This is part 2 of our Tuscany Tour, taking up where we left off. We drove from San Gimignano to Monteriggioni, an even smaller medieval hill town with a circle wall and 12 towers in the wall. From below, on

For our Friday in Florence we hired a local guide to take us on a tour of Tuscany. He showed up at our Casa at 8 am with a Mercedes van that seated six of us quite easily. Karen got

We spent 3 fabulous days in Florence, and there is so much to see. Like Venice, Florence is photogenic. It loves the camera! Enjoy some of the sights with us.

This is a difficult trip. The distance is not great, but you have to change trains two times (La Spezia and Pisa), and the experience is exhausting. In Italy they have not yet heard of the ramp; neither have they

After 3 nights in Milan we go down to the coast, to the Cinque Terra. This is a well-known resort area, now fully recovered from the disastrous floods of a few years ago. We are staying in town #2 (if

We take the longest train trip of our vacation, and use our beloved Swiss Travel Passes for the last time. The trip goes through the Alps, not over them – there are lots of tunnels! We change trains at Domodossola, the last stop

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The day we arrived in Vernazza, Karen and I went up the hill past the train station to do our laundry. While we were waiting for the machines, we went next door to il Pirata (The Pirate), a small outdoor

“I want a quiet day,” Karen announced. “We need a break from our vacation.” We are constantly on the move, with lots of places to go and sights to see. Train travel days require hauling luggage on and off trains,

Next door to the cathedral in Milan is the Galleria, the most famous shopping center in the city. We were hungry, having worked up an appetite for lunch walking around on the roof, so we headed over that way. The entrance