Toscana

Our morning wakeup alarm (0700 h).

10/13/24

We ended the night of 10/12 with a very nice dinner at La Recordi right down the street from our apartment.  Pat, Rod and I had Bistecca Fiorentina and Sandy had a Ravioli dish.  We were impressed with both choices and went home very satisfied.

We had our usual breakfast with ample coffee and then Pat, Sandy and I went to Mass at the Duomo.  Although we didn't understand the language, it was an interesting experience and highlighted the amazing acoustics of these magnificent cathedrals.  

After attending mass, we decided to do a Rick Steves tour of the Oltrano district (the other side of the Arno river).  We started at the ponte Vecchio and followed the suggested route which had us winding through the streets of Oltrano.  It is a very interesting walk and we recommend it.  Highlights are the narrow picturesque streets, the lack of heavy tourist traffic, a wonderful flea market, wine window and friendly people.  The tour ended at the Ponte Santa Trinita with a beautiful view of the Ponte Vecchio.  It took appoximately 1.5 hours to complete the walk and return to the apartment.  

Some images from our walk-about:

The ponte Vecchio.

Palazzo Piti

Preparing the meat for tonight.

Flea market in Oltrano.

Santa Espirito and flea market.

Goods for sale at the flea market.

Flea Market.

More flea market.

And more!!!:)

Flower stand at the flea market.

Sandy purchasing some basil olive oil.

People at one of the wine windows in Oltrano.

Ponte Vecchio from the Ponte Vespucci.

Rod and Sandy on the Ponte Santa Trinita with the Ponte Vecchio in the background.

Stopped for a picture of the Duomo as we were returning to our apartment.

10/12/24

This morning we got out the door around 0900 and walked down across the Ponte Vecchio to the Palazzo Piti- the palace of the Medici's.  We toured the palace (32,000 sq. meters)- as best we could as it is very large and full of amazing paintings, furniture and sculptures.  We didn't get to see it all as it is totally overwhelming in its grandeur.  After about an hour in the palace we went to the adjacent Boboli Garden is walked all around them.. it was, I swear, up hill both ways!!!  It was about an hour of walking and we still didn't see it all.. most of it, yes, but not all of it.  It is very nice (nothing like Versailles but still beautiful).

Below are a bunch of photos of the days touring:

Palazzo Piti

Approaching the Palazzo Piti.

Every single room is immense and loaded with priceless art.

I thought this one was cute... boy keeping food away from dog!

Surrounded by art!

The place is loaded with art collected by the Medicis.

You enter the palace through the "White Room".

Another room... simply amazing what they collected- See Palazzo piti.

Now, out to the Boboli Gardens:

Nepturn's fountain.

View of Florence from Boboli Gardens.

Looking back down on the Piti Palace.

Another view back to the Palace.

Piti Palace from up in the Boboli Gardens.

Egyptian Obelisk from the rein of Ramases II

A 16th century sculpture out in the garden.

Fountain Island.

Here we are in front of the Palazzo Piti.

10/11/24

Here is a little catch-up from our after dinner walk.  We walked to the Arno River, across the Ponte Vecchio, back up to Piazza della Signoria, Piazza de la Republica and ended at the Duomo.  It is fun at night because everything is lit up and there are lots of people out and about.

The Duomo at night.

Looking good!

Tower of the Palazzo Vecchio

Literally some street art.

The Arno River from the Ponte Vecchjio

Singer at the Piazza della Signoria

Guitar player in front of the Duomo.

10/11/24

Nothing urgent to get to this morning so we slept in until ~0700 and had breakfast.  At around 0900 we geared up to begin our morning's visits ... going to the Baptistry and the Duomo Museum.  We found the Baptistry to be interesting but not exceedingly so.. part of the problem was that they were renovating the ceiling frescos and we couldn't see them.  We only spent about a half hour there before leaving and heading to the Duomo Museum. 

We found the museum to be amazing.  It was beautifully done, well curated and uncrowded.  I think we would all rate it as a must see on the scale.. The Crypt, Duomo interior and the Baptistry would get a pretty low ranking.  The exterior of the Du absolutely amazing and, if we were more energetic and younger we would have hiked to the top of the dome.  Instead, we satisfy ourselves with sitting on our lanai and watching the people who have climbed to the tope of the dome.

After the museum, we had a cafe latte and then went back to the apartment for a few before we headed out to the Mercato Centrale.  It was about a 15 minute walks to the market and the weather was excellent.. clear skys and cool.  We got to the market and wandered around the first floor for a while and bought some stuff at one of the markets we visited on our food tour and purchased some items.  

After shopping, we headed up to the second floor where the food court is located.. amazingly busy and crowded but Rod was able to find a table for us after a few minutes.  We had some pizza with Burrata and a Panini along with a glass of beer.  It was all very good and we had a relaxing time people watching.

We checked out the location of our car rental at the train station so we know where to go and then walked back to the Duomo.  It was such a long trip back that we had to stop and have a glass of proseco - after which we were able to make it all the way back to our apartment (a distance of about 100 meters!:).  

So far, a very fine and enjoyable day.

The Baptistry.

In the main hall of the Duomo Museum.

Gates of Paradise Door to the Baptistry.

East doors to the Baptistry.

Filipo Brunelleschi- architect and manager of the construction of the Duomo dome.

Pat outside of the Baptistry.

Inside of the Baptistry.

Main hall of the Duomo Museum.

Construction carts/hoists, etc used during the construction of the Duomo dome.

Solid silver crusifix.

Solid siliver and gold altar in the Duomo museum.

The main hall of the museum from the first floor.

Michelangelo's Pieta sculpted later in life as his epitaph. 

Rod outside of an old "wine door" on our way to the Mercato Centrale.

Approaching the Mercato Centrale.

Walking into the Mercato Centrale.

Talking to one of the shop owners that we met during our food tour.

Lots of meat shops in the market.

One of many food court display counters in the market.

Looking our on the food court.

10/10/2024

We were up at 0630 this morning for our scheduled visit to the Galleria Academia at 0830.  We had our usual breakfast of yogurt, honey and granola ... and some strong coffee... before making our way to the Academia... we got there before it opened and it rained a little but we were let in by 0825 and really "beat the crowd".  We were actually able to view th David without a single person around ... good to go early.  We did a pretty thorough tour of the galleries and were out of there by 0930.  Right now (1100h) we are back in the apartment taking a rest, thinking about what we want to eat and planning our visit to the Duomo crypt at 1430 h today.  A few pictures from our visit to the Academia are below:

The path we took from our apartment to the Galleria Academia

  

After we got back from the Academia gallery we rested a while and then went down the street to have a light lunch.. of course light is a relative term! :)

Below are piuctures from the afternoon food fest:

After lunch we were scheduled to visit the Duomo Crypt as part of our "ticket" to the Duomo complex.  The other two parts of the ticket are the Baptistry and the Duomo museum.  So, at 1400 h we made our way over to the East door of the Duomo and got in about 15 minutes .ater.  The Crypt is loaded with history from Roman times up to the present and it is well curated.  However, I suggest that it is not all that interesting- worth seeing ( I guess) but a 1 or 2 on a scale of 1 to 5.

I add that the inside of the Duomo, unlike the exterior, is not terribly impressive compared to a number of other churches in Florence.  It is worth a quick look but not much more.

After the "crypt" adventure, Rod and I took a walk to Piazza Republica to check out a place to get a taxi on Monday and then walked on to the Piazza della Signoria to look at the sculptures once again.  Earlier in the day it was raining and the crowds were manageable... but when the sun came out, so did all the people!

Below are some images from the afternoon visit to the crypt and the walk to Piazza della Signoria.

10/9/2024

We awoke about 0700 hours this morning.. we went to bed around 1900 hours the night before!!!  After a 12 hour sleep everything is more enjoyable!!!

We had a wonderful breakfast - yogurt, granola and honey.  

At 0920 we left to walk down to the location of our cart tour.  We got there early, as usual, and were able to leave a little early on a nice and comprehensive "rolling" tour of Florence.  Our driver was a very colorful fellow and entertained us throughout our tour which lasted about 3 hours.  We got a nice feeling for the areas "hotspots" (many of which we have been to earlier).  We enjoy going over to altrorano and up to Piazzele Michangelo for a wonderful view of Florence.  After the tour, we got our tickets for the Uffizi Gallery which we were to visit beginning at 1430 hours.

At 1430 hours, we were let into the Uffizi and spent a couple of hours viewing the many magnificent pieces of art.... from sculptures to painting.. It is an amazing place and one could spend a lot of time there (litteraly days) to truly see everything.  However, we were a bit tired and did not spend too much time there.  Pat only wanted to see some Botticelli paintings and once that was "accomplished" we wandered a bit more and made our way out.

Some images our journey:

Wednesday night dinner at Osteria del Fiore with the Duomo in the Background.

Here we are - happy and repleat!

It was a bit cool out but the heaters helped a lot.  

Stopped at the Piazzale Michelangelo which is up in the hills in oltrano and looked down on the old city.... beautiful sunny day.

Visiting the oldest pharmacy in Florence but really, it is a perfumery.. a very expensive one! 

Sandy trying on a very beautiful leather coat.. we didn't buy!

Uffizi Gallery from the oltrarno side of the river.

Looking at the Arno River and Ponte Vecchio from Piazzale Michelangelo.

Galaleo's tomb in Santa Croce.

Danti's tomb in Santa Croce.

Pat is resting on the steps of Santa Croce and looking out over the Piazza Santa Croce.

After our visit to Santa Croce.

The most famous/favorite Panini shop in Florence.

Lunch after our cart tour and before our visit to Uffizi Gallery.

Ponte Vecchio and the river Arno.

River Arno.

Paintings by Botticelli- Spring 

Birth of Venus- Botticelli

View of duomo and Florence from Piazzalli Michaelangelo

10/8/2024

The morning started with some good hot coffee and some chocolate and pastacio filled cornettos.  It was overcast with the prediction of rain (70%) in the afternoon.. of course the rain was set to coincide with our food tour!!!:).   And, it did!  Fortunately, it didn't rain to hard and much of the tour was inside.. all in all we kept pretty dry and had a good time.  We tasted some good bread, olive oil, basalmic vinegar, truffle, honey, Pasta and various other things.  The really good news was that we ended the tour at a nice gelato place that was very near our apartment so it was a quick/easy trip back to the apartment.

Our guide did a good job of explaining the origin and importance of the various foods we sampled during the tour.

We visited the Mercato Centrale and will definitely want to visit it again.

The group at the Mercato Centrale.

Rod and Sandy sampling one of the items served at the Mercato Centrale.

Explaining the production and aging of the Balsamic Vinegar.

At lunch on the food tour.. Pat is having some Pappardelle Pasta.

The Baptistry,  Duomo and bell tower. 

The replica of the statue of David in the Piazza della Signoria.

The Logia dei Lanzia and the various scultures located there.

Crowds at the Piazza Della Signoria looking at the Logia dei Lanzia.

Neptune's fountain in front of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Drinking water source on the side the Palazzo Vecchio ... the one on the left is natural and the one on the right is gasata.. carbonated.

Pallazo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria.

Looking toward the Pallazo Vecchio across the Piazza della Signoria.

10/7/2024

We made it successfully to Florence at 1322 h.  The train ride from Termini station Rome was comfortable and uneventful.  We were able to get a taxi to our apartment within 10 minutes and are now settling in (unpacking and figuring out the lay of the land).  The picture above is our deck that overlooks the Duomo (the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore).  

Sitting on the patio before we went to dinner.

We had dinner at this restaurant.

We thoroughly enjoyed dinner - we did it "family style" and enjoyed potatoes, spinach, grilled vegatbles and green salad- along with a nice bottle of Chianti.  The steak was really quite good!

We had Bistecca Fiorentina for dinner at Locanda Fiorentina and it was very good... :)

Above is the bill for our dinner for four at Locanda Fiorentina.  We also got a 20% off by making a reservation through the Fork.

After dinner we took a walk around the Duomo.

The bell tower of the Duomo.

The small market we visited this evening to buy some things.

Rod and Sandy took off for a few minutes to find a bakery so that we can have cornettos in the morning.. we waited outside the store.

Off to Florence today.  We will see how well we handle the train ride.

This morning. after a very nice breakfast at the hotel, we visited the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore which is a short walk from our hotel.  It is one of the 4 papal basilicas in Rome and construction was started in 432.  Yesterday, the pope served mass at the basilica so we were unable to visit it but today it was open and we went it.  It is a very beautiful cathedral and steeped in hundreds of years of history.  If you are interested, see "Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore"

Below are a few pictures from our visit to the basilica:

10/6/2024

A few more pictures from the evening last night.

Checking out the view from the 8th floor of the hotel.

A little cafe just down the street where we had dinner last night.

Looking our over the Cathedral Santa Maria Maggiore.  The Pope held mass there yesterday so everything was blocked off and we couldn't visit it.  We may try this morning.

The little restaurant that we ate at ... 50 meters from the hotel.

It was definately a tourist oriented restaurant but we didn't want to have to go far from the hotel.

Our waitress was very cordial and spoke very good English- our fare was pizza, pasta and salads.

Not so good at selfies but we tried

First off- Happy Birthday to Sihkea.  Sorry we aren't there to celebrate with you!!!:(. Hope you have a wonderful day and we will celebrate when we get home.

Had a nice flight to Rome and landed early at FCO airport.  We got through passport control and customs without a hitch and our luggage was right on time!  We hooked up with the Kehls at the luggage carousel and also with our driver to take us to the hotel near Termini Station.  We arrived at the Best Western Plus Hotel Universo at around 1330 and got into our rooms very quickly- nice little hotel not far from Termini station.

Below are a few pictures of the flight and our arrival, etc.

10/5/2024

We made our way to the Kona airport yesterday (after fixing a flat tire on the Honda CRV about 2 miles short of the Kona airport!!).  After that, everything went smoothly and our flight was 30 minutes early into LAX.  When we made out way out to the hotel shuttle area we found the Hyatt Hotel shuttle immediately and got to the hotel in time to have a small caesar salad at 2220 h.  We were very lucky because we met another couple in the elevator that said they had to wait for so long to catch a shuttle that they took an Uber!  

Our latest trip from Kona to LAX.

We had a nice breakfast this morning and are waiting around until we checkout at 1100h to head to the airport for out 11.5 hour flight to Rome.

Checked in and ate now at the ITA lounge (operated through Korean Airlines).

Having a bite to eat in the lounge before the flight..

If you want to see what is happening in Florence and/or Siena you can visit the webcams below. 

Webcams: Ponte Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio- Lugarno,  Santa Maria Novella, Piazza della Signoria, Florence historic center, Siena- Piazza del Campo

This time around we (Kehls and Rices) are traveling to Tuscany, Italy stopping for a week in Florence and two weeks in Siena.  This trip has been in the planning for nearly a year now and Pat has scheduled us into a whole bunch of really interesting activities and excusions.  During our time in Florence we will be staying at an apartment very near the Duomo on Via dei Servi with a terrace view of the Duomo.  In Siena we will be in an apartment located near the Porta Camollia.  

Aerial view of Florence showing our apartment near the Duomo.. see Via dei Servi 

Aerial view of old city Siena showing the location of our apartment near Porta Camollia (Porta Camollia)