Text in the boxes next to these images was written retrospectively, but the main text on the page is my daily diary. All photographs are by me, except the three hotel brochures.
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Tuesday 19th June 2001

One of the posh spas at Montecatini. The architecture all seems to be late 1800's and is very grand. They are all still going business concerns: the Italians still come in droves to bathe in -- or drink -- hot sulphurous water.

My vehicle obtained, I headed for Stop 1, in Montecatini Terme. No problems at all with the navigation -- signs weren't great, but I knew where I was going, and arrived in less than 40 minutes. However, I spent the next 40 minutes looking for the hotel. I went past it twice (as I realised later), then circumnavigated the town and a lot of industrial park before coming back to the proper place and finding the gateway, almost by accident. The hotel has a few signs around the roads, but not one of them remotely useful. The hotel has a good big garden: swimming pool, lawns, flowers, a fountain. The area it's in looks a bit run down, just a little, so my initial impressions of Montecatini weren't that good. But as I walked towards the town centre, I noticed that the shop contents were, for example, high-class couture, even if the buildings were slightly shabby. Then I reached the main street, the Via G. Verde, and I found things looked a lot more impressive. All-in-all, I walked for about 90 minutes, and I've decided I do like the town. Probably not enough to occupy a full day unless you intend to "take the waters". Which I don't. Dinner time.

Did you hear the one about the Englishman, the Irishman, the Scotswoman and the Welshwoman. No, me neither, but when I heard English being spoken at dinner, I said hello, and got talking to these two couples (English/Welsh and Scots/Irish). (Dinner was delicious, by the way.) We went out to the Irish Pub that's a few hundred metres from the hotel, "The Hop Store" and all got very drunk. (I'd had wine with my meal as well.) I came back to my room (somehow) and threw up on the bed.

Wednesday 20 June 2001

Lucca as seen from the top of the tree-crowned Torre Guinigi. If you look carefully, you can see the oval shape of the Piazza del Mercato, built on the foundations of a Roman amphitheatre.	The thick walls and bastions of Lucca. The shady chestnut trees have been there almost since the walls were built.

Lucca was nice, but having made two visits now, I think I've "done" it. Later note: I think I'm being a bit unkind here. Lucca may not be Florence or Siena, but I probably will go back. The shady walk around the circuit of the broad city walls is well-worth savouring again. I did buy my first ice cream and first espresso of this trip (not together). I left at six-thirty, having decided that I'd had enough activity for one day. I'm staying in tonight to be fresh for a trip to Florence tomorrow.

Thursday 21 June 2001

One view of Florence from the top of the Campanile.

It took me almost half-an-hour to walk to the important bits. What are the important bits, the sights you can't miss, even on a day trip, and even if you've seen them before? Santa Croce, to say hello to Galileo, Fermi, Michelangelo and friends. The lobby of the Palazzo Publico/Ducale/Signoria. The Duomo. This time I climbed the 414 steps to the top of Giotto's Campanile. Then to rub the brazen snout of the Porcellino.

It's lucky to rub the pig's snout. It's an old tradition, or a charter, or something.

And onwards, of course, to where I always visit: San Lorenzo. They make you pay entry to the church now, but not the cloister. It's the most peaceful spot in the centre of Florence. I'm glad few tourists ever find it. One of these times, I'll have to climb the stairs to Cosimo's Library, but I love just sitting in the peaceful ambience.

San Lorenzo cloister as seen from above. The big, octagonal building at the edge of the picture is the Medici's gloomy mausoleum.	The cloister. See, no tourists.	Except me. (The guidebooks are just props for the photo.)

I was tempted to sneak over and steal an orange, but the garden is out of bounds. Dinner was a pizza in the piazza (della Signoria). It ought to have been outrageously expensive in such a touristy spot, but I didn't think it was too bad. Then the long walk back to the car park, some confusion over how to work it, navigation no problem, and home by ten. I met the English/Welsh couple on the way in, and they'd been to Vinci yesterday and said it was lovely. I was already thinking of doing a cross-country route to San Gimignano tomorrow, which would be in that direction, so we'll see.

Friday 22 June 2001

I didn't like the look of the navigation to get on the direct route to Vinci, since it included negotiating the roads around Pistoia, so I plotted a different one that involved a small devazione via Cerreto Guidi. I left Montecatini Terme without a backward glance and headed South. That whole strip around the A11 Viareggio - Firenze autostrade is just a bit too "Northern Italy" for my taste.

As I write this, a Rutan-type canard is circling lazily over San Gimignano -- a Long-Eze?

This is the only model you're allowed to photograph. Drawn by Leonardo, it's an ancient Chinese bridge design. Did he know of the Oriental design or did he invent it independently?

Vinci is tiny, but making the most of its distinguished son. There are two Leonardo museums, and the church where he was baptised. Sadly, this church was remodelled -- rebuilt really -- in 1929 and is very dull indeed. Not so the museum I selected: Leonardo's Machines. Wonderful models, many full-size, made by enthusiasts over the years from his notebooks. What a strange place his head must have been. They do have the bicycle -- full size -- without any concession to the fact of its obvious fraudulence, apart from a weak assertion that it must have been drawn by one of his apprentices: the draftsmanship is pathetic next to Leonardo's. This museum is in the castle of the local lord, Leonardo's first employer. I like the notion that he has faded into insignificance in history. It is the artist and engineer whom we remember.

Daytime Italian radio is unrelievedly awful. Just like home. Even the appearance of Radio Bum Bum didn't enliven the listening experience. (It's pronounced "boomboom" anyway.)

Then onwards and Southwards to Certaldo. The modern town sprawls around the hill that carries the old town, Certaldo Alto, and getting there was tricky. I missed the back road to the tourist car park and drove right into the medieval town against the "Limited Traffic" signs. Oh well, I thought, time for the "stranieri stupido" excuse. But I got away with it. Just a sit, a stroll and an ice cream in Certaldo Alto, but the important thing is that you can see the towers of San Gimignano in the distance.

Certaldo Alto. You can drive to the old town, or take the funicular. Despite being the home town of the Renaissance's first novellist, Boccaccio, it's very quiet, with few visitors.

On to San Gimignano. My plan was to make my first visit to the town before finding the hotel, since it still felt a bit early to check in. The parking arrangements have changed and are no longer free. In fact L3000 an hour, with no upper limit as far as I could see. Still, an hour was long enough to grab lunch and have a nostalgic look around. The hotel Da Graziano was then found without too much trouble, although parking is on the street and somewhat hit-or-miss, but it's a really nice little hotel, with the room very clean, modern, and tasteful in pink and grey. The town is less than ten minute's walk away. I went in for dinner at La Mandragola. Not quite as good as I'd remembered it, but very tasty none the less. Wine was consumed too.

The second of San Gimignano's two squares, the Piazza del Duomo, is the better one for that archetypal Italian pastime: sitting around. As well as the cafes with their umbrellas, there are a couple of covered loggias, and there's always shade from the Cathedral or the towers.	This shop claims to be the best and most famous ice cream shop in the world. Who am I to argue? One surprising speciality is ice cream flavoured with San Gimignano's renowned white wine: Vernaccia. It's the winiest ice cream I've ever tasted.	An almost too-perfect view of San Gimignano, but it's what you see from the front doorstep of Da Graziano.

Saturday 23rd June 2001

This modern sculpture (I think she's a mermaid) forms a focal point in the little platform next to the castle entrance. Wonderful panoramic views over the landscape. (Click on me for a close-up. (If you must.))

Sunday 24th June 2001

The Cathedral, or strictly speaking, the Collegiate Church, since it is no longer the seat of a bishop.	Whole lotta singin goin' on. The choir was using the resonance of the well to good effect.	Don't miss this lovely little courtyard to the town hall.

An American orchestra also went by on their way to lodgings. They're supposed to be performing somewhere tonight. I kept seeing a pretty red-headed girl around town on her own. We almost got to the point of acknowledging each other. I'll have to watch that. Dinner was in the restaurant with the "panoramic views" although there wasn't much to see once it got dark. Like yesterday, the food was antipasto ***, primo **, secondo *. Still, the main course came with lots of french fries. I think the carafe of wine was 1l, not 0.75. I finished it anyway. I never did hear the orchestra.

Monday 25th June 2001

The towers of crowned village Monteriggioni.

On to Siena, and I found that the Hotel Garden was well signposted. It is posh, but fairly anonymous. I'm in one of the 'annexe' (that's the winged, Mediterranean-style part facing the pool) rooms, on the ground floor. Full (quiet) air-conditioning though. Which is nice. I drove the short distance to the city and parked by the Fortezza. Then I explored the old town a bit, found the Internet Train offices, had a beer, had a meal, tried to find the car, tried to find the hotel, got here, had a bath and went to bed. 

Tuesday 26th June 2001

The wonderful Palazzo Pubblico of Siena. (This image is a composite of two photos. I couldn't fit it all in.) If you visit, don't miss the loggia for the fine views over the countryside.	The Cathedral. From some angles it makes me think of a great liner cruising across the town. At other times, it reminds me of a giant licorice allsort.	Interior of the Cathedral. The amazing striped effect is inside as well as out.

I hadn't realised how close the Palio is: next Monday. Yesterday, all the bards and restaurants had their seating erected. Today, laying the wet sand for the track. (Or, as I heard an American say, "Oh look. There's the dirt." There seem to be a lot more Americans in Tuscany than before.) Afternoon: off to Pienza. I didn't pay to go into the palace this time: the only really good part of that is the view from the Pope's private loggia, and you can see almost the same for free.

When Pius II became Pope, he commissioned an expensive makeover for Pienza, his home village. He also persuaded his courtiers to "invest" in Pienza and to live there for at least part of the year. However, when he died, all the important people left, and the result is a town whose architecture is frozen in 1458.	This fresco on one of the town gates shows a view of the town itself. I've inset one of the buildings so that you can compare it with its painted rendition.

Pienza to Montepulciano: it looks close on the map but I think I took a wrong turn and drove on 5km of unsurfaced road. It was a longer drive than I'd planned, but successful in the end. I'd never been to Montepulciano before, and probably won't go back. A hill town in the true Tuscan style, but not much else for the visitor, except lots of wine shops. Back to Siena for dinner, (in the hotel: very good), after a slight problem with roadworks closing the Siena Nord exit. Actually Siena "Acqua Fresco" is closer, as I eventually discovered. And so to bed. Straight drive to the airport tomorrow for my flight back.

The Montepulciano skyline. Get yer 'vino nobile' here.

Wednesday 27th June 2001

Where unhappy people in Florence live. How can you be unhappy in Florence?