A DAY IN FLORENCE and SAN GIMIGNANO ..........

We have been to Florence before but. as we were in the area, we thought that another visit wouldn't go amiss. My favourite part about a visit to Florence is when you walk along the beautiful streets, turn the corner and there, spread out before you is the magnificent Duomo standing majestically in front of you. It is a 'take your breathe away' moment, no matter how many times you do it. My photographs don't do it justice, as it is very difficult to get the whole of it in, it is so vast !!

Sorry about my photographs. They always seem to lean somewhat to the left !!

The Arno river crosses Florence and passes below the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge.

The Piazza della Signoria

A replica of Michelangelo's David ..... the original is in the Academia Museum.

So, a very pleasant day was spent in Florence consisting of culture, wine and good food.

SAN GIMIGNANO

San Gimignano is a small, walled,  medieval town in the Siena region of Tuscany. It is mainly famous for its towers of which there were 72 , of which only 14 of varying heights remain. They have become San Gimignano's international symbol. 

Tradition now dictates that when on holiday, we climb every tower in sight !! Thank goodness that there is only one tower in San Gimignano that the public can climb !! But..... the lovely part of climbing towers is that you get a great vantage point for some amazing views and therefore, photographs.

You will be pleased to know that there is just one more post of our holiday to come !!

I will treat you all to the delights of Siena next time.

Until then.....

ARRIVEDERCI !

CINQUE TERRE...... or, how to build up your thigh and calf muscles in one easy lesson !!!! ..........

Viareggio was the perfect base to enable us to travel to many of the beautiful areas of Tuscany. Our next stop was the Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera, which is virtually unspoilt. The 'Five Lands' comprises five villages : Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is noted for it's beauty.We took the train that connects the five villages, which runs mostly through a tunnel. The train emerges from the tunnel along the way, giving passengers quick glimpses of the villages and the Mediterranean Sea.

We then hopped off of the train at each village to explore ( and of course, to eat and drink (just to be sociable, of course !!)). The mountainsides of the Cinque Terre are heavily terraced and are used to cultivate grapes and olives. I would think that, tending to their trees and vines is a bit of a hazardous affair.....it is very steep as our legs were about to find out !!!!

On the day that we went to explore this beautiful area, the weather didn't look as if it was going to be that good but, on hindsight, with all of the walking UP,UP, UP, it was perfect and there was not one drop of rain and, of course, it was still beautifully warm.

It is a very popular area and was very busy. There are many serious hikers that come to this area and, if you look hard in my photographs, you can see them, wending their way between the vineyards, across the lush green hillsides. That is serious walking !!

This was one of the many towers that we climbed.....it became quite difficult when we were going up and someone was coming down. To pass each other became quite an intimate experience !!!! hehe. I went back quite a few times when I saw a Johnny Depp look-a-like coming up, just to experience it again Haha!!!!

By now, the thighs and calf's are beginning to burn. Up and up, higher and higher..........

.......... but, it's all worth it, for the magnificent views ..........

More of the beautiful alleyways that are such a feature in Italy ..........

Once at the top of one of the villages, we found this lovely little church..................

Most of the churches that tourists see in Italy are large, decadent affairs, dripping in ornate altars, stained glass windows and gold but, this was our favourite.

Tiny little stained glass windows and pretty chandeliers. Outside was a man sorting reeds and grasses, painstakingly stripping the leaves off to reveal the stems for I'm not sure what. Weaving them, perhaps.

We had walked all the way up and were gifted with some magnificent views. Well worth the effort.

Well, that was our day in the Cinque Terre region.

Beautiful, unspoilt and a joy to visit.

I'll just put my feet up and rest my calf's and thighs for a few days, and will be back with part three of our Tuscany experience.