A side comment/ blog on dogs in Europe. Back home, it is possible that we spoil and baby our dog too much - he sleeps inside, and if we go out at night for a short period in winter, we leave him inside so he doesn't get too cold (he is 13 I might add). But I have never carried him in my handbag, or in a pram, or laid him on the tray table in front of my seat on a train. These last three things we have seen plenty of in Europe, as well as dogs accompanying people to restaurants and staying in hotels. People have a very different attitude toward dogs in Europe. In Australia they are banned from all types of shops, although I can take my dog into one local newsagent; the owner doesn't mind. But this is an exception. In Europe dogs can stay in many hotels, apartments, visit restaurants and travel on public transport. In Vienna many choir members were fascinated by a woman staying at our hotel, who carried a large shiny gold handbag over her shoulder, with a small dog's head poking out the top. When catching the train from Vienna to Linz, a woman heaved a pram up into the train carriage. When I looked more closely, expecting to see a baby, there was a dog inside looking back at me. Whilst walking in Bavaria we included a 'rest day', whereby we caught one of the local buses. After settling myself into my seat I l glanced across the aisle to see a Jack Russell curled up on its owner's lap, enjoying the Bavarian view. Here is the only one we have managed to photograph; a dog fast asleep on the tray table on the fast train from Bologna to Florence.
Dog on train
In Munich we had dinner with our exchange student from 2005 and her husband, and I was trying to explain our amusement at the various 'dog situations' we have seen. Ronald looked a bit bemused that we found the sight of a dog being carried in a handbag so amusing, and totally bewildered when I explained that you would not see this in Australia; dogs are not allowed in restaurants, shops or hotels, or on public transport unless they are very small and transported in a completely covered small carry case. Ronald thought that quite inexplicable. Looking at it from a European perspective, I suppose it is. Never-the-less, these sightings of dogs have been quite novel and amusing for us, and when it can be done discreetly, we take a photo. Australians will probably find this amusing. Europeans will wonder what all the fuss is about.
On Friday October 11th we arrived in Florence. It was pretty quick and easy to find our hotel, as Florence seems to be quite a small city - the 'centro' is a short walk from the station, and all the many historical sites are very close together. The first night we ate salad at a simple vegetarian restaurant, as I was still recovering from the rich German pork belly from the previous evening, and we wandered around, enjoying the soft, gentle evening air and admiring the statues and museums that seem to inhabit so many piazzas and courtyards. The next morning after breakfast we walked down to the Duomo and joined the long queue that by 9.15 was already snaking its way around the large cathedral, which did not open until 10am. It was incredible how busy Florence was in October, particularly around the duomo; this piazza was always jam packed with tourists. I dread to think what it must be like in August! Eventually we entered the duomo about 10.30am, after admiring the intricate and beautiful external walls as we progressed along the queue. In Germany we had seen the beautiful outside walls of palaces where the detailed tiles were a painted on effect. Here the individual tiles were real - it is incredible to wonder how long it must have taken to assemble this complex pattern of tiles to construct this mammoth edifice.
In front of Duomo Florence
Ceiling of Duomo Florence
Through our hotel we had booked a visit to the Uffizi Gallery for 4.15pm that afternoon. In 1996 we travelled to Europe with our two daughters, aged 6 and 8. We had stayed in a camping ground outside Florence, at Figline Valdarno, from where we caught the train into Florence for the day. Unfortunately this day visit fell on a Monday when, unbeknown to us, most galleries and museums are closed. All I remember about this day was walking around the outskirts of the Duomo, visiting the market, and on returning to the station, being pickpocketed by a group of children who held newspapers in front of us, as they raided our bumbags. As we each had hold of one of our children, we only had one free hand to try and unclasp the pickpockets' hands from our arms. Luckily our only loss was my sunglasses, lifted out of my bumbag. So, twenty three years later, I was looking forward to finally visiting the Uffizi Gallery. We strolled down to that area of Florence, enjoying the statues and galleries that seem to pop up everywhere, and taking in the beautiful Ponte Vecchio.
Ponte Vecchio
Bridges Florence
Piazza della Signoria Florence
Around 4pm we come across a long queue of tourists. At one end of it is a sign saying 'reserved tickets'. I ask a woman in the queue if she has a booked ticket for the Uffizi. She confirms that she does and asks me what time we are booked in for. When I tell her we are booked in for 4.15pm, she jerks her head toward the back of the queue and says 'Well you'd better join the line quick smart!'. We finally reach the office where they issue reserved tickets about 30 minutes later, and are then told to join another queue across the thoroughfare; this one is even longer. Finally we enter the gallery around 5pm, and realise one of the reasons the entry is slow is because of the security screenings of all bags as people enter. We are carried in on the vast human tide, and climb three flights of stairs to where the exhibition begins. There are long hallways of ancient Greek and Roman statues, and room after room of first medieval, and then Renaissance paintings. Each room and corridor itself is a work of art, with frescoes painted on the ceiling and paintings up high on each wall, above the line of the picture rail. One could spend days or weeks in here.
Main hall Uffizi Gallery
grand room - Uffizi Gallery
That evening we dine at a pizzeria in the Piazza Duomo which has vegan pizzas on the menu. I eat a delicious wood fired pizza with vegan buffalo cheese, tomato and basil. It is a mild evening and we sit at an outside table, enjoying the view of the Duomo and the general atmosphere. At the table beside us, two young women take turns fluffing their hair, pouting and taking photos of one another, then spend the next ten minutes on their phones, busily adding their doctored images to Instagram. The young wait staff fuss constantly over them; while we keep asking and waiting to be served another drink, the two beside us are constantly asked if they need anything. David tells me we have reached that age where we have become invisible. Another couple in our age group at a nearby table eventually give up and leave. Finally we ask for the bill; a request which is seemingly ignored, like all our others. We wait about ten minutes then stand and pick up our bags. The waitress walks past again, so I tell her we are about to leave and ask if she would prefer that we pay the bill first? Presto! We finally have service!!
Our final day in Florence we spend wandering, and discover the beautiful Riccardi Medici palace just a few doors from our hotel.
Statue Riccardi Medici palace
Garden Riccardi Medici palace
We continue walking to the Boboli Gardens on the other side of the river. While we are queued up to buy our tickets, the young boy in front of us amuses both us and his parents by taking photos of exciting images such as the wall, a cyclone fence, and close ups of the ground. His mother indicates some nice views he could photograph with his camera, but he continues to race around, finding close ups of more 'relatable' objects more satisfactory. The gardens are beautiful and we enjoy strolling around on this mild and sunny day, enjoying the views of Florence from this elevated position above the river.
Florence view
Boboli gardens Florence
Archway Boboli gardens Florence
After this we head to a cafe I have found on 'Happy Cow' where we both have what is probably the first decent coffee we've drunk in Europe so far!
Coffee in Florence
In the afternoon we head to the Galleria dell' Accademia where we see an amazing exhibition of historic musical instruments, including 18th century Stradivari violin and cello, as well as harpsichords and clavichords made by the famous keyboard maker Christofori, who developed the first piano. We also see a model of the piano mechanism that was his big breakthrough, as well as the earliest version of the upright piano.
18th century Stradivari violin Galleria dell'Accademia
Description 18th century Stradivari violin
18th century Stradivari cello Galleria dell'Accademia
Description 18th century Stradivari cello
Christofori harpsichord
First upright piano Galleria dell'Accademia
Description First upright piano Galleria dell'Accademia
It is particularly exciting for me as a pianist and a music teacher to see these early versions of the piano, which were invented in Florence in the early 17th century.
In the adjacent room is the famous Michaelangelo's David. It is an enormous statue. What strikes me is the sheer huge size of the hands and the feet, although it is said that one of the reasons for its fame is the perfect proportions. It is certainly awe-inspiring in its grace, sheer presence and perfection of form.
Michaelangelo's David
We leave the art and history of Florence the next morning and catch the train to Siena, where we pick up a hire car from Hertz, and are subjected to the usual ruses that attempt to force you to spend more money without even realising you have unconsciously selected this option. By the time we have removed the extra insurance and the 'no excess' premium, our hire cost has decreased by around 200 euro. We set off on the 50km drive to our Tuscan villa near San Gimignano, using google maps to navigate. Again I thank my decision to purchase European SIM cards for this trip. We arrive at our accommodation which is a traditional stone villa, divided into three apartments. The owners live in one, we stay in a small two bedroom apartment, and there is a larger two bedroom apartment, unused during our stay. The property is called 'La Fabbrichina' and it is located about 10km from San Gimignano, and about 20km from Volterra. It is a large property, built on the side of a hill, with beautiful views to the valley, and incorporating an orchard, olive grove, many vegetable patches, a swimming pool and a number of outside terraces, barbecues and pizza ovens for the guests to dine outside.
View from Tuscan villa
Tuscan Villa
It also has a very cute dog, Mario, a couple of cats and some chickens.
Mario
There is a bottle of wine on the kitchen table and in the fridge, a container of eggs, each egg lovingly inscribed with the name of the chook who laid it.
Fresh eggs
It is David's birthday and our celebration plan centres on cooking our first meal in a month. We are heartily sick of restaurant meals, so in a strange flip, we are having a birthday dinner that doesn't involve going out.
A couple who were on the choir tour we did a couple of weeks ago, happen to be staying in Siena at the moment, so we have arranged to spend the day with them tomorrow. We set off somewhat apprehensively; the previous day's car journey took a lot of concentration for David, driving on the opposite side of the road, and for me, successfully navigating using google maps and communicating the correct roundabout exit can be fraught with tension. Unfortunately I unwittingly select 'Province of Siena' instead of 'city of Siena', in my original search, so google maps takes us to the town of Casetta; about 15 minutes outside of Siena. Embarrassingly I have to text our friends, who are waiting for us outside the Siena Duomo, to tell them to please go in without us, and hopefully we will be there soon! With Tuscan hilltop towns, the trick is to find a carpark down the hill that is not full, then catch a bus, or walk to the historical centre 'centro'. The further down the hill the carpark is, the less it costs, and the ones right down the bottom are free. We park in the first carpark we see, which is of course free, but then have a 40 minute uphill walk to reach the Duomo Piazza. Fortunately our friends are just coming out of the duomo as we arrive, so together we head off to a cafe I have found on "Happy Cow', for lunch and a soy cappuchino.
Heading to restaurant Siena
Lunch in Siena
After a leisurely lunch, we stroll around Siena, stopping in the main piazza, where Mindy and I take a photo and send it to the rest of the choir members who are rehearsing in Melbourne at that same time, to say 'Mindy and Sue won't be at choir tonight as we are performing in the Siena Duomo'.
Mindy & Sue can't attend choir rehearsal
Mindy, Sue and Mark in Siena
The next morning we drive from our villa toward Volterra, and turn off to find a walking track that leads to some castle ruins. Unfortunately our phone signal disappears, so we never find the castle ruins, but have an enjoyable walk through tiny villages and past farm stays (called 'agriturismo').
After lunch we head into San Gimignano and wander around the ancient streets admiring the sights of the town and the views from the town. 
View from San Gimignano
Main piazza San Gimignano
Eventually we stop at a bar and sit outside in the main piazza to have an aperol spritz (the most popular drink in Italy), which is served with a generous supply of nuts and nibbles.
We do a bit of research and discover the hilltop town of Certaldo which is only 12km away, so the following morning we set off there and enjoy a very peaceful morning of exploring this beautiful hilltop town, pretty much on our own.
On the way we stop at a lookout to take a photo of San Gimignano in the soft morning light, the mist hanging over the valley.
Morning view San Gimignano
Certaldo is not as well known, so it does not have millions of souvenir shops, or millions of tourists, like San Gimignano, but it does have an ancient palace that is now a historical museum, with a plethora of interesting information and amazing sights.
Piazza well Certaldo
Streetscape Certaldo
Our overseas SIM cards are with the UK company Three and unbeknown to us, Three had a massive crash that same day. We were trying to use google maps to navigate our route from Certaldo to a restaurant I had found on Happy Cow: Ristorante Agrivilla I Pini, for lunch. My phone was alternating between saying 'no service' and briefly indicating 3G, with nothing loading. We knew the restaurant was either in or very close to San Gimignano, so we drove there, hoping to see a sign to the restaurant, to no avail. Eventually we had to return to our villa, use the wi fi to download the route and make our way there. We turned right onto a narrow gravel road just opposite the town centre, and followed this for a couple of km before we came to a huge iron gate with a sign 'I Pini'. I rang the contact number and an English voice answered. When he realised we were just outside the gate hoping to come in for lunch, he opened the gate straight away. By the time we parked, walked up to the beautiful 15th century restored stone building, a table had been set up for us on the terrace, overlooking San Gimignano and the vineyard. We had a beautiful gourmet vegan two course lunch, with a glass of their own organic white wine, then wandered up the hill, past the swimming pool, through the olive grove to admire the amazing views of the surrounding countryside.
Veganwineryview
Veganwinery_olivegrove
Tuscan panorama2
Tuscan panorama
Our last day in Tuscany, we visit another less well known town: Colle val d'Elsa, another beautiful hilltop town of ancient churches and palaces, and cobblestone streets and piazzas. This one specialises in hand made crystal and we visit a couple of shops, admiring both traditional and quite innovative glassware and ornaments. In the morning it is quite deserted, and we note that many shops are closed when we arrive, and just opening as we leave around lunchtime.
Val d'Elsa laneway
The Air Bnb villa we have stayed in has an owl theme - its name is 'Casa Gufo" (Owl House) and there are owls everywhere; on cushions, on the walls, owl statues, an owl clock, owl tablecloths and napkins. In deference to this, some previous guests have made drawings of owls which have been framed and hung on the wall. Instead, David makes a drawing of their dog, Mario, whose company we have greatly enjoyed, particularly as we are missing our own little dog back home.
Drawing of Mario
Fabrizio is tickled pink, and writes us a lovely thankyou in Italian (thank google translate!) on the Air Bnb feedback. Farewell Tuscany! We have enjoyed your soft, gentle light, quaint hilltop towns, scenic landscapes and windy roads to get places (ok I am lying about the last bit).
This featured blog entry was written by suel1960 from the blog Europe 2019.
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