calamar
Austin
Worth visiting!
We’re going here next May for our official wedding (as opposed to the shotgun wedding). It should be a wonderful trip, I know I want to go to Pisa as well, and Florence of course, not sure what else.
Beaulotus is very busy
Modena
very easy to travel around within Tuscany, just spent 3 weeks there this summer. You may wish to visit the Montepulciano wine region, San Gimignano (they apparently have 2006’s World Gelato Champion), eat seafood in Livourne…
Happy Wedding!
A Girl in the Curl
San Francisco
I told you you’d love it.
Were your children the stars of the show? The world revolves around the family in Italy.
I loved reading your entry.
Made me homesick for Tuscany.
Bella Toscana.
yes, I hear seafood is good in Livorno, and also in the Ligurian area of the Cinque Terre, but I’ll admit to not having tried it in either of those places (oh, well…there’s always next trip!)
aka—Chewingfoil
;)
Beaulotus is very busy
Modena
They never got free gelato like you told me they would!!! I’ve spent a fortune on gelato, 3 weeks of minimum 2 gelatos per day each for 6 people, imagine the disaster to my portemonnaie…LOL
We’ve had a good time otherwise. No time yet to put in an entry, but suffice to say that the weather was good, the mosquitoes came only occasionally, and the sale was still on when I was there.
But we got bored with the food after a while. It’s not as good as in Milano or Torino, kind of rustic and unimaginative. And while I really love the bisteca a la fiorentina (really rare – yummy!), I lament the lack of variety in fish in most restaurants. Even in Livourne…
BTW we’ll be moving to either Milano or Torino next Summer. I’m going to learn how to prepare octopus, I have some ideas already. And tonight we’ll have spaghetti alle vongole for dinner :-).
Lucky girl to be in NYC. I wouldn’t mind living in NY.
A Girl in the Curl
San Francisco
we have very different tastes in food and in cities!
I’m so busy with school that I’ve not had a really good opportunity to explore New York, and therefore, I’m hating it here.
I guess the Free gelato was something I saw only once or twice, and probably made it sound like it would always be free—I didn’t mean that, I’m sorry.
Wow! you’re moving there?! that’s great!
Torino is sort of industrialized and a bit dirtier, so I’m hoping you’ll end up closer to Milano. There are wonderful art galleries, and the opera, and fashion…wow! I’m so jealous!
Well, when I finally buy my house in Tuscany, and move there myself, we will have to visit :)
I will buy all your children Gelati!
Beaulotus is very busy
Modena
they were just not cute enough :-).
I think that I’ll prefer Milano too, but hubby’s saying that Torino is nearer to France.
I’m looking forward to the warmer summers and shorter winters wherever it’ll be. And the seafood. Am quite sick of sausages.
It’ll be fun learning Italian too, I guess. Much closer to French and Spanish. Though I like learning German too, it’s a difficult language and hence a challenge.
I love NYC. Great museums, shops and restaurants. Cosmopolitan and the population reflects that in general. I haven’t been to SF though, but from what I’ve heard of it, I’m sure that I would love it too.
Tuscany has loads of tourists but it’s not cosmopolitan. I guess that’s why I like it less. I’m a very City kind of gal.
What are you doing in NYC? I thought you were in Colombia U?
Hope you’ll buy your villa (I insist on it, they are great!) in Tuscany soon. I can never say no to free gelati.
calamar
Austin
I’m really looking forward to it and brushing up on my basic Italian. Can I ask, how did you get around? did you drive or take trains, or…? We’re hoping to hit the coastal regions as well. Thanks
Beaulotus is very busy
Modena
as we travelled to Florence by car.
It was easy driving around as Italy is narrow so most places within a region are really accessible. You could even drive to Rome (3 hours) from Florence if you’re motivated. But the road signs were not always well-placed, worked out or logical, they are a little haphazard in this country. Driving in Florence itself of course is not for the uninitiated.
Otherwise there is a bus depot in the heart of Florence (opposite the train station) that seems pretty efficient. 20 minutes to the airport, an hour to Pisa etc.
And the train station is really in the heart of town, the journey to Rome only takes an hour or so by train or so I was told.
Within Florence we walked and I must say that it wasn’t easy finding decently-priced parking. Maybe you should really organise your trip, concentrate your regional outings and only rent a car when you move around for that period of time.
Or get a nice hotel like ours that allowed us to park our car in front of the hotel and saved us 30 Euros a day.
