Back from Italy

[aberkowitz]

Just spent 10 days in a villa in Tuscany on vacation- all I can say is WOW!!! What a beautiful country!!!

Pictures will follow at some point.

 

[Sheep]

See any nice cars?

SheepStar

 

[aberkowitz]

See any nice cars?

SheepStar

Nothing really special... understand that the topography of rural Tuscany is not ideal for any sort of expensive car that cannot handle quasi-offroad conditions (e.g. 1.5 lane roads that wind, twist, turn, rise, fall, and cause you to play chicken at every corner). Saw a lot of the Mercedes A series and the Fiat/Alfa Romeo versions of that kind of car. Other than that most of the cars were more functional.

We were totally shocked, however, to come across a Hummer trying to navigate the streets of Florence. I cannot imagine trying to drive that car through parts of the city where the streets are so narrow that even a smartcar looks cramped!

 

[mike c]

i would love to go back to Rome myself

Florence and Venice ... not as much

 

[Halon451]

Italy is an incredible place, I can't wait to make it back there someday. Glad to hear your trip went well Adam! I'll look forward to seeing the pics when you get them posted.

 

[haraldo]

best thing about Italy, The Italian people

Incredibly generous and always positive, very service oriented and kind

Last time when I was in Italy our bus driver brought two bottles of "lemon liqueur" that his wife had made, as a gift to us
What can I say, just incredible. This is Marco, the bus driver from Florence !!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you forget Halon, you're going to Norway first, or not?

 

[rnatalli]

best thing about Italy, The Italian people

Incredibly generous and always positive, very service oriented and kind

Have you been to Milan?

I need to get back to Italy and visit my relatives. Especially the ones in Sardinia

 

[haraldo]

Have you been to Milan?

I need to get back to Italy and visit my relatives. Especially the ones in Sardinia.

No never, but I will go.....

 

[rnatalli]

No never, but I will go.....

Go for it, but it's one of the places in Italy I avoid. But Geneva a few hours North is worth the train ride

 

[aberkowitz]

best thing about Italy, The Italian people

Incredibly generous and always positive, very service oriented and kind

Last time when I was in Italy our bus driver brought two bottles of "lemon liqueur" that his wife had made, as a gift to us
What can I say, just incredible. This is Marco, the bus driver from Florence !!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you forget Halon, you're going to Norway first, or not?

I totally agree!!! I've travelled extensively throughout other parts of Europe, but I would definitely rank Italians at the top of my list for friendliness to tourists (tied with the Irish). There was always a willingness to help when we got lost on the small roads in the middle of nowhere, no dirty looks when we butchered the beautiful Italian language (and on that note, I was amazed at how willing Italians were to speak to you in their native tongue and use gestures to help move the conversation along), and just a general friendliness everywhere we went.

 

[mazersteven]

Just spent 10 days in a villa in Tuscany on vacation- all I can say is WOW!!! What a beautiful country!!!

Was this your first time in Italy? What cities did you get to visit?

 

[aberkowitz]

Was this your first time in Italy? What cities did you get to visit?

It was my first time in the country. We stayed in a villa (which is a refurbished castle that dates back to the 13th century) in between the small towns of Castelfiorentino and Montespertoli. While there we visited San Gimignano and Monteriggioni (both Medieval fortress towns), Siena, took a tour of the Antinori and Fontodi wineries in the Chianti region (both by special appointment due to some sick connections), the Chianti towns of Ponzano and Greve, Siena, Florence, and Lucca. Our last day before flying out was spent in Pisa.

 

[mazersteven]

Our last day before flying out was spent in Pisa.

Very close to one of my favorite places in Italy, Cinque Terre.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre

http://www.cinqueterre.com/

http://wikitravel.org/en/Cinque_Terre

 

[Halon451]

Did you forget Halon, you're going to Norway first, or not?

Oh, don't worry my friend, I'll stop in Norway on the way over.

 

[mike c]

is it just me or was the Pisa tour totally boring and almost worthless. (except for the pics you take of "pushing" the leaning tower)

 

[aberkowitz]

is it just me or was the Pisa tour totally boring and almost worthless. (except for the pics you take of "pushing" the leaning tower)

Pisa was the biggest waste of time, with the exception of the dinner that we had at a restaurant called Osteria Del Violino- it's one of those places that sets their menu daily based on whatever food the chef purchases at the market in the morning. On that note, I had the most interesting dessert ever at that place- Melon Sorbet infused w/ chili peppers- sweet and spicy at the same time, while also totally refreshing.

Back to the city itself- it's a weird dichotomy. The area around the tower is very clean and well-patrolled and caters 100% to the tourist industry. Once you get outside of that small area, we found the city to be dirty (graffiti EVERYWHERE), loaded with homeless people all who had dogs, and totally lacking any charm that we found in any other place in Italy. I think Pisa was best summed up by one of the tour guides I read, who said that the must-see attraction if you were staying in Pisa was to visit Lucca!

My wife and I were trying to think of a comparable city somewhere in the world that had one major meal-ticket tourist attraction, but otherwise was a total waste of time. The closest I came was Stonehenge, but that's in the middle of nowhere anyway.

 

[mike c]

agreed. i was actually afraid of the place we stayed in Florence.

 

[mazersteven]

All around the city of Pisa are quarries for Granite, and Marble.