Tuscany is about wide open wheat fields, vineyards, cattle, friendly people, great food and fortifications of some sort on every major hill. (Remember to click on a pic to make it bigger...)
On the 14th we arrived via train in Florence and had a driver take us from the train to the car rental company which was quite a distance from the train station.
The route south out of Florence was Byzantine but we managed with some stress.
We experienced the typical Italian predatory driving habits that make driving in Italy not fun. Italians drive fast with what seems like 25 km/hr over the speed limit. Too many tailgate within 10 feet of your trunk.
On two lane highways many drivers drive about a foot over into the oncoming traffic lane. They don't scoot over until you approach them.
Too many pass like they are in some kind of grand prix race. We don't get it. The people we meet are so friendly so we have concluded that there must be some kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde issue going on.
We rented an Audi with automatic transmission. Automatic transmissions are rare in Italy because we are told that Italians like more control of the engine rpm going up and down hills.
In the car rental parking lot we saw an elderly American couple struggling with their manual transmission. The poor guy said he hadn't driven a manual transmission in 30 years. We left the parking lot before they did on purpose.
While we both have experience with our old Subaru's manual transmission we didn't want to deal with a manual transmission here since we are in such an unfamiliar driving environment.
Eric says the Audi handles tightly on the winding two lane Tuscan highways. Sue had to hold on to her roof handle on tight turns so we would keep up with the flow of traffic.
While Eric complains that he is tired of other drivers 'riding his trunk', he gets a glint in his eye (his good eye!) learning Italian predatory driving etiquette.
Our destination was a B&B, Villa Rosa Dei Venti, about 130 miles south of Florence.
Here is a map link.
This location was prime for winding down from the fast pace of Venice and centrally located for visiting some of the ancient hilltop villages and fortifications.
The most famous Tuscan hill city we visited was Cortona. A beautiful city with great trattorias (small family owned restaurants). Hiking up to the old fortress was a real climb. Not too many people were on the trail.
Some more pics around town...
GREAT food!
On our way to our next destination we had time to visit other hill cities. They were very quiet compared to Cortona. See pics below.
Our next destination by car was Hotel Osteria Dell'Orcia, near the ancient thermal baths of Bagno Vignoni. Eric improved his Italian predatory driving skills. To drive your car through a narrow street simply gun the engine just a tad. People instinctively move out of the way.
Here is a link to the map for Bagno Vignoni.
Our next destination by car was Hotel Osteria Dell'Orcia, near the ancient thermal baths of Bagno Vignoni. Eric improved his Italian predatory driving skills. To drive your car through a narrow street simply gun the engine just a tad. People instinctively move out of the way.
Here is a link to the map for Bagno Vignoni.
Here are some pics of the hotel:
The hotel owned a donkey named Zorro that loved to bray when people were around. He a had a large paddock and he loved to carry sticks and eat apples. It was all we could do not to pet him since donkeys can be unpredictable.
Here are some pics of the ancient Roman baths. Visualize all the naked Romans splashing around in the hot water. If walls could talk.
The hotel owned a donkey named Zorro that loved to bray when people were around. He a had a large paddock and he loved to carry sticks and eat apples. It was all we could do not to pet him since donkeys can be unpredictable.
Here are some pics of the ancient Roman baths. Visualize all the naked Romans splashing around in the hot water. If walls could talk.
The food at the hotel was fantastic. Sue enjoyed the pork stomachs.
Next we head to Lucca which is west of Florence...
Next we head to Lucca which is west of Florence...