Day Trips From Florence

As you all know, there is a great deal of logistical planning in our daily traveling lives.  While Jeff does the lion's share of the work (I'm generally busy conquering the world on my iPod - or so Jeff says), I do pitch in from time to time.  When we needed to plan our stay in Italy with the Bells, I decided I would look into the tour options available.  Though the Bells are far from difficult to please, I have to admit that I was quite nervous in trying to pick the right tours to fit everyone's tastes (I just wanted everyone to be happy!).  I struck gold when I found the Walkabout tours while planning our Florence leg of the trip.

One site we knew we wanted to visit during our time together was the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  I was worried, however, that making the two hour journey to Pisa just to see the tower might not be worth the hassle.  So I was pleased when I found the Best of Tuscany Tour, which included a stop in Pisa along with tours of Siena, San Gimignano, and lunch at a wine farm.  After reading all the glowing reviews on Tripadvisor.com, Jeff and I agreed that it would be a good choice.  We were thrilled we had found such a great way to fit in Pisa.  The company had another tour of Cinque Terre that had received rave reviews as well that I really wanted to also book.  Sadly, Jeff vetoed that tour because he had read that Cinque Terre was unpleasantly crowded in August.

So on our first full day in the Florence area, we all boarded the large tour bus bright and early to begin a very full day of sight-seeing.  I had never been on a large tour before and was a bit worried that we might feel as though we were being herded through the day.  However, that did not end up being the case. After an hour guided tour of Siena, we were given time to explore on our own before heading off to lunch.

Liam and Kiersten taking pictures

The central piazza where the famous Il Palio horse race takes place twice a year

To say the farm where we enjoyed lunch was breathtaking would be a gross understatement.  Before eating we had a short tour of the farm where they made just about everything that was served during the meal.  The food, served with copious amounts of wine, was delectable.  We all agreed that lunch was one of the highlights of the entire trip.

That is not a blue-screen behind us

Though we were all full from lunch, we could not help but indulge in cones of gelato as we strolled around during our next stop in San Gimignano.

Can you tell I'm having fun?

Our final stop was the major objective of the tour: Pisa. While it was fun to take silly pictures and to see the iconic tower, I have to admit that I was glad we had not used a whole day to just visit Pisa.

Jeff getting Liam set for his shot

Worn out from the busy day, we all snoozed during the bus ride back to Florence.  As we were making our way back into the city, our tour guide gave a spiel about the company's other tour of Cinque Terre.  Ladies sitting behind us, who had just spent several days in the area, assured us that it was not overly crowded and was not to be missed.  I was delighted when Mike decided we should do the tour (I love my father-in-law!).

After a twelve-hour day, we decided it wouldn't be prudent to do another long tour the following day, so we booked the Cinque Terre tour for two days later.

Cinque Terre is a series of five picturesque fishing villages (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso) that lie on the Italian Riviera two hours from Florence.  One of the things that had originally attracted me to the tour was the fact that we would get to hike from town to town during the day.  This proved to be great fun and a bit of a challenge at times (pretty darn hot, with lots of walking up steps and hills).  Poor Lucie fell victim to blisters, but was an absolute champion about it.

After sweating a great deal, we were all very happy to take a dip in the cool ocean water when we stopped at the last village.

Can you see us?

While the other tours we did during our time in Italy were also very enjoyable and incredibly educational, I think those two days were some of our favorites because we really were able to spend quality time together while experiencing an amazingly beautiful country.

If you're keeping track of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the historic center of Siena, historic center of San Gimignano, Piazza del Duomo in Pisa, and Cinque Terre are all on the list.  If it seems like there are a lot of these protected sites in Italy, it's because there are - Italy has the most of any country with forty-five.