Tuscany with a navigator.
Time travel:August 25 - September 1, 2007.
Airport:
Milan Malpensa Airport, Milan, Italy
Automobile:Fiat Ulysses.
FIAT ULYSSE
It so happened that we started planning this trip almost the next day after returning from Madeira last year. As a result, 3 married couples of experienced travelers went to Tuscany, having passed not only the expanses of the former Soviet Union and Europe, but also distant North and South America, Australia, and Thailand. We have been friends for many years, so there are no problems in the relationship, on the contrary, they only have a pleasant vacation. For the purposes of presentation, I will designate the one who is driving - let's call him the Commander, well, and the one who is next to the driver - let's call him the Navigator.
We outlined the idea of the route almost immediately and it did not change, except for some details. So, we fly to Milan, take a car for six at the airport (minivan or minibus) and go to the base in Tuscany, we live there for a week and drive, admiring the expanses of Tuscany and its historical, architectural and artistic sights. Then we head to Bologna, where we take another car for four, one couple returns to Milan in a large car and flies home, the other two couples continue their journey in another car for another week to the north of Italy in the Lake Como region.
It is also important to note, speaking of preparations, that for the first time we were going to travel with a GPS navigator. We armed ourselves with a brand new MIO DigiWalker P350, loaded it with IGO 2007 and 2007 maps of Italy and Switzerland.
Having decided on the route, we immediately began to implement it. The first step was to acquire housing in Tuscany. As in all recent years, we started looking for accommodation on www.holiday-rentals.co.uk. Here you can always find a lot of options, and with a good price / quality ratio. This site worked again and after intensive e-mail correspondence with the owners of the property, including obtaining additional information in the form of photographs, drawings, diagrams, descriptions, we chose the BelVedere apartments, which are located on the Montemari agricultural farm. In Italy it is called agriturismo. We were especially interested in the convenient, as it seemed to us, and typically Tuscan location of the farm. The farm itself is located on a hill in an olive grove, surrounded by a forest. The Florence-Pisa-Livorno (Fi-Pi-Li) expressway is 5 km away. Within reach (up to 100 km) are the main cities of interest: Florence, Siena, Pisa, Lucca, Pistoia, Voltaire.
Now we need to solve the issue of air tickets. Here we run into some limitations. The fact is that in August-September, i.e. at the peak of the season, the minimum rental period is a week, and the day of arrival and departure is Saturday. After consulting with our travel agent of many years, we settled on a flight to Milan. Then we finally decided on the dates of our vacation and transferred a deposit to the owner of our apartments in Tuscany. Note that all this happens in February, and we fly to Milan on August 25th.
Closer to August, the issue of renting a car was resolved. Our choice fell on the Fiat Ulysse minivan. For about the same price, you could take a minibus, but we abandoned this idea, reasonably deciding that we might have problems with parking and moving along the narrow old streets. In addition, the Fiat Ulysse was actually familiar to us, as it was designed on the basis of the same concept model as the Volkswagen Sharan and PEUGEOT 806, which we had already tested in Spain and Germany.
August 25, Saturday.
So, on the morning of August 25, the Airbus A-321 of the Italian airline Alitalia took us to Milan's Malpensa airport. The flight went well, except for a noticeable roughness during approach and another small detail: when they tried to turn on our digital video camera, for some reason it refused to work, they decided that this was the result of some kind of interference in flight and postponed it.
Slowly and without problems we passed passport control and moved to the baggage conveyor, where our flight number was already displayed on the scoreboard. Everyone was in high spirits, flew in normally, a few more minutes and we will have an exciting journey. We were going to get a car and on the way to the base in Tuscany, stop by Parma, walk there, try the famous Parma prosciutto and the equally famous parmesan cheese. We, as we thought, had a car of time, since we should arrive at the base no earlier than 16 hours. In addition, we had to buy food, because today is Saturday, and tomorrow is Sunday and everything is closed. So in pleasant reflections we relaxed and wandered around the arrivals hall.
Meanwhile, there was still no luggage. An hour and a half passed. Then we noticed that here in the hall near the baggage conveyor, a few more passengers from our flight were either sitting or running somewhere. From communication with colleagues in misfortune, it turns out that our flight continued flying to Boston, and the luggage of those who flew to Milan, for some reason, remained at Ben airport -Gurion. It turns out that there was already an announcement that all passengers from our flight should contact the Lost & Found bureau about luggage.
We go there, and there is a line of 50 people. We stand in line, try to analyze the situation and think what to do next. The line moves surprisingly fast and here we are at the counter, filling out forms. We are asked for the exact address of our base in Tuscany. It’s good that I put all the weighty folders with the study of the route in a backpack, which I took with me in my hand luggage. One of the Internet printouts showed a detailed address. The clerk who did the paperwork assured us very optimistically that all of our luggage would be delivered to the address given that evening or tomorrow morning. Finally, we leave the arrival hall and go to get the car.
Everything is fine with the car. The ordered dark blue Fiat Ulysse minivan with a two-liter diesel engine and a full tank is waiting for us in the parking lot. We load quickly, the benefit is without luggage (just kidding!). I'm setting up a GPS navigator. You have to hold it in your hands, because. all mounting hardware is located ... Guess three times? That's right, luggage.
From that moment on, we have a seventh crew member: Vova, aka Vovka, Vovochka, Vovan. The fact is that when setting up a GPS navigator, you need to select a voice option, each option has a name. So, in Russian there are two options: Natasha and Vladimir. We chose Vladimir.
We quickly and confidently leave the airport and in a few minutes, under the dictation of Vovka, we enter the expressway, take a ticket for payment and now we are gaining a cruising speed of 140 km / h. The road is no different - an ordinary expressway with two or three lanes, and at interchanges up to five lanes in each direction, as a rule, straight, running among the endless high technology industrial zones. The quality of the road is at the level, but still inferior to the German autobahns. But after turning south towards the sea, the road becomes more and more picturesque, winding through hills covered with lush green forests, and the horizon is already covered by mountain ranges, more and more viaducts and tunnels. Moreover, each tunnel and viaduct has a name.
Here, among other road signs and billboards, we saw a characteristic Autogril sign. This is a network of self-service road restaurants scattered along the Italian highways. They remembered that they had not yet eaten properly today and moved out to the nearest Autogrill. Well, at least our expectations were justified here on this day: an abundance of salads, a real pork stack that is fried right in front of your eyes, spaghetti with parmesan, finally, great coffee. In short, we liked Autogril.
According to the old navigational habit, I always look at the map, I still do not trust Vovka, but this will soon pass, on the road I will stop looking at the map altogether. In the meantime, we drove along the sea coast past the marble quarries of Carrara, the beaches of Viareggio, bypass Pisa and fly into the Firenze-Pisa-Livorno (Fi-Pi-Li) expressway. A few more kilometers and Vovka commands the exit from the expressway, gets a little confused at the new roundabouts (they aren’t on the maps yet), but the signs help and by common efforts we find the right one direction. Here is the Palaia sign, then Colleoli. Our base must already be somewhere. A narrow country road went through the forest. We drive slowly, there are no cars or people around. Tuscan countryside! Out of the corner of my eye I see that some gates have slipped through to the left, I turn around and ... Shout "Stop! Back!". We turn around, drive up to the open gate, read: Agriturismo Montemari. What you need! We enter the gate, further along the gravel path we crawl uphill. We get to the site, something like a parking lot, even partially covered with an awning. A little higher through the trees we see two solid buildings. In the near door is open, there was an office. Here we met Marco, the young owner of the farm. All the formalities have been resolved. Marco showed us to the Belvedere apartments and handed us the keys along with the remote control for the gate.
The residential building, built on a hill, is a 4-apartment cottage: two 3-bedroom apartments on the ground floor and two 4-bedroom duplexes on the ground floor. All apartments with separate entrance. We got one of the duplexes. We go up the single-span staircase to the first floor. There is a veranda with a marble table. The veranda overlooks the park and surroundings. Fascinatingly beautiful! We open the front door and find ourselves in a small salon, a sofa, an armchair, a coffee table, a TV on the bedside table. To the left, the salon passes into a spacious dining room with a kitchen, a large fireplace, a sideboard for dishes, on the sideboard there are 20 bottles of local wine. The kitchen is equipped with everything you need, including a large refrigerator, stove, oven, dishwasher. Everything is done soundly, with taste, wood trim, probably oak. From the windows of the dining room, the view of the surroundings is also gorgeous.
From the salon we get into the corridor, there are several more doors, three bedrooms, two toilet rooms with a shower cabin and good plumbing. In the corner of the salon there is a spiral staircase to the second floor, there is another bedroom, moreover, with air conditioning, and a toilet room. Everything is on the level and fully corresponds to our expectations.
The territory of the farm is well-groomed, from the cottage a path leads into the depths, turning into a picturesque staircase that leads to a platform with a swimming pool. Sun loungers with umbrellas around the pool.
From Marco we learn the location of the nearest outlets. It's not far, 10 kilometers, in the town of Pontedera. At the same time, we will scout the access roads to our base in more detail.
Most of the shops are already closed, after all Saturday evening, but the big Panorama shopping center is still open. Of particular interest to us was a huge supermarket with a good selection of goods. We bought the missing products, several bottles of Chianti Classico wine for the first sample, local Moriatti beer, also for sample.
On the way back we found a more convenient and shorter road from the highway to the base, only 5 km. We quickly prepared a dinner and ate with appetite on our veranda.
At the end of our troubles, it finally turned out that we were left without a video. So it was not possible to start a digital video camera. This finally completed this first and difficult day on Tuscan soil.
August 26, Sunday.
In the morning, slowly, we had breakfast on the veranda. Today, according to the plan, we had a short trip to Pisa and Livorno. This is within a radius of 50-60 km and, if necessary, we can return to the base within half an hour.
Gathered, dressed in clothes that have already become hated, we leave.
I set Vovka a goal: the nearest parking lot to Campo dei Miracoli - the Field of Miracles, where the main attractions of Pisa are concentrated. Vovka accurately led to the target, but the parking lot, probably on the occasion of Sunday, is closed, however, there are many other parking lots with free spaces nearby. We parked, oriented ourselves on the map of Pisa (Pisa), which we got hold of from Marco, and went to the Field of Miracles.
In the meantime, we went to the Field of Miracles. The view of the dazzling white architectural ensemble, and even against the backdrop of the emerald green lawn, simply struck us with its magnificence. Delighted, we wandered for a long time at the Baptistery, the Duomo, then at the Leaning Tower itself.
We went to the Duomo. It was very hot, and we were without hats. It's cold inside. We were amazed by the richness and beauty of the interior design. Took a break from the heat. They left. I had to get six hats here in the souvenir shops. Feel better right away! We spent almost an hour on the Field of Miracles.
We returned to the car and drove on.
First we decided to stop by Marina di Pisa. But they didn't stay there. It's still hot, and here on the embankment there isn't even a hint of shade. We moved on towards Livorno.
Let's go along the coast. We drive slowly, the road is narrow, and even all over it is studded with parked cars. This place is called Tirrenia and is famous for its sandy beaches. Today is Sunday - the Italian people are resting, which is probably why there are so many cars.
Finally, we got onto the expressway and turned towards Livorno.
In general, Livorno is not a tourist destination. But I wanted to see for myself something not overrun by tourists. In addition, we hoped to see New Venice - the Livorno area.
Already at the entrance to the city, doubts arose: we drove along the gloomy industrial zone for a long time. Finally, we entered the city and quickly found a parking lot in the city center on Via Fiume. We went out to one of the central streets of Via Grande and then moved on to Piazza Mikeli, where the most famous monument in Livorno with an intriguing name is located - Monumento Quatro Mori - the Monument of the Four Moors.
The monument includes a bronze statue of Duke Ferdinand I and four chained black slaves cast in bronze. The figures of slaves should remind that Livorno was the center of the slave trade. Gloomy monument.
From the monument we returned to Via Grande and went up towards the canals. On the way we passed Piazza Grande from the Duomo and went to the canals at Piazza della Repubblica. We walked a little along the canals, looked around and, no matter how hard we tried, did not see anything resembling the Venetian canals. Then we went to the left, where the fortress walls were visible, partly along the canals. This is Fortezza Nuova. There must be a park inside. To get there, you have to go through a tunnel, the walls of which are painted with not very presentable graffiti. Finally, we get to the park. Nothing attractive, except that we sat a little on a bench in the shade. By the way, everywhere in the city there are very few people, and tourists, probably, we are alone. In short, the hiking trails bypassed Livorno. Checked!
We returned to the car and left unfriendly Livorno.
We returned to the base and began to master the barbecue area. It is equipped as an extension to an office cottage. Everything is done in a businesslike way, thoroughly. A place for a fire with an exhaust pipe is equipped, firewood is prepared, there is a cutting table, water. We already had the corresponding products in the form of appetizing sausages and stacks. So the picnic was a success.
In the evening we received a message that our luggage had been transferred to Pisa airport.
August 27, Monday.
firm intention to recapture the baggage. Half an hour later we parked our minivan at the Pisa airport and rush in search of the Lost & Found office. With difficulty we found him in the farthest corner of a rather large airport building. We approached a small window, there was no one there, but heaps of suitcases and trunks were visible. We knock, we scream. After about 15 minutes, something stirred among the heaps of things and a bureau attendant came up to the window and said that it was still early. We explain our problems. Fortunately, the attendant understands English. Reluctantly, but still takes the documents and goes to the computer. After long manipulations, he returns to us and says that our luggage is not listed in the computer. We say that the luggage was delivered here late last night, and maybe that's why it's not on the computer. The woman again disappears for a long time in the wilds of the bureau. Finally, he appears again and asks only one of us to go inside, but from the other side. And now - oh-oh-oh, happiness! - six pieces of our long-suffering luggage roll out of the doors one after another, safe and sound.
Half an hour later, the entire crew, dressed in slightly wrinkled but fresh clothes, enthusiastically discussed our future plans. So life is back to normal.
We leave for San Gimignano - one of the most popular cities in Tuscany. I already habitually set a goal for Vovka - the nearest parking lot to the center of San Gimignano. This time we went in the other direction from the base. The road turned out to be quite difficult: winding with ascents, descents, sharp turns. But the Commander, under the dictation of Vovka, confidently keeps a decent speed on a difficult road.
At the entrance to San Gimignano, we stopped to capture a stunning view of the city from the side. Like most cities in Tuscany, San Gimignano rises on a hill at an altitude of 334 meters above sea level. But this is not the main thing, but the fact that this one-of-a-kind city is famous for its towers. In the Middle Ages, there were more than 70 of them, and 15 have survived to this day. So, at the entrance, this city of medieval skyscrapers looks fantastic.
Let's go to the parking lot, which is located at the city gates. We have a hard time finding a free space. We enter the city through the gates of San Giovanni and along the street of the same name via San Giovanni we move towards the city center. The feeling of unreality around is simply mesmerizing, despite the crowds of tourists. The highest tower Torre Grossa (54 m) is already visible. We look at the very picturesque side streets and exit to Piazza della Cisterna. Around the palaces of the 13th-14th centuries. On the left, on a hill, we see a well with the construction date of 1237.
Further on, the square passes into another Piazza del Duomo. Here is a rather modest Duomo, aka Collegiata. Here stands the Palazzo Vecchio del Podesta, above which rises the 51 m high Torre Rognosa tower.
Through Piazza Nomi we decide to go up to the western part of the city. Here is the former fortress of the XIV century Rocca. There is a wine museum in the fortress, where you will be told the history of winemaking and will have a tasting. But we spent all the time here on the observation deck, which offers a stunning (!) view of the surroundings: endless hills covered with green velvet forests, olive groves, geometrically correct lines of vineyards, silhouettes of houses, immersed in green gardens and colorful flowers.
Returning, we did not deny ourselves the pleasure of once again walking through the ancient narrow streets of San Gimignano. In a word, it was just the case when what we saw exceeded our expectations.
We returned to the parking lot and moved on. We were waiting for Voltaire (Volterra) - another pearl in the necklace of Tuscany. Vovka led us to one of the camps near the walls of the city. After walking a little more along the wall and climbing a steep staircase, we entered the city through a small pedestrian gate leading to a short tunnel that led us to via San Lino. Along this street, we climbed to the central square of the city, Piazza dei Priori. The square is surrounded by majestic palaces, including one of the oldest palaces in Tuscany, Palazzo dei Priori, dating back to 1208. Then we went to Piazza San Giovanni, where the Duomo with the Baptistery is located.
And again we did not deny ourselves the pleasure of wandering through the ancient streets, where every stone breathes history. But if San Gimignano struck us with its lightness, aspiration upwards, then Voltaire, along with the same peculiar color, made a more difficult impression, as if corresponding to not the brightest times of the Middle Ages.
From Voltaire we moved towards the coast. Here we wanted to visit one more place not mentioned in tourist guides - Bolgheri Castle.
The castle has been known since the 8th century. During its history, it was destroyed several times to the ground, but was reborn again. What we see today is the result of reconstruction after the arrival of Emperor Maximilian's army in Bolgheri in 1496.
The first attraction, from which the castle actually begins, is a beautiful cypress alley that starts from the coastal highway and ends at the castle gate with a straight 5-kilometer arrow.
The small area of the castle with its streets abounds with charming secluded corners, and from the panoramic terrace offers a rare view of the surroundings.
We ended the day on such a beautiful note.
August 28, Tuesday.
We decided to leave early on this day. We had a trip to Siena and along the Chianti Classico wine road. First, we went along the already familiar path towards San Gimignano, then we decided to stop by Poggibonsi. This city is not in the tourist routes, but it is quite often mentioned in the stories of tourists.
Vovka knows his business and, as usual, took us to the city station where we were going to park the car. But, having made several circles around the square and nearby streets, they did not find a free place. In addition, the town itself somehow did not appear. Therefore, we decided not to waste time and went to Siena (Siena).
After a short time, our minivan was parked on viale Curtatone, not far from the historical part of Siena, and a few minutes later we joined the endless stream of tourists rushing to the heart of Siena - Piazza del Campo. On the way, we looked into the side streets, which have preserved the spirit of the Middle Ages to this day. We were always accompanied by the feeling that now a medieval knight would jump out of the corner at full gallop.
And here we are in the square - Il Campo - as the Sienese themselves call it. Indeed, the one and only, where the irregularities of the relief were turned into a masterpiece of architecture. It is superfluous to describe the details of the square, it is worthy to see it for yourself. And seeing, to agree that she is one of the most beautiful in the world.
The square is surrounded by elegant palaces, among which the Palazzo Pubblico stands out with a 102-meter high bell tower (the second highest medieval tower in Italy), and its central point is the Fonte Gaia - rectangular marble fountain decorated with statues. After walking around the square and capturing it from different angles, we went to Piazza del Duomo. Leaving the square, we first saw the tower - the Campanile. It is built in the same black and white 'striped' style as the Duomo itself.
And here is the Duomo facade. We froze for a few minutes and looked fascinated at this miracle of Gothic architecture made of black and white marble. Equally impressive is the interior of the cathedral. And all this despite the fact that the cathedral is unfinished. If the construction of the southern nave were completed, it would probably be the largest cathedral in Europe.
We walked around the streets of Siena a little more, but with pleasure, and returned to the car.
Now we had an intoxicating - in the truest sense - journey through the famous Chianti Classico wine region. First we drove from Siena in the direction of Gaiole in Chianti.
After about 15 kilometers, having seen the right sign, we turned right and drove to Castello di Brolgo. A small village, it was not even on the navigator map. But we were not interested in the village itself, but in the enoteca in it. Here we made the first tasting of the local wine, marked with all the attributes of Chianti Classico: black cockerel (Gallo Nero) and something like a quality mark - the letters DOCG. Together, we checked a dozen bottles, and as a result, two bottles with ruby contents carefully fell into the trunk of a minivan.
The road is very picturesque, nature around, pleasing to the eye. After 10 kilometers we again turned right in the direction of Meleto. Here, in addition to the enoteca, a castle was waiting for us. First we decided to go up to the castle.
We drove up to the parking lot, then it seems to be necessary on foot, but some cars continue to climb higher. We followed them, drove another five kilometers, again parking, now certainly further on foot.
The track is pretty steep. We decided to shorten the path and crawled along the mountain path. With difficulty, but we did it! Around the castle there is a deep moat with water and powerful fortress walls. We approach the gate, they are closed. It's probably already a siesta. Just in case, knock. After a while, a girl lazily comes up from the other side, opens the gate, but requires 5 euros per person for entry. We ask: for what? Only for the entrance to the courtyard, the castle itself is closed to the public. We decide: we don’t need such hockey, we walk along the alley along the walls and go down to the enoteca.
Here you also pay, but you know what. After the tasting, a couple more bottles of black cockerel went into the trunk of the minivan.
We have planned two more wine towns: Radda in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti. In one of them we intended to dine with Tuscan cuisine. But, oh, this siesta! They didn’t get into the enoteca, let alone the restaurant. We just walked and enjoyed the surrounding nature.
In search of a Tuscan dinner, we already went towards the base and then saw another sign for a restaurant. We turned off the road, drove along a beautiful alley, parked the car in an empty spacious parking lot. While the entire crew was getting out of the minivan, the Commander saw the waitress and ran to find out if the restaurant was open or the siesta was still going on. We approached ... and witnessed an anecdote from life.
The commander approached the waitress and asked for starters: "Speak English?" In response, he received: "No, solo italiano". To which the Commander, a very emotional person, cursed aloud in Russian in his hearts, using profanity, which, as you know, is not translated. But, having heard this escapade, the waitress suddenly broke into a joyful smile and ... said in pure Russian: "Well, I would have said so! Otherwise, English, English!". It turns out that the Russian woman Valya married an Italian and has been living in Poggibonsi for five years. By the way, I confirmed that there is nothing to see there.
We had a great dinner. The local bottling wine went so well that a couple more bottles replenished the wine booty in the trunk of the minivan.
August 29, Wednesday.
On Wednesday (the middle of the week, the peak of the trip!) we had only one city according to the plan, but what a city! We were going to devote the whole day to the capital of Tuscany - Florence (Firenze).
There are no problems with the road yet. Even without Vovka, we jump out on Fi-Pi-Li ourselves. But at the entrance to Florence we get into a traffic jam. For 6 km, one lane is closed for repairs. We turn on Vovka and set the large underground parking lot Parterre in the northern part of Florence as the goal. We scouted this parking lot while preparing the route on the Internet. Vovka calmly led him straight to the parking lot. We parked the car with no problem. We decided to walk, no more than two kilometers to Piazza del Duomo.
We crossed Piazza della Liberta, walked a little along Viale Giacomo Matteotti and turned onto Via Alfonso la Marmora. Further Via Giorgio la Pira, then Via Ricasoli, here we are already at Piazza del Duomo and immediately queue up for the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. While we are moving in line, we are amazed by the grandeur of the structure, the uniqueness of the Brunelleschi Dome, the perfection of the lines of Giotto's Campanile. Already inside the cathedral we admire the frescoes of Vasari and Zuccari.
Coming out of the cathedral, they didn’t forget to take pictures against the backdrop of the eastern gate of the Baptistery "Gate of Paradise", but they still couldn't wait for the 'clean background': endless crowds of tourists did not let even a chance to be alone with one of the first masterpieces of the Renaissance. Along Via dei Calzaioli past Orsanmichele we went to Piazza della Signoria, paid tribute to Palazzo Vecchio, Fonte del Nettuno, Loggia dei Lanzi and, of course, Michelangelo's David (albeit copies).
We went to the Uffizi Gallery and, seeing an endless queue, finally parted with the still glimmering hopes of getting there. Then we moved to Piazza di Santa Croce, to pay tribute to the mortal remains of the famous Florentines resting in the beautiful Gothic church of Santa Croce: Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, the creator of the 'Gates of Paradise' Lorenzo Ghiberti, …
We went to the Arno embankment, headed for Ponte Vecchio, crossed the famous bridge, crossing the other side, to the area of Florence called Oltrarno. It was very hot and stuffy, we hardly made it to Palazzo Pitti. There are many different expositions here, we took tickets for 5-6 of them. But first we decided to go to the Boboli Gardens. This is one of the park ensembles, it was once a private property of the Medici. I wanted to rest a bit in the shade of the trees, and then, having gained strength, go to see the palace expositions. But everything turned out to be the opposite. The park has a huge area, moreover, it is located on a hill, i.e. first you need to climb up for a long time, and only then down. There is no particular shadow, and all the pieces of the shadow have long been occupied by crowds of tourists lounging on the grass under the trees. In short, we spent the rest of our strength wandering around the park. We didn’t go to any expositions, but wandered back to the parking lot to the car.
On the way back we got stuck in a traffic jam on Fi-Pi-Li, another lane was being repaired.
We didn't have a very good day in Florence.
Probably, those who think that you need to go to Florence for less.