Took a bus to San Gimignano, walked up and down a hill, did some people-watching, visit and lunch at Fattoria Poggio Allora agritourism farm, bought saffron and ordered wine, toured the organic farm, back to Firenze! Dinner at Belle Donna—salad for me, veggie risotto for Mike, after big lunch at the farm. Found a wine door, then walked on back to the hotel. HAPPY NEW YEAR!... read more

12/30/23 Started the day with a quick history of Florence: Foundation of Florence: Roman Florence, about year 0 to 500 AD 1st-2nd cent CE:Fiorentia grows into a minor Roman city 59 BC: Rome a Republic, not yet Empire, about 20,000 people (amphitheater would hold); military camp, grew into a city. Roman towns are exactly the same: grid plan, forum, bath complex, theater, etc., city walls, amphitheater is now Santa Croce; pieces of Roman Florence do exist; forum is now Piazza della Republica 312 Constantine legalized Christianity Gothic (northern european) invasions by end of 300s 476, end of Roman Empire; 405, Fiorentina–Chritian god helped them beat a Gothic invasion; the entire population were immediately converted to Christianity; build first church in Fiorentia Early Medieval Florence, about 500 to 800/1000 AD: end of Romans, ‘dark ages’ 400s-50... read more

Our plane back to Dublin wasn't scheduled until about 4 p.m. and we were able to leave our luggage in the lounge at the Edelweiss and wander the city a bit more, walking along the Promenade, which we'd said all week we'd like to do! Rode the bus to the airport (said goodbye to the Fairy Bridge), flew to Dublin, found the shuttle to the Hilton, had dinner and a great shower. In the morning, caught an early shuttle to the airport so I'd have time to retrieve our checked luggage from Terminal One, move some stuff around for weight/space, check the luggage, and get through security. We stopped at the Duty Free shop to fulfill a friend's request. The great thing about flying out of Dublin is that American Customs has space there (the only ... read more

We had signed up for an Isle of Man Trike Tour. We chose the East Coast tour which went north, up the east coast to Ramsey, with a couple stops, then returned via part of the TT course. The Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) is the ultimate 'must see it' event for motorsport fans across the globe. Every May and June the Isle, a tiny country between England and Ireland, turns into motorcycle nirvana as the world's greatest road racers gather to test themselves against the incredible 37.73 mile 'Mountain Course' (https://www.iomtt.com/tt-info). We were NOT there to see the race but were interested in it because it's such a big event for the island. There were several cycle enthusiasts staying at our hotel earlier in the week, just come over to ride the course before ... read more

As we were flying to Isle of Man (which meant no free luggage) and staying only for four days, we didn't need three weeks worth of clothes (nor any of the souvenirs we'd already gotten) so we reorganized so we could take only the smaller suitcase and stored the larger suitcase. We had done that in 2017 so Sue had a vague idea of where the desk was and was able to walk/roll the big one over to Terminal 1. It's a forever walk (so it seems) and a shuttle ride to the smaller plane for Isle of Man. Happily, you can't get on the shuttle till the plane is landed and ready to go again. The flight was delayed about an hour but it stays light so late that there was no worry. The flight ... read more