FIRST – TWO THINGS TO KNOW 1) To return to this home page from anywhere, click above on the title, “Two Weeks In Tuscany” 2) The posts are in Chronological Order, the way a journey runs, from the start to … Continue reading
This is not at all as easy as it seems. Conventional wisdom says, go online and do a Google search on phrases such as “discount airfare” or “cheap airfare” or “airfare consolidator.” That works if you have hours of infinite … Continue reading
Yes, Yes, I know . . . this is not in Tuscany. But it’s one of a few pages of side trips with my dark companion. One of the interesting things about travel to famous places is how the encounter … Continue reading
Morning comes to Siena like the aristocrat she is, quietly, with grace and dignity befitting her age and station. The night of repose is over. Soft but insistent light of a new day pushes away the shadows, slowly but steadily … Continue reading
The Basilica San Lorenzo (also known as The Dom or the cathedral), at the heart of Florence – no it is not at the heart, I’d say it is the heart – is an astounding piece of art. It is … Continue reading
We took a tour after dinner on one of those double-deck buses. Two hours, I recall. Maybe 8pm when we started. Dark out. After passing around and through city streets, stopping next to shuttered churches and in empty city squares, … Continue reading
Siena awakens when the tourists awaken. And they all roll downhill through curving, steep and narrow streets to what may be the most interesting and engaging public space (wiki: Piazza del Campo) you have ever seen. I have no doubt … Continue reading
On the day that I was walking past the tourist trap DaVinci “museum” in Florence, I did not know that the wooden bike out front was a phony. By phony, I do not mean it is not the original made … Continue reading
This is the Italy I have been seeking. I had planned to spend one night in Lucca but spent three. I learned that you can ignore the guidebooks. In chorus they all say you can “see” Lucca in half a … Continue reading
Lucca is the birthplace and early home of Giacamo (Jacob, we would say in English) Puccini, composer of the most sublime romantic operas. That’s his childhood home to the left of his statue. If you take the sign behind him … Continue reading