Agriturismo il canneto Casole d Elsa

... tea, she had a tray of ceramic tea pots sitting out at her table with cream and honey and lumps of sugar. There was also some cookies and a plate of brownies she had baked. These she cooked with olive oil instead of vegetable oil because she ran out so we warned us that they might be slightly salty. But they were still very good.

She even lent us some books from her collection that ...

... 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 ...

... s famous panforte (hard cake with nuts and candied fruit) – and they were light and flavorful and delicious.

After such a beautiful meal, I think Murray and I both fought the urge to find a quiet spot in the sun and take a long nap (an urge we have fought several times in Italy, after these big meals!). Yet – onward we walked to our next stop, Piazza del Duomo. Once again, this Duomo (cathedral) was incredible to see. It is ...

... life time on this trip already!
Climbed the tower in the main piazza, saw an enormously large pizza and had wild boar sausages for lunch which were a bit gamey but nice.
Went for drinks at Lochness bar and ended up drinking long islands as there wasn't much in the way of wine or beer there.

... store.

We found a water bottle for Kathie and a Bianchi bottle for Mike. We also found some jerseys for the two of us that were Siena specific. While trying on the jerseys some Americans came into the store and we had some conversations with them. They were on a Vermont Bicycle Tour and the couple in the trio was from Alexandria.

Soon we went to catch the bus and were on our way back to Arbia. On the bus we caught the ear of a woman sitting next to us. She started ...

... to know where it is. This is where our trip planning research payed off. This particular spring cascades down this terraced rock. The terraced areas have small tub-like formations, so you sit in these private little tub areas and the water cascades over or past you. It's not hot, but it's quite warm, about 100 F. It was a really crazy place, with people all over, and even camping in some areas. It was very popular with ...

This afternoon, we spent three hours in the Duomo Museum. This place is a must see. I was amazed at the low number of people who come here -- no line or anything and often Jane and I were alone in the huge rooms. The museum is filled with marvelous statuary and other artifacts that were part of the Baptistery / Campanile / Cathedral history. It's basically a storehouse of leftovers and extras--which makes us wonder what ...

Dear all, Hello from bella, bella Firenze (or beautiful, beautiful Florence). We are having a lovely time, although Eleanor has just called me a freak of nature (What a trollop!). I get to defend myself actually- he is so its justified! Arrg now I control the keyboard victory! Only joking, we're not really wrestling in an internet cafe (or are we?). Anyway, Florence is quite beautiful. Although it doesn't have the picturesque ...

... city of Rome and browsed around the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. The Colosseum was amazing!!! It was definitely one of the highlights of Rome for me; I thought it was filled with a lot of fun and interesting history. The third day in Rome was pretty relaxed. We walked all around the city and saw tons of cool stuff; such as the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain (Jacey's favorite), the Pantheon, and a couple of other things ...

... 30ish, and found the hostel, which is very nice. Then we just went to dinner, I had penne with meat sauce (which actually contained liver...eewwww), and then I had tarimisu for dessert (it was soaked in rum, I couldn't even eat it). We then went to a bar with the waiters, they paid for our drinks, which worked out well because mine was disgusting....too much alcohol.... Alrighty, off to explore Florence tomorrow, ciao ciao!!