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A Tour of Tuscan Towns

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  We bid farewell to Florence on Saturday as we hopped on the 130 bus to take us to our chosen base of operations for the next 5 days: Colle di Val d’Elsa. When I researched Tuscany, it seemed to me that this town was the geographic center for visiting Siena, San Gimignano, and Volterra and was well served by the extraurbano bus system. But I never gave much thought to what we would experience in Colle di Val d’Elsa itself.  What a pleasant surprise it was! And we might never have realized what a treat it was had we not chosen an AirBnb situated in the centro storico, perched high above the newer part of the town. Colle Alta Not only was it high, the climb to reach it was one of the steepest paved (mostly bricks) roadways I have ever attempted. Of course, maybe my advanced age makes comparisons with past hills suspect. I ended up tacking back and forth like a sailboat heading into the wind. To our complete surprise, when we turned the corner to enter the main street of the upp...
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Five Fabulously Full Days in Florence

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I have the unenviable task of writing about our time in Florence, which included visits to 9 churches, 4 museums, 4 palaces and 2 gardens, knowing full well that almost everyone receiving this note has walked these stone slab streets, trudged through these museums, marveled at these art works, and taken enough photos to fill a bookshelf of albums. Undaunted, my fingers tense above the keys and I begin . . . From a distance, Florence (Firenze to Italians) appears like the perfect tourist destination. With over 60 museums, most of which are packed into a walkable centro storico, and a concentration of more 14th and 15th century artwork than any city in the world, it has been a premiere stop on the Grand Tour since the early 17th century. Recent statistics suggest that as many as 80,000 tourists a day from every corner of the earth vie for spots in the long lines before such popular items as the Uffizi and Accademia. Which, as you have already guessed, means that you are literally rubbing...
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