Tuscany - A wine tour

 We decided to take a wine tour by bus from Florence. We met the bus at Piazzale Montelungo. The first thing that we noticed was that all the other guests were young Americans who were on Spring break.

The trip to the first winery took about 50 minutes as we climbed in the mountains of Tuscany. 

We arrived at Sant Appiano, the winery has some wonderful views over the Tuscan countryside. 

We were given a tour of the wine cellars by the owner and then made our way up to the loft for the wine tasting. We tasted Five different wines including 2 types of chianti, a white wine and a sparkling wine, these were accompanied by bread, ham and cheese.

We then headed off to our second winery named  Tenuta Torciano in the village of San Gimignano.  We were shown in a beautifully decorated tasting area and our host,  Isabella,  told us all about the wines they produce, we tried several different wines again accompanied by cheese and ham.

Views of Florence

 After a good breakfast we hopped on a local bus on the banks of the Arno and headed up the hill side passing some sumptuous villas.

We then reached Piazzale Michelangelo,  a Square that has outstanding views of Florence and the surrounding countryside. The weather was glorious and the City views just superb. 

In the Piazzale stands a striking copy of Michelangelo's "David" surrounded by four smaller statues. 

We then headed back down to the City, where we stopped off at a local cafe for coffees and fruit tartlets for a bargain price of 5 euros. 

We the walked over to the bus station and caught the bus to the village of Fiesole. The journey takes about 25minutes as the bus climbs high into the surrounding hills.

We got off the bus at the local square that has a statue of two horsemen chatting on their mounts.

We then strolled up a narrow, steep street until we reached a viewpoint that once again had tremendous views of the city,  albeit from a different side of the City.

We walked back to the local square and stopped of at the De Javue cafe for a pasta lunch and a glass of wine.

In the evening we walked over the Trinity bridge into another  area of the City. Our first stop was at "Tuscan taste", a unique little place that was a cross between a delicatessen, beer and wine shop and a cookery school. 

The owner Eduardo made us feel very welcome as we enjoyed a glass of wine as we discussed Italian traditions, the City of Florence and their attitude to visitors. 

We finished the evening with a meal at the quirky "Dalla Lola" where we tried a number of local dishes.

A morning in Florence

 Our day began with another stroll around the beautiful City of Florence. We started at Piazza Della Signoria with its imposing 700 year old Plazzo Vecchio. 

The Piazza has a number of statues including a copy of "David" by Michaelangelo and Perseus with the head of Medusa. 

The next stop was at Piazza di Santa Croce with its imposing Basilica of Santa Croce. 

We then walked along the banks of the River Arno in some beautiful sunshine.

Our next stop was at Piazza della Annunziata , the Piazza is named after the church of Annunziata at the head of the square which also has a striking statue of Ferdinando 1. 

We then head over to Mercato Cetrale Firenze (Florence's central market) which is a riot of colour with numerous stalls selling fresh fish, friut and vegetables, spices etc. 

The stallhoders were very friendly encouraging us to try some samples.

We went upstairs to the food court for a bite to eat and a glass of wine.

Arriving in Florence

 We arrived at Florence's Santa Maria Novella train station at 2.15 in the afternoon and took the short walk to our hotel Davanzati.

We unpacked and the set about exploring the Old town, the place is a warren of narrow streets and ancient impressive buildings.  We crossed over the Ponta Santa Trinita bridge that spans, the river Arno. 

We wandered the narrow streets and the crossed back over river using the medieval Ponte Vecchio bridge and continued  along the riverside walk.

We continued exploring the fascinating streets with numerous impressive buildings until we reached the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

This cathedral is simply breathtaking ,dating back to the 1200's . The exterior is covered in a decorative mix of pink, white and green marble. The building dominates the City of Florence

In the evening we walk over to Trattoria Marione al Trebbio for a very good meal before strolling over to Piazza della Repubblica to watch the street performers. 

From Rome to Florence

 We started the day with an early morning walk around the City. The first stop was the Vittorio Emanuele Monument which an impressive sight. 

The sunrise gave the buildings and monuments a superb glow.

We walk up the steep steps to Campidoglio, which is a Hilltop square designed by Michaelangelo.  From this vantage point there are views over the City and the Roman forum.

We then strolled over Temple of Hercules Victor, an ancient temple surrounded by marble columns in a setting of gardens and trees.

Next stop was Circus Maximus, the ancient Roman stadiud that once held chariot racing. 

We checked out of our hotel and walked over to the main railway station (Termini) and boarded the Frecciarossa Express train to Florence. The train sped through the Tuscany countryside at 250 km/h with some great views of the small ancient villages that we passed and the snow capped mountains in the distance. 

The journey took around 90 minutes and we enjoyed the complementary drinks and snacks.