More pics from Florence and Tuscany...

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Cortona

Church of Santa Maria Nuova, on the hillside in Cortona

On the way home we stopped in Cortona (that's where the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" takes place). Cortona is considered a classic Tuscan hill town, and it's location only a mile from Umbria marks the end of Tuscany heading south. A quaint small town with lots of character, a few beautiful churches, and a picturesque main piazza sold us on Cortona! As we walked down Via Nazionale (the town's only level road and main commercial street) towards Piazza della Repubblica, we knew we had found another favorite in Tuscany.

ceramiche shop on Via Nazionale

Palazzo Communale (city hall) on Piazza della Reppublica

eating lunch on the steps of Palazzo Communale

wine shop off Piazza della Reppublica

Florence

Founded by an emperor named Julius Caesar, Florence is now the capital of Tuscany (arguably the most beautiful province in Italy) and the indisputable capital of Renaissance art.

On Saturday morning we wasted no time exploring the city. Luckily, our apartment was less than a block from the Duomo so we didn't have far to walk! Even without the main attractions, Florence is a beautiful city with plenty of pedestrian-only boulevards lined with shops selling handmade leather goods, custom suits, and great food. It seemed that whenever we needed to let Allison and Ethan out of the stroller, a piazza magically appeared, giving the kids plenty of space to tire themselves out!

Perhaps the best known art gallery in Italy is the Uffizi Gallery. It is filled with the most comprehensive collection of Renaissance art in Europe - from paintings to sculptures. We gave the kids a bag full of crackers thus affording us a precious 1/2 hour to explore the gallery in peace. Earlier in the day we visited the Accademia which features several of Michelangelo's most spectacular works including the magnificent David. Do you think Allison or Ethan will ever remember the phenomenal pieces by Da Vinci, Michelangelo, or Raphael? Didn't think so! In fact, when Allison saw the David she loudly blurted out: "Mommy, he's NAKED!!" I guess, in the end, Michelangelo entertained us all!

Before we knew it, Monday morning came! It was an incredible visit to a wonderful city!

Some of the beautiful buildings in the city.

The David!

The Ponte Vecchio bridge, filled with shops.

An ornate courtyard just off Piazza della Signoria.

The main room of our apartment, just a block from the Duomo.

Montepulciano

This past long weekend we took a road trip up to Florence. In order to break up the scenic 5-hour drive, we stopped at a Tuscan hill town on the way up and back. On Friday that meant a visit to Montepulciano, a medieval hill town known for producing some of the best wines in Italy. Believe it or not, records show that the town has been producing wine since the 1300's! Luckily, we ran into Adamo, the proprietor of the Cantucci Cantina, famous for their Vino Nobile wine. He showed us around the Etruscan tombs where massive oaks barrels hold the delicious wine (see pic below). Oh, did we mention the incredibly scenery Montepulciano offers?

Margaret and Allison make their way down a narrow street.

The surrounding vineyards and olive trees.

The Etruscan tomb filled with enormous barrels of Vino Nobile.


Some more of the great scenery (note the medieval rampart at the bottom of the picture)!

Lots of smiles to go around!

Yes, another gorgeous Tuscan view.