Tuscany by motorbike

Tuscany is one of the best places to explore on motorbike during the summer months. Germans were the pioneers in this kind of tourism quite a couple of years ago and nowadays it is more and more tourists who choose this means to travel through the region.

Tuscany by motorbike is an excellent option since our land has lots of winding roads and landscapes, where motorbike lovers can enjoy unmatchable views. For that reason in particular, and for those who are thinking of traveling round the region on two wheels, here comes the recommendation of two wonderful places:


Itinerary 1 La Valdorcia

In this blog we have talked a lot about this spellbinding region, world patrimony of the Unesco, located in the south of Tuscany. If you�re planning to visit the area we suggest the following:

Pienza, Montepulciano, Bagno Vignoni, Montichiello


If you�re looking for a good restaurant, you�ll find it in Montichiello (La Porta restaurant, 30 euros per person); while a much better and cheaper one is Oasi La Foce, an eating spot in the area of la Foce. Reaching la Foce from is complicated because you have to take a gravel road from Montepulciano. To make it easier for you I�ve attached the google map.

Even though reaching Oasis la Foce is not that easy, the trip to the location is really worth it as you�ll get the chance of passing by the area where the most typical pictures of Tuscany are taken!

Itinerary 2 Chainti

Chianti is also a spectacular region due to its breath-taking landscapes and its rolling hills, ladened with medieval towers and castles.

Thus, we recommend the following itinerary:

Castelnuovo Berardenga, San Gusm�, Monteriggioni all the way to San Gimignano.

Here I recommend the Bar dell Orso, a cute Tuscan restaurant, offering cold cuts, chesses and wines, located at the foot of Monteriggioni village.


A tip for motor bikers: gas stations opening hours differ from those in Spain, as they are not open 24 hs. per day. Many of them close at 7 or 8 pm., an in some cases are close on Sundays. Therefore, we suggest always having enough petrol, especially when passing by small villages.

As usual, I hope you �bikers� find this information useful.

Regards,
Giovanni.

One day excursion to Florence

As many of you who travel to Tuscany have only a few days to explore the area, I�d like to suggest an itinerary so you won�t miss the most important and outstanding places in a one day excursion to Florence.

Our first piece of advice is to reach the city by coach or train (there are many, and with high frequency from almost every town in Tuscany) so as not to waste any of your precious time as parking in Florence is not easy at all, I can assure you.

Arriving in the morning at the station you�ll find yourself practically in the city center.
The first stop could be the stunning Basilic of Santa Maria Novella. 10 to 15 minutes should be enough to get an overall view of the church. Then you could head directly to the Cathedral (or Duomo, as we call them in Italy) better known as Santa Maria in Fiore, which is only 5 minutes� walk from the basilic.


The visit to the Cathedral obviously demands more time due to both its beauty and magnitude. Those who have the courage can go up Brunelleschi�s grandiose dome, from which, after a few minutes� climb up a narrow stairway, you�ll be overwhelmed by one of the most beautiful and spectacular sights in Florence.( advice: not for claustrophobics)

Once the visit to the Duomo is over, you have two options: either to visit the Galleria degli Uffizi or the Galleria dell�Accademia. Going to both of them in one day could be really stressing, so I recommend choosing just one of them. The former is home to Michelangelo�s David, among other works, while the latter hosts the best Renaissance works of art in the world.

The next stop, I suggest should be lunch at Mario (for further information you can click the link), a very good and very cheap restaurant I never get tired of mentioning in this blog. This eating spot is not more than 15 minutes� walk from any of the two sights you have just visited.

After eating and drinking a good Tuscan wine, it�s worth spending some time at the San Lorenzo Market (which is next to the restaurant), a typical city market, which is open every day and is a typical place in the city.

Following our itinerary, you should go back to the center, along Via Tornabuoni (with its extremely exclusive stores) as far as the river Arno. On the left, you�ll find the stunning Ponte Vecchio, where Jew Jewelers have been exhibiting their precious works for centuries.

Passing the Ponte Vecchio, and walking straight on for 200 meters is the famous Palazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace) with its wonderful Boboli Gardens. The visit to the gardens demands quite a lot of time and that will depend on you and the energy you�ve got left. As many of you will have just a few hours left to catch your train or bus back from the outing, my advice is you should go back on your steps towards the amazing Piazza della Signoria and keep on going heading for Santa Croce Church, right behind it. In my opinion, the church demands time to visit as it keeps the sepulchers of many illustrious protagonists in the history of Florence and the World such as: Galileo Galilei, Michelangelo, Maquiavelo, as well as unmatchable works of art by Giotto, Donatello and Cimabue.

After the visit you�ll have the exact time to get back to the bus or train� So you know� Dart to Santa Maria Novella. (20 minutes� walk.)

Well, friends, I hope you�ll find all this information useful when planning your trip.

For more information about Florence I recommend this free guide I have found in the Internet, which you can find in the following link: Florence

Regards,

Giovanni.

Tuscany with Children

Hi, Everyone!

Today I want to discuss a Topic which many people have been writing to me about. Families are interested in traveling to Tuscany with their children, but never seem to make up their minds and get going because they consider it a destiny more suitable for adults. However, even though Tuscany offers the most varied activities, especially cultural ones for adults, it can also be a fun place for children as it�s a region which bustles with popular festivals and celebrations and with many points of interest for the little ones.

Most of the families who travel to Tuscany organize their holidays in a �democratic way�, trying to strike the perfect balance between the vast cultural offer and entertainment and fun for the little ones.

Most of the rural houses, villas and hotels in the region have a swimming pool and, therefore, on many occasions the whole morning or part of the day is spent in visiting the area, while a couple of hours in the afternoon are allowed for enjoying a refreshing bath in the pool, a true gift for all the family. Likewise, the fields and gardens surrounding the accommodation are ideal for children to have fun in a fantastic natural landscape.

Besides the cultural visits in the city, we can mention, for example, Pinocchio Park, a place which will awaken the curiosity and fascination of both kids and adults. The park is located in Collodi, 10 km away from the famous Montecatini Terme, 15 km away from Lucca and 32 km away from Pisa.

The fantastic Parco di Pinnochio was built in the town where the author of the story, Carlo Lorenzini (better known as Carlo Collodi) spent his early childhood. The park is not the typical fun fair, but a suggestive and fantastic trip through the famous story by means of the most varied works of different artists, who express, in their own language, the most personal vision of this classic story.

From March 1 to October 31 the park offers the most varied activities both for kids and adults� entertainment: puppet shows, story telling, magic, pictures taken in Gepetto�s workshop as well as a wonderful exhibition of the attractions of the time, which have been carefully restored with artisan precision.

The excursion to this beautiful park and the visit to the neighboring towns can provide a perfect opportunity for plunging into the world of fantasy we have so many times enjoyed thanks to this famous wooden toy.

Besides this proposal, in Pistoia we can find one of the best zoos in the region, famous for being a center devoted to the conservation of the lynx and the Apennine wolf.

For those traveling to Florence �Il parco delle Cascine� is one of the main parks in the city, which is full of families with children during the week end and happens to be the true lung of Florence.

To obtain updated information about traveling funfair attractions and shows for children you should consult the newspaper La Nazione or the information section on Tuscany of La Republica paper, as they have the most complete information as regards these kinds of proposals.

I�m sure that surrounded by such a wonderful landscape like that of Tuscany, ideal for any sport or outdoor activity, and with the wide variety of options the region offers, there won�t be single child who will not enjoy his Tuscan holidays to the utmost!

I hope this information has been useful for the moms and dads that follow us!

Regards,

Beatriz.

Piancastagnaio and el Amiata and a meal at Saxa Cuntaria

Last Saturday I decided to pay a visit to my friend Marco and to go to one of the regions in Tuscany I hadn�t visited yet, i.e. Piancastagnaio.

Piancastagnaio is located at 800 meters high and it dominates the Valdorcia, the Rocca di Radicofani and the old Via Francigena, which used to join Rome with France. Piancastagnaio, as all the towns which appeared near the Francigena, is a town with an interesting historical, cultural and artistic patrimony. The town has a boundary wall and it still preserves its medieval buildings, its noble palaces and its narrow roads, which wind among small squares and viewpoints that look out on three regions: Umbria, Lazio and Abruzzo.

The town is also famous in Italy for its mercury mines and for a statue at the entrance of the wall, which is a reminder of the fact that the whole town lived on mining.

For ski lovers, the pistes are just a few kilometers away as the station of Mount Amiata (the highest peak in Tuscany) is just a few minutes� away by car.

Marco, native of that town, resolved that to fight off the cold this season he had to eat well and he decided to take me out to the best restaurant in town.

The restaurant is called Saxa Cuntaria and it is certainly one of the restaurants where I have better eaten in the whole of Tuscany. The place is small, it�s got just a few tables, and it�s really intimate. The owner is a peculiar character who personally waits the tables and assists all customers.

As it was my first time at the restaurant I left Marco order my food and so we both ate the same, which I highly recommend, of course:

Starter: zuppa di farro alle castagne
Main course: taglaita con Lardo di Colonatta.


Both dishes are delicious; I specially recommend the main course which is a Chianina steak cooked in lard with a side order of superb black baked beans.

The restaurant has one of the best wine cellars I have ever tasted in Tuscany; it also offers many noble wines from other regions in Italy. For a change, Marco and I drank an excellent Sicilian wine.

The restaurant is a bit expensive, 45 euros per person, but the food and the wines are worthy it.

So, dear friends, as everything we recommend in this Blog, this place is also one of the sanctuaries of good Tuscan food. If you visit La Valdorcia or Mount Amiata, you can�t miss it!

I�m attaching a few pictures, as usual. On this opportunity, I�m including one of Marco, to whom I am dedicating the article.

Regards,

Giovanni.

The story of Sting and his Tuscan Villa

The town where I spent the first 7 years of my life was Figline Valdarno, a charming village, only 20 km away from Florence, that still preserves its beautiful Medieval and Renaissance palaces. Like all the kids of my age, I went go to a public school, which, like most Italian schools at the time, was run by priests and nuns.

At my school in Figline, called Seristori School, I met my first friend: the Duke Simone Velluti Zati di San Clemente.

Simone's family were all dukes who owned lands, houses, castles and villas along many kilometers between the cities of Florence and Arezzo.

Simone and his family lived in "Il Palagio" a beautiful Renaissance Florentine villa located very close to the town of Figline. The villa was spectacular and wonderful with its Italian gardens, lake, soccer field and tennis court which was in a forest next to the villa, and the huge halls where I played with Simone.


The rooms of the house were fabulous and we enjoyed the most delicious meals which were served by the maids of the villa. The times spent in that house remain as one of my earliest childhood memories and I will never forget that special moment of meeting my first friend.

At the end of the school year, Simone's parents thought it was very important for him to become fluent in English, so they moved to Rome where he enrolled at an English school.

The years passed by, but Simone kept returning to Figline and to the Palagio on the weekends, and every year for his birthday which was always a great party!

My family moved to Paris, and Simone and I had lost contact until 2008, when,  thanks to Facebook, we got in touch again and Simone told me the story of the Palagio and Sting.

Simone told me that maintaining such a large villa was too expensive and one day they received an interesting offer from Sting, so they decided to sell it.

Today, Sting lives in the Palagio near Figline Valdarno, in the house where I spent my childhood... unbelievable!

So, if you're in Tuscany and you're feeling curious, just go to Figline Valdarno and look for the Palagio. Everybody in the town will tell you how to get there! But beware, I think Sting is very shy, so I would recommend against ringing the bell...

Arrivederci,

Giorgio

Ciao to all of you, and Happy New Year!

I hope that despite the crisis fear this year we will keep travelling to Tuscany and discovering some of the places that this unique region hast to offer. Today I would like to talk about an important event (which unfortunately I will miss this year) but that I strongly recommend if you've got a few days off and you are able to travel to the Tuscan coast. I am talking about the incredible Carnevale di Viareggio, certainly somewhat less famous than its "big brother" Venetian, but I will say that it has nothing to envy if we look to its spectacular parades, the wonderful costumes or the non-stop fun.

Viareggio is the oldest coastal town of Versilia, which reached its peak as a tourism destination when at the end of s.XIX there were built the most elegant resorts of the coast as well as several "liberty style" hotels located in the beautiful seafront of the city.

Its famous Carnival dates back to 1873 when some high-society young man from Viareggio, decided to organize a floats parade to celebrate the Carnival. That year marked the beginning of one of the most spectacular and colorful Carnivals all over the world.

The Europe World War suspended carnival celebrations, although in 1921 the consolidated Carnevale di Viareggio was able to re-emerge with even more glory. That same year, for the first time it was sang "Copa de Champagne" which today remains the current anthem of the Carnival.
The novelty of 1925 was the introduction of "paper mache" for the construction of the floats.This material allowed the realization of truly spectacular pieces that at the same time are extremely light so they perform real stunts in the air.

2001 marked a turning point for the celebration of the Carnival of Viareggio with the opening of the Carnival City, a beautiful complex that houses modern laboratories for the construction of floats, a school paper mache, in addition to a large amphitheater.

Starting next February 7 and ending 28th. Viareggio will live once again with the great Carnival characterized by political satire and the best parody with the most imaginative floats you've ever seen.

An incredible event which hosts parades, dancing, entertainment, joy .... where the fun is beyond a doubt, in a beautiful coastal city that these days more than ever offers unforgettable moments.

If you wish to enjoy this great festival in the link below you will find the most complete information on the Carnival of Viareggio: http://www.viareggio.ilcarnevale.com/

Buon Carnevale e a presto!

Beatriz

New Year's Eve in Tuscany

Tuscany is a perfect place to enjoy the last night of of 2008. This unique region offers a wide range of options for all tastes and for all ages: for those who are seeking peace and quietness, for those who are wishing dancing all night, for those who dream of beginning the new year tasting the excellent specialities of a traditional Tuscan resturant in a friendly and warm atmosphere...

Therefore Tuscany has a large offer of accommodations, so you can choose to spend your holidays in a exclusive Villa with your family and friends, in a beautiful country house or in a charming hotel. You will find for sure the place that fits perfectly with your accommodation needs.

Some years ago I decided to spend my Christmas holidays with some friends in a wonderful Villa close to Cortona, and all I can say is that it was an unforgettable experience living those days among our Tuscan neighbours learning all about their traditions, the way they live Christmas and tasting the excellent specialities of the Tuscan gastronomy. We had the New Year's Eve dinner in a great and small restaurant south of Siena called "La Visantaia".


As always there will be plenty parties - allnightlong- in cities such as Florence, where you can find good music, the best dj's, and all the best for the last night of the year. In this link you will be able to see some of the options for that night: http://www.capodannofirenze.it/new_year_eve_florence/new_year_eve_florence_saschall.html

Also Woody Allen will be in Tuscany for the coming weeks, he will be in concert in Florence on December 22, so if you are thinking of being there that day I might suggest you don't miss the chance!

I hope this advices to be useful for all of you, and I wish you the best in Christmas and in 2009!


Alicia