Vinci – Leonardo !!! Who

31 Sunday Jul 2016

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Firenze, italy, Leonardo da Vinci, Lucca, Photography, travel, tuscan hills, Tuscany, Vinci

In 1452, in the little hamlet Anchiano, in the Tuscan hills, on the outskirts of the village of Vinci a little boy was born. He was named Leonardo.

When Leonardo was baptised in the church of Santa Croce, in the village of Vinci, he became known as Leonardo of Vinci, or in Italian, Leonardo da Vinci. This is a Renaissance Florentine name. The name da Vinci is an indicator of birthplace, not a family name.

Today, Leonardo is widely considered one of the most diversely talented individuals ever to have lived.

Vinci is a small town located in Tuscany, in the province of Firenze. Vinci is located more or less mid way between Pisa and Florence and right in the heart of rural wine growing Tuscany and is about 35 kilometres west of Florence. We travelled there by coach from Lucca which took about 45 minutes

Vinci View

Vinci is surrounded by the Tuscan hills with vineyards and olive groves and amazing views

Vinci

I really enjoyed our time in Vinci and wish we had more time there. In a Tuscany that has been taken over by a lot of tourism this little town still has the right mix of “real Italy” and convenience for visitors.

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If you have the chance to visit Vinci be sure to take time to walk around Vinci’s small historic centre. It provides plenty of quantities of culture, scenic beauty and a taste of Tuscany.

Vinci is a very small town so moving around is fairly easy. There are only a few places to visit in Vinci which can all be covered on foot. The historic centre of the town is very compact and is not suitable for driving around in a car because of its many winding narrow streets and lanes. Around the centre there are restaurants and bars, shops, tourist information, public restrooms, parking lots, and a park with picnic area. You can also visit the small Museo Ideale Leonardo da Vinci (open 10:00 to 1:00 and 3:00 to 7:00 in the old castle cellars that has a private collection of documents and reconstructions).

The economy of Vinci is based on agriculture, production of wine and olive oil, pottery and items like paper, clothes and furniture.

View from Vinci

View from restaurant in Vinci

Vinci is a great place to browse the shops, stroll the streets, enjoy a gelato or buy some local hand-made pottery and take in the wonderful experience of being in the Tuscan Hills

Relax at the Park – Arezzo

24 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Il Prato - Park in Arezzo, Tuscany

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

Arezzo, Giro d"italia, Guido Monaco, Il Prato, italy, Park in Arezzo, Photography, travel, Tuscany

While staying in Bagni di Lucca, I took many short trips to several towns and cities in Tuscany.

One of these trips was to Arezzo. I travelled there by train which took about 4 hours, and included 2 train changes. The first change was at Lucca, then another change at Florence before the final destination of Arezzo. It was a pleasant and easy trip.

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After my arrival in Arezzo it was just a short walk from the train station to the Guido Monaco Piazza where the BnB was where I stayed for a couple of nights.

Guido Monaco Piazzza

After checking in to the BnB, I headed out on foot to explore this lovely city. It was not very far to walk up to the “old town”

At the top of the Arezzo hill, between the cathedral and the Medici fortress, is ” Il Prato ” , a beautiful green park. Il Prato is huge and hard to miss. Yet, it was remarkably void of tourists and filled with many locals, mostly kids running around and playing games.

Playing in the park

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Il Prato which is near the edge of the walls of the city has lots of beautiful walks under the lovely large trees. You can walk to the edge of the park and look out over the city walls to the valley below. It is beautiful and very tranquil.

View from Il Prato

View from Il Prato

View from Il Prato

View from Il Prato

View from Il Prato

There is a small snack kiosk in the park serving drinks and some of the usual refreshments.

Kiosk

This park is also home to summer concerts , sporting events and the antiques fair on the first weekend of September.

On this particular day, they were setting up for the Giro d’Italia which was coming through Arezzo while I was staying there. It was so exciting.

Setting up for Giro d’Italia

Between the cathedral of Arezzo and the Medici Fortress, in the centre of the “Prato”, is the huge monument dedicated to the great famous poet of the fourteenth century Francesco Petrarca.

Monument dedicated to Francesco Petrarca

When I first arrrived in Arezzo it was raining heavily, hailing and thunder storms. Then the day improved and it turned out warm and lovely.

Rain and Hail in Arezzo

The park is at least a few degrees cooler than being in the centre of Arezzo. When I felt hot and tired I found a bench overlooking the rest of the town and the hills…it was relaxing and definitely recharged my batteries.

Travelling can be exhausting, so why not take some time to relax in the park?

A little bit of Paradise in Lucca

17 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Botanic Gardens Lucca, Tuscany

≈ 25 Comments

Tags

Botanic Gardens, italy, Lucca, Orto Botanico, Photography, travel, Tuscany

There are so many advantages to spending extended time in a town or village when you are travelling. So when we rented the apartment in Lucca for a week we took advantage of that extra time and we visited places that normally one does not have the time to when just passing through or spending a day or 3.

One of those places was in fact the Botanic Gardens of Lucca – the Orto Botanico di Lucca

Botanical Gardens Lucca

They are small, not far from our apartment and tucked up inside the walls of Lucca. You can view the gardens from the ancient wall, however we wanted to have a closer inspection and paid the entrance fee to go inside and look around

The Wall and Gardens

Once entering we were given a map of the area and were able to easily stroll through the gardens and enjoy their beauty.

The botanic gardens were quiet, elegant and simply stated. There were indications that they needed some more care but they were still lovely.

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There are a variety of trees and plants from all over the world with most of them having signs explaining their origin.

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We spent a couple of blissful hours wandering through these pretty gardens and admiring the plant life. We rested on a well placed bench and soaked up the sun for a while.

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There is a lovely pond with a wooden bridge which is a great attraction. Standing on the bridge looking in to the pond was the best part for me. We watched the turtles climbing on to the lily pads and many fish swimming around. It was tranquil.

Wooden bridge over pond

The pond of water lilies was amazing, as was the story of the ghost who inhabits the area around Halloween/All Saints Day – it might be a bit of historical fiction but very intriguing. The plants and colours were plentiful, as were the seating areas around the gardens – I am so glad we went there!

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Do put the Gardens on your list of places to visit when you are in Lucca. I’m sure you will enjoy it as I did.

Supermarket in Italy

11 Monday Jul 2016

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Supermarket in Italy, Tuscany

≈ 26 Comments

Tags

italy, Lucca, Photography, Supermarket, travel, Tuscany

One of the many advantages of renting an apartment when in Italy or any where for that matter, is I have the chance to shop in the local supermarket. While in Lucca our local supermarket, Conad, was less than a 5 minute walk from our apartment.

Supermarket in Lucca

Whenever I have the time when I am travelling, I always enjoy exploring the local supermarkets. It makes me feel more at home and I guess I just enjoying being a part of the local scene. While I was in this Conad supermarket I could not resist taking some photos to share. While many of you have in fact shopped in an Italian supermarket I am sure there are some of you that have not, so I thought you may enjoy some of these photos.

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Although, a supermarket is a supermarket, I always find that they still do have their individuality. For example in Italy, they definitely have an Italian flare.

Here are some photos of the fresh foods sections.

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In the fruit and vegetable section there are scales where you must weigh and label your produce that you are purchasing. I remember the first time I bought fruit and did not do this, as I did not know. Mama mia, you would think I had committed a crime. The check-out lady was so angry with me. I never made that mistake again.

Weighing and labeling machine

Fresh produce

Fresh produce

Fresh produce

The wine and alcohol section always has a great selection even in a small supermarket like this Conad. The prices for alcohol in Italy are usually lower than here in Australia.

Wines

Prosecco

The are many similarities to our own supermarkets but there are definitely some unique sections. The fresh meats, pastas and pastry sections in this supermarket were fabulous.

Fresh pizza and pastries

As the cashier is ringing up your purchases they will usually ask you if you would like Borsa, which is a bag as they do not automatically supply shopping bags. These “Borsa”usually cost a few cents. Occasionally there is no charge for the Borsa

Check-out register

Here are a few photos of a much larger supermarket I shopped in – Esselunga – which is not far from Lucca.

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If you have the time when you are visiting a new town or city, go in to the local supermarket, even if it is just for a look.

Perfect Place for a bike ride

03 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by Lyn Douglas in Bike Riding in Lucca, Tuscany

≈ 29 Comments

Tags

Bike riding Lucca, italy, Lucca, Phtography, travel, Tuscany

Lucca; a city in Tuscany. A great city to visit.

I have visited Lucca several times but this last time I stayed in the heart of the wall city of Lucca in an apartment for a week. It is very easy to stay in Lucca for a week or in fact longer as there is so much to do and see. While staying in Lucca, we had planned to visit other towns in Tuscany however apart from our Chianti Wine Tour we did not leave the city walls. We loved being in Lucca and were never short of things to do.

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One of my favourite activities in Lucca is to rent this bicycle built for 2 and explore this delightful walled city. There were 3 of us on our bike. But, on many occasions I saw more than 3 people on these great little machines. You certainly do not need to know how to ride a bike to manage one of these. Even though there are 2 steering wheels, only one person has control which can be weird for the other person as your automatic instinct is to turn the steering wheel which does nothing.

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It is a pleasure to walk or ride a bike on top of these thick walls which are tree-lined and planted with grass turning the entire area into a huge park. These walls which enclose Lucca’s historic centre are more than 4 kilometres long with 6 gates.

I have hired bikes several times in Lucca. On this last trip we rented the bike twice as it was so much fun and just so easy. The first time was riding around the city on top of the wall and the second time was riding around exploring within the city.

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The ride or walk around the wall has a really great buzz, with lots of cyclists, runners, families and dog walkers. Although its only about 4km it took us almost an hour as we stopped often to look at and take photos of the spectacular views of the mountains and city.

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