Our trip to Italy in early September actually started in Girona, a lovely city in northeastern Spain known for it’s medieval architecture. We took a train about 60 miles up the coast and spent the night in Girona before flying to Pisa, Italy. For the Game of Thrones fans among our subscribers, you may be interested to know that there was a scene filmed in the old part of the city.

Our daughter Amelia and son-in-law Ryan had already planned to go to Italy in September so we thought this was the perfect opportunity to see them and Italy!

We arrived in Pisa and of course, had to do what everyone else visiting Pisa does and go see the famous leaning tower. It is actually a very pretty building.

Then we took a half hour train ride east to Lucca where we met Amelia and Ryan.

Lucca is in Tuscany northwest of Florence. It is famous for it’s Renaissance era walls that completely surround the oldest part of the city. There is a wide tree lined street atop the wall where we had a pleasant stroll.

Many composers and musicians are from Lucca and it is the birthplace of the famous opera composer Giacomo Puccini. His home is now a museum.

There are numerous plazas filled with colorful outdoor cafes offering the most tempting food! The buildings in the old part of town have an interesting striped pattern.

The Guinigi Tower in the old part of the city has trees growing from the top. Our last morning there we climbed to the top for some spectacular views of the city.

The next day we all piled in a car with Ryan at the wheel and headed for some little mountain villages. We arrived in Volterra, southwest of Florence, after a few wrong turns and detours. Ryan was doing great, it was the navigators that were having some issues! Volterra, besides being known for its alabaster is also where the 2008 film Twilight was partially filmed. There is evidence that this town has been inhabited since the 8th century BC. We got to see some of the ruins from the Romans and the Etruscans before them.

Another mountain village that we visited a short drive away was San Gimignano. What makes this town so notable are the dozen or so intact medieval towers still standing over the village. It is known as the town of fine towers.

The next day we headed to Cinque Terra. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is so beautiful and interesting. Cinque Terra means five lands, and it is a national park that includes five seaside villages that are connected by boat, rail and walking trails. Unfortunately, the area suffered terribly from torrential rains in 2011. Some of the trails are still closed.

We stayed in the village of Manarola where we took a sunset boat tour which included all the beer and wine we cared to drink. It turned out there were two other couples from Minnesota on the tour as well!

The hillsides are very steep around these villages and have been terraced for centuries. There are vineyards and gardens growing on the terraces along with hiking trails.

Too soon it was time to leave for Florence, known in Italy as Firenze.  Florence was also a beautiful place to visit, but very crowded with tourists. One of the first things we saw was a statue of David in the Piazzale Michelangelo that offered a  panoramic view of the  city. It was a replica, as the original is inside the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence.

Florence is known for it’s Renaissance art and architecture and is considered by many to be the birthplace of the Renaissance. We stayed in the old city center in an historic building where we could walk to all the museums we wanted to. Florence is full of museums but we only had time to visit the Uffizi Gallery and the Galileo Museum, both excellent museums. Both of these museums were within blocks of the Arno River where we saw the Ponte Vecchio, which is best admired from the riverbanks. The shops on the bridge seemed to be only jewelry shops that all looked about the same.

The next day our planned Vespa tour was rained out so we went on a vineyard tour. Right before we got in the van for the tour, Roy noticed that his wallet had been stolen! This put a bit of a damper on our moods for awhile as it involved a flurry of telephone calls to various banks and credit card companies.

We visited two vineyards and got to taste the wines and tour the cellars. It was a fun group to travel with – there were two other American women, an Australian couple, Amelia & Ryan and us. At the last stop they fed us a big meal where the food just kept coming and everything was exquisite! The good company, good food and good wine did wonders for taking our minds off our misfortune.

 

After a week of traveling with Amelia and Ryan it was time to go our separate ways. We had a great time hanging out together and will miss them! They continued on to Venice while we rented a car and drove to Bergamo which is near Milan. On the way we drove past an area where marble was being mined. In the photo you can see the mountains in the background where the marble came from and big blocks of marble in the foreground.

We drove through a town called Suvero that I will never forget! The streets were so steep and narrow that even driving a small car, I could not make the corners without stopping and backing up.

We spent the night at a resort hotel near Suvero that was not at all crowded and continued the next day towards Bergamo where we planned to catch a flight to Stockholm. We had a time to visit the Lago d’Iseo, a quieter lake near the more famous Lake Como before it was time to leave Italy.

Roy will be telling you all about our trip to Scandinavia in the next post. Arrivederci!