On the tour bus to Tuscany.
It was a long long bus journey, i think about 11 hour ride. We left Lausanne in the morning around 7am plus and reached the hotel in Lucca at night for dinner time around 7pm.
During the tour, the tour guide spoke French so it was pity we didnt understand much what she said. But she was quite nice, she would occasionally ask us if we were ok and enjoying ourselves.
Pretty scenery along the way - flowers, hills, mountains, sky..In general, Switzerland is a very picture perfect place (except for cities like Zurich where it looks so industrial that is)
We stayed at Grand Hotel Guinigi at Lucca during the trip, it wasnt too bad. The location of the hotel is in a very quiet place but the room was quite ok. The hotel gave us a connecting family room with 2 bedrooms and shared bathroom which was nice.
First stop: Pisa
Piazza del Duomo, Pisa also known as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles)
Baptistery
Famous Leaning Tower of Pisa - the bell tower of the city's cathedral
The structure was originally conceived as the cathedral's bell tower. Construction began in 1173 and the tower started leaning soon afterwards due to subsidence of the ground underneath its base. A project to keep the tower from leaning more and tipping over finally reached a successful conclusion in 2001 - more about Pisa
Like us, everybody was taking silly shots with the leaning tower of pisa haha.
From here, Mum and Ah ma went berserk buying leather bags, they bought like more than 15 bags between the both of them during the whole Italy trip (ok me and Jie succumbed in the end and bought 1 leather bag each too and the same one too haha). They were saying that you cant get good leather bags in Singapore for this kind of prices, which is true though. The bags all cost less than 100 euros per piece and all genuine leather as they say.
Marketplace - stalls selling bags
It was quite hilarious, whenever we got to a tourist attraction, they were only interested in the shopping at the areas and told me and Jie to meet us a certain time. After that they made a beeline for the shops at the market area and didnt even bother looking at the attractions!
Luckily Jie and I told them to at least take a few pictures with the attractions like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Piazza at Florence etc. If not, i think most prob they would not have any memories of the sights there lol. So farney, Jie told me on hindsight, if she knew that Mum and Ah ma were only interested in shopping and not sightseeing, she would have signed them up for the shopping tour instead hahaha.
The weather in Italy was blistering hot, the temp even went up to 40 degrees celcius i think! We were desperately fanning ourselves while we stood in the sun waiting for the tour bus to pick us up.
2nd stop: Historical city of Lucca
Lucca is a city of some 90,000 people in Tuscany. Its long history goes back to Etruscan and Ancient Roman times, and the city retains pieces of Ancient architecture.
Lucca's great era was in the Gothic era just before the Renaissance, and the city contains much marvelous architecture from that era. Lucca remained an independent city state until the end of the 18th century. Giacomo Puccini, one of italian worldwide known opera composers, was born in Lucca. More about Lucca
St Martin's Cathedral, Lucca
3rd stop: Siena
The next day, we headed for Siena.
Siena is a medieval city in the region of Tuscany, located in the north of Italy some 70 km (43 miles) south of Florence. It is probably best known for a colourful horse race, Il Palio, conducted twice each year in the summer.
History: Siena was a proud, wealthy, and warlike independent city-state during the Middle Ages, until its final defeat by Florence. Medieval Sienese art (painting, sculpture, architecture, etc.) is unique and of great historical importance. Siena was a very poor little city for a few hundred years after its defeat, which is the main reason that its lovely Medieval buildings were never torn down and replaced with modern structures. In the 19th century, tourists started coming. Nowadays, it is a requirement that new buildings within the city walls be built to maintain the city's character and beauty - many are strikingly modern, yet fit in well. More about Siena
The tour guide who showed us around Siena (the lady in green holding a red flag) was very passionate about her tour, but jie and I think that she was abit too agressive. She got abit pissed at one point when she started to complain that it was not her fault that we were running late based on the time schedule, cuz people were taking their time and not walking together or sthg. Whatever -.-
Water fountain
Hmm i think this is a plaque to honour Mother Theresa for her contributions to Calcutta, India.
Basilica of San Domenico
Tourist shop selling souvenirs - they sold basically the same wares at each shop. Magnets, pictures of the countryside, postcards etc. Very expensive too!
Wide selection of Gelato ice cream - Check out the huge fruit slices on top of each ice cream flavor. Lime, strawberry, raspberry, pistachos etc. Sure beats the gelato ice cream sold in Singapore!
Piazza del Campo
The shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, the town square, which houses the Palazzo Pubblico and the Torre del Mangia, is another architectural treasure, and is famous for hosting the Palio horse race. The Palazzo Pubblico, itself a great work of architecture, houses yet another important art museum. Included within the museum is Ambrogio Lorenzetti's series of frescos on the good government and the results of good and bad government and also some of the finest frescoes of Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti. - Source: Wikipedia
Torture of chamber - reminds me of the scene from the horror movie about the backpackers who went to Eastern Europe and got kidnapped.
Artist at work - amazing!
4th stop: San Gimignano
San Gimignano rises on a hill (334m high) dominating the Elsa Valley with its towers. Once the seat of a small Etruscan village of the Hellenistic period (200-300 BC) it began its life as a town in the 10th century taking its name from the Holy Bishop of Modena, St. Gimignano, who is said to have saved the village from the barbarian hordes. The town increased in wealth and developed greatly during the Middle Ages thanks to the "Via Francigena" the trading and pilgrim's route that crossed it. Such prosperity lead to the flourishing of works of art to adorn the churches and monasteries. In 1199 it became a free municipality and fought against the Bishops of Volterra and the surrounding municipalities. Due to internal power struggles it eventually divided into two factions one headed by the Ardinghelli family (Guelphs) and the other by the Salvucci family (Ghibellines). On the 8th May 1300 Dante Alighieri came to San Gimignano as the Ambassador of the Guelph League in Tuscany.
In 1348 San Gimignano's population was drastically reduced by the Black Death Plague throwing the city into a serious crisis which eventually led to its submission to Florence in 1353. In the following centuries San Gimignano overcame its decline and isolation when its beauty and cultural importance together with its agricultural heritage were rediscovered. The construction of the towers dates back to the 11th and 13th centuries. The architecture of the city was influenced by Pisa, Siena and Florence. There are 14th century paintings of the Sienese School to be seen and 15th century paintings of the Florentine School.
Source:www.sangimignano.com/sghomei.htm
Outside walls of San Gimignano
Mum and Jie - hmm mum doesnt seem to be looking at the cam lol.
Actually i found San Gimignano quite small and a lil touristy, it's pretty but there wasn't much to see except many tourists shops (like the one above) lining the pathway, selling souvenirs and stuff. I did buy a couple of items there though!
Grape vineyards along the way back to the hotel - can u see the grapes??
Last stop: Florence
Florence (Italian: Firenze,; Old Italian: Fiorenza, Latin: Florentia) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany and has a population of 367,569 (1,500,000 metropolitan area).
The city lies on the River Arno and is known for its history and its importance in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, especially for its art and architecture. A centre of medieval European trade and finance, the city is often considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance; in fact, it has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages. It was long under the de facto rule of the Medici family. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy.
The historic centre of Florence continues to attract millions of tourists each year and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. More about Florence
Sweeping view of Florence from the Piazzale Michelangelo
Statue at Piazzale Michelangelo
The best-known site and crowning architectural jewel of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo. The magnificent dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi.
Mum and ah ma
Can you see the number of tourists behind? As you can tell, the Duomo is a super popular tourist attraction haha.
There was a sudden downpour and everybody went rushing for cover. Some people in our tour group even bought brollies but 5 mins later, it stopped raining! Luckily we didnt buy lol.
Heavy rain - tourists on portable vehicles
Piazza della Repubblica
Piazza della Repubblica is a city square in Florence, Italy. It is on the site, first of the city's forum and then of the city's old ghetto, which was swept away during the city improvement works or Risanamento initiated during the brief period when Florence was the capital of a reunited Italy, work that also created the city's avenues and boulevards. More info
Nearby market place selling what else - leather bags :D
The Ponte Vecchio- It is the only bridge in the city to have survived World War II intact.
I think the Ponte Vecchio quite nice but the green water is abit gross urgh.
The Ponte Vecchio is a Medieval bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers.
The Fountain of Neptune is a fountain in Florence, Italy, situated on the Piazza della Signoria (Signoria square), in front of the Palazzo Vecchio.
Uffizi
Palazzo Vecchio
Above the front entrance door, there is a notable ornamental marble frontispiece, dating from 1528. In the middle, flanked by two gilded lions, is the Monogram of Christ, surrounded by a glory, above the text (in Latin): "Rex Regum et Dominus Dominantium" (translation: "Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords".) More about Palazzo Vecchio
Michelangelo's David also stood at the entrance from its completion in 1504 to 1873, when it was moved to the Accademia Gallery. The 5.17 meter (17 ft) marble statue portrays the Biblical King David in the nude. Unlike previous depictions of David which portray the hero after his victory over Goliath, Michelangelo chose to represent David before the fight contemplating the battle yet to come. A replica erected in 1910 now stands in its place, flanked by Baccio Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus. More about Michelangelo's David
Baccio Bandinelli's Hercules and Cacus
Ermz dunno what statue is this but its quite gruesome lol
Other interesting architecture we saw in Florence
It was really nice being able to chat with Jie on the bus journeys throughout our Tuscany trip cuz i didnt get much chance to talk alot before that due to the wedding. We talked on and on about everything - life, our work, colleagues, friends, relationships, family etc. After talking to Jie, I really understood more about her life and people around her in Switzerland and how she had to adapt to living in Switzerland since she moved there 6 years ago. Its really not easy I think and I dont think i would have been able to do it seriously. But im glad that Jie has adjusted really well and learnt to speak French so fluently!
During the bus journeys, Jie taught me how to count from 1 to 10 in French and I expanded my extremely limited vocab of french words by asking her the meaning of certain french words which I heard from people's conversations e.g. après, un petit peu, à bientôt, bonne nuit, joli etc. So now I know more french words!! Ok its still v pathetic but better than nothing heh.
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