The Hochmuth Adventures 2017 . . . The Apennines to the Andes followed by Acadia and the Azores: January 2017

Thursday, January 19, 2017

TRIP TO TUSCANY - Tuesday, January 10, 2017 - Day One- NYC

Eric took us to JFK and we arrived in plenty of time even though we were sitting in traffic trying to get onto the Long Island Expressway. Can't ever get used to LI traffic. We boarded a plane that looked like a small village. The plane was a double-decker that held over 600 people. I've never flown on anything that big but we were excited about receiving our first Emirates experience. I didn't think there was any more seat or leg room - I definitely wasn't feeling like Jennifer Aniston as I slept but they did exceed expectations in other areas. Each seat had its own screen and a plethora of movie, television, and music selections. They also provided everyone with their own headset, blanket and pillow free of charge. The best part of the trip though was the food - Real food not peanuts or pretzels. For dinner we had baked salmon, couscous, rolls, salad, and cheesecake. Complimentary cocktails or wine were also available. Breakfast was fruit, omelettes, bread, etc. It was a 71/2 hour flight but all went smoothly.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

TRIP TO TUSCANY - Wednesday January 11, 2017 - Day Two - Milan to Montecatini

We arrived in Milan, on time, Wednesday about noon in Italy, proceeded to get our bags and then our rental car. Ron drove from Milan to Montecatini with a few rest stops along the way. With flying all night I wanted to make sure he was rested as he drove. It seemed as though part of our drive was strictly through tunnels. I've never driven through as many tunnels in my life as we went through on our trip to our hotel. Given my affinity for tunnels and bridges - Not - and that everyone drives like cousin Mario I was happy when we got to our hotel at about 7 p.m. After checking in and finding a parking spot we took at spin through the center of Montecatini. It is really a cute town with lots going on. Our hotel is right in the center of town and two short blocks from the train station so it's really convenient. We did a little exploring and stopped for a bite to eat. We weren't super hungry so Ron had some Pasta with pesto and shrimp and I had some Risotto cooked with Champagne and shrimp (I thought of you - Col) but left room for some gelato. (That's for you Carole) We were in bed by 10:00 as it had been a long day without too much sleep. We needed to be ready to go on Thursday.

Our hotel

The Grand Plaza

Lots of old world charm

Grand staircase

Large, clean bedrooms

The Grand Plaza in Montecatini

Main fountain

Many businesses decorated

Love the gelato!

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

TRIP TO TUSCANY - Thursday, January 12, 2017 - Day Three - Lucca and Pisa

Up at 8 and had breakfast at the hotel before heading to the train station. We could have driven but the train is so reasonable and convenient that we decided to keep the car parked today. Visited Lucca, a walled city, about 20 miles from Montecatini. The city has a number of beautiful churches, more towers than I could keep track of, and a wonderful old world feel. We walked much of the 2 1/2 miles of wall that surrounds the city, stopped for a tea and pastry, and enjoyed the amazing architecture the city had to offer.

The wall - still intact

One of the entrances into the old city

Cathedral of San Martino

One example of the beautiful statuary that abounds in the city

Another example

Beautiful doors everywhere

And I mean everywhere

Narrow streets to get lost in

After our time in Lucca, we hopped back on the train and in 25 minutes were just a 10 minute walk from the treasures of Pisa. Again beautiful architecture abounds and we enjoyed exploring some notable classics. We visited the Cathedral "Duomo", the Baptistry, and the infamous Leaning Tower and they did not disappoint.

View after you entered the wall to Pisa

Duomo - the largest in the world when it was built in 1063,

The Baptistry

The Leaning Tower

Altar of El Duomo

Ceiling of El Duomo - Medici crest

Tomb of St. Ranieri - Patron Saint of Pisa

The Bronze Doors


It is amazing how much it leans - some pictures don't do it justice.

We rode the train back to Lucca, switched trains and continued on to Montecatini. We are learning the train system. It is confusing in some small stations because they don't have signs letting you know which track you are supposed to be on. In one case we asked La polizia and they couldn't even help us but we always lucked out and had someone that could point us in the right direction. Ron took a little rest when we came back and I blogged. We ate at a small restaurant down from the hotel. Ron loved his warm seafood salad and I was ready for some simple spaghetti bolognese.

Delizioso

Monday, January 16, 2017

TRIP TO TUSCANY - Friday, January 13, 2017 - Day Four -Florence/Firenze

Rainy day in Montecatini but not to be deterred by the date or the weather we ventured out to Florence or should I say Firenze. It is a 45 minute train ride away. We arrived and immediately headed to El Duomo passing by Santa Maria Novella Church first. There is no shortage of churches in Italy. Like so many of the other buildings we've seen the Cathedral was incredibly impressive. The architecture, the art, the human labor that went into these edifices is almost beyond comprehension. We toured Santa Separata, the earlier church crypt inside the Duomo on which it - the Duomo- was built . While we didn't have time to climb the Duomo's dome we did climb the 414 steps of the Campanile, bell tower. I know I'll be feeling that tomorrow. But the views were well worth it. From there we toured the Duomo's Museum, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. There we saw one of Michelangelo's Pietas along with more statuary than I've ever seen before. A quick stop at the Baptistry was in order before we trekked to the Uffizi Gallery. To keep up our strength we stopped along the way and split a cannoli. Yum! At the Uffizi we were again overwhelmed by the statues and paintings done by the greats like Leonardo di Vinci, Michelangelo and Botticelli. Even though the day was threatening we mostly avoided the rain. We had umbrellas but when the rain and wind came the umbrellas were no match and our rain gear sufficed. But as one such downpour hit as we were luckily stopped for a cup of tea and an apple cake with ice cream and whipped cream and basically as most of our planned itinerary was inside we were unaffected by the weather. We couldn't leave Firenze without seeing the great statue of David so it was on to the Accademia. We viewed David and the other works in the Accademia before heading home. We covered a lot of territory in our day in Firenze. Caught the 6:00 train back to Montecatini and then went to the hotel happy hour before heading out to dinner. For dinner I had linguine with pesto and pine nuts and Ron had veal scallopine. For dessert we went to visit our favorite gelateria.

Our first glimpse of El Duomo

The ceiling of El Duomo

The crypts under El Duomo

The Bell Tower

View of El Duomo from the Bell Tower

View of Firenze from the Bell Tower

A display at El Duomo Museum

Another beautiful door

A silver casket at El Duomo Museum

One of Michelangelo's Pietas

The facade of El Duomo

The ceiling of the Baptistry

A sculpture at the Uffizi

Michelangelo

Another sculpture

Bottocelli

DiVinci

The statue of David at the Accademia - what else can I say?

Looked like "build a bust" at the Accademia

TRIP TO TUSCANY - Saturday, January 14, 2017 - Day Five - Montecatini Terme and Alto

For Ron's birthday we let him sleep in a little and decided to explore some of the areas close to the hotel. Montecatini Alto is a small village that looks down from the hills on to Montecatini Terme. It is only a short 15 minute drive but quite winding and narrow. We parked before we entered the village and walked up since cars are not allowed on all areas. The village is what I envision when I think of a small Italian town. Narrow streets dotted by stone houses with shutters and flower boxes lined the roads. We walked up the cobbled streets and first went to the Church of San Pietro. It was a beautiful small church with an attached museum. The museum had some very historic religious pieces i.e. a statue of Mary and Child from 1222. Ron is getting snooty in that if he sees something from the early 1900's he scoffs at its' "newness.". We looked at the bell tower in front before we wound our way to the clock tower on the Castle. You couldn't go inside but we enjoyed the lovely panoramic views of the valley and the mountains in the distance. It was a bit hazy so I'm not sure if the pictures will do it justice. It was also a bit chilly 36 degrees at noon but we did see the sun today which made it seem better. We stopped for our usual tea and had some delicious desserts - warm custard with fresh fruit and whipped cream cake with hot chocolate. It will have to do for Ron's birthday cake.

Came back down the mountain and further explored Montecatini Terme. We'd have to stay longer to discover more of this town with all the twisty alley ways and turns. Many tourist from other parts of Italy appear to descend upon Montecatini on a daily basis but particularly on weekends. I can only imagine how busy this place must be during the summer season. We went on the VRBO site to check out the cost of a month's stay during October or November. How cool would it be to stay in a century's old cottage? We saw the Merry-Go-Round and the Ferris Wheel which we weren't aware of until we saw them from above. The town is really cute and we are very pleased with our accommodations. The staff is very helpful and Ron got his birthday kiss from the young woman who has helped us daily with directions and dinner suggestions, etc. So far her directions and the phone's gps have got us to our locations. Tomorrow, Sunday we venture to San Gimignano, and Siena through the mountains via our car.

Views of/from Montecatini Alto