The first day, we drove 4 hours, through tunnels, to Genova. We stayed in the Bentley Hotel where we met a nice man who was a big help to us. We took a walk around the 4 level city although we couldn't go to the top and bottom levels because they were too far. We found a park and the area where the designer stores were, for mom; Back at the hotel we had a very delicious dinner and a good night's sleep to get ready for our next day's adventures.
Next morning we packed up and headed for Poggio Martino. It was stressful. It took us 9 hours to get there and we had to ask about 6 different people for directions. One man who we will never forget works for the city fixing the sewers. He only spoke Italian so he explained where to go using few words and many hand signals. We asked two more people after that but if the man who works for the city hadn't given us the main idea on where to go we wouldn't have got there that night. As we arrived I saw Julia and knew we were in the right place.
In Italy we had lots of fun. We went to a rustic town called Montepulciano and tourist filled Siena, but in Montelcino we had a surprise. We met a 13 year old boy named Grayson who looked exactly like Samuel. First I noticed they had the same shirt on, then when he and his mother sat down at the table next to us we saw Grayson's face and he and Samuel looked like brothers. Everyone was laughing. It was hilarious.
Another town we went to was Cortona. It is 10 minutes from Poggio Martino. We hiked up high to Santa Margherita Church and the views were amazing. We did it twice once with Angela and once with mom;
At the villa we went swimming, twice at night, and played pool and Foosball. We would play on the hammock and run around at night. We met the owner, Jacopo, who is very nice and helpful.
Julia's birthday was great. We hung around the villa for some of the day but we went to Cortona too. Samuel and I gave her gifts of a bracelet, notepad with her name on it, horse towel and a horse bookmark. We tried to arrange a horse ride on her birthday but it ended up being on Friday.
On our last full day together was the horse ride. We had a great time. I rode a former steeplechaser named Pepe. And Julia rode a former jumper. Instead of a trail ride that we want we ended up staying in the ring doing whatever we want. The lady instructing us said we were very good riders.
On Saturday it was hard to part but we, the Turcottes, headed for Florence. We stayed at Hotel Villa Belvedere recommended by Paul and Angela. In Florence we went to the Duomo which was amazing. It was designed partly by Michelangelo. We saw the David in the Academy along with other statues made by Michelangelo. Sophie had previously spotted carrige rides so while mom went shopping in the designer stores we went on a ride. We saw the river and went through a beautiful little alley. It was a shame to leave without seeing all of the other sights but we will come back soon.
We drove to Genova the next day and back to France the next day. It was great to be in Italy but time to come back.
I loved seeing Julia and had an amazing time. I miss her so it was great to see her in person. It was great to catch up and I can't wait to see her again in Toronto.
1 comment:
It was neat to see that all of you enjoyed Tuscanny as much as Trudy and I. everyone sends our Hello"s. I am in Amsterdam on Monday and in Italy on Sept 30. Hoepfully I will be able to catch up once. Talk to you soon and I finally know how to respond to yout blog. M,T, D and D
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