Feb. 22 Ciao from Rosemary in Florence
Hello again! Last night we went to a restaurant in Tuscany, up in the hills. It used to be a Hunting Lodge. Very nice place. Too bad it was dark out, so we could not enjoy the views that were along the way and back. When we got there, we were given a welcome glass of BLUE wine. It is a sweet wine and I actually drank it. As our tour guide said, if nothing else, it makes for great conversation. Several people bought bottles of the blue wine when we left. I wanted to but they do not ship it and only make it for the restaurant and I have no where to pack it, etc. We had a lovely dinner and were entertained by a guitar player and a singer. I am finding, that the singers gravitate to me - seeing that I do not have a companion and they sing a song to me. Interestingly, both times this has happened, the men have sung a song called Maria. I told the first guy earlier this week that my name is Rosemary and he finished the song singing Rosemary instead of Maria. I am sure they give me this extra treatment thinking it will assure them a bigger tip. :=)Today we were taken to Pisa, which was a 1 1\2 hr drive from here. The tour guide said we could see the top of the Dome, Church and Leaning Tower of Pisa when we got close to the town but I could not see if from the bus. We were then taken in a shuttle that was a little train (like in Disneyworld) to the entrance, which was several arches. Let me back up and say it was pouring when we got there. As we walked under the arches, it stopped raining and you could clearly see those 3 buildings. It was amazing feeling... kind of like going from Black & White to color, in the Wizard of Oz. We walked all around, taking all kinds of wonderful photos and, of course, scoped out the best spot to take a photo that would make it look like we were trying to hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. (Kitty, one of the women I hang with alot) found a great spot and we had fun doing that. You cannot get real close to the building but close enough. There were some neat shops there but we had to get back to the bus.
I meant to add yesterday that I rarely buy books of towns while on vacation, but I have bought several this trip because there is just so much to see that I did not get to see and many places you cannot take photos, or cannot take good enough photos. I have bought a lot of postcards to keep as well.
After we left Pisa we came back the 1 1\-2 hrs then went another hour or so to the Verrazzano Castle for a tour of the place and their wine cellar. We then had what they called a light lunch (which was a lot of food) and did wine tasting. It was a lot of fun. I did try the 3 wines, but only liked the 1st one, as it was the lightest. We also had a wine at the end that you dip biscoti in. I did not like that wine at all but loved the biscoti! The views from this place were beautiful and there was another vineyard across the way from this place. The road to it was narrow and did not have guard rails - it is up a long hill so we were a bit nervous at times. Our bus driver does an awesome job.
Many people have headed back into the shopping area but I wanted to stay back here to reorganize my suitcase of stuff, etc., and also to not be tempted by more shopping. We leave for Venice tomorrow morning (it will be a 4 hour ride) and many of us are saving our big shopping for the Glass place on the island of Murano on Friday. I really hope the tour allows us sufficient time to look there and shop. I know we will get to see Glassblowers at work. After we do some scheduled sightseeing tomorrow, some of us are going to take an optional tour, which is to go on a Gondola ride, where we will be serenaded. I am really looking forward to it! According to our guide, if you go on your own, the ride is supposed to be 30mins but often it is only 20min and they do not serenade you (I would be so bummed!!). Our tour is supposed to be 40mins long.
Oh, others on the tour told me that the guide told them at the WElcome dinner (that I missed) that the hotel in Venice will not be nice like the ones we have been in but it is in a location close to things we will want to walk to, so we are all wondering what the hotel will be like. We mainly only sleep there anyways, so it really does not matter as long as we feel safe.
I am hearing sounds that are either a lot of furniture being moved or thunder. It has rained off and on the past 2 days here which has made it quite chilly. Well, I am going to sign off now.
I probably will not get back on here until I am back in Pragelato Plan. I hope you are all well.
Love and Ciao! Rosemary
posted by DaveandBrian @ 11:26 AM
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