Buongiorno,

This internet situation is a little frustrating – Che peccato! (What a shame!) We are used to reading all kinds of news etc. but then I guess it's good to be in the countryside.

During the day we went to Florence and joined thousands & thousands of tourists.  But we had our own guide, Elisa, who was great! She was knowledgeable and loved her job. Saw the Galleria dell'Accademia and the real David etc., the famous Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, and more on our 3-hour tour.  In the afternoon, after a great panini, we did the Uffizi.  Whew - lots of paintings- tried to search out the ones.  Dow remembered from what they called in college "Art in the Dark".  Glad we saw it all but a long day on our feet! Back to our villa a quick swim and in the car for a surprise evening. Only showed some art because it is overwhelming.

We had a fun evening.  We were driven to a castle and greeted in the courtyard by a guy we'd talked with on the phone re Il Borgo, where we're staying.  He's associated with both places.  Anyway, after a few glasses of Prosecco and cheeses we sat and chatted with a bunch of folks from Omaha Nebraska -10 couples who travel somewhere together every few years.  Before dinner there was a Renaissance style performance of flag wavers, drummers, and dancers.  It was really good and fun.  I even joined the dance (which was mostly walking around in a circle).  This was all for the folks from Omaha who were leaving the next day.  Then it was dinnertime.  When we were seated at a table for 2 near their long table they invited us to pull over and join them.  A really nice group of friends.  We had a three course meal. First - meats and cheese. Second – Tuscan Bean Soup and third grilled meats (pork, chicken and ribs). The group, at dessert were voting on where to go in a couple of years.  Not sure what won- too much vino! (troppo vino!)

We have so many pictures of yesterday to sort through and it will take us weeks to solve.

Click on a pictures to see a slideshow

September 8