Mar 18 Florence to Siena

 Today was our day to move to Siena to join the group. We were happy to get out of Florence for one reason and that was the crowding! We just both aren’t accustomed to hordes of people on the streets. And we’re still amazed that this is high season already. It didn’t take but a couple of minutes outside of Florence to feel that we were in the Tuscany country. The taxi drive to Siena was just over an hour so that was easy.

We met up with our Italian guide and our group. It’s very nice that the group is only 18 this time! I’ve never been with a group that small. They were very friendly people and I think it will be a congenial group.

Nice hotel( NH Siena) and comfortable rooms. Looking good!  

Mar. 17 Florence Evening

Pix—Me at the police station. Me at the museum. Roman amphitheater. Artifacts in the museum—Several centuries BC. And finally —inside our hotel. 

 Fortunately, our trip took a turn for the better today! I got my wallet back from the man who found it. He said he was walking his dog last evening and the dog went around the corner into sort of an alley. It was there that he found it. If the dog had not turned down that street, he would not have found it.Dog karma!  Good thing I have always treated them well. Joe Would not take any  thank you money which I offered. He said that that’s not how his parents raised him. Quite a gentleman. The street where it was found was very close to the restaurant where we ate last night.

We had read that museums were closed on Monday, but for some reason, Merle thought that l’académie was open. We walked there, quite a walk, only to find out it was closed. So we then jumped in a taxi to go up to Fiesole which has panoramic views of all of Florence. We were delighted to discover that the archaeological ruins there (from the Romans and before )were open on Monday as well as an archaeological museum with things interesting found in the area. Absolutely fascinating! I will include a few pictures.

We had lunch at the café Teatro which Jackie had recommended but I actually didn’t remember that when we picked it. I just went because theater was in the name!  We also had gelato at a place that Jackie also recommended. Gracie Jackie!

The taxi getting there was not cheap so we decided to try the bus to go back. It was another part of the adventure. And when we got back to Florence, I stopped at the police station to give them an update: my passport had been returned to me. I could not believe how long it took for them to write up that second report. But it was good that I did it. 

We had a lovely dinner, not far from the hotel at trattoria lamadia and had wonderful eggplant Parmesan! Yummy!

So all is well that ends well. So relieved to have my passport back.

Mon Mar 17 Florence morning

 Merle and I arrived yesterday afternoon within 30 minutes of each other and met up at the airport. 

Took a Taxi to hotel which I  booked as hotel Russo .. but when we arrived, we found that our hotel name has reverted back to its original name and is now called Garibaldi after the original owner of the building, often called the founder of modern Italy. It is a most interesting and bizarre facility to walk around because it had been a villa and now is a hotel. Maybe I will snap some pictures later. It is on Piazza Santa Maria Novella— Great location but I knew that when I booked it because the last time I was in Florence  I stayed just down the street.

We dumped our things at the hotel and headed out for a bite of dinner. After dinner, we walked over to the Duomo, and were surprised that there were crowds of people. I did not expect it to be super busy now , but we found out it is spring break, and our hotel said it is the start of high season already! Unfortunately, jetlagged Jane was not paying attention and I had my backpack purse on my back which I should not have done. My wallet was taken. And the really scary thing:  my passport was in it. I never carry my passport with me. However, since we had just arrived, I had not taken it out yet. Crap! Almost €300 in cash, credit card, ATM card, global entry card, passport. I immediately called and canceled my credit card & ATM.   We went back to the hotel where they told me I needed to go to the police to report it. Very nice woman in hotel reception walked us over to the police station, which was an interesting experience.( reminded me of going to the Police In Montpelier with Joni!).  They took a detailed report and gave me a copy.

When I returned to the hotel, I called Joan to tell her and about a half hour later she called back to say someone found my passport! ( she was listed as my emergency contact in my passport ). She gave me the finder’s phone number and I called the man who is also a tourist. He was walking his dog ( a good sign) when he spotted my wallet. I guess the thief took the money, credit card, ATM card, and threw the rest on the ground. Lucky me! 

So now it is the next morning and I am waiting to hear from the man to coordinate where I can pick up my wallet.

Fortunately, I always carry a second credit card which was in my suitcase as well as more euros in cash. I also learned that Wells Fargo can grant me immediate access to my new ATM even though I don’t have the physical card yet. So I will have an easy way to get cash. Of course Merle can also get it for me and I can pay her back.

She was quick to remind me that I was not hurt and it is only money. I am embarrassed but I am a victim, even though I had not made a good choice at that moment.

So let the trip begin! We have Monday and Tuesday free time in Florence and tomorrow afternoon we will go to Siena to meet up with our tour group.

I may write again later tonight about my day, but I wanted to get this much recorded anyway.  

As always, please forgive any typos as I dictate these  and am often in a hurry .

Bongiorno Italy!

Headed to Italy March 15-29, 2025

Ciao, Tuscany!  My March 15-29, 2025 Road Scholar Tour:

"The Hidden Medieval Villages of Tuscany & Umbria"

Day by Day: brief itinerary:

March

16-17 free days in Florence before tour starts

18 in Siena --Actual tour begins

19 in Siena

20  visit Pienza; winery Montalcino

21 visit Volterra; San Gominano

22 visit Monte San Savino, Di Gargonza Castle, Cortona

23 visit Gubbio then go to Spoleto

24 visit Spoleto

25 visit Assisi 

26 visit Perugia

27 depart Spoleto; visit Orvieto en route to Rome

28 free day post tour (Pompeii?)

29 depart Rome

Sat Dec 8 South Florida

 Today is my last day in Florida. We went to Morakami Gardens & museum—Japanese gardens.  A nice mellow visit. In the evening we attended a comedy show at the clubhouse in this 55+ community. Interesting to compare it with my community. 

I’ll close out this trip’s blog. It was only a week long but seemed longer as we packed a lot into each day. 

Friday Dec 6 Boynton Beach

 We said final goodbyes to some of our group members at breakfast and then returned to Merle‘s lovely home. It is so nice to be back here where it is peaceful and lovely. The hustle and bustle of the city gets tiresome very quickly.

Merle’s husband picked up some  matzoh ball soup for us to have for lunch.Yum.  

In the evening we went to Boca Raton to a regional  theatre to see “Joseph and the amazing technicolor Dreamcoat.” It is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. I knew the music but had never seen the show.  It was an outstanding production. I especially loved the choreography and dancing. Some very talented performers. You can see in the pic above that Jane had all her favorite things!  

The weather here finally became what I expected Florida to be but wasn’t all week. 

This was the entrance to the restrooms at the theatre:

Thursday Dec 5 Miami

 I was looking forward to this morning‘s presentation about the history of Cuban exiles in Miami.  The speaker is a Cuban-American and professor of sociology at Florida international University. I chatted with him for a few minutes before the lecture and he explained how academic freedom has been taken away from professors in Florida. He said several things that were quite shocking to me. I had heard about it before, but hearing it directly from a professor was incredible. 

His presentation was very detailed and informative. He explained the different periods of immigration, the circumstances of people coming and what their life was like after they moved here. We all learned a great deal not only about Cuba, but about the US as well.

Following the presentation, we took our coach to the Cuban Memorial Park in Little Havana, This part of the city is really a Cuban enclave and we had to keep reminding ourselves we were still in the US. People can go all day and all week speaking nothing but Spanish and dealing with nothing but Cuban businesses.  We had a walking exploration of little Havana with a local expert.

Lunch was at a Cuban restaurant El Cristo followed by a salsa dancing lesson! Fun!  

We returned to the hotel for the farewell dinner at a very nice restaurant called Motek.  This has been a friendly group and we have enjoyed everyone.

Our guide, Jose, has been excellent. He also does tours in Cuba and several of us said it made us curious to possibly go there. He took group pictures of us and will post them for us to see after the tour. I hope I can download and post some.  

So Miami is of course a busy city. What is shocking is the number of high-rise buildings and more and more under construction. The traffic is insane. It was gridlock everywhere and it didn’t matter day or night. Fortunately we didn’t have to drive around in town much. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to move here.

So tomorrow, Merle and I return to her home for the weekend. 

Adios Miami.