17th to 20th Sept

17th & 18th & 19th Sept
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Two nights at the San Lino Hotel in Volterra. The hotel used to be a Convent at some stage.
The Hotel served as base station for two nights. On the first day we drove into Florence where we met our guide Violetta who explained and showed us the high-lights of the city. The afternoon was ours to wander a round some more, more churches and more museums, lots of stores and lots of people and also some rain. I'm looking forward to some country scenery soon. We returned to Volterra for the night.
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We left Volterra this morning and set off for the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa (not Pizza, I'm contantly reminded). More crowds, market places and overcast weather but no rain. Of the fifteen of us about ten climbed or attempted to climb the 56m high tower; yours truly made all the way to the top. As I naturally lean to one side myself, due to a bad knee, it was all in a days work.....
On our way to Luca, our next overnight stop, we had a late lunch at the winery Il Poggio.
The light meal of pasta and antipasta (those against pasta) was very good and so were the three types of wine, Dry, Semi-sweet and Mature. All three available in the white and red form. The dry seemed to have won as the preferred wine. I don't think anyone was game enough to do anything other than this sniff the Grappa.
Booking in to the hotel Albergo San Martino also meant lugging the baggage up two flights of narrow stairs. The evening was spents walking around the town. Luca is walled town so its almost impossible to get lost. We wandered outside the walls. One of our travelling companions, fortunately, has a GPS navigator and we were able to work our way back to the Hotel.
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19th Sept.
today we set off for Venice, a two-night stop. We drove through some of most spectacular country I've seen. The scenery was Viagra for the eyes. I would have been happy if this part of the journey was an endless loop. Some eight hours later at 5pm we arrived at Venice. My first stop was at an ATM. The notes dispensed out of the machine were soggy and have to be treated very gently. So they are safely stowed away in my wallet and we are using Belinda's dry notes. WE haven't seen much of the city due to the hour of our arrival but will do so tomorrow. Meanwhile more heavy bags and more narrow, windy stairs....
Ciao
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20th Sept Monday
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We awoke to a beautiful Venitian morning.
The showers have broken all records - they had curtains so that you could move a little easier. The room was a standard size with extremely high ceilings. I guess they allow for the floods. Went to St Marks church and square - piazza. Its hard to imagine a city with no cars, trucks or motor cycles. The only wheels were on wheel chairs - very sparse. Kids came out in the evening with their trikes.
Had a meal of fish in one of the local hotels. Yes it was noisy but great fun
After the visit to the church we went to a glass outlet. Have taken pics of the glass blowing process. Got a little carried away and bought our most expensive vase. They are shipping it back - hopefully!
Took a ride on the local vaporettas - water busses. Visited Burano - it was a quaint little village. They specialise in lace and embroidery. Unfortunately no time to shop.
Took a ride on the grand canal ending at the Rialto.
We spent the evening getting lost and then eventually wound our way back to the hotel.
We climbed 4 flights of stairs to bed after an evening of drinking. Not a mean task I might add.
Chris did a wonderful job! It must be the fancy hat he bought for the boat ride. Kept his feet firmly planted. If you think things are a litte lopsided dont blame the drink it IS. There are more leaning towers here than in Pizza.
Considering that we're surrounded by the canals = its not smelly or damp. They do a great job here. There are some 400 bridges here and the feet are getting a good workout.

The next day we're heading for Lake Como. Told to rug up as its getting closer to the Swiss side