OCTOBER 17 - 25, 2014
ITALY FLAG
October 17
New York***Paris***Florence
My Tuscany and Cinque Terre Trip started with an Air France flight from New York to Paris and another flight to Florence, arriving the next day.
October 18
Florence
Arrived in Peregola airport and was met by the Tauck driver and driven to the Hotel l'Orologio at the Piazza Santa Maria Novella.
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Florence or Firenze is the capital city of the Italian region of Toscana and of the province of Firenze. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance. Florence was home to the Medicis: Lorenzo was a great patron of the arts, commissioning works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli; Catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France; and Popes Leo X and Clement VII.
I was late for the group's orientation stroll so after checking in I went out for my own stroll. I've been to Florence twice before.
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The Baptistery, one of the oldest buildings in the city, constructed between 1059 and 1128 in the Florentine Romanesque style, is renowned for its three sets of artistically important bronze doors with relief sculptures.
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Later I met the Tauck tour director, Danny Tonarelli, and my fellow travelers for cocktails at our hotel's bar and then to a Welcome Dinner at Ristorante Buca Mario.
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October 19
Florence
After a delightful breakfast we had a lecture on Michelangelo by a local art history scholar.
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Other Michelangelo works here are the four unfinished Prisoners, intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II, and a statue of Saint Matthew, also unfinished and a Pieta.
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Next we walked to the Piazza della Signoria to see the David replica and other statues.
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Next we visited the Uffizzi Gallery which has Old Masters paintings including Botticelli's Birth of Venus.
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Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi and Primavera
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Raphael's Madonna of the Goldfinch; Fabriano's Adoration of the Magi; Lippi's Madonna with Child and Two Angels
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Caravaggio's Bacchus; Francesca's Duke and Duchess of Urbino; Tiziano's Venus of Urbino
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Michelangelo's Doni Tondo; Caravaggio's Medusa; Botticelli's Madonna of the Magnificat
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Leonardo da Vinci's Annunciation
We visited next a leather shop and then lunch at a trattoria where I had a Caprese salad and an Aperol Spritz. Then crossed the Arno on the Ponte Vecchio and crossed another bridge back towards the Piazza Santa Maria Novella.
View of the Arno from the Ponte Vecchio; View of the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio
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Street Artist; S. Maria Novella Church; Street Singers
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Back at the hotel for a little rest and some Pernod and water before going for a late dinner at L'Osteria di Giovanni where I was given a complimentary glass of prosecco for waiting. Had an antipasto, a demi-bouteille of Peppoli Chianti Classico with my delicious ossobucco and some biscotti with my porto.
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October 20
Florence
This morning we visited two very interesting artisan studios: the ivory restoration workshop of Bettina Schindler and the Bastioni Studios where they do restoration of any art.
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Time for coffee break so we tried some cappuccino and Italian pastry at a nice shop in the Piazza Santa Croce before the visit to the Basilica.
The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross), is the principal Franciscan church in Florence. In front of the Basilica there is a marble statue of Dante Alighieri, a major Italian poet of the Middle Ages who wrote the Divine Comedy. The church is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie) because of the tombs of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo.
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It is also the burial place of Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini. Its most notable features are its sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils.
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Almost time for lunch so our guide took us to the very busy San Lorenzo Mercato Centrale.
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Then I went upstairs and ate a plate of deep-fried seafood accompanied by an Italian beer Moretti.
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Afternoon is free so just walked around then went back to the hotel to rest and get ready for a visit to a private home of Gregorio Nardi, an accomplished pianist, for some aperitivo and a private piano recital.
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Dinner was pulpo (octopus) at Florence's Eataly then back at the hotel after a short walk in the neighborhood.
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October 21
Carrara***Monterosso al Mare
After breakfast we left Florence and drove to Carrara, noted for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. Carrara marble has been used since the time of Ancient Rome (the Pantheon and Trajan's Column in Rome); also in many sculptures of the Renaissance, such as Michelangelo's David. Other structures include Marble Arch, London; Duomo di Siena; Sarcophagus of St. Hedwig, Queen of Poland, Cracow; Manila Cathedral (interior); etc. They also filmed a short car chase from the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace here.
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Lunch which included a taste of pancetta (lardon or slab bacon), the perfect complement to the bitter greens and crunchy croutons in the salad was at a local residence in Colonnata.
Monterosso al Mare
The weather was not great so instead of taking the boat from Portovenere to Cinque Terre, we had to take the train from La Spezia to Monterosso al Mare and arrived there in mid afternoon.
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Walked to the Hotel Porto Roca perched on the hillside overlooking the harbor.
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Dinner was at the hotel's La Terrazza del Porto Roca. I had the buffet salad which had so many choices of seafood salads and crudites. I had a glass of red wine with my main course of grilled sea bass and for dessert I had a lemon tiramisu.
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October 22
Hike from Monterosso to Vernazza***Riomaggiore***Manarola***Monterosso We embarked on a two-hour hike on the hillside from Monterosso al Mare to Vernazza passing through a nice view of our hotel and beautiful sea and mountain views.
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Finally a view of the village of Vernazza. After checking out the village I bought my lunch (ham and cheese on a baguette and a beer) and ate it by the water.
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Got back on the train and took it to Riomaggiore.
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Took the train again and got off at beautiful Manarola.
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Once again we rode on the train back to Monterosso where I walked around the village before joining the group for dinner in town.
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October 23
Monterosso***Lucca***Siena
We had our group picture taken in front of the hotel before we drove back to Tuscany with Lucca as our first stop.
Arrived in Lucca mid morning and we were met by our local tour guide. Lucca was founded by the Etruscans and became a Roman colony in 180 BC. At the Lucca Conference, in 56 BC, Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus reaffirmed their political alliance known as the First Triumvirate. n 1805, Lucca was conquered by Napoleon, who installed his sister Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi as "Queen of Etruria".
Our tour guide took us bike-riding around the Renaissance-era city walls.
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The city views while bike-riding was beautiful.
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Next we went to an agriturismo Fattoria Colle Verde with wine and olive oil as its products. Here we took cooking lessons (pasta-making).
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Our local guide then took us to visit the buildings where they made olive oil and wine.
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We next tasted the olive oil and three different wines they produced with some hors d'oeuvres before we had lunch. Primo piatto was our own pasta (I had mine divided into two to try the two sauces). The main course and dessert and digestif followed. Great home-made food!
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We left for Siena and checked in at the Grand Hotel Continental.
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After I had Pernod and water I decided to check out Siena by night. Siena's Piazza del Campo is regarded as one of Europe's greatest medieval squares. The Palazzo Pubblico and its Torre del Mangia, as well as various palazzi signorili surround the shell-shaped piazza.
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Went to dinner at La Finestra at the Piazza del Mercato where I had a delicious trippa.
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October 24
Siena
Woke up and looked out of my window and the view was amazing. To the left was the Siena Cathedral and the the right was the San Domenico Basilica and in the foreground was the city's rooftops which gave us the colors raw or burnt sienna.
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Had a nice breakfast and then went out for more sightseeing.
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Walked to the San Domenico Basilica where the altar dedicated to St Catherine contains her severed head and thumb.
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Back at Piazza del Campo for a daytime look at the famous square with the Fonte Gaia.
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Lunchtime and I had to try wild boar's meat and the hotel concierge recommended Trattoria Papei which was right next to La Finestra where I had dinner last night. I ordered Aperol Spritz and Cinghiale con uva e mele.
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After lunch I met up with the group at the hotel and we had a surprise little party with Prosecco and some Italian treats at the hotel's Grand Salon. We then went to the Piazza del Campo.
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From there we went to the Siena Duomo.
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The Palio di Siena is a horse race that is held twice each year, on July 2 and August 16. Ten horses and riders, bareback and dressed in the appropriate colors, represent ten of the seventeen contrade, or city wards. We visited a Palio contrade.
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Movie audiences worldwide can see Siena and the Palio in the James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace.
We next took a class about wines at the Siena Tuscan Wine School. We tasted five different wines including a Sangiovese, Chianti Classico and a desert wine.
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Back in the hotel for a little rest before tonight's Farewell cocktail party at the hotel's wine cellar and dinner at the hotel's restaurant.
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October 25
Siena***Florence***New York
After a champagne brunch I left the hotel in a car provided by Tauck Tours to take me to the Florence airport for my trip to New York via Amsterdam. Had a terrific time in Tuscany and Cinque Terre!
