journeywithmadonna

Musicians greeted us as we walked towards duomo…..they were great and Jim and Marilyn Immediately decided to pay their dues while I snapped the photo

Madonna and Child are everywhere!

Time to leave Florence behind……….certainly a place to come back to!

What a beautiful city!   These pictures taken on the ipad cannot even touch upon its beauty and give you a reason to come here……but it’s all I got because I refuse to become more technologically savy when I am on vacation because doing what I am doing, at the simplest level, sometimes stresses me out.  We spent two days in Florence and as you know from the previous picture of David we visited the Academie and later did the Uffisi Museum.    Let me say I am currently museum/art/cultured out because the Academie and Uffusi have done me in!   Those of you who know me well, and Jim too, know that we enjoy art but can easily become overwhelmed by it……and in Florence it is overwhelmingly beautiful amd that’s the reason we returned the second day.   Loved the city and its art and just strolling around was wonderful.   It was the most expensive city yet for a gelato and I definitely would have returned it if I hadn’t already licked it……..good luck I guess!  On the second day in Florence we noticed a stronger police presence and after what happened in Paris recently you notice these things a little more than usual.  Then on  the way back to pick up our car we, as well as many others, were stopped at an intersection for a very long time while police motorcycles were coming and going and then a motorcade came through.  While we were looking confused and befuddled a woman from her doorway told us it was the president which explained the reason for all the excitement.   I asked her if she liked him and she nodded and said “yes, very much”.    Better than the last guy I guess…………..Similar to Canada!

Looking over the bridges/river

Absolutely loved Sienna(population around 53,000)………one of my favourites!    Once again not an easy place to park the car in, which  begs the question of what happens when it’s tourist season – a nightmare I shall avoid!   Wonderful city to walk around in once you’ve found that parking spot and walked inside old Sienna, the walled city.  Apparently it was the first European city to eliminate automobile traffic from its main square in 1966 and would love to see that happen in the Spring Garden Road area in Halifax as it has been talked about for a long time.  In the interest of time,  and not boring you,  I will encourage you to google Sienna if you haven’t been there as it’s so beautiful, refreshing and fun!  These bronze figures are everywhere and the one above was titled ‘civil happiness – land of the suns’.  Obvious what the one below represents, or is it?

Marilyn and I took advantage of the opportunity to do downward dog while a few interested individuals looked at us curiously! There was a photo contest called ‘fat ladies’ – didn’t enter as I was afraid all that gelato would help me win!!!

Piazza del Campo is one of the most famous squares in the world and you only have to walk around it to understand why!  At the top of the square is the Fonte Gaia(fountain of joy) named for the general joy that accompanied its inauguration in 1348.  Every year on July 2 and Aug. 16 there is the famous Palio horse race here where Sienna’s 17 neighborhoods are represented.  Apparently the city erupts with competition and fun where ten of the neighborhoods are represented during days of trial races – google Siena’s Palio for the full story and pictures to match! Enjoyed a cappucino here watching tourists watching other tourists and of course children feeding the pigeons.   Speaking of pigeons,  Jim alerted us that he read if one craps on your head you should let it harden because if you try and wipe it off then it’s all over your hair.    Fortunately, and luckily, none of us have had that experience yet although there have been a few close calls!

Had to take this picture because as soon as I saw it I thought of you Deanne!

This reminded me of a few women I know but wouldn’t dare say who in print!

Jim in one of the many wonderful little alleyways where Marilyn and I sat for a glass of wine!    They must have known our history because look at the bottle they brought to the table.

In under an hour we arrived in Volterra and once again dealt with parking outside the walls and hiking into the walled city. Walk,walk,walk makes the gelato more enjoyable and I can convince myself that I will walk this one off……..we’ll see how tight the pants are later but enjoying it all ‘in the moment’ as they say! Volterra is less touristry than San G but still there are busloads of tourists, mainly Japanese and Americans. We spent our time here touring the sites, ie. main square and duomo, the etruscan arch and of course window shopping in the many stores. We haven’t shopped much really, partly because I am really working on buying less (don’t need anything)and also because it is quite expensive overall.  No doubt before the journey is over we will find a few things to bring home either as gifts or for ourselves but basically saving that until the end so I won’t have to lug it around.   Didn’t take a picture inside the walls of Volterr, but just outside the view of the rolling hills of Tuscany is spectacular and our goal is to find a way to have a good hike in ‘them there hills’ – stay tuned!

Just outside the walls of Volterra

Jim enjoying the view from our apartment for the week

Rick Steeves describes San G as the epitome of a Tuscan hill town “with 14 medieval towers still standing (out of an original 72) …and….. is a perfectly preserved tourist trap.”  He goes on to say that it is so worth the visit and is spectacularly beautiful…..and we all agree.     We decided to stay here because two of my sisters and their husbands came two years ago and used San G as their base to explore Tuscany and we’re staying in  the same apartment they rented at the time.   The apartment is great, the walled town is stunning and the place is extremely quiet except for when the tour buses come, park outside the gates, and the gelato line-ups are a mile long!  It’s about a 50-70 minute drive to most of the places we want to see so day trips will be the order of the day and a mixture of suppers at home and away……the fun under the Tuscan sun has begun!

I always wanted to see the leaning tower of Pisa.   For years I didn’t know where it was but once I found out it was in Italy I knew I would see it…….once I got to Italy, that was! Pisa is a large university town so there are lots of young folks hanging around and of course they’ve all got the most up to date cameras, selfie sticks, etc. so I looked a little odd with my ipad……..but who cares as the picture came out.  The tower is nearly 200 feet tall, 55 ft wide, weighing 14,000 tons and leaning at a 5 degree angle.    Apparently it started to lean shortly after it was built which was over two centuries by three architects, all trying to correct the problem, but obviously unsuccessful.   It was closed in the 1990’s for repairs to the tune of 30 million and besides the ongoing leaning issue they are also struggling with erosion – a work in progress, I guess.   Today you can climb it and for a very brief moment I considered it until Marilyn read from her book that any student wanting to graduate from the University of  Pisa should take the climb off their bucket list!   There were all kinds of people walking around the top but we passed on that adventure and decided to move on to our next stop, San Gimignano in the heart of Tuscany.

Spent a low key evening after our cinque terra hike enjoying a home cooked meal at our air bnb and planning our next day.   We decided to take it a little easier on our aging bodies by enjoying a walk around Levanto and a hike to a town close by called Bonassola.  It was a walk along the shore that cut through several tunnels and was just for bikers and walkers……FABULOUS!   About half way there we realized that today would have been a good day to rent bikes but by then the day was half over and as mentioned we were half way there so no sense to that!  The Cinque Terra experience was fabulous although a little disappointing in that the last two trails are still closed and it seemed uncertain as to when they would open.   We were all pleasantly surprised on day two that our legs/thighs were not sore, well not too sore, and that they could carry us forward for a few more hours.   Must admit, however, that by the time I came back from Bonassola and saw the steps to our air bnb I just hoped for the best!   Ate in again tonight and tomorrow heading towards Pisa before that tower slips all the way over!

Looking back on Monterossa

Back to Monterrosa for a cool one!

Manarola

“It doesn’t matter how much heights bother you and that the guy said only one cross at a time we are not going back over all those steps!!

Looking towards Vernassa

We decided to start our hiking experience of the Cinque Terra with Monterrosa al Mare and head towards Vernassa. Monterossa has a population of approximately 1600 and is the only Cinque Terra town built on flat land. We took the four minute train ride from Levanto early in the morning as we were uncertain of all the details and how much we would accomplish on day one. We arrived to find very few tourists and slowly found our way towards the trail and for the first 20 minutes never met a soul.  Our guide book described  the hike as scenic, up and down, narrow trails and lots of steps……..and it did not disappoint!  It was challenging but very manageable as long as you don’t mind sweating a little, or a lot!   We met a few people on the trail but not many and were thankful that we didn’t have to share the tight spots.   Arrived in Vernassa, pop around 1,000, after almost two hours and decided to take a break, have lunch and of course find a bathroom.  We read up on the next hike fromVernassa to Corniglia, pop of 245, which was described as the wildest and greenest section of the coast, very hilly but very rewarding………..Oh legs don’t fail me now!   So we decided to trek on for the next hour and a half once again meeting very few people and enjoying fabulous scenery.   Both trails were in fabulous shape as it hadn’t rained in days but by now we were aware that the other two shorter and easier trails were still closed from damage caused a few years ago.   As a result we decided we would take the train into Manarola(450) and Riomaggiore which Jim was now calling rigamortis as we were all feeling pretty stiff!  What a shock we were in for when we arrived in Corniglia to find that in order to catch the train we had to walk another 10,000 steps!!!!  Hop along we did and caught the train into Manarola.  Once there we strolled around for a little while and waited for the train to Riomaggiore only to find out while standing there that they cancelled it for no apparent reason so everyone took the train back to Monterossa where we decided to have a beer and end our hiking for the day and even though I am not a beer drinker it sure tasted good!  The attached photos are not in order but you’ll get the flow, I’m sure and now now let’s see what tomorrow will bring!

Looking towards Corniglia

Levanto, our gateway to the Cinque Terra, is a very small and quiet town and it is here that we decided to park ourselves for three nights while we hiked around Cinque Terra.  I know some of you know about, and have hiked, the Cinque Terra but for those of you who don’t it’s definitely worth a google.  Rick Steeves describes it as “…..a remote chunk of the Italian Riviera…….traffic-free, lowbrow, underappreciated alternative to the French Riviera.”   Basically it’s five villages(five lands) – Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia,  Manarola and Riomaggiore.    Our plan is to hike from village to village,  if they are all open, and that begins tomorrow so stay tuned.   Tonight we have decided to go to the market to get what we need as we are eating in since we have another super Air BnB with a kitchen and all that comes with it……….it’s an early start in the morning but not at the crack of dawn!