Italy....the begining

For the benefit of those of you who care to hear something of our recent trip to Tuscany, I hope to post comments and pictures as the mood strikes.


At left is a great picture that we had a fellow visitor take of the 4 of us in Florence as we were on our way to our last meal in Italy. We are standing on the Pointe Vecchio (the oldest bridge in Florence- dates from about 1345) . This photo accurately reflects the joy we have shared on our trip with great friends Bill and Christine Avritt. They had recently taken a tour of Europe with some other friends, Gene and Roselle, and therefore knew more less what we wanted to spend our time doing. What a great advantage they afforded to us. In this photo we had just finished a tour of the Uffizi art museum. As can be said of everything we did in Tuscany, you personally must experience it for yourself to understand what a magnificent place we have been privileged to visit. We, of course, need to return to all of the cities we visited and spend at least a full week in each city: Florence, Siena, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, Volterra, Follonica, and the tiny little town of Montieri .



In this little village was located our main vacation Villa, just out side of the town. The Hotel Rifugio Prategiano is a unbelievably quaint but ,at the same time a modern and restful Inn. (The Picture here at right shows the Main Villa but there were 2 other building at the pool level below the main building that had room accommodation also shown on the far right) We stayed at the Prategiano for 6 nights, seven days. Our breakfast and either lunch or dinner were included and very substantial meals.


Bill and Christine stayed at the pool level while Lynn and I were in the main building on the upper level.

The horse stables were farther down the hill and not easily accessible on foot from above due to the hilly nature of the topography. They encourage physical fitness at this resort. Linda rode 3 of the 7 days and had a great experience indulging in her passion for the sport. Bill, Christine and I relaxed by the pool while she rode on 2 occasions and while she rode one afternoon, the three of us drove to Pisa and Lucca on a sightseeing excursion. She got to see lots of pictures and doesn't feel cheated for missing the drive.

That's it for this instalment. More to follow later.