Italy

Tuscany, Italy 2025

We are on our way to Italy early Saturday morning.

Many years ago we spent two weeks on a self-guided walking trip in Tuscany. As we walked from village to village, our luggage was transported every day. We stayed in small charming inns and all the meals, with plenty of local wine, were included. It was a wonderful adventure with lots of walking. The trip ended in Florence, one of the most spectacular and magical towns in Italy.

We are returning to Tuscany and our first stop will be a 4 night stay in Florence at the Hotel Calimala. Lots of activities in Florence have been booked, from guided church and museum visits, to fabulous restaurant reservations. Plenty of walking around charming neighborhoods and gardens with many stops at the famous food and flea markets.

On this trip we wanted to visit and experience more places in Tuscany. We will depart Florence in a rented car and for the next 14 days we will spend the rest of our time exploring the countryside south of Florence.

We will be hiking, visiting charming hill towns and wineries, going on a guided truffle hunt, soaking in thermal hot springs and feasting on Italian specialties. Our first stop will be Lupaia, an ancient Italian country estate dating back to 1622. ( Lupaia | Boutique Hotel in Tuscany ) Laid out like a tiny village, there are a lot of hidden spots and angles to explore. With just 12 rooms and suites, a restaurant, and a pool, Lupaia lies near the world-renowned wine region and town of Montepulciano. Nestled in the hills of Val d'Orcia, the hotel sits on top of a hill and offers splendid views over the Italian countryside. We will be spending 5 nights there before driving further south to La Maremma and the coast.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Friday, March 28, 2025

We are in Florence, Italy. Beautiful sunny and cool day. We arrived at 2 pm. There is a 7 hour time difference (5 am in Tucson). We were up at 4 am on Saturday. David took us to the airport, where we boarded a 7 am flight to Denver. We had a 5 hour wait at the United Business Lounge before our 4 pm flight to Frankfurt (9:30 am Sunday). Really busy airport where we had to stand in line for passport control. 3 hour wait before our flight to Florence.

Our hotel is in the center of all the major sights. We have a beautiful room. Before our 7:30 pm dinner, we took a short walk. Lots of Sunday visitors walking the streets which are mostly closed to traffic.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Duomo di Firenze

Another day in Paradise. Florence is a beautiful and magical city that is jam packed with history, culture and art. Today we spent the entire day visiting churches, architectural masterpieces, museums and contemporary art exhibitions. A late afternoon nap was also necessary and needed. The day ended with an onion tart in a cream sauce topped with truffles, spaghetti with clams, a veal rub chop topped with a cheese sauce and more truffles. A cold bottle of white Vernaccia wine from San Gimignano added to this wonderful meal.

It was also a day where we wanted to better understand the relationship of Florence to the Arno River that flows thru the middle of the city. During the day we had the opportunity to cross two of the numerous Arno River bridges. The Arno, stretching 150 miles, is one of Italy’s most important waterways. It flows through the heart of Tuscany. Beginning in the Apennine Mountains, the Arno descends through valleys and flows thru numerous villages and towns including both Florence and Pisa. The Arno River has played a pivotal role in the development of Tuscany. Its fertile banks provided agricultural fields for early settlements, and its waters were used for irrigation, fishing, drinking and transportation. The river was also a major artery for trade and commerce, linking Florence with the Mediterranean Sea at Pisa. The river is a beloved subject for artists, depicted in countless works of art that highlight its romantic presence within the city. Leonardo da Vinci painted the Arno River in his famous painting, “Mona Lisa.” Mark Twain described the Arno River as “the most beautiful river in the world” in his travelogue, “The Innocents Abroad.”

Over the centuries the Arno River also has a dark and terrible side. The first great recorded flood of the Arno was in November 1333 and reportedly killed more than 3,000 people. Up to the mid 18th century flooding took place on average every 10 years (there are 55 events recorded between 1261 and 1761, with at least 30 described as heavy and 5 exceptional). The last “exceptional” flood occurred on November 4, 1966. After 18 hours of steady rain, the Arno River burst its bank at 5am in the morning flooding Florence. At places in the city the water reached as high as 22 feet. Twenty-thousand families lost their homes, fifteen thousand cars were destroyed, numerous museums, churches and historic libraries were flooded and six thousand shops went out of business. An estimated 34 people lost their lives. Countless works of art and books were washed away or damaged. As we walked over the bridges today, it was hard to believe that this beautiful and calm river was capable of causing such terrible destruction.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Monday, March 31, 2025

Florence

Our Room with a View

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Today we climbed 436 steps to reach the top of the dome of the cathedral. It is the highest point in Florence with magnificent views in all directions. Santa Maria del Fiore, or as the locals know it, The Duomo, is one of the most popular attractions in Florence. The exterior of the cathedral is stunning and its dome is an architectural masterpiece. Huge crowds surround the cathedral complex which includes a bell tower and baptistery. The Dome has over 4 million bricks, weighing over 40,000 tons, almost the size of half a football field across at the base, and standing over 10 stories high, it is the largest masonry structure in the world. What you see on the outside is just the roof tiles, the shell of the external structure. After the Dome was completed, the plain, white interior dome ceiling needed to be filled with art. Grand Duke Cosimo I Medici commissioned the artist Giorgio Vasari, to complete the task. Vasari designed an incredible scene to fill the dome: this fresco is called “The Last Judgement.” Between the shell and the ingenious brick structure is the staircase that allows you to climb all 436 stairs to the top and to have a close up view of the “Last Judgement”.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Friday, April 4, 2025

We are spending 5 nights in the hotel Lupaia near the hill town of Montelpulciano. Beautiful hotel surrounded by more than 1,500 olives trees on its property. The farm was established in 1622 and has 12 rooms spread out among numerous buildings. Our room was once used to house goats at night to protect them from wolfs. In fact the hotel’s name “Lupaia” is translated as “She Wolf”.

After leaving Florence it was about a 2 hour drive to the hotel. We loved Florence, the art, the culture but with the early start of the tourist season, the city and streets were overflowing with people. Here in this beautiful valley surrounding our hotel only the sound of birds can now be heard.

After having lunch in the garden and walking the hotel property, we spent the rest of the afternoon in the heated pool. Dinner was delicious.

On Friday, after breakfast at the hotel we drove up to the medieval and Renaissance hill town of Montepulciano. It is one of the most striking and picturesque villages you can visit in Tuscany. Its location, high up on a limestone ridge, gives you breathtaking 360 degree views of the surrounding Tuscan countryside and the huge number of vineyards below.

Etruscans first established a settlement here around the third century B.C. Our 6 mile walk first took us into the village center before leading down into the valley below as we circled the town. The town holds a long-standing tradition of winemaking that dates back centuries. The region’s vineyards are primarily dedicated to the production of red wines, with the most famous being the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Before returning to the hotel, we had an opportunity to visit a wine cellar that had been constructed inside a 1,000 year old Etruscan cave and taste six different local red wines.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Tuscany in Black &White

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Our last morning here at the Lupaia hotel before moving on to the Maremma region of Tuscany. Fabulous stay. The weather was perfect. In fact it was unusually warm with late afternoon temperatures of 72 degrees. Normal is around 65 degrees with cool mornings. Great hiking weather. Over the last 5 days we hiked over 28 miles. Tuscany is not flat. Lots of hills and many of those hills were long and steep. Glorious views in all directions. Flowering trees and daffodils everywhere. Spring is in the air. We hiked in and around the great hill towns of Montepulciano, Pienza, San Quirico d’Orcia, and Montalcino. We visited lots of beautiful churches, museums and saw lots of amazing art. Great memories to take home and a strong desire to return many more times but only in April. In May thru September the number of visitors can be overwhelming and the heat and humidity oppressive.

One of the highlights of our visit here was the opportunity to go truffle hunting. Truffles are highly prized in Italy and correspondingly expensive (about $1,200 a pound for black truffles) due to their rarity, the labor-intensive process of harvesting them, and their unique flavor. Truffles are a type of fungi that grow underground alongside the roots of oak and hazelnut trees. As a funghi, it is common for them to be categoried as being “like a mushroom”. However their aroma is completely unique and their flavor can be describe as nutty, and even slightly garlicky. In culinary circles, truffles are considered a delicacy, adding depth and richness to eggs, risotto and pasta dishes. Truffle hunting involves foraging for these hidden gems in specific forested areas, guided by experienced hunter called a “tartufaio” and their trained dogs. The process is steeped in tradition and is highly regulated. In this area there are 3 types of truffles that are harvested at different seasons of the year. The white truffle is harvested from November to January and commands a price of $2,500 a pound. We will always remember our truffle hunting adventure. In addition, the truffles we had collected were added to our dinner pasta, tenderloin and breakfast eggs.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Driving between the big cities in Italy is easy especially if you are trained as a professional race car driver. Italians drive fast, really fast. We elected to drive on as many small country roads as possible. Driving on country roads is slower but also presents interesting challenges. Fortunately technology like GPS makes the drive much easier. As we drove to our new hotel on Tuesday we stopped at numerous small villages and view points to enjoy the beautiful Italian countryside. Lots of trees in bloom, apple, cherry and redbud. Wildflowers everywhere.

We wanted to spend most of the day visiting the sculpture garden created by Daniel Spoerri, a Romanian-born Swiss visual artist and writer. He died on November 6, 2024. He started the garden in 1978. The 35 acre property is in Maremma on the slopes of Mount Amiata near the hill town of Seggiano. Today more than 100 works by Spoerri and 55 other artists are located on the property. It represents one of the most important artist gardens in the world. The works of art represent half a century of international artistic expressions. Later that afternoon we arrived at our hotel, a restored 12th-century castle. (Luxury Tuscan Retreat | Castello di Vicarello) A spectacular property overlooking the valley and river below. We are staying here for 4 nights.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Thursday, April 10, 2025

After breakfast, we took a 5 mile hike from the hotel down to the Ombrone River. It is one of Italy’s most picturesque waterways. The Ombrone flows for 105 miles before meeting the Mediterranean Sea. Another beautiful hiking day. While the hotel is really spectacular, beautiful room, public areas and gardens, the food at both dinners was awful. Simply hard to believe. This is Italy where food should always be special. Very disappointing. On Friday we are going birdwatching, all day, with Marco our bird guide and we are eating out.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

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Greater Flamingos, lots of Flamingos. All day bird watching with our wonderful guide Marco Valtriani. He is a biologist but currently is working for various hiking companies to scout potential hiking routes for self guided walking trips all over Italy. He writes the detailed trip noted for each of the hikes. He took us to all the lagoons at Orbetello and the natural parks that border the sea. Good time to view a wide variety of birds since mid April is the peak of migration. We saw lots of birds but the first 3 photos are the Greater Flamingo (our favorite), the 4th photo is our guide and the last photo is the Hoopoe, a migratory bird in Italy. In fact the Hoopoe has appeared throughout history and it has even featured in ancient Greek mythology. Thereus, the son of Ares (the God of war) was turned into a Hoopoe after he committed suicide.The Hoopoe’s call is what has given the bird its name, as it makes a “Hoo – poo” sound and the Hoopoe’s call symbolizes the arrival of spring in Italy. Curiously, even the Chinese regard the bird as being a messenger of springtime.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Friday, April 11, 2025

Pitigliano is a town of about 3,500 residents in the province of Grosseto in southern Tuscany. A 2 hour drive from our hotel. The Maremma region of Tuscany is big. It makes up a third of Tuscany. The town is actually right on the border between the regions of Tuscany and Lazio. Pitigliano is perched dramatically on a cliff of volcanic material. The town seems almost carved out of the rock itself. We had a full day guided walk of Pitigliano. The town was one of the 12 major Etruscan centers in Italy. The Etruscan civilization’s golden age was between the 8th century BC and 396 BC – the year of the conquest by the Romans. All around Pitigliano are ancient roads and caves dug through the volcanic rock by the Etruscans. These deep cuts in the rocks are known as the “vie cave” and they are all related to Etruscan burial places. Most of the burial caves have been looted over the centuries and later reused for wine or grain storage. Some have even been turned into taverns (4th photo, Cantina San Giuseppe). Fortunately, many of the funeral items in the caves are now in museums (last photo). An amazing town to visit. On Saturday we drive to San Gimignano. We will spend our last 4 nights in Italy at Locanda dei Logi ( https://www.locandadeilogi.it/ )

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe

Thursday, April 17, 2025

We are back in Tucson. We spent the last 4 days of our trip visiting the beautiful hill towns of San Gimignano, Siena and Volterra. Perfect sunny day on Saturday when we arrived at our hotel, Locanda dei Logi. The hotel is located in the former rectory and buildings of the small Romanesque San Donato church and is surrounded by vineyards. Only 6 rooms. We absolutely loved the hotel, our room and the fabulous food and wine at their resturant. They also have a wine bar where you can taste and buy all the wines from their winery, Colombaio di Santa Chiara.

On Sunday we hiked a 5 mile circuit around San Gimignano. Magnificent views of the town and its towers. After reaching the main town gate at noon, the rain started. Lots of rain on Sunday afternoon, all day Monday at Siena and Tuesday morning at Volterra. We spent lots of time visiting the museums, art galleries, churches, shops and just walking the streets. In both San Gimignano and Volterra we had an exceptional guide, Erica Masini. She shared so many interesting observations with us that we would have missed.

We also enjoyed eating out at restaurants in San Gimignano. During the day lots of visitors, even in the rain, but at night, we, at times, were the only ones walking among the towers. Beautiful. Lasting memories. We walked a total of 90 miles exploring the countryside, walking in the towns and visiting the museums.

We loved our trip to Tuscany and someday we will return again.

Love to all,

Barbara and Joe