2007- Tuscany...Take me back NOW to Tuscany!!

Ah, Tuscany, Italia!!! So gorgeous and warming!  Linda and I fell in love with the scenery, the people, the food, the wine of Tuscany....for 2 weeks we toured from our  villa near Siena, visiting hilltop towns as well as 2 days in each city of Siena and Florence.  After a day of touring (being chased by the madly-off-in-all-directions Italian drivers!) we picked up fresh vegies, pasta and fruit, a bottle of local Chianti and relaxed as we cooked up our dinners.   Wonderful to feel so at home in Italy as you can see from this picture of our villa nestled high among the vinyards! 

Lucca and Pisa were our first stops.....and we ogled the Leaning Tower of Pisa like proper tourists.   Then over to Lucca where we lucked into the festivities of the all Saints weekend, complete with a market in the ancient Roman theater and street plays....wonderful fun!

And what can be said about the numerous hilltop towns of Tuscany?  Here you see San Gimignano, another of the 40 Italian UNESCO World Heritage sites with Sue grinning happily from the walled ramparts.    Every day we explored one or two of these gems:  Volterra and Montereggioni, then Cortona and Arezzo, Pienza (UNESCO site) and Montepulciano,  another day to Montulcino and Assissi.  We would park outside the walls, then walk the narrow pedestrian-friendly streets, coming across museums, artisans, picture-perfect views across the Chianti hills.  One special day we just drove up to Castelina en Chiantia and Radda in Chianti, weaving in and out of the hills, finally stopping when we spotted a wine-tasting operation.....great time checking out the old processes of making the chinati wine!

Of course, the highlight had to be our 2 days in Siena, a UNESCO site recognized for its historical heritage, walking from one end ot the other, always gravitating back to the huge piazza. We joined in with everyone who sunned themselves on the 800 year old paving stones...and yes! had leisurely pasta lunches with red wine while viewing the Palazzo Pubblico's tower opposite us and the Gaia Fountain beside us. This is where the annual horse race takes place....sister Judy saw this exciting event last year!

Florence....city of the angels and full of beautiful art treasures. From Bruneschelli's Duomo and Giberti's Bronze doors of the Battistery to the gems of the Uffizzi Museum (book ahead!!) to Pont Vecchio , it is information overload.....every guide book gushes about the numerous wonders of Florence and nothing does it justice!  It is so beautiful, even considering the many street hawkers which ambush you at every step of the way.....it is even worse than Xi'An's terra cotta warriors exhibit in China!  As you stroll throught the Piazza dela Signoria and gaze on the David,  Hercules, Medusa and the other logia statues, you know you are in heaven, fake though some of them may be!!!

Did I take a few pictures.....you bet!!  And I look at them regularly and yearn to go back soon to Italy!!

So why is this titled "Take me back NOW to Tuscany"? It is late October 2009, finally getting to this last post from 2 years ago and the cold drizzle outside my beautiful Island home is too much of a contrast to "Under the Tuscan Sun"!!