Some photos from a recent holiday in Tuscany

[trusty elf]

I haven't posted any pics in a while. I thought these would be fun to share.

We rented farmhouses in two different places, one not far Siena, and the other near Florence.

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At the first one there was even a lovely pool- heavenly!

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The house outside of Florence dates from the 17th century:

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Beautiful view:

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Palazzo Publico, Siena:

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Chapel in aforementioned palazzo:

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Frescoes in the Duomo of San Geminiano:

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Lastly, a bit of art from the Bargello Museum in Florence:

Detail from a 16th century gilded silver relief piece which once was part of a piece of furniture: (photo taken through glass)

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Jason and the golden fleece: (remarkable rendering of the fleece in marble! )

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[MADem]

1. KICK-n-REC!!!! nt

[trusty elf]

13. Always nice to see you, MADem.

Thanks!

[liberal N proud]

2. I am jealous

Nice pics! Looks like it was a great time.

[trusty elf]

25. Living in Switzerland

has its advantages.

It's great to be able to pack up the car and drive down to Italy.

Thanks!

[liberal N proud]

26. Now you are killing me

Switzerland is such a wonderful place. Used to travel for business there. Last time I was there was 2010.

[babylonsister]

3. Stunning! Thank you for sharing! nt

[trusty elf]

12. You're welcome!

I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. Tuscany really is stunningly beautiful. Thanks for commenting!

[CrispyQ]

4. Beautiful!

What a great vacation! Thanks for sharing!

[trusty elf]

24. Thanks, CrispyQ

We were very pleased with how everything turned out.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. Tuscany is such a beautiful place and you brought that beauty here to us!

Great photos!

Thanks for sharing!

[trusty elf]

14. It really is a magical place indeed,

and a feast for the senses!

Thanks for your kind comments!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. We were there in 2013, and I loved it too!

[Mira]

6. One more breath taking than the next

Makes me homesick for places I've never been to.
Thanks, trusty elf! Thanks for being around again.

[trusty elf]

17. Thank you Mira!

We enjoyed it so much. It really was great vacation! I hadn't been to the Toscana in ages. We wanted to take our daughter there as a sort of graduation present. She just got her bachelor's degree from the University of Basel. She wants to go on now and get a Master's degree. Whether she could enter the program, or not, (she's interested in nachhaltige Entwicklung) depended upon her passing a tough math exam. One day while we were down in Italy, I heard her excitedly say, "Eltern! Ich hab' Mathe bestanden!" She was so relieved! We're proud of her. She worked really hard, and it paid off.

Thanks again for your kind words.

[Mira]

18. It is so gratifying when a child is grown

and accepts responsibility by understanding if it is to be it is up to him/her. How wonderful about that tricky math exam being behind her with a pass. Math was my toughest subject. I gave English lessons to kids for money, and turned aroung and paid math lessons for myself with that money.
Thanks for your glorious photographs.

[elleng]

7. WONDERFUL!

Thanks for the great pics! Now that you've got us all thinking of Far away Places, would you consider posting a bit of travelogue at the Travel group? And tell us about the food, did you cook 'native,' and/or eat out? Inquiring readers want to know!

[trusty elf]

10. Thanks elleng

I'd be happy to post a little something about our trip at the Travel group. The food was fantastic, almost without exception. We didn't do any cooking at all! In the morning we'd have coffee and some breakfast at "home", but then go out for lunch and dinner. My daughter took quite a few pictures of the food! I can definitely recommend some good restaurants. I'll mention some of them in my Travel group post.

Glad you liked the pictures.

[elleng]

11. THANKS so much!

Will look forward to your post (and resulting increased desire to visit!)

[Mira]

19. Dang - Elleng - I did not even know we have a travel group

I'll try to remember that if something interesting happens. I'm driving from NC to the Keys in a couple of days, through the center of Florida, so I can see how Florida is away from the coasts and along the Lakes.
I want to refute these things if at all possible

https://www.reddit.com/r/floridaman

[elleng]

20. OH NO, Mira!

JOIN US!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1216

[alfredo]

8. My wife wants to see Tuscany.

I blame it on the Movie "Under The Tuscan Sun."

Your photos makes me want to go too.

[trusty elf]

21. I haven't seen that movie,

but Tuscany really is as beautiful as it's made out to be. You'd love it. I hope you and your wife can go one of these days!

[alfredo]

27. The scenery is enough to recommend it.

[Solly Mack]

9. Lovely! How wonderful to be surrounded by all that beauty!

[trusty elf]

23. Hey Solly Mack!

We thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Adsos Letter]

16. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

And looks like fun!

[trusty elf]

22. Thanks, Adsos Letter!

This was the first family vacation we've had in quite a while. Everything went very smoothly. It really was great fun!

[mnhtnbb]

28. Lovely shots!

The light in Tuscany really is exquisite.

I love your perspective in the palazzo shot in Siena! I still consider the very best Insalata Caprese that I've EVER eaten anywhere was in a little restaurant
just outside the Siena Duomo the first time we were in Italy in June 2003.

[trusty elf]

29. Thanks for your comments, mnhtnbb

Almost everything we had to eat was outstanding, and some of it was just sublime! I told elleng that I'd post a travelogue about our trip in the Travel group. I'll try to remember the names of the best restaurants, and what we had. My daughter took some photos of the food, some of which I'll post too.

I liked how that palazzo shot turned out as well! It has a 3D quality about it.

[mike_c]

30. wonderful photos!

Thanks for sharing them!