We got on the wrong train.

Departing a city is like departing a friend, staying in places more than a day or two does allow one to learn more, see more and break through the tourist whirlwind.

In the end, we stayed just five nights in Florence and unlike the past, weren't rushed to see 'the sights'.  For me the Pitti Palace was my favourite, it is a gallery, a residence and also a museum. Pitti Palace isn't crowded as it does not have famous works of art like the Uffizi.

Katie's favourite place in Florence, after long deliberation was Uffizi. She said she was able to absorb more of the gallery this time as there were fewer visitors compared to our previous visit in Summer.

We packed our bags last night and had the final additions after showering and dressing this morning.  I keep saying they are getting full, but this time I almost needed to unzip the expander!

There is always too much to see in Florence

Our initial plans were to head out of town today to Lucca or Livorno, each about 1hr 20 min on the train but last night we decided that it is a long time on the train and there is still so much more of Florence to experience.

David, Fiesole and ludicrous laundry

Today was a day to have a break from the little streets, tourists, Vespas and cars by leaving the city but before we could we had to drop in on David.

Police, Bridge, Palace, Museum and Baptistery

We took a walk across town this morning to take up Stefano's offer to see his place of work at the Carabinieri barracks.  It was an unexpected and interesting insight to see inside the Italian military force.

On route, we passed a crochet shop that was unfortunately closed and we passed through the local market, Sant'Ambrogio Market. This was mostly a fresh fruit and vegetable fare.

Culture and life on the streets

Breakfast Italian style, an espresso, a cappucino and a croissant each.

It was then time to walk the damp streets in the direction of Uffizi gallery.  This morning was chilly but not freezing.

Leaving the country, time for the city.

This was another day where we once again surprised ourselves and managed to fit all our belongings and newly purchased souvenirs into our bags.

It was then time for the last espresso in the comfort of Rosalinda's lounge room where we expressed our thanks and discussed Stefano and his trip to Australia in 2019. 😜

In the past week whilst at La Maesta we had three opportunities to have local Tuscan meals with Rosalinda, Stefano, Lilla and Virginia. The meals were made with locally sourced ingredients and made with love using unwritten recipes handed down from generation to generation.

It had to rain eventually....

This morning started our last day at La Maesta. It was a little windy and very grey, the clouds were threatening rain, and we had laundry to do.

First off it was to Castiglion Fiorentino where we did a load of washing and met with a lady in the laundromat.  She was originally from Dusseldorf Germany, had worked in Africa and now lives in this region after relocating here as a pharmacist. Now retired, she saves her money and travels as much as she can. She has been to Hong Kong and Australia and is currently reading up on Japan, her next trip. As we left the laundromat the rain started and we had a thunderstorm for the next couple of hours.

Head North

New territories were to be discovered again today and this time we covered a sanctuary dedicated to St. Francis, the small hilltown of Poppi and ventured a little further north for some real Tuscan countryside.

La Verna is a sanctuary dedicated to St. Francis (a living and working Monastery) and sits on top a cliff with sweeping views for miles. 

Anghiari, a little place on the edge of Tuscany.

Mattino Toscano (a Tuscan Morning)

First thing this morning we headed to the local pharmacist where Katie purchased a selection of goodies, that will help make this little cold more bearable and hopefully kick it sooner, rather than later.

It then was time for some new explorations; this time a hilltop town north from Agriturismo La Maestà, Anghiari.

Lago Trasimeno and Laundry

Both suffering from a little winter cold, we decided to take today easy and didn't leave LaMaesta until 11am, this allowed for a sleep in and also restful morning.

Our first of two stops was Castiglione del Lago, which

Head West

One of the reasons for this trip was to visit some fo the hill towns we have been to in the summers seasons past, as to get a better understanding of what they are like without the thousands of tourists.

Today we visited San Gimingano which we have been to before and also added a new town Volterra.

We initially noticed a difference in the parking lots, it was easy to get a park outside the walls of San Gimingano, then when we passed through the gate, found the streets much less crowded.