Some beautiful things about Tuscany
September 11, 2020
Well, so now I’m through the south of Italy via the Amalfi Coast to Rome. And now I have landed here in Tuscany. So if you are looking for boring cities, ugly beaches and rotten landscapes, then Tuscany is absolutely wrong. The Tuscany I have seen so far is quite diverse. It’s a real pity for me, because that way I just can’t get further and get stuck here in Italy. In the following I will briefly write down some of my experiences in Tuscany during the last 10 days. Well, did you think again that I am not sharing my opinion and life experience of Tuscany? So please ;-)… we better go back a few days 😛
And let’s start with the departure in Rome. After I ordered one last cappuccino in my favourite cafe, the cashier and the barista almost jumped on each other’s necks. I have heard some heated discussions but they definitely wanted to know. On the one hand, the 70-year-old lady at the cash register, who, in addition to tobacco products, also collects the drinks and didn’t have a bad bicep; and on the other hand, the 35-year-old barista, who actually makes a first-class cappuccino with a mega crema. The story roughly summarised… when I wanted to pay, the barista called out to the lady from a few metres away in two words my 3-part order. She didn’t understand it, he yelled at her. She was confused, processed it briefly and yelled back. He again, she again… He again… she again… Okay… so it’s like this. Then I stood next to it, a little ashamed, I looked up into the air and whistled “tutütütütüttp”. After a minute, when I didn’t have to play the referee after all, both of them had calmed down a bit physically and I could pay. I even got an intimidating “scusi”. Apparently I was not the only one who was embarrassed by the situation. Well, of course a little sad that I can’t tell you a more exciting downhill boxing story from Rome, so I went on very happily towards Bagni San Filippo. For me the entrance gate to Tuscany. In Bagni San Filippo you can visit the hot springs for free and in a relaxed way. You park your car in the village and then walk for 5 minutes to the hot springs. You just lie down in the thermal pools and the water is still warm due to the volcanic activity. I had already visited similar places in New Zealand and Iceland. But also here in Tuscany a really great thing and incredibly colourful. I can recommend it.
After a night somewhere in a village car park, I left for Siena the next morning. Siena I felt everything but exhilarating on the way there. Luckily I decided to park for a while and have a look at the city, which once a year holds a funny horse race in the centre – supposedly one of the toughest horse races in the world. Nevertheless, after sleeping in the middle of nowhere, I am usually not in a good mood in the morning until I receive my morning cappuccino. In Siena, however, the morning cappuccino was not even necessary. Because as soon as you are in the centre of Siena, the cathedral and the city centre are already shining. As so often, my first impression was once again like my second and sometimes even third impression… just completely wrong! And still I got the reward cappuccino after I took some pictures for you.
In the afternoon I went to my Top Highlite in Tuscany… unfortunately you will probably miss this as a traveller, because it is only for three weeks this year. I could visit my friends Pierre and Lina with their kids. I have to say here and now that there are several reasons to visit friends while travelling. First of all, of course, because you really like them! On the other hand, however, also because you can enjoy the pleasure of finding new friends for one or the other mosquito. Namely my friends! In any case, they have settled down for three weeks at the Campeggio Baia Verde. A really cool campsite directly on the beach, which I can definitely recommend.
Originally I wanted to stay only 3 days. But finally I stayed there for 5 days. I have to admit… I could still sleep in every day… But the two of them with the children Raul and Luca (3 and 5 years) looked a little bit knocked out every day when I arrived for lunch (but still great 😉 ). On the fifth day I thought to myself… but now you have to give them more sleep and I… didn’t move on! Hahahahaha, well… I moved on then. Fortunately we got the picture on the last day. @Lina and Pierre, enjoy the last two weeks in peace 😉
After the beautiful and almost relaxing 5 days I went to the White Beach. The White Beach is actually a beautiful beach just before Rosignano Solvay. One feels like in the Caribbean. But there is also a little shadow side to it. Because nature did NOT create this white beautiful beach. The beach owes all this to a huge complex of towering chimneys and cooling towers that spew smoke and steam into the air. And last but not least, the construction stands very close to the beach hahaha. Unfortunately I didn’t feel comfortable with it and that’s why I didn’t go into the water. But of course I still put myself in danger for you and immortalised the whole thing on photos on the beach.
After this detour I went on to Pisa, where an unbelievable number of people try to take really cool pictures with the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Unfortunately I was there alone without friends, so there is no really cool picture of me. Instead there is the Leaning Tower alone! Hey, enjoy this… you don’t see it very often.
After another night in the absolute nowhere I left for Lucca the next morning. I hadn’t seen Lucca before. Lucca still has a completely intact city wall, which you can walk or cycle for about 4km. From time to time a police car even drives past. And apparently half of Lucca is walking on this city wall. There is really a lot going on there and also in the centre a really nice and relaxed old town.
And then I already went to Florence. Well, where shall I start and where shall I end. Florence… Thanks to the visit of the Free Walking Tour I learned a lot about Florence again. But above all I could admire the sensational buildings and statues. What was created here in the Renaissance is really amazing! It is also highly recommended not to look at the ground when visiting Florence. Here you rely on your feet for once and try to look at the buildings a bit above head height. This way you really make sure that you don’t miss much. Even for me, as a small culture vulture, it is really impressive what was created here. The most important thing I have learned is that the statue of David is the symbol of the independence of Florence. However, I am still not quite sure why each of the statues is depicted naked. If somebody knows, I am happy to know it. I also wonder whether Zeus and Co are satisfied with the size of the „statue“…
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