This morning we headed across the Arno again to see the wooden crucifix by Michelangelo in Santo Spirito Church. The story is that Michelangelo gave the crucifix to the church in gratitude for letting him sneak in to the affiliated hospital "where the young Michelangelo enjoyed free rein for his studies of anatomy". We briefly wandered through the market in the piazza outside the church, then went on to the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens where we ended up spending most of the day. At the Pitti, we viewed a special exhibit of Caravagio's and followers' paintings, had a tour of the "King's Apartments", wound our way through the many other Versailles-like rooms of the Apartmenti Reali, that had once been inhabited by Florentine movers & shakers---from the Pittis (big banking family) and their rivals the ... read more

Firenze in the fall=frenetic, filled with tourists, fantastically photogenic (but hard to capture with a camera)... Well, before I get too carried away with the alliterations, I plan to give a BRIEF summary of each day's adventures, and tell the story mostly with pictures--I know that's what you want, anyway! Day 1--We awoke to rain :-( and Dave starting to feel a cold coming on :-( :-( Chris had to go to Sienna for a class, so we spent the day revisiting some of our favorite haunts from previous visit: Santa Croce, Piazza della Signoria, Duomo Plaza, etc. Dinner at Osteria di Giovanni, where we were sat in the "American tourist" room in the back--felt a little disenfranchised, but our waiter was very good. The food was good, but not as wonderful as we'd hoped... But ... read more

Stress-free Stresa lived up to its reputation today, as we found out that YESTERDAY was the last day many of the tourist attractions were open, including the famous Borromean Palace and Gardens on Isola Bella, and that starting today the ferry schedule and destinations served are now much reduced. Although we were disappointed, the situation allowed for a more mellow day, and we found enough to amuse ourselves... We caught the ferry to Isola Bella, anyway, and had a look around. The island felt deserted, save for the ubiquitous booths selling flea market goods lining the street leading from the ferry. We wandered the narrow, cobblestone streets, and found the only things open were the tourist shops. Since the ferry didn’t return for an hour, we were “forced” to have a look, and ended up making ... read more

We awoke to the predicted overcast skies and rain in the valley, but thought we might escape it if we went above it to the top of the ridge, and do some hiking between the small villages up there. We took the cable car up only to be greeted by gentle flakes of snow that were beginning to fall. Not to be thwarted, we took the tram to Murren, instead of hiking there, and did the shorter, but certainly more picturesque hike (at least on this day when there were again no views of the valley below to be had) from there to Gimmelwald. It was a delightful little hike, and not at all uncomfortable. Lots of classic photo ops, which are shared with you below. At the opposite end of the ridge, we took the ... read more

We said goodbye to Lucerne, still under gray skies, and headed for the train station for our anticipated "Golden Pass Scenic Train" ride to the Berner-Oberland area of Switzerland. We had planned to upgrade our seats to the panoramic view cars, but when we arrived, we found our train had only one such car, and it was reserved for a Chinese tour group... But our second class regular car seats turned out to be just as good, since there was not much "scenic" to see--the darned fog followed us west to our next destination!! After changing trains in Interlaken, we arrived at Lauterbrunnen about midday, and schelpped our bags down the main street to the Hotel Oberland. The town and the entire valley were covered with a ceiling of fog, and again the cliffs and peaks ... read more