Easy arrival at Hotel Grand Cavour in central Florence. Dennis and I set off on immediate exploration of surroundings to the river and Ponte Vecchio, where the lighting was excellent.

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A super dinner at a small trattoria that I thought looked appealing, and coincidentally Sandy had read about in her guide. Had we arrived 30 minutes later, a table would have been impossible to have.

After dinner a stroll by the Duomo…

Aaah! Chianti! A little over an hour’s drive through luscious hills covered with grape vines and olive groves. Our attempts to find some out of the way restaurants were fruitless, but once we got into Greve in Chianti and into its delightful main square – we forgot our quest. After inquiring at the small tourist information office about the best place for a late lunch, she spread her arms expansively and said we could go anywhere! So true. I had the best buffalo mozzarella I’ve ever had in my life – the mild flavour just exploded in my mouth, and delicious creamy milk seeped from the center, and to top it off, it was served with fresh figs, balsamico and oil!!!!! Aaah! To wash it down, a Chianti Classico! Life is good…..

After exploring Villamagna, we drove over to hilltop Volterra – just 12 kms away.

A Bentley/Rolls Royce Royce rally is taking place and these specimens were parked in the main piazza

This one must be mine – my initials!!!

I don’t think this would get up heir hill in the winter!