Wine Recommendations for a Trip to Tuscany Tuscany
Dear Friends, today published a letter two readers of the blog because it is certainly very useful for you all:
Good morning.
We are back from our trip to Tuscany. For what it is for the blog, I make some comments.
1 .- Travelling with car: We have done
Grimaldi Lines, From Barcelona to Livorno
and vv. It is convenient if you are quite luggage and Tuscany to use the car a lot. Otherwise, preferred plane. If you use the boat, better to book in advance because they make good discounts. 2 .-
Lucca. Charming city. You do not have monuments "5 stars" as
Pisa or Siena
, but its streets, plazas, churches ... form a splendid city. Moreover, it is "invaded" by tourists, so the atmosphere is very "Italian." Recommendations: Pizzeria
Sbraglia (via Fillungo 140). Great and excellent Pizza, a moderate price. Very friendly staff. Osteria
Baralla. Via dell Anfiteatro 5. Typical Italian meal in a lovely location.
Gelateria Veneta. Via Beccherie 10 (near Piazza San Michele). Great ice cream, especially the coconut.
3 .- Pisa. Unforgettable impression you get when you first enter through Porta Santa Maria. The Campo dei Miracoli (Duomo, Tower, Baptistry and Cemetery), despite having seen him in many photos, is magnificent. the city lacks the charm of Lucca, but it's worth unu walk through the old town and the quays of the Arno. To climb the tower, it should get the tickets online to avoid awkward delays. 4 .-
Florence. Little to add to what everyone knows already in this city. Just remember that it is advisable to book tickets for the great museums on the Internet (especially, Uffizi and Accademia). As we stayed in an apartment, I can not mention restaurants and pizzerias, but ice cream. We tried all the "famous" (Vestri, GROM, Vivoli, Perche no ,...) and they are not as famous, and best, no doubt, is the Gelateria del Neri, in Via del Neri 70, 5 minutes from the Piazza Signoria. Wide variety of flavors, and spectacular "Granite", especially the chocolate.
to park the car, as well as underground car parks, areas that cost 1 euro an hour (8 to 20 hours, free holidays), but you can leave your car up to three days. 5 .-
Cortona. Since I had high expectations and at first I was disappointed a little. To better appreciate the city is essential to explore the upper part, filled squares and streets retain much charm. The views are stunning. To regain strength in the main square there is a small supermarket that sells bread and groceries. 6 .-
Lucignano. Apart from the peculiar structure of the city, with streets concentric elliptical, a little more to note. 7 .-
Arezzo. Unlike Cortona, as we did not expect much from the visit, we liked a lot. Away from the usual tourist circuits, the city environment is similar to Lucca. It has many monuments to visit, plus walking the streets of the old town. With regard to the frescoes of Piero della Francesca, if you are not an art enthusiast, does not deserve worth paying to see them. Entering the church (it's free) are pretty good, since they are in the apse. 8 .-
Siena. It would be a city that does not exceed in Lucca or Arezzo interest if not for two outstanding monuments: Piazza del Campo and the Duomo. Just for that, it is imperative to visit, albeit a few hours. 9 .-
Monterriggioni . It's funny to be surrounded by walls, but they are two blocks and four houses dedicated to souvenir shops and a couple of restaurants. It is worth climbing the wall to see the overview and the countryside around the city. 10 .-
San Gimignano. Meets what is expected of her, that is, a perfectly preserved medieval town, with undeniable charm. However, the large number of tourists gives it an "unreal" as if it were a lifeless scenery. In this sense, it reminded me a bit, relatively speaking, to Santillana del Mar. We stayed for dinner (Locanda Sant Agostino, in the piazza of the same name. Good site, Advise on quality and price), and was a success because at night there are less people and the city changes. We take an ice cream parlor in the famous "Piazza" in Piazza della Cisterna. Well, nothing more.
Olivetto 11 .- Monte Maggiore. It is worth visiting to enjoy the location and see the frescoes of the cloister. In addition, admission is free!. There is a small store to buy products made by the monks. 12 .-
Montalcino. A bit disappointing. Removing the main square, the rest of the people has nothing to highlight. 13 .-
Bagno Vignoni. We went to visit him for what was said on the blog, and I think that we were right. It is a peculiar place, and very nice to take a short walk. 14 .-
Pienza. The center is very, very small, but worth a visit. The main plaza is as "monumental" it seems that does not fit with the rest of the people. It's pretty street, leaving the rear of the cathedral, toured the wall. 15 .-
Montepulciano. Has plenty of life (And big hills). We were eager to travel more slowly and see the monuments which, by the time that we were already closed. 16 .-
Volterra. We are also disappointed. As with Montalcino, saving the main square, the rest of the people have nothing remarkable.
Finally, two tips:
a) A lot of caution on the roads. The highway that links Florence to Siena is narrow and full of bends in the highway A-1 there are always lots of traffic, and other roads have many curves. Of course, the scenery is great.
b) In the rest of the year do not know, but in summer mosquitoes devour you. We, the skin repellent and insecticide in house as we were biting. Moreover, pitting (at least in our case) lasted longer and were more troublesome than in Spain. So I put together a potent repellent as you can, and good luck ...
Thanks for the information of the blog, has been very helpful.
Jesus and Ines.