Viareggio
Well, we HAD planned to catch the Lucca Saturday market before we left. The website said it closed at one, but stalls were packed and gone before noon. So … onto plan B. Black thunder clouds were gathering behind us…
Locals & Locales
A trip up into the vineyards. This is the true Tuscany. Everywhere large, colourful mansions dot the hillsides, overlooking their expanses of neatly terraced vineyards or olive groves … almost overlapping with their neighbours. Tall, dark pencils of cypresses accentuating…
Panzano in Chianti
And we thought the scenery around Lucca had been beautiful, but here in Chianti it’s just magnified … tenfold. Steep hillsides covered in a blanket of fluffy green forests … patchworks of neatly-rowed vineyards … staggeringly lovely villas and old…
Perfect Execution!
Every April 25th Panzano celebrates National Liberation Day by putting on a Festa della Stagion Buona to beat all festivals. Several days beforehand, furious pockets of activity took place all over town … in the square … beside the church…
Siena, Steak & Wine Tasting
We were to meet up in the Campo (Siena’s city centre), but it was bucketing down as we drank our morning coffee and peered out at the gloomy weather. An hour later, things looked a little brighter, and by ten…
And that’s no Bologna ..
Car returned to Prato with ourselves and it in one piece. It’ll be missed. Decided to walk to the train station, but given the day had turned quite warm, it probably wasn’t the best choice <grin> … but the train…
The Merchants of Venice
After hearing countless horror stories of crowds, rude waiters and rip-off places, I honestly wasn’t expecting to like Venice … but we did … very much. The weather forecast didn’t look particularly good for the afternoon, so we took an…