Sunday, 19 June 2016

Cinque Terres and on to Savonna

Our last day of this holiday was th the Cinque Terres - a destination that had been on the list for a while.

We left our hotel in Montecatini and drove up the coast to the south of Genoa. We collected our guide at Manaola and boarded a train that took us along the coast to Riomaggiore.

The Cinque Terres is a series of once isolated villages in bays. Getting from one to another is by trains that go through the mountains, sea or a long climb up and down.

The tourist route is by sea from where one can see even the most isolated of the villages.

At Riomaggiore where we had a walk around the village.



Then we headed for the boat. We had seen the harbour (top photo) but that wasn't where the boat came in.






So getting onto the boat would be the first challenge: a rather animated gangplank. Fortunately, the crew were on hand to get us all on.




Then we set off up the coast to Manarola, Cornigila, Vernazza, plus several smaller communes. before Montorosso where we left the boat, had a short tour and then looked around the town.




We then returned along the coast, but this time continued on to La Speiza where our bus was waiting. We continued towards France, round Genoa and spent the night a Savonna, which was where we ate lunch on the first day of our holiday.

Now we are on our way home. We stopped for and apero at noon where this photo of the group was taken.




- Pat and John on tour

Florence again and the Uffiitzi

We had not visited the Uffiitzi before and had added it to our bucket list- that is, until we realised that we were to visit the museum on this trip.

We set off on good time, but a long traffic queue caused by an accident made us late. Our driver, Christoph, left the queue, but then got lost. John helped out with the navigation and the delay could have been much worse.

We were met at the bus drop off spot by a guide and walked to the museum. It has become apparent on this holiday, that the distances we were covering each day (8km was the minimum) are too much for some people as the gap between the front of the group and the end gets longer.

Our guide explained that we were to start at the top of the gallery and descend. There was a lift available for those who wanted it. She (and we) walked up the 100 or so stairs accompanied by at least four over 80s.

At the top, we were in the gallery of the house of the Medici family. The gallery was once open air, but has long been covered in. There are many paintings and sculptures of the Medici family.

The ceiling and a detail with Medici portraits





Views from the gallery






There was far too much for us to really appreciate the riches of the gallery in the time available. The art is grouped into rooms,; we saw 6 of many. We came away convinced that it really does need a guide to get the most out of the museum, as we did in the Prado in Madrid.

A small selection of the tresures that we saw.





Our next stop was lunch. Meals are always a highlight of the day we all sit down and talk to our friends and make new friends.

Afterwards, we had free time. We already had a ticket for The highlights of Florence from our visit to the cathedral and we planned to climb the campanile with its 440 steps. This turned out to be more of a challenge than anticipated and Pat was happy to have stopping points at different levels. Unlike the leaning tower in Pisa, there is no control on the stairs (traffic lights). Lower down, the steps are wide enough to pass a person standing at the side (but not both moving). Closer to the top, it should be one way at a time but isn't. At times and on corners, the moving person may be best on all fours!

Views on the way up and from the top








Having negotiated our way down, it was time for a cup of tea. Our next stop was the museum of the cathedral. It had been recommended to us, but we had not appreciated just how good it would be.

Over the centuries, the Duomo has been remodelled several times and magnificent sculptures no longer required were consigned to the archives. Now they are available here. The museum seems to have been opened recently and was certainly worth a visit.


Doors of the Baptestry


Madonna of the nativity, Angel lifting a curtain c. 1300 and



Pisano carvings: agriculture, navigation, the art of paining, prudence.



Silver altar from the 14c depicting the life of John the Baptist.





We were so impressed that we bought the guide!

- Pat and John on tour

Friday, 17 June 2016

Our first stop of the day was Lucca. We had not managed to get there on our last Tuscany trip 7 years ago, so were looking forward to seeing it.

Lucca is a walled city and we had to walk quite a long way to a gate  (possibly because we walked the wrong way round).



Inside the walls, we were met by our guide, Marco who took us around the narrow streets. Our first stop was the site of the ancient Roman arena of which only the structure remains.





Then we wove in and out of the narrow streets



passing the music school and a statue of its founder and paid our respects to Puccini who was born here.


Finally, we reached the main square and cathedral





Then it was time to move on to Pisa and lunch. Pat was hoping to climb the leaning tower in Pisa, repeating a climb 7 years ago, but it was fully booked.

We had a guided tour of the Cathedral, Baptestry and cemetery building with perfect weather for photos. Below, the cemetery building, cathedral and tower and then the Baptestry.




As always, Pat enjoys zooming into the details on the buildings.



We started with a tour of the Baptestry and a demonstration of the acoustics the singer would sing several notes one after the other so that we could hear the length of the sound and the combination of the notes.




Pat was able to climb up to the gallery for views down, which compensated for missing the tower climb.




Then it was on to the Cathedral where, unlike many others, we could walk around, but our guide could not give the usual commentary. She had, however, briefed us beforehand.





Finally, it was on to the cemetery building which includes memorials. The statue is Fibonacci (he of the sequence).



So then it was time for the final photos, including the leaning tower and fountain.




- Pat and John on tour

Thursday, 16 June 2016

A day in Florence (1)

We have two days scheduled for Florence and this was the first.

We left our hotel in Poggibonsi after 3 nights, loaded suitcases into the bus and set off early for Florence, expecting heavy traffic. It was, indeed busy, but we had to wait for our guide at the pickup spot. We then went in the car to an observation point to look down on Florence.

We had a good view of the major landmarks including the Cathedral, Santa Crocce, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponté Vecchio




Then it was on to Florence itself where we were dropped off by the river Arno before being taken on a walking tour in the centre by a guide, weaving in and out of streets until we reached the most impressive and well known sights of the city.  This technique was also used by the guide in Siena.


We reached the Piazza del Duomo


The details of the building always intrigue me


This replica statue of David and Perseus with the head of Medusa at the Palazzo Vecchio


At this point, we only saw the outside of the cathedral and Baptistry, but would return after lunch to see the interior.  The Cathedral outside and in.







The Baptestry, outside and in






After lunch in a small restaurant, we were free for several hours to wander the streets and monuments. We will return to Florence on Friday and will be able to see more, including climbing the Cathedral Campanile.

We are now staying in Montecatini. After dinner, we walked down to the town where we came across a gathering of what appeared to be young teams of footballers from every region of Italy. Other than the European cup. what it was all about, we do not know.



- Pat and John on tour

Wednesday, 15 June 2016

Volterra and San Gimignano

Our first destination today was Volterra, an Etruscan and Roman city. This was out first visit to this hilltop city and we were surprised by the Roman remains.

Our guide explained that the Etruscans lived at the top of the hill and the Romans on the plain, below, but not at the same time. There is plenty of evidence of the Roman civilisation, but the Etruscan presence was lost and merged into that of the Romans.

Left and bottom, the town hall, top right Cassa di Risparmio di Volterra (a bank)




Roman remains from the first century BC includ a theatre and baths. The remains were uncovered in the 1950s and are said to be some of the best Roman remains in Italy.




Around Volterra:  top right the Baptistry and below a detail from the Cathedral di Santa Maria Assunta.

A view across the city, bottom left gate at San Giminiano.


- Pat and John on tour

Tuesday, 14 June 2016

Siena and Collel Val d'Elsa

We had threats of rain for today, but fortunately, they didn't materialise.

Our bus left the hotel bus for Siena at about 9am. We were to meet out guide at 10;, was a little breezy while we were waiting, but as time went on, the weather improved.

Below: outside the city walls with our guide, the fountain and first views of the landmarks.




Inside the city walls, we wove through the city seeing the sights: A wall plaque, Romulus and Remus with the wolf - Sienna is supposed to have been established by the son of Remus, a glimpse of the Piazza del Campo and statue of the economist Sallustio Bandini.



The Baptestry, outside and in. Top right shows the steps (left of the photo) leading to the Cathedral.



Below, the exterior of the Cathedral. We were last in Siena seven years ago.



The cathedral was very crowded, so it was more difficult to take photos than the last time, which was in late October.




Details of the floor


Inside the library, top the ceiling and the walls


Our last stop before lunch was the main square, Il Campo which slopes down to the Palazzo Publique (town hall).




On our way back, we called in at the Col d'Elsa, a small, walled old town. By now, many people in the group were tired from our long walk in Siena. We set off to get some good photos of the town from the far side of the valley and then returned to find the older part of the town and the cathedral.. It was a very small town to boast a cathedral, even one that was not noteable.



The crypt of the cathedral was worth a visit.


After that, it was back to the hotel for a rest before dinner.

- Pat and John on tour