European Vacation (Tuscany)

The next days' travels took us to the hills of Tuscany

Our first stop was Siena.

Siena once competed with Florence as a major city but the Bubonic plague decimated it and thus Florence became the birthplace of the renaissance.

What a beautiful place right out of my Tuscany calendar

 

 We toured the inside of this amazing church, the Siena Cathedral

 Every inch of this cathedral inside and out is covered with amazing details.

 It even includes a Michelangelo creation

This is the Piazza del Campo where the world famous Palio 

horse race takes place.

 Flags like these hang all over the town signifying the family that lives in that area. The horses in the race also bear these flags and
represent that family or area of town.

 

 

Driving through the "hill country" is so beautiful.

It was much more vast than we imagined.

 

 

 

We next stopped at Volterra which also has an amazing history complete with Roman ruins. And to all you "Twilight" fans, we did not run into any Volturi,
at least that we know of.

During World War II, this roman arch was saved by the citizens of Volterra.

The Nazis were going to blow it up to block the road so the allies couldn't get through.  During the night the townspeople rolled rocks and piled boulders in the road to block it so they wouldn't blow up this Roman arch

 Here are some of the Roman ruins they have uncovered

 We wandered the streets of these medieval villages and then 

drove by Pisa and on to Sestri Levante

As I was looking for lodging close to Cinque Terre, I found a
wonderful Bed and Breakfast in Casarza Ligure.
We arrived there late in the afternoon on Thursday and got checked in.
Our host suggested dinner at a restaurant which was right on the ocean in
Sestri Levante, only a few miles up the road.

Wow is all I can say! Sestri Levante is a gorgeous place
set right on the Ligurian Sea.

 The food was delicious

 

 and came complete with an Italian band for entertainment.

The lead singer took a liking to Whitney and 

coerced her onto the dance floor.

In honor of Frank Sinatra and us, the Americans, he sang "My Way".

 

We can't wait to go back and spend more time in this little gem of a place.