Ponte Vecchio, the famous "old" bridge in Florence, is lined with jewelery shops
Michaelangelo's David. You are not supposed to use cameras in the gallerys, but everyone was trying to sneak a picture.
The famous Duomo dome
Pat in a borrowed scarf. We arrived a day later than planned, and our luggage was two days late.
"The church in pajamas"
One set of the Baptistry doors (actually a replica, the originals are in the museum).
Notice the relief in this close-up
Steve!
The interior of the Duomo museum had some modern touches
and some ancient sculpture
including Donatello's Mary Magdalene in the "more difficult" medium of wood.
A typical street in Florence
Palazzo Vecchio, a Medici home
The Ufuzzi, now a museum but formerly the Medici offices.
Even the Ufuzzi's ceilings were fabulous.
Ponte Vecchio, another view. Lower right is the covered, fortified walkway the Medicis used to commute to work. It runs from the Plazza Vecchio to the Ufuzzi and across the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace.
Steve enjoying a glass of the local wine.
This modest wine shop (enoteca), with workmen eating outside, was voted best wine bar in Florence by Savour magazine. We had a nice soup and sandwich here.
This knife shop was just a few doors from the enoteca.
A traditional Tuscan ristorante in Florence, Fagioli is a member of the slow foods movement
Another typical street
One of two trendy bars near our hotel.
Inside
The Plaza Il Campo in Siena.
The Siena town hall
One of many dishes we savored, this one at Ristorante Nello in Siena.
Shewolf gargoyles, symbols of Siena
The cathedral in Siena
Floor of the cathedral.
One flank of the organ, notice the trumpets
The opposite flank
A part of the view from our hotel window in Montepulciano
A church interior in Montepulciano.
The view from the other side of Montepulciano, San Biagio in the middle ground.
San Biagio church below Montepulciano
A sausage shop in Montepulciano's underground.
A small cheese shop. There were hundreds of cheeses to choose from.
Me again
Piazza Grande and the town hall in Montepulciano
Taken from the same spot as the photo above, our hotel entrance is the arch just behind the couple.
The courtyard of our hotel in Montepulciano, Mueble Il Riccio is a 15th century building.
The reception room of Il Riccio
Pienza, start and finish of our walk.
A tiny chapel midway in our walk.
The well at the chapel where we had our morning snack.
Town hall in Montefalco
no caption needed
The grounds
The Villa Pambuffetti, our home in Montefalco.
The lobby at the villa
Pink marble and gold fixtures, what more could you want?
Anna, one of our cooking teachers
Lunch after the cooking class
The Roman Arch (Arco Romano) in Spello
The streets in Spello had this step-like construction that made walking possible and driving difficult.
Pat and her new friend. This man took a shine to Pat and voluntarily guided us around for about an hour. He would not accept a tip.
Roman towers, Spello "Very vecchio"
Moss fountain, Perugia
Even the "fast" food was superior.
Pasteries
Pat checks out the shoes.
Pitti Palace. The lighter part is a screen covering renovation of part of the building
Smarter than a Smart car, there are many 3 wheel, 1 or 2 passenger cars available here.
A glimpse of the Boboli Gardens
A final shot of Florence from the Pitti Palace. The south end of the Medici walkway is in lower left.
