I think that if Michelangelo’s David and Botticelli’s (birth of) Venus had babies, they would so very beautiful. Either that, or they’d be exceptionally ugly, although no one would dare say so, because of the radiating elegance of their parents. (Excuse the repeat comment, for those of you on Facebook!)
Once again on a train, this time heading to Orvieto, in the Umbria region. We wave a fond farewell to lush nature of Tuscany. After a full couple days exploring Florence – the Accademia and its lovely David, the Duomo, the markets, the Uffizi and its many wonders, Michelangelo’s Piazza with its stunning views of the city – we took some day trips to the country side. Monday we were blown away by San Gimignano. If you want Tuscany, you want San Gimignana. We climbed the 218 steps of the tower (it was no 463 of the Duomo) and it took our breath away. The shades of greens and yellows that are possible in the fields make you want to roll down the hills and pick flowers and skip and hold hands. There are many ceramic shops too, and I like to imagine that someday – ten years from now? – I’ll be able to decorate my home with some of those pieces. We had amazing gelato, from a place that apparently has been named World’s Best Gelato, from 2006-2009. Who decides these things and how can I get involved? The latter half of the day we went to Siena. Now we’ve seen a lot of churches, but I especially loved the Duomo here. There were so many interesting features about it; so much to look at. It was a gothic-style church too, which I enjoy, and the blues of the ceiling were vibrant.
Tuesday we went to Lucca, to walk around the city’s wall. This city was so green, and had a lot of park space, something that is lacking in a lot of places we’ve been. I quite appreciated that. It was a leisurely day for a stroll. There were so many folks out biking, too, which was nice. There were a lot of tandem bikers. Mom and I agreed that we would never get on one of those things together, if ever at all: disaster waiting to happen. Lucca is said to have the best chocolate shop in all of Italy. I was all set on having a dark chocolate truffle. Sadly when we got to its doors, we read the sign saying they were closed from July 1 to August 8. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Oh! We totally went to Pisa on our way back to Florence. We got off, took silly photos at the tower, then caught the next train back. Haha.
Florence wins points for its views, its extra friendly and helpful people, Carabé gelato (another delicious stop), the art, and our pizza last night (I realized I hadn’t had pizza in almost a week…in Italy! Can you imagine?). It loses points for being smelly. Also, getting to the end of our travels in Italy, mom and I are both tired. We’ve been moving at what we call the “Florence pace”. The other evening, a walk that should have taken us about 25 minutes took us an hour, because we were moving so slowly. And of course, we had to stop at the outdoor couch. It had our names written all over it.
Once again on a train, this time heading to Orvieto, in the Umbria region. We wave a fond farewell to lush nature of Tuscany. After a full couple days exploring Florence – the Accademia and its lovely David, the Duomo, the markets, the Uffizi and its many wonders, Michelangelo’s Piazza with its stunning views of the city – we took some day trips to the country side. Monday we were blown away by San Gimignano. If you want Tuscany, you want San Gimignana. We climbed the 218 steps of the tower (it was no 463 of the Duomo) and it took our breath away. The shades of greens and yellows that are possible in the fields make you want to roll down the hills and pick flowers and skip and hold hands. There are many ceramic shops too, and I like to imagine that someday – ten years from now? – I’ll be able to decorate my home with some of those pieces. We had amazing gelato, from a place that apparently has been named World’s Best Gelato, from 2006-2009. Who decides these things and how can I get involved? The latter half of the day we went to Siena. Now we’ve seen a lot of churches, but I especially loved the Duomo here. There were so many interesting features about it; so much to look at. It was a gothic-style church too, which I enjoy, and the blues of the ceiling were vibrant.
Tuesday we went to Lucca, to walk around the city’s wall. This city was so green, and had a lot of park space, something that is lacking in a lot of places we’ve been. I quite appreciated that. It was a leisurely day for a stroll. There were so many folks out biking, too, which was nice. There were a lot of tandem bikers. Mom and I agreed that we would never get on one of those things together, if ever at all: disaster waiting to happen. Lucca is said to have the best chocolate shop in all of Italy. I was all set on having a dark chocolate truffle. Sadly when we got to its doors, we read the sign saying they were closed from July 1 to August 8. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Oh! We totally went to Pisa on our way back to Florence. We got off, took silly photos at the tower, then caught the next train back. Haha.
Florence wins points for its views, its extra friendly and helpful people, Carabé gelato (another delicious stop), the art, and our pizza last night (I realized I hadn’t had pizza in almost a week…in Italy! Can you imagine?). It loses points for being smelly. Also, getting to the end of our travels in Italy, mom and I are both tired. We’ve been moving at what we call the “Florence pace”. The other evening, a walk that should have taken us about 25 minutes took us an hour, because we were moving so slowly. And of course, we had to stop at the outdoor couch. It had our names written all over it.
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