2022 September Tuscany trip

 The trip home went relatively smoothly although it was a very long day. We got up at 4am in order to get a taxi to the airport at 4:30. Our taxi driver must be a race car driver as it only took 11 minutes to get to the airport which is usually 15 - 30 minutes. Check-in was quick and we were able to have cappuccino and snacks in the lounge before our 6:40 flight to Frankfurt. We arrived in Frankfort around 8:15. The Frankfurt airport is immense and it took a while to get to terminal "Z" where our flight was departing. We waited in line for our first passport check and when it was our turn, we were waved through with the person at the desk saying United had a separate passport check. Then to another line for the official immigration passport check and stamping that we were leaving. Then the United passport check at the gate. Boarding for our 11:20 flight started at 10:30 - a huge Boeing 777. But there were delays waiting for additional luggage to be loaded and we didn't le

The morning started out well. We left the hotel at 9:50 and took a convoluted route to the train station but got there in time for our 10:20 train. It was a smooth 60 mile trip in 37 minutes.  Our friends Sandro and Lidia met us just outside the station and took us on a sighting walk to the main plaza where we had a light drink and snacks. We knew them in Japan 35 years ago and hadn't seen them in many years. It was nice to catch up😊.  We then walked to Trattoria La Finestrella for lunch. This is named for the adjacent window which opens for a view of the narrow canal from the 11th century. It is quite a tourist attraction with a long line to take a photo. I'm not sure of the attraction - it must be in the tour guides.  Then we strolled back through the 19th century garden to the train station and had gelato before heading to our train 🚂. That is where it went downhill ☹️. We went to the right track but got on the wrong train 😳, nonstop to Rome!!! After talking to the conduc

 Before breakfast this morning I went out for a walk - what a difference! Only a few tourists and street cleaners out compared with last evening when the streets were so crowded it was difficult to get through. The Ponte Vecchio only had a few people on it. The mist rising behind the Ponte Vecchio as the sun came up was very pretty. After breakfast, Lucca picked us up for the tour of the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens. The Pitti Palace has quite an interesting history. It was started in the mid-1400s by Luca Pitta, a wealthy banker, who told the architects to spare no expense. Unfortunately, it was so expensive that he went bankrupt and only the first floor was completed. In the mid-1500s, it was purchased cheaply by Eleanora di Toledo, the wife of Cosimo Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany and a second floor was added. In the early 1800s, Napoleon's sister Elizabeth married the Duke of Tuscany and a third floor was added. Napoleon used it as his official residence. The palace w

 It was an early morning with breakfast at 7:00 and leaving for Villa Petriolo at 7:30. Traffic was pretty heavy and it took us a little over 1 1/2 hours to get there. Villa Petriolo is a 15th century villa which is being completely reconstructed to a very luxury small hotel in the Tuscan countryside. There is quite a long single-lane road to get there which makes it interesting when there is oncoming traffic, although there isn't much. The new owners started reconstruction in 2018 and just opened a year and a half ago. Since this is an historic site, all of the buildings need to be restored under government controls for such things so it is surprising they've made progress so quickly.  This is a "regenerative" agri-tourismo. They are trying to manage this as it was 600 years ago, with heirloom pigs, chickens, goats, sheep and crops like wheat, olives, grapes of the time. All of the food at the Michelin-star restaurant uses onsite and local produce. The animals graze

 After a pleasant breakfast, Luca met us at 9:30 for a tour of Florence. He took us on a walk to visit many of this historic and interesting sites on the other side of the Arno River from the main tourist spots. He is an amazing source of detail about the historic buildings and churches, the artwork and other relevant aspects although I'm afraid it is difficult to remember much of the detail. As we crossed over the river we had a good view of the Ponte Vecchio which was was an important bridge at the time of the Emperor Hadrian in the year 123AD. Over the years it was swept away by floods and rebuilt many times. The last was in 1333 and is the bridge one sees today. It is the only bridge in Florence that was not destroyed by bombing in WW II. We crossed back over the river to the Piazza Santa Maria. On the front of the Basilica is a sundial created by a predecessor of Galileo which is said to tell the time in hours, minutes and seconds. There are various lines and pointers but nobo

 We left our hotel in Orvieto at 9:30 and descended down the stairs to the parking area where we were met by Francesco in our minibus. From there it was about a two hour drive to the St. Giorgeo a Lapi winery not far from Siena. We were met by Alberto, the youngest member of the family which with his two older brothers and his sisters run the winery. We walked up to the chapel on a small hill. The chapel was originally founded in 1107 but falling into disrepair during the 100 year war in the 13th century. It was restored in the 15th century with a beautiful fresco of St. George slaying the dragon - this was subsequently painted over (!) and a picture hung over it. In the late 1990s, the chapel was restored, exposing the original fresco which is still partially damaged where the frame was. The winery tours are relatively similar with a description of the different soil types and climates, the types of grapes and how they are grown and harvested, the process to squeeze, ferment, age in s

  Orvieto at sunrise I got up at 7 and followed the path along the cliffs, circling most of the city in about an hour and getting in 5000 steps before breakfast! Unfortunately, Anna has a cold this morning and is not coming with us.😞 We left at 9 for a 2-hour drive to the city of Pienza in Tuscany. It a small town with a population only a little over 2000 but seems pretty substantial with the buildings and large church. Its fortune was pre-figured by the birth in  1405 of the man who would become Pope Pius II. When he became pope in 1462, he enjoyed Pienza in the summer and funded the building of a cathedral and much of the town that exists to this day. Pienza has many shops selling souvenirs and shops selling sausages and cheeses. We encountered many people speaking English. One thing we haven't found is a bakery or general market as we've been looking for bread and crackers. The cathedral is large (of course) but isn't as ornate as many of the others we've seen - the

Orvieto Duomo We had to have our bags packed and outside by 7:30 when we went for breakfast, then on the bus by 8:20. It took about two hours with a quick stop at the AutoGrill which featured in addition, friendly goats and geese. The road was quite winding as we went up and back down over a mountain range. We went to Chef Lorenzo's family farm Casale Polegri for a cooking lesson. Chef Lorenzo is quite renowned, having worked as a chef in the US and cooking at the Obama and Trump White House. He came back to the farm to open an "agri-tourismo", featuring cooking classes, accommodations and a vineyard.  He is quite a dynamic character - you can easily imagine him running a TV cooking show. The 18 of us prepared mushroom and chickpea soup, focaccia, pizza, potato gnocchi and chocolate mousse.  The preparation was accompanied with copious amounts of white wine. The food turned out very well considering the number of cooks involved.😁😁😁 From there it was a short drive the c

Todi Duomo Rose Window Another early morning off to Todi, a small Etruscan, Roman, Medieval city.   First stop was the Todi Duomo on the site of an ancient Roman temple which has beautiful frescoes and a rose window from the 1500s.   Lunch was served at the winery along with bottles of their red and white wines. This was followed by a tour of the winery facility, showing how the wine was made but didn't include a wine-tasting. Back at the Castella, we had our picnic in the room with the fixings we had purchased the previous night in Norcia. Todi Duomo Lunch at the winery View from Todi

Lunch at the Assisi piazza  Saturday was a long day, starting at 8:30 with a bus ride to the city of Assisi, most famous for the St. Francis Cathedral which was built shortly after his death in 1226. It is filled with some of the most beautiful frescoes of the 13th century. At 10:30 we were met by Jerry, a Franciscan serving as a tour guide. He is from Montana (!) and served previously in Mexico, Vietnam and Australia. Although he had only been there 4 months, he had a good knowledge of the history and artwork. We visited the tomb of St. Francis which is in a chamber directly underneath the altar - it is a somber place with many worshippers.  The cathedral has huge lower and upper sanctuaries, with every surface covered with frescoes depicting various religious themes. One of the major characteristics is Giotto's style of portraying lifelike facial images.  Leaving the cathedral, we walked up (lots of up!) to the main piazza in front of the ancient Roman temple going back to 241BC.