Places

  We are in Pescia in a Villa Vezzani somewhere near even smaller Collodi.  We added this village into our itinerary, because we thought that there is a link exist between Collodi the village and Collidi the author of Pinocchio.  There are none. We woke up at 7:30 and took a quick walk around the villa.  We contemplated the sun and the eternal summer.  We slept with all three windows wide open (second floor) and did not have any bites from insects.  Temperature has never fallen to a chilly level, just comfortable.   Rise and shine Pescia – Villa Vezzani Where is Juliaetta on the balcony? This was our fist experience to live…

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  We woke up at 6:45, and were out on the streets at 07:07.  The heat is gone. What a relief from afternoon heat.  It is nice and breezy on the streets at this hour.  We wanted to see all major Firenze sites one more times before the crowds. We saw 3 young (most likely German) tourists next to the wall of the Duomo.  They were just waking up and gathering their colorful sleeping gear.  They travel on a very low budget, and no one bothered them sleeping in front of the Duomo. Quickly we reached Piazza della Signoria and realized that arches here (Loggia dei Lanzi) remind us arches on Odeonsplatz in Munich,…

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  Today we are going to Uffizi and Academia.  We woke up at 08:00, and quickly finish with our breakfast (no fresh fruits though).  We started out to visit our car around 09:30.  On the way there, we drank coffee and ate watermelon (€6.40).  We crossed the river through the picturesque Ponte Vecchio. We even found another house were Galileo apparently lived or was experimenting with gravitation on Costa San Giorgio.  Kids!  Do not experiment with gravitation at home.  You might end up as Galileo did.   We were searching a short cut on other side of Arno river, and all of a sudden we found another Galileo house and museum…

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Today we woke up at 08:40 in Siena.  We had a breakfast with a view.  From the windows we could view the entire city of Siena behind the walls and the city tower. After a round of swim we are currently gathering our thing and planning one more walk to the center.  After that, we are off to Firenze, and we will skip San Gimingiano.   There are 17 contrade in Siena and 17 take part in Palio -the horse raise around the main square – Il Campo This must be the  symbol of Siena on top of the column in front of the Duomo.  Column is more pleasing than the…

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On Friday August 17, we woke up around 10AM.  We both took a thorough baths. Bath is a trademark of old hotels. You suppose to submerge into the hot water and scrub yourself.  No curtains and nowhere to hang the showerhead. Very relaxing, if you know, what you are doing.   Some images here are clickable – view them in a separate page Some images – just thumbnails – just curiosities and references   In the lobby we paid the hotel €57 cash (no breakfast), and on the way to parking garage Lira needed her morning caffeine (€0.90 – 11:29). We paid €12for 24H parking, and start swinging around the city…

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We woke up at 8:22 in Veterbo. Breakfast here was one of the most luscious. In addition to all the standard staples of breakfast, they also presented fresh fruits and more.  This was probably the best breakfast for the whole trip. Odometer showed 9,472 after first day of driving (120 km). We checked out from hotel at 11:34. We drove toward Bagnoregio.  On the way there we made our first stop at a supermarket. First task of the day is to get a shopping cart for €1, and not to forget to return your cart and get your one euro back.   From super-small village in Lazio towards a well established…

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  This is a holiday in Italy – Ferragosto or Assumption Day (The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her earthly life).  But our car rental agency at the train station should be opened.  This is also a Napoleon birthday (1769). We woke up at 10, left the hotel at 11:30. For 4 nights in Rome we paid €314. We bought the bus tickets at 11:46 (€3).  When we reached Termini – the train station (12:45), our rental agency (Maggiore Rent) said that it is too late, and our car is gone, rented out.  So they knew how to make a reservation, they just did not know…

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  It was a late, late wake up for us this morning.  We left the hotel around 12 noon. It is still 6AM in America. We slowly retraced out steps from Sunday walk, and I even bought a paper map of Rome (€7.35).  With an international data plan on iPhone, role of paper maps going down.  They are nice, but not a vital necessity anymore.   It is 12 noon in Rome.  Who is turning 40-something soon? Very detailed map of the whole Forum is inside the gates, so you need to purchase a ticket to review, what you want to see.   We were planning to have our first meal of…

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  Today is Monday, 2012-08-13, and all attractions are closed in Rome. Today is a good day to visit Vatican. We ate breakfast across the street from our hotel in a place called “Il Lunch” (€16 – 11:42).  We are slowly gaining strength against the 6-hour time difference. Monday – 11:47 – The best day to visit Vatican (€15).  This is not a Vatican, but very close indeed. Vatican – public entrance.   Lines are reasonable -10-15 minutes, but credit cards machines are always broken – bring cash   Few more paces (about 1 km), and we are now in Vatican (€30 cash only as credit card machines are down – 12:36). …

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