Tuscany

Thursday Oct 5th

Tuesday we drove in to Florence. It's just over 30 kilometres but the trip took a while because the road was blocked at one point, We assume an accident but were unable to see because of all the bends in the road. A tricky 3 point turn later (thank heavens we had a small car...trucks and larger vehicles would have simply been stuck there) and round more back roads, we found our way and parked right downtown near the train station.

Iain had stayed home...he had been feeling under the weather and his mother in Glasgow was ill and not expected to last the day. As it happened she did die mid afternoon. Our sympathies go out to Iain & Celia and the family. They are not planning to go home early. His Mum had been ill for a long time and all the arrangements were pre-done. The funeral is scheduled for Tuesday October 10th. They will be home by lunch time Saturday.

Florence was wonderful. We visited the Cathedral and the Uffizi Gallery, walked the Ponte Vecchio and enjoyed a nice patio lunch in perfect weather. Back home at the Villa, we ate in. I grilled T-Bone steaks (over a wood fire in the barbecue no less), which were excellent and we had salad and baked potatoes and managed to finish off the 10 litre box of wine!

Wednesday, Peter & Penny went off to Sienna while Celia and Iain came with us, this time by train, back to Florence. We spent our time just taking in the sights, doing a bit of shopping...no need to get excited Canada... modest gifts I can assure you....and enjoyed wonderful Gelato (ice cream) on a very posh patio. I have never in my life paid $13.00 for an ice cream but it was worth it. Along the way I bought myself a lovely Italian leather man purse and an apron with some pictures of Italian food printed on it. Needless to say I took a bit of a ribbing ( and more to come I'll hazard to guess) but I can handle it....I'm entirely comfortable with my feminine side although I find it a bit disconcerting, this new found inability to pass a shoe shop....

We had parked the car in the nearby village of Certaldo where we had caught the train. We planned to be back just before dark, catching the 6:10 train from Florence however it was cancelled and we had to sit for an hour over some wine for the next train at 7:10. By the time we got to Certaldo it was dark and I'm not sure where we missed the turn but we went on a 10 kilometer adventure up a mountain and down a mountain on single track most times unpaved roads before finding civilization and meeting up with Peter & Penny at the other restaurant in town, The Grotto Pizzeria. We enjoyed a lovely meal. Una had a seafood pasta, I had a pasta as well with a wild mushroom sauce, Iain had sea bass, served whole and he did an expert job in disposing of it. 4 bottles of wine and to top it all off Peter & I each had a Sambuca for no reason other than the fact that the town of Sambuca is just down the road. Back at the Villa we had a nightcap from the fresh supply of wine Peter & Penny had bought on their way back from Sienna before heading for bed around midnight where I slept soundly until 8 this morning.

The forecast for today, Thursday, is for showers in the afternoon, so we have decided to have a relax day, maybe visit a couple of wineries and take in a few of the local towns. Tomorrow we are planning to go back to Florence as we have still to see Michelangelo's David for which I expect the line-ups to be a couple of hours. The weather this morning is same old, same old....blue skies and warm...

2 days left in Tuscany then Saturday morning we head north, dropping the car off in Pisa then hitching a lift with Peter and Penny to Nice, our next stop. Along the way Peter plans to drop in to Monte Carlo to show us the harbour.

Today's pics include the Ponte Vecchio, enjoying a gelato with Celia & Iain in Florence, the Cathedral in Florence and a picture of the group minus Iain the photographer in San Gimingano.

More later...Ciao...