Autumn tour of the city-museums of Italy
In the morning we drive to Verona - the old "city of lovers! " as Shakespeare sang it. Moving through the beautiful Alps, we overslept, as it was at night, which is a pity. Not the first time in Italy and the second time in Verona, well, in no way can she strike me with her beauty, no matter how much it is said about it. Verona is called the "Gate of Italy" and rightly so, as it is the first city we enter Italy from the north. We pass through Bra Square and find ourselves in a square with a fountain of the Alps and a monument to Victor Emmanuel 2. Probably, all excursions start like this, because when we were here for the first time, it all started from here. We are shown monuments, churches, arches, squares, palaces, the famous Amphitheater Arena di Verona, and, of course, a place of pilgrimage for lovers from all over the world - the house and balcony where the legendary Juliet lived. How many tourists are here! And almost everyone writes their wishes and sticks them on the walls with the help of chewing gum. An old beautiful city, but such a feeling: ah! and what he saw took his breath away, well, there is no such feeling and that's it. In our free time, we wandered the streets, it should be noted that there are a very large number here, and as it turns out later in all other cities, shoe and bag stores. Then we say goodbye to Verona and move south, to Tuscany, to the place of our "parking" in the resort town of Montecatini - Terme. After settling in the hotel, we have the largest - during the entire trip - free time. A big plus on this trip was that the guide was from the travel agency where we bought this tour. And this means that throughout the journey we received an incredible amount of information, starting from the time of the existence of the Roman Empire even before our era. When moving between cities, we never had to be bored! Among other things, he also has an Italian wife, so we got to know a little about the life of Italians also “from the inside”, so to speak.
The town of Montecatini - Terme is not large, it is considered a resort because of the hot healing springs available there. There is nothing historical there, very often there are only hotels, baths, swimming pools, cafes, restaurants, shops... It is a pity that it was already evening and we could not take decent photos with our amateur equipment. Well, the hotel, as is usually the case in such tours, is so-so. Honestly, I would give him 1.5* instead of 3*. Broken beds, air conditioning without a remote control in the room, moreover, even the buttons were prudently removed in it, and breakfasts, in my entire tourist life, I have never seen such “modesty”. For breakfast, the tables were set for exactly 45 people, no buffet. We had a table for 7 people, which means: 7 rolls, 7 pieces of cheese, 7 pieces of butter, 7 crackers, etc. For my husband and me, as well as for others, all this left a somewhat unpleasant aftertaste. Attention was not focused on this, since this was not the purpose of the trip.
Day two: San Gimignano and Siena.
San Gimignano is a small ancient fortified city: narrow streets, either rising up or going down. From the hills on which the town stands, beautiful landscapes typical of Tuscany open up. Monuments, churches... But what is surprising: the church, which is inconspicuous from the outside, can even be said to be shabby and it would not hurt to do some cosmetic repairs, but how deceptive the appearance! When you go inside, such beauty and grandeur, and we were convinced of this more than once, being already in Rome. The richest decorations of Cathedrals and churches, this no longer leaves indifferent. And our guide tells everything and tells, he in itself is simply an inexhaustible source of knowledge. I had to take a tape recorder with me and record everything, but who could have guessed...
In Italy, very tasty ice cream, at every opportunity we tried to try everything different. And what delicious coffee! And with so many varieties, it can get confusing. Thanks to our guide, he told everything in detail and explained how to order and how to call correctly.
Siena is the oldest Italian city with outstanding architectural monuments. The city was very memorable and liked, especially Campo Square and the magnificent Cathedral. Again, narrow streets, up and down, and on the left and right shops, shops, boutiques with beautifully decorated windows. The square has a very unusual funnel-shaped shape, where citizens and countless tourists gather and sit right on the floor, on the paving stones. The famous Palio equestrian competitions take place there. There are restaurants, pizzerias around, there is where to sit, relax, have a bite, souvenir kiosks are right there nearby. Awesomely beautiful Cathedral, both outside and inside. Again our camera let us down, shooting inside the Cathedral was not very successful. The floor and columns of white and black marble amaze with their beauty. On the floor, marble engravings created by different artists have not been seen anywhere else. Anyone who will be on a tour of Italy and end up in Siena, I recommend that you definitely visit this Cathedral, you will not regret it!
