Tuscany in May 2009
On this page I present the pictures of my journey to the
Tuscany in May 2009
Clicking on a picture opens a "Pop-Up-Slideshow"
|
|
 Florence - The City San Gimignano & Volterra
|
From May 8 to 14, 2009 we, Heimo Müller, Karl Pabi, Greyhound Karl and Onkel Tom, travelled to Florence, the capitol of the Tuscany.
There we stayed in an apartment we rent from the agency Tuscany-Rent. An agency I can recommand to everyone who looks for accomodation in the Tuscany
On the first and the last day we discovered Florence. The days in between we rent a car to discover the countryside around. Sometimes the weather was too good for taking good pictures. Which means, that the sky sometimes in the afternoon looked more or less white and so it was hardly possible to take the "classic" Tuscany-pictures with smooth, green hills and a very blue sky.
Florence - The City
Right after checking in we started our walk. The route lead us along the river
Arno to the famous bridge "Ponte Vecchio". Then we walked up through the
wonderful rosegarden to the Piazzale Michelangelo from where you have a
marvellous view over the town and it sounds like thunder when all the
church-bells of the town ring at twelve o'clock.
After the lunchbreak we dived into the crowdy center of Florence with the great
Piazza del Duomo, which is without any doubt the highlight of the city.
 Last trip from Vienna Südbahnhof |
 Arriving at Piazza del Carmine |
 View over the river Arno |
 River Arno: Relaxing-Area right in the town |
 Panoramaview over the river Arno |
|
 Along river Arno |
 Number 1 means of locomotion |
 The very famous "Ponte Vecchio" |
 View from far at Ponte Vecchio |
 Looks comfortable, doesn't it? |
 Italian Limousine |
 At Porta San Niccolo |
 In the Giardino delle Rose (rosegarden) |
 Quiet close to a hectic city |
 Carnival-masks at the Piazzale Michelangelo |
 Market for antiques |
 Market for antiques |
 Impressing... |
 ...the dome of Florence |
 Built after 1296 as "Santa Maria del Fiore" |
 Main Entrance (mosaic, 19th century) |
 The Baptistery |
 "Judgement Day" by Vascari |
 Simply Florence |
 Just to know where you are |
 Still in Italy |
 In front of Palazzo Vecchio |
 One of many nice house entrances |
 Santa Maria Novella |
|
San Gimignano & Volterra
Half way between Florence and Siena you can find the
medieval towns San Gimignano and Volterra. Both are really worth visiting. |
|
 Vinery in San Gimignano |
 At the Piazza del Duomo |
 Inhabitant of a "Lineage Tower" |
 In the court of Palazzo del Popolo |
 An artist's break in a park of San Gimignano |
 View at the "Lineage Towers" |
 Lovingly decoration of the houses... |
 ...is a typical thing for the Tuscany |
 The market-place of Volterra |
 A shop with special food of the region |
 Terracotta-Art, another special thing for the Tuscany |
 Siesta |
Siena
Another Highlight of the Tuscany is the very beautiful town of Siena which
is most known for the impressing dome and the square "Il Campo" where the famous
horse-race "Il Palio" takes place.
The huge dimension of this square is hard to describe. It's more than huge!
 Sant' Agostino |
 Fonte Gaia at "Il Campo"
|
 Il Campo |
|
 Quiet places like this... |
 ...are hard to find! |
 It doesn't have to be "Great cuisine" every day... |
 ...sometimes a little Italian snack is enough! |
 Impressing: Il Duomo |
 sacred to Santa Maria Assunta |
 Built after 1210... |
 ...with a front built by Giovanni Pisano |
Lucca & Viareggio
Immer wieder sind wir auch für eher ungewöhnliche Ziele zu haben und so
begaben wir uns weg von der "typischen" Toskana in die von einer beeindruckenden
Festungsmauer eingefassten Stadt Lucca, knapp nördlich von Pisa. Nach einem
gemütlichen Vormittag in diesem Kleinod begaben wir uns - wo wir ja schon mal in
der Nähe waren - nach Viareggio an die Ligurische Küste. Wo man in der Ferne
schon die Berge von Carrara, wo der berühmte Marmor abgebaut wird, erahnen kann,
wollen wir einfach nur ein bisschen Seeluft schnuppern. Und das tat auch ganz
gut!
During our journeys we often visit places which are not too famous and so we
left the "typical" Tuscany and visited close to the more famous Pisa, the town
of Lucca which is surrounded by a huge fortification wall.
After a comfortable morning in this town we went further to Viareggio at the
Ligurian Coast. From there you can already see the mountains of Carrara where
the famous marble is extracted. Here we only wanted to breathe some sea-air. And
that did us good!
 At the Piazza San Martino
|
 Il Duomo San Martino |
 Triumphal cross in the church "San Michele in Foro" |
 A romantic road like anywhere else... |
|
|
 Fortification Wall at Via Elisa |
 Viareggio - The Harbour |
|
 Viareggio |
 Between two big boats |
 That thing comes from Cayman Islands |
 In the background: The marble-hills of Carrara |
 Who climbs high... |
 ...only falls deep, when he has no rope! |
Tuscany - The Landscape
As I already mentioned, a too white sky kept us from taking too many of
the classic-kitschy Tuscany-Pictures. But we made at least a few of them.
Here comes a tour through this wonderful part of the earth!
 View near San Gimignano |
 Between Florence and Siena |
 Between Florence and Siena |
 Between Florence and Siena |
 Between Florence and Siena |
 Between Florence and Siena |
 Between Florence and Siena
|
 In the Monti di Chianti |
 Poppy-Field near San Miniato |
 Poppy-Field near San Miniato |
Florenz - Straßen, Märkte & Künstler
After enjoying all the things recommanded by the travel-guides on the
first day, we used the last day - as often on our journeys - to drift around and
watching the people in this wonderful city.
We enjoyed the varied hustle and bustle on the Mercato Centrale, the hectic
around the dome and we really enjoyed watching other people working!
 Dried Fruits at Mercato Centrale |
 Here you nearly get everything |
 Olive-Oil in various tastes |
 ...and other specialities of the region.
|
 The mushrooms need a "Picture with odour" |
 Italian Cheese |
 At Piazzale Michelangelo... |
 ...here are the pictures "mobile" and for sale
|
|
