Culture

Yesterday, we were scheduled to leave Florence and head to a small inn, Relais Vignale, located at Radda in Chianti, a small, walled town about 90 minutes south of Florence. Our 12-hour tour guide, Gabriel, had suggested that we take the scenic route rather than the Autostrade, which is just a big toll highway. It…

Yesterday, Gabriel from City Tours (www.caftours.com) picked us up at our hotel at 8:30 a.m. for our luxury minivan tour of Siena, Monteriggioni, San Gimignana, and Pisa. Already on the van was a family from Rochester, MN; a couple with three young-adult offspring. Their son is in college and the next oldest is a girl…

Here we are in Florence. Yesterday, when we were driving here, I mentioned that it would be nice if there were road signs for Florence, and that’s when Jim informed me that the signs I was seeing for Firenze were actually for Florence. So confusing. The only things those two words have in common is…