Category: Florence

Today we were up and out early because we wanted to go to Tuscany.  We started out our day long adventure in Montepulciano which was about 1 1/2 hours from Florence.  We drove through green rolling hills dotted with cypress trees and fields of yellows flowers.  It was spectacular in every direction.  It didn’t hurt that the weather was perfect.

Of course as soon as we arrived in Montepulciaono we had to have a coffee. Across the street from the restaurant was Ercolani, a winery store.  Below the store was an “underground city”, underground passages dating back to medieval times.  We went along their self guide tour which mostly has wine barrels in underground passages.

After we finished the tour we tasted some of their wine.  It was good but we didn’t buy any.  We continued up the hill that is Montepulciano.

The streets were winding and old.  Here are some pictures of the town.

While we were walking Nancy and I went into a shoe shop and found an awesome deal on a pair of boots for her (if you have been following the blog you know that we have been looking for boots for her).  We continued up the hill and came across a restaurant that we had wanted to go to but didn’t think could fit it in given the seating times.  The restaurant was featured in a Rick Steves episode and specializes in steaks.  Luckily they had a table available for us.  We ended  with a 3kg or 6.6lb steak for the 4 of us.  It was amazing, a little smokey and really, really tender.

After lunch we walked the rest of the way up the hill to Piazza Grande.

From there we had to rush back to the car because our parking time was expiring.  Once back in the car we followed Rick Steves’ Tuscany drive to Bagno Vignoni. Again the countryside was spectacular with its gently rolling green hills.

  Bagno Vignoni is a very small town with hot springs. 

Known since Roman times, these hot springs were harnessed for their medicinal properties in the Middle Ages.  Just outside the main square there is an area where we dipped our feet into the hot springs just before they plunged over a cliff.  We talked to a nice Canadian couple who were doing the same thing.  

Back in the car again and this time we set off of Montalcino so that Rick could do some tasting of his favorite wine, Brunello.  Once in town we went straight to the tourist information office where they can set up appointments for tastings and tours.  We wanted to go to Banfi which is the brand we usually buy.  Unfortunately it was too late for a tour but they were available for tastings so off again to Banfi.  Once at the winery we found the wine we usually buy and discovered it was about the same price, once we included shipping cost, as the price at our local liquor shore.  We decided to taste some wine that wasn’t available in the US and compare it to the Banfi that we buy at home.  It turned out that we like the wine that is available in the US the best.  The other wine might have been better if we bought it and waited a couple of years to drink it but we really don’t have a good place to store it so we ended up leaving empty handed.  Oh well!

We had one last stop on our big Tuscany day and that was Pienza.   By this time it was pretty late so we walked around a little bit but really we just had a very good pizza dinner there.  

After a long but great day we returned to Florence.  I think all of us came away feeling like we would like another week or two to explore Tuscany!  Maybe the next European trip . . . 

 

 

We started off the morning going to our local bakery and getting some breakfast which we ate on the steps of the Basilica di Santo Spirito. This church is in the square near our apartment.  (Our apartment is located in the Oltrarno quarter which is a nice residential neighborhood that is close to all the tourist attractions.  It was a great location and I highly recommend it for people visiting Florence.)  After eating our pastries we checked out the church.

Our primary activity for the day was going to Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia.  Luckily Nancy had gotten us tickets in advance since the line for tickets was long.  Per Rick Steves, most of the other art there does not compare with David and his tour starts with David so that’s where we started.  It is incredibly beautiful.  So much expression in stone!  And the detail!

We listened to Rick Steves’ audio guide about David and then briefly looked at the other art in the museum.  By then we were hungry.  We went to a restaurant, Vino e Vecchio satori, recommended by our Airbnb host.  There was a wait but it was definitely worth it, one of our best meals in Italy.

After lunch we walked around and saw some of the sights we hadn’t seen.  We also walked to the magnum store and got a custom made magnum for Mike.  Here are a few pictures.

We had dinner in the apartment that night.

 

 

Well today we are leaving Riomaggiore 😒 and going to Florence 😊.  We had to drag our suitcases down all 114 steps and then up the hill to the car.  Rick and I carried the large suitcase down the steps together.  Slowly but surely we made it.  We had a yummy breakfast of chocolate muffins in town before leaving.  Then we drove directly to Florence.  Of course we had several stops for coffee.

Our Florence apartment is located in the old section which had limited car access.  We got a ticket in Spain because we drove in an area with limited car access so we were very careful about where we drove.   Given that we couldn’t find our way to the apartment.  Eventually our host had to come to us and drive us to the apartment.  We had 72 stairs to the apartment but we knew that ahead of time so we packed accordingly and only brought in 2 suitcases instead of 4.  The apartment is very nice and our largest one yet.

After getting settled we went out for some lunch.  Our host recommended an excellent restaurant.  After lunch we went to the copy center because Mike and Rick were going to a soccer game that evening and needed to print out their tickets.  Then we just walked around the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio.  Here are some pictures from our walk.

The guys then returned to the apartment to get ready for the game.  Nancy and I stayed out.  We did a little shopping.  She was looking for a leather jacket or leather boots but couldn’t find anything she liked.

We wandered through the Palazzo Vecchio, today’s town hall which dates back to Renaissance Times.  Here are a couple of pictures.

We stopped at a magnum store where you pick out your ice cream flavor, coating, and tops and they custom make a magnum bar for you—delicious! After walking all afternoon, we returned to the apartment and relaxed.

The guys had a great time at the soccer game.  Here’s a picture.