was snowing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, so here's me ...

... white, pink and green marble façade and its magnificent dome designed by Brunelleschi. The campanile (Giotti's bell tower) is right next-door. Duomo with Giotti's Campanile We decide to brave the 414 steps to the top. The winding stairs are steep in some places and the stairwells are claustrophobic. The views as we ascend are fabulous ...