So, when Becky called to invite us to join her for part of her sabbatical, it took about 15 minutes and we had tickets booked!
We started the weekend in Viareggio, a beautiful beach town near Pisa, where we met Becky, Tamara and Massimo (who was our very kind host, local expert, translator, wine connisieur, tour guide, etc...)
After a night enjoying some local Tuscan wines in Viareggio, we took a train to Cinque Terre - a famous string of 5 towns situated on the Mediterranean. The idea is that you walk (about 9 very hilly kilometres) from one town to the next. Our version: Arrive in town #1 ready for a day of hiking. Town #2 - a bit hungry, need some lunch and a few glasses of wine. Town #3: Really far from Town #2.. or maybe it was just the wine. Town #4 - getting really warm out, time for a bit more wine. Town #5 - well, the photos will have to suffice, as we never made it to the last town. The wine in that 4th town was just too good to stop drinking!
Our next trip was a visit to what is now a serious contender for the title of "our favorite city in the world". Florence. While getting there was a bit of a challenge (yes, striking workers on the trains is quite normal as the locals informed us), with Tim's excellent driving skills and Becky's superb navigation (with support from Jen & Tamara in the backseat and some Fergie tunes as entertainment) we, and our mini-rental car, made it just fine.
We did some shopping...
Saw the Duomo and caught an illegal glimpse of the David....
And had a fabulous dinner with a rather entertaining waiter...
The next day we came back to Pisa for a view of the ever-famous leaning tower (yes, it really does lean, and no, we couldn't find anyone who could tell us why!)
We also made a visit to Massimo's villa (which is on the market, incidentially... so if you're looking for a great fixer-upper in central Tuscany, I can put you in touch!)
http://www.tuscanyseafrontvilla.com/Sadly, we did have to get back on the plane and fly back to London eventually. Though maybe a good thing... a few more days in Italy and I think we'd have quickly exceeded our recommended ANNUAL allowance for red wine!
More pics are posted to Shutterfly... click here
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