ON THE ROAD: from Lucca to Florence

We said arriverderci to Lucca and got on the road to Florence!

Our guided tour started in the outskirts on the “other side” of the Arno river, at the top of a nearby hill,  and we walked down to the historical city center, past the Ponte Vecchio seen from a distance  to plunge ourselves into the tourist-infested mayhem that brings visitors the world over to see this living outdoor museum, the world’s #1 tourist attraction.  I’ve been here before a few times so seeing it from a fresh perspective was much better than immediately going into the center of town. Our guide was fantastic! We walked through town by looking at gardens and views from various elevations, which turned out to be  a very civilized way to get to Florence

After our our guided tour, Ann and I decided to do some some café-sitting and people watching at the Piazza Della Signoria, Florence’s main square,  with some sustinence –  a large ice cream concoction and some San Pelligrino were desperately needed. That was lunch. We booked advanced reservations for the Boboli Gardens, part of the Pitti Palace,  so we walked over, through the always-crowded Ponte Vecchio, and skipped the line entirely. Wasn’t that a good idea? The weather was perfect, the gardens were lovely and we found ourselves winding our way up to the top of the hills of the city to see glorious views all around.

We left the city late afternoon, exhausted. I checked my iPhone: we walked ten miles, 23,306 steps, and climbed 12 stories.  There were lots of steps at the Boboli Gardens!

Our hotel for the next three nights is the gorgeous Villa Sabolini, outside Siena, on the ancient pilgrimage road that brought travelers from Canterbury to Rome.  After ten miles of walking, we looked as bedraggled as any modern day pilgrims could;  however, unlike days of old, we were greeted with a choice of welcome drink.  Will it be proseco or spritz?

We were delighted with our room and its views -we even have a view from the bathtub.  That evening, in our elegant private dining room of the hotel, we toasted to adventures yet to come –  in Chianti country.