The train to Firenze was a good choice. We arrived in the centre of the city and made our way to a café John had read about. There was a queue. The internet! Still, we didn’t wait long and after a cappuccino and an incredible almond croissant which was a fraud -it was loaded with Nutella- we headed to the cathedral on our way to the Uffizi. OMG Firenze is infested with tourists. According to Google 10 to 16 million people visit Florence each year. I think they were all there the day we visited. It was a crush! Fortunately, we had seen the Duomo years ago. I’m sure I didn’t pay! Anyhow the queue encircled the building. I was gobsmacked!

John had tickets for the Uffizi. We had decided we would like to see Botticelli’s Birth of Venus mainly because it is a favourite of a very dear friend. We had a timed entry. The problem was there was no ‘timed exit’. People hung around. I was really stressed. Sooooo many people!!! We found the station, our train, boarded and abruptly fell asleep. So lucky we woke at our stop. Both so tired. The pool was a welcome restorer. 

Next day. Coffee first. Then head to Siena. Antonio, the owner, recommended we go early, and we drive. Oh, local knowledge is gold! It really was early and eerily quiet as the morning mist slowly evaporated. We parked in a garage close to Il Campo the main square where they have the horse race called the Palio di Siena. We had coffee. John Googled ‘best street Siena’ and we headed there. Of course, many shops weren’t open, so we continued on and found the Wednesday markets which were enormous.

Later we accidently found ourselves at the cathedral where we were expected to pay to enter. Seriously. I find it anathema to pay to go into a church, particularly a Catholic church. Google says the Vatican alone is worth 10 to 16 billion USD. I just checked that I used the right word ‘anathema’. I have, but another meaning is ‘a formal curse by a pope’. How funny!!! We stopped for a Spritz and headed back to the car. Another wonderful day.

Tenuto Tegalato had been a brilliant place from which to explore this part of Tuscany. From there we headed north to Lucca. We had a few hours to fill before check-in so we decided we had time to visit the Antinori nel Chianti Classico winery. During our travels we had been to some very interesting wineries including Chateau la Coste, Provence, Pt. Leo Estate, Victoria, DiamAndes Mendoza and considering the Antinori family has been committed to the art of winemaking for over six centuries, since 1385, we thought it would be something out of the box. The architecture was innovative, the natural surroundings were lovely and the wine shop offered wines from all over Italy. They offered tours and wine tasting and there was a restaurant. I think it might have been the industrial scale that made it feel cold. I’m not sure. Sometimes it’s just a state of mind or maybe we really had become tourist tragics.