Sweet Tuscany

the trip was actually much longer, but the photos refer to this short period...

31 July 2002

we set off early in the morning by car, arriving in Siena in the evening after many stops. 1 August 2002 - visit to Piazza del Campo and the monuments there (the Torre del Mangia and the Palazzo di Città, home of the town hall); it's very hot and there are only foreigners in the city; we ran into Antonio Lubrano

2 August

- 13.00 departure for Florence; the traffic flows smoothly and along the way you can come across some interesting little towns, including Monteriggioni, famous for its castle, and the well-known Certosa. - We head towards Piazzale Michelangelo, from where you see the view over the city: there are tourists of unknown origin. Visit to Florence: Piazza della Signoria, the queue at the Uffizi museum (in front of the museum some mimes put on a little show and further along a youth orchestra performs some arias); the visit is postponed to better times (?); the cathedral (S. Maria del Fiore) - Medici chapels (S. Lorenzo) closed; we also move on to see the church of San Lorenzo in a decidedly more working-class area; there's a little market too..

- A jump to a newer area, to the international bookshop (Marzocco); - a visit to an antiquarian bookshop: we waste time leafing through books of all kinds and (surprise) there are used postcards and even a postcard of Barletta! - S. Maria Novella station: we wait for the bus to go back to Piazzale Michelangelo together with an elderly lady who goes up there every evening to enjoy the cool air

3 August

- The weather is uncertain: it's hot but from time to time it rains - parking near the "Lizza" - visit to the cathedral, S. Domenico, where we meet two Japanese girls studying in Siena, Midori, who would like to become an opera singer, and Tanaki, who looks like a Western girl; the Chigiana music academy