FLORENCE

We couldn't visit Florence without paying a visit to Michelangelo's famous  "David" - Good thing we were told to prebook our tickets, as you can see from the queue, he's a very popular boy. 

Then a walk over Ponte Vecchio - it is one of the oldest & most photographed bridges in Florence (I thought the shops on the bridge looked like they were ready to topple into the Arno river)

As you pass over the bridge it is lined on both sides with jewellery shops

 Up to the Piazzale Michelangelo (lots of steps) for a great view of the city

Florence was incredibly crowded & full of people begging or trying to sell you their products of imitation brands - It is actually an offence in Florence to purchase imitation designer brands on the street - so remember - if caught, you will be charged.

Churches everywhere

Exhausted we made our way back to Lucca on a very slow train.

 

EXPLORING LUCCA

We climbed to the top of one of the many bell towers to view Lucca from above. 

This tower had trees growing on top of it.

The city was full of charm with friendly happy locals. One night after dinner, Cliff & I went for a walk and came across a street where everyone was dancing on the road (there is no room in the bars)  they were having such a great time. Now you need to understand - the roads are only wide enough for one car, so when a car wanted to pass they would all dance backwards towards the building, let the car through & then dance back to the centre of the road. 

We bought a vino & stood back to watch the fun

Everyone eats very late in Lucca  - we came across a group of children playing soccer at 10pm while mums & dads were eating at the local cafe.

"Husband day care centre" in the piazza - Cliff & Doug quite liked the sound of this one.

You could wander this city for days & not come across the same street twice.

Plenty of international entertainers coming to Lucca for the Summer Festival.

For lunch we decided to go back to our eclectic restaurant to celebrate the birth of our new grandson "Daniel Alexander Connor" - We were feeling very proud.

LUCCA

Lucca is the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini.  We went to a recital of some of his works in the San Giovanni church. The acoustics were incredible. It only went for 1 hour so Dougie & Cliff weren't too bored. 

Another day in Lucca but today was the biggest antique market in Tuscany and also the Mille Miglia (Thousand Mile) vintage car race across Italy which came through the centre of Lucca & straight through the piazza. 

We had a decision to make, we could either sit in our apartment & look out the window OR we could find one of the best tables in the piazza, order pizza, drink wine, beer & watch the show - which one do you thing we opted for?

"OMG" said Rob when she saw the size of the pizza!!

There were many show cars (Ferrari & Mercedes) to entertain the crowds before the race cars arrived

Finally the vintage cars made their way to the piazza - all 400 of them for the long procession

The Italians are vey relaxed - not too much crowd control in the streets - people casually walking with race cars trying to pass through the crowds.

After the excitement of the day  we dined at an eclectic trattoria  "Da Ubaldo " The owner was quite a character, he enjoyed toasting with us, he spoke Italian only (notice the wine bottles with his image)

What a great finish to the day. 

Now for a couple of days to explore Lucca before we hit Florence to check out David.

 

SURROUNDING VILLAGES OF TUSCANY & UMBRIA

We set out for Cardosso - This was the village we had originally booked for 2 weeks, but through good fortune for us, the booking was cancelled by the owner. It was lovely BUT a very small village high up on a hillside, no public transport & probably would have been way too quiet for us noisy Connors.

The villages are part of the Garfagnana region of northern Tuscany, it is an area of valleys and mountains. But a word of warning - if you suffer from hay fever, don't visit in spring - the air is thick with pollen.  Most of the town are medieval with Barga (no folks not Bargo) being a popular tourist spot. Great bars & ristorantes can be found in most of the towns and of course - we have tried one or two.

Montecarlo (not to be confused with the Monte-carlo casino) Once again another pretty village - each village has it's own charm but after a while - they all start to look alike.

We visited the village of Volterra - which is the Italian town in the movie "Twilight" (although it wasn't actally filmed in Volterra - it was filmed in Montepulciano) - It was a large town with lots of historical sites.  It did have a vampire cult which could have been the reason why the author used the town for the book.

early roman site 

We found a friendly cafe for lunch 

ASSISI (UMBRIA REGION)

Approaching the Basilica di San Francesco (Basilica of St Fancis) certainly was an impressive sight.

St Francis is the patron saint of animals & the ecology (my kind of person) - The structure was completed in the mid 1200's.

Rob & I saying a prayer before entering the church

town square

The best pastry shops we have seen so far - trying to choose was difficult

Wild boar is part of the local cuisine - I enjoyed a very flavoursome wild boar ragout. 

Enough of visiting villages - time to explore Lucca.