Category: Europe 2012

Siena, Tuscany, Italy, Wednesday, September 26, 2012 A lazy morning for us as our agenda is pretty open and consists of exploring the city in random fashion. We get out around 1100 and decide to see the Oratory of San Bernadino since it was included in our combo ticket from yesterday. We stroll through an […]

Siena, Tuscany, Italy, Tuesday, September 25, 2012 We sleep in this morning and then head over to the Duomo. We wanted to do this before too many bus tours show up. We buy a combination pass for the Duomo, it’s museum, Baptistry, and crypt as well as another site. The Duomo dates back to 1215 […]

Siena, Tuscany, Italy, Monday, September 24, 2012 Before we headed out to dinner last night, I told the owner I would like to pay now as we had to leave before breakfast tomorrow. He asked if we would like him to make a little box to go. We thought that was very nice and figured […]

Volterra, Tuscany, Italy, Sunday, September 23, 2012 The breakfast at Hotel Sole was great. This was an Italian pastry and cake bonanza. They also had some small sandwiches of tomato and cheese and meat and cheese. We did not touch those. Homemade Italian cookies filled with jams and chocolate were also there. Carol focused on […]

Volterra, Tuscany, Italy, Saturday, September 22, 2012 Since the bus is at 0945, we get to have breakfast this morning. It is very good with bruschetta, prosciutto, salami, creme brûlée, a few different pastries and tarts, yoghurt, and a several other items. It was all excellent. We make the long, flat, 5 minute walk to […]

Colle di Val d’Elsa, Tuscany, Italy, Friday, September 21, 2012 Today we travel to a few small hill towns in Tuscany. We will test the Italian train and bus system in this area. First we catch the train from Lucca to Pisa, then Another train from Pisa to Empoli, where we switch again to Poggibonsi. […]

Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, Thursday, September 20, 2012 Part of the fun of having breakfast included is you never quite know what you are going to get. Overall, we have had some pretty good food and selection. Every so often, the breakfast is better than most. Today is one of those breakfasts. There is Bruschetta, fresh […]

Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, Wednesday, September 19, 2012 We leave our apartment in Vernazza to take the 0819 train to Pisa with a change in La Spezia. No Ritardo trains today so we arrive in Pisa around 1030. We take a very slight detour as the roads are not well marked at the station so we […]

Vernazza, Italian Riviera, Italy, Tuesday, September 18, 2012 We sleep until just before 7:30 after our late night out. Carol is not feeling too great and wants to rest. I think about writing some but do not want to wake her and figure I am in the Cinque Terre, why write when I can go […]

Monterosso Al Mare, Liguria, Italy, Monday, September 17, 2012 Another croissant breakfast and we leave Rapallo in search of more conditioning. We take the train to Levanto with a quick change in Sestri Levante. We are doing another coastal hike today from Levanto to Monterosso al Mare the first town of five on the Cinque […]