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Published: January 20th 2023
The Intrepid tour group was small – five participants plus our local leader. The small group size made for easy coordination and movement as we travelled by train from Rome to Venice via Florence, Lucca, La Spezia (the Cinque Terre), Asti, Milan and Lake Como. Many thanks to Ana, Paul, Brenda, Mariah and Andrea for making the two weeks fly by. Lots of good memories, food and wine! Lots and lots of wine…
We spent the first morning together doing a walking tour of some of the Rome sights, then headed to Florence by train (2-ish hours) for a couple of nights. I had been in Florence twice previously but had never been to the Accademia to see Michelangelo’s David, so that was my primary goal. Third time lucky and it was worth the wait! Crowded (but again, that was the theme everywhere it seemed) but still places to sit and observe Michelangelo’s masterpiece. The Accademia is more than just the David, so I spent another hour exploring the rest of the gallery before wandering off to see more of Florence. History in literally every piazza! I love Florence for how compact and walkable it is.
The second morning
in Florence was spent visiting another gallery I had never been to, the Bargello Museum. More fantastic sculpture and artwork.
Galleria dell'Accademia - Wikipedia Michelangelo - Wikipedia Bargello - Wikipedia Florence Cathedral - Wikipedia Florence - Wikipedia Our next destination was Lucca, a walled, Renaissance city about 75km north of Florence. Highlights here included an evening Puccini concert in a former church and a morning cycle along the city walls into the countryside. Giancomo Puccini was born in Lucca and was one of Italy’s foremost opera composers. Lucca was also memorable for the torrential downpour of rain during our second dinner there – it was wild but fortunately didn’t last for too long so we were able to walk back to the hotel eventually.
Lucca - Wikipedia Giacomo Puccini - Wikipedia We spent an afternoon in Pisa as it is only 30 minutes from Lucca by train. It was cool and rainy so not a bad thing to be inside of the Cathedral and Baptistry. I had been to Pisa a couple of times in the past, so no Tower climb for me. It was amusing to watch the crowds trying to take the perfect "leaning" photo of the Tower though! I was very impressed with the frescos
in the Campo Santo area of the Cathedral complex - the colours and designs really pop in some of them. Quite remarkable given their age and the fact they are covered over top but otherwise exposed to the fresh air.
Pisa Cathedral - Wikipedia Leaning Tower of Pisa - Wikipedia Pisa Baptistery - Wikipedia Camposanto Monumentale di Pisa - Wikipedia
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Jane
non-member comment
Thanks
Our last family holiday in Europe was staying g in a villa outside of Lucca and exploring Florence, Sienna and Pisa. Thank you for bringing ginger back some great memories.