http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Italy , Tuscany en-us Tue, 10 Nov 09 15:43:23 +0000 Tue, 10 Nov 09 15:43:23 +0000 our tous groups3 DAYS2NIGHTSTuscany famous for its great artistic cultural and natural heritage is also a region rich in food and wine traditions. We can offer a tour to discover wines typical products and traditional recipes with ldquogenuinenessrdquo as main ingredient.1st day Arrival in the afternoon and accommodation in a farm holiday part of a big farmhouse. We will visit the ce http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Arezzo/blog-451702.html our tour groups4 DAYS 3 NIGHTS1st day Assisi. The visit begins with the Porziuncola in Santa Maria degli Angeli the tiny oratory where the story of the Francescan Order began and where the saint died. We will go on to Assisi and visit the Basilica with the frescoes of Giotto and the tomb of the saint. Then on to the Gothic Church of Santa Chiara and the Medieval centre of the town. In the af http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Arezzo/blog-451682.html our tours groups3 DAYS2 NIGHTSThe province of Arezzo is extraordinarily rich in Etruscan archaeological sites. This tour was offered for the first time in 2008 following new discoveries and the opening of new display areas at the MAEC museum in Cortona.1st day Arrival at the hotel. Visit to the Archaeological Museum of Arezzo and tour of the old town centre. Visit to Casentino valley with its http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Arezzo/blog-451674.html our tours groups4 DAYS 3 NIGHTS1st day in the morning visit Poppi a Medieval village in the Casentino valley and the Conti Guidi castle. Taste typical products Scarpaccia ham cheese from the Talla dairy. In the afternoon a visit to the Castle and the Parish Church of Romena. Dinner and overnight stay in hotel.2nd day after breakfast the Romanesque trip continues with a short stop at the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Arezzo/blog-451627.html our tours groups5 DAYS4 NIGHTS1st day Completely dedicated to a guided tour of Arezzo. We will visit the Logge del Vasari in Piazza Grande the Romanesque Church of Santa Maria the Church of San Domenico with a crucifix by Cimabue and the Cathedral plus the nearby park perched on all that remains of the townrsquos ancient walls. Lastly we will visit Piero della Francescarsquos masterpiec http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Arezzo/blog-450905.html Wow it's been awhile. We've been biking almost every day since Florence in some pretty remote parts of Tuscany so it's been hard to find time to write. Biking through Tuscany has been an interesting experience. On one hand the food is amazing and everywhere you look there's olive trees and fields of vineyards turning yellow and orange. But on the other hand those rolling hills of Tuscany are not http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Pisa/blog-450691.html Day 14 LuccaWe rented bikes today and rode around on the city walls 4.2 kilometers and we went around twice... in the warm sun....the city is very liveable...compact and with many nocar areas. They are beginning to take down the many many tents that cover each of the plazas put up for the giant comicgaming fair over the weekend. Hopefully some will be gone before we leave.After our bike http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-450445.html Texto em breve http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-450305.html This is a small bay east of the citadel above Porto Azzurro. Good anchorage with north winds or calm weather. Stay out of the white buoys. Anchor in 510 mt sand. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Isola-d--Elba/blog-450282.html Florence is a very walkable city with lots of great Gelato places. But don't go to this one. It's next to the Loggia in the Piazza Della Signoria. See the picture. We got ripped for 10EU per cone http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-449495.html A couple of weeks ago we went to the Boboli Gardens which is connected with the Pitti Palace but we didn't go into the palace that day. We stopped to get a few sandwiches and ate them in the Gardens. The Boboli Gardens are open and uphill so it was a little hike to the top and along the way there are paths to either side to explore further. A person could spend all day in the Gardens exploring st http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-448689.html Florence ItalyMonday October 26 2009As I sat on the steps of the Duomo in Pisa and watched the people milling about the leaning tower I started thinking about engineering. You see the leaning tower of Pisa wasn't designed to sit at that angle but through a series of engineering mishaps and miracles it has ended up that way. What started out as a simple bell tower for the town's church turn http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-448456.html ciao everybody It's my last night in Firenze Florence for all you gringos... Just kidding and I finally have time to write an entry. Thankfully this hostel has wifi but only on the first floor. But hey works for me. Actually the hostel itself is an interesting story. Ah yes Interesting story 6 and yes I know it's ridiculous to try to keep track because obviously I have more than 6 in http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-448433.html We've been in Florence for the last few days and I'm sad to leave this morning because it means biking every day again. Not that the biking itself is bad just that our lack of planning causes a panic every day at 4pm about where we're going to stay that night. It always seems to work itself out though.Florence was really nice though it rained yesterday. We visited the statue of David what a te http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-448040.html Wednesday 21st OctoberAn Italian beach resort....in the rainPlaces with shutters do keep the light out exceptionally well and our unit in lsquothe ghost villagersquonear Grossetto certainly did that.All the same it didnrsquot take us long to shower and have breakfast and prepare for the road trip further north up the western coast of Italy.We had only brought in our backpacks and food as we http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/blog-448000.html Many people visit this Northern Italy region named EmiliaRomagna for many worldfamed attractions. The genius of man and the mystery of nature gave birth to the Renaissance movement here. Legends such as Leonardo da Vinci Michelangelo Buonarroti Giovanni Da Verrazzano Dante Alighieri Giovanni Boccaccio Niccol Machiavelli Antonio Meucci and Amerigo Vespucci shaped our sciences peotries a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/blog-447972.html Florence This album is a combination of photos from two of my different staystrips in Florence. The first was from from August my first month in Italy when I lived in Florence while I was taking the certification course to become an English Teacher in Italy. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures during this time because I was too busy with the class. The second set of pictures is from when http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-447496.html From Shell Florence was yet another surprise. Very clean very easy to walk around the historical centre not too packed this time of year and some great museums if you time it right.Timing it right requires what you might expect checking the opening hours and the standard days of closure. But it also requires investigating additional things like are there alternating closure times and dat http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-447004.html So I think I've got this thing figured out but still need to work on how to get pictures loaded up. Haven't really taken a lot yet but I plan on taking a bunch this weekend. Arrived safely although without my iPod I left it on the plane from Phillie to Amsterdam. Ridiculous thing was before I got on the plane I bought a chargerspeaker for it Anyway I'm in class most of the day. I should http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-446954.html The last week has been so crazy Kuba and I have been biking almost every day. After Ferrara we went to Bologna which was nice but pretty uneventful. Besides all the meat So much meat Their speciality is ham and we spared no little piggies. We also visited a place that strangely reminded me of an Italian Horseshoe. This bar has served only alcohol no water or food people brought their own http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Pisa/blog-446923.html