Florence

Guess where we are, yes in the beautiful rolling hills of Tuscany and it is just the way i imagined it to be.   

It is a  very agricultural area, with lots of wholesale nurseries as well.

To start at the beginning, we travelled 400 kms from Rome to Florence today.  We travelled through three regions including Latzio, Umbrio and now Tuscany.  We left Rome via Aurelia which is an ancient road devised by the Romans 2000 years.  We travelled close along the west coast of Italy where we could see the Mediterranean for a while, then went more inland.

We saw vineyards where the reds are grown, the whites are south of Rome.  There were also market gardens with irrigation, and also sun farms with hundreds of solar panels..  80 percent of this region, known as the Latzio region, is flat and wheat, barley and corn are grown as well as apples, citrus and kiwi fruit.

We travelled through the Umbria region and then finally Tuscany.  Our first stop was at Pisa where we first had lunch and then time to explore.

My lunch.

We went for a walk through Pisa, a very busy tourist village.

Found some buildings of interest which we hadn't seen before with the decorative frescoes.

One of the streets in Pisa.  

We then made our way to the Square of Miracles.  There are three monuments built here of marble, begun in the 1200's in the Romanesque style.  There is a cathedral, the Baptista. a cemetery, and of course, the Leaning Tower which was completed in the 14th century. The Tower developed a 5.5 degree lean to the left due to sinking foundations, which after closure in 2006, the building was made safe again, and reopened.  There are 296 steps to the top and it is 182 feet tall on the south side, and179 feet tall on the north side and is built with 15,000 tonnes of  Monte Carlo marble.  Paul must be very strong then because he is holding it with one finger.

I must be missing the sewing machine, because i am seeing patchwork everywhere...look, flying geese.

Im sure there is a quilt block here

and here, which would be a tricky one.

This was the Baptista, i will have to google the function of this building.

We left here and continued our way to Florence, on the way seeing a wonderful example of early Roman architecture, built in the 6th century BC, this aqueduct appears to be in perfect condition.

A view of the street from our window in Florence.