We arrive in Paris!

As anyone tracking these sparse postings can tell, we have been away from the Internet for a while. We had access in Tuscany, but it was very expensive, and given the busy schedule we and the Carlson Whites had together there, time to sit and blog was short. I'll try to catch up, and post just a few of the over 1,000 photos we have taken.

But a quick itinerary catch up is in order.

From Verona, we took the train to Firenze (Florence), rented a car, and drove south to the little town of Bucine. There we checked in to our 8-person apartment in a villa and vineyard called Borgo Iesolona.

Our first dinner at Borgo Iesolana
It is a great place with a nice pool that the kids made lots of use of. From there we made day trips to such Tuscan hill towns as Montereggione,

Us and the Carlson Whites outside Monteriggione


Brendan takes a breather in Montereggione





Siena (for the Paleo trials)

A Real Horse at the Palio Trials in Siena





San Gimignano (authentic town with huge stone towers and a Disneyland cheap feel to it)

San Gimignano from the highest tower


Montepulciano (where the Brunellos are amazing)

Brunello shopping and Tasting in Montepulciano





Cortona (our favorite and most authentic), and finally to Orvietto, which is actually not Tuscan but Umbrian, and has been occupied for over 3,000 years. But we never forgot to enjoy our time back at Borgo Iesolana.
The pool at Borgo Iesolana

A relaxing evening in Tuscany

We also did a day trip to Firenze to see Michelangelo's The David, which we sneaked a coupla of photos of, but I do not have them with me in this internet cafe. We climbed inside the dome of the Duomo

The Firenze Duomo Climb and View






for a great view of the old city and a cool breeze (it was very hot, 90s to over 100 the whole time in Italy). We also saw amazing paintings in the Uffizi, including works by Bottecelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and outside by the famed Italian genius Gelato. We also ran into our villa next door neighbor from Minnesota three times. We started to think she was stalking us.

After a great time in Tuscany, we said goodbye to the Carlson Whites with a "see you in Paris", and returned the rental car in Florence, then trained it to Monterossa in Cinque Terra, which is like Santa Cruz, but a thousand years older, no real trees, and with beaches made of marble pebbles and the warm, very salt waters of the Mediterranean Sea. We then had to make quick changes due to an impending train strike (they schedule these for 24 hours, and some trains still run), so we ended with about 14 hours in Milan. We saw and climbed that Duomo, enjoyed the works of Gelato again, and shopped for clothes ( that Jenny!). At near midnight last night our train left Milano for Paris, and here we are now.

We'll try to add some more photos soon, but right now Notre Dame awaits!