Spending the day in Florence

On December 15, 2025January 3, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation5 Comments

Our first view of Florence was one of the 5 David statues that are in Florence. All but one are copies. This copy was made of bronze and was located in the Piazzale Michelangelo where we were dropped off for our day in Florence.

Turning around from the statue and you see all of Florence below. It was a breathtaking way to start the day.

We made our way down the hill and passed through part of the old wall that still stands.

The Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) is the only bridge still standing from World War 2. We did not walk through it since it’s full of tourist stalls and was quite crowded.

Artwork along the water.

Newer artwork, the sundial in front of the Museo Galileo was built in 2007.

Heading into the main area of Florence.

We spent some time in the Piazza della Signoria were we saw another copy of David as well as the Nettuno fountain built in 1575. The open air gallery of statues in the last shot had a long line to get up close to the statues. Yes, the crowds here were as bad as they were in Rome.

The Florence baptistery was next to the Duomo and was said to have been built in the 11th century.

Front and back of the Duomo di Firenze that was completed in 1436. It’s amazing to see the different colors of marble and stone that was used so long ago.

We saw many of the famous “wine windows” all around the area. They were started in the 1500’s as a way for wineries to sell from their city homes in Florence without being taxed. During the plague of the 1600’s the windows were popular to sell wine and food through. Then covid brought another resurgence. There are still many in use throughout Florence.

The oldest gelato shop in Florence is the Vivoli shop. There was a long line here so we got ours elsewhere but I did have gelato at the Vivoli in Rome and it was the best I had during my two weeks. They also used their wine window to sell gelato out of during covid.

Taking some time to rest in the Piazza Santa Croce before leaving Florence. Brett and I had an amazing lunch near here and was able to meander through shops and stop for gelato.

Leaving Florence through the Porta Romana which is the best preserved gate of the ancient wall and built in the 13th century.

Linking to Image-In-Ing.

A visit to Lucca and Pisa

On December 8, 2025January 3, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation3 Comments

It was nice to visit another quiet town while we were in Tuscany. We spent a morning in Lucca. We got there fairly early and the streets were quiet. We could walk down the street without bumping into people and look into the windows of the shops.

We stopped for a while in the Piazza della Cittadella. Giacomo Piccini, the opera composer (notable works include La Boheme and Madame Butterfly), was born in a home in the far right corner. There’s a statue of him on the other side of the piazza.

Our 8th church to see was the San Michele in Foro.

Built in the 8th century and renovated in 1070. St. Davino Armeno is buried under the cross from the 11th century.

The Torre Guinigi (the red tower in the back) was built in the 14th century and is famous for the trees that grow on top. Since we were having a big dinner that night Brett and I opted for a quick snack for lunch and spend the free time wandering the streets instead of sitting in a restaurant. We stopped in a local market to get some fruit and they had a case with home made pasta salads and those great arancini rice balls so we got that instead and ate on a bench while watching the locals go about their day.

We spent the afternoon in Pisa. We entered through the Lion’s Gate wall, built in the 12th century.

The Battistero di San Giovanni is the largest baptistery in Italy and was completed in 1363. There is a statue of St. John the Baptist in the center. There was a lot of scaffolding around the sides so I didn’t take a lot of pictures in here. Since it’s built on the same land as the Tower it also leans but only slightly.

Our 9th church to visit was the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, completed in 1092. We spent quite a bit of time in here looking at all of the details. It was jaw dropping. There were several alters besides the main one and each one was amazing. The ceiling in front of the main alter (last shot) had stairs up high that led to a secret door. St. Rainerius is buried here (in the glass coffin in the 2nd to last shot) in 1689. Also buried here is Pope Gregory VIII and Holy Emperor Henry VII in 1315.

An obligatory shot of the Leaning Tower.

Caper plants were growing wild all along the outer wall.

We passed by the village of Collodi, birthplace of the author of Pinocchio on the way to dinner.

We had a cooking class and dinner at a Tuscan winery and farm in Montecarlo, near Lucca. After learning to make ragu and pasta, we toured the vineyard and then had a wonderful long dinner with many courses and wine.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

Our first day in Tuscany

On November 17, 2025November 17, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation5 Comments

After our first 2 days in Rome we took the train to Montecatini Terme in Tuscany. On our short walk to the hotel we saw the above going down the street and I thought “How cute is this?” I knew I was going to like it here.

The view from our hotel window the next morning. This was going to be our home base for our week long tour of Tuscany. We were about a half hour west of Florence and close to many of the Tuscany sites.

On our first morning in Tuscany we headed out for Chianti and I was able to catch the above shots on our way to Greve. The countryside here is beautiful.

We started the morning with a walk around Greve which was quiet and calm after the crazy over-crowded Rome. Settled in the 11th century this small town supports the Chianti wine and olive oil area. There was a small Sunday morning market going on with locals walking around talking and visiting with each other.

We went into one of Italy’s oldest and most renowned butcher shops, the Macelleria Falorni. They also had a cheese room which smelled amazing.

The bells were ringing at the Propsitura di Santa Croce, the 4th church we went into during our stay in Italy.

Completed in 1835, it’s one of the more simple churches we went into. Mass was going to start soon so we just peeked in for a few minutes.

For lunch we headed to nearby Casa Museo Machiavelli. In the 15th century, this winery is where Niccolo Machiavelli, a famous diplomat and author, was living during his exile from Florence during the Medici period.

Before having a wine-tasting lunch we toured the winery.

The view from our table.

After a fabulous long Tuscan lunch and trying many wines (I only tasted the sparkling ones) they brought out the Limoncello. I’m not a big drinker anymore since I’ve had stomach issues over the years but what is that saying? “When In Rome?” I did have a few sips and it was so good. Everyone was dozing on that 30 minute bus ride back to the hotel late that afternoon.

The next day we went to Cinque Terre and I think that was my favorite but more on that later.

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) at Image-In-Ing.

More from my winter vacation.

On March 10, 2022February 26, 2022 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation9 Comments

Shots from Deer Valley ski resort in January. The sun had not come up over the mountain when we got there, although it wasn’t that early. I think the slopes had just opened up.

I watched Brett (in the orange jacket) head for the ski lift and then I went off to hike around and look for some things to take pictures of.

I headed up to a nearby hotel that has amazing views of Deer Valley. We stayed here several years before in October when everthing was orange and yellow so it looked very different.

Much later we took a ride around the area before going for an early dinner.

A little bit of history – repost

On January 17, 2022March 16, 2024 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation3 Comments

I am reposting this post from early 2018 since today is Martin Luther King Jr, day.

I was born in Birmingham Alabama in 1963. My mother was pregnant with me through some historic events that happened that year in this city. I would not learn what happened during that time until much later. My parents were not from the south. They ended up there because of my dad’s job in the middle 50’s. My mom grew up in New York and my dad grew up in Argentina, moving to American in his late teens. When I was young, my friends thought my parents were from another planet since they didn’t have southern accents. I didn’t know the small park in the pictures below existed. I grew in northern Birmingham going to a Catholic grade school and then a public high school. I don’t remember learning about any of the events that took place the year I was born. It wasn’t until I moved to Atlanta after college and became interested in history that I heard the stories about “Bombingham”.

My sister and I spent some time at Kelly Ingram Park during my visit over Easter weekend. Neither of us had ever been there before. The park is located across the street from the 16th Street Baptist Church where 4 young girls were killed when a bomb went off in the church on a Sunday Morning in 1963. The park now has many statues and sculptures related to the civil rights movements.

The famous “Foot Soldiers” statue depicts a scene of what happened in May of 1963.

More sculptures in the park.

The statue of Martin Luther King Jr.

The Four Spirits statue that depicts the 4 young girls that died in the church bombing in September 1963.

Roses next to the Four Spirits statue.

Across from the park, the 16th Street Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr. was a frequent speaker. There’s a lot of history in this building that you can read about here.

A little bit of history

On June 26, 2018February 11, 2020 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation1 Comment

The famous “Foot Soldiers” statue depicts a scene of what happened in May of 1963.

More sculptures in the park.

The statue of Martin Luther King Jr.

The Four Spirits statue that depicts the 4 young girls that died in the church bombing in September 1963.

Roses next to the Four Spirits statue.

Across from the park, the 16th Street Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr. was a frequent speaker. There’s a lot of history in this building that you can read about here.

Linking to Wednesday Around the World.

A lot of history in a little town.

On November 29, 2017November 29, 2017 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation3 Comments

Cripple Creek was exactly what I thought it was going to be. A sleepy little town far from the big city. Except for the big casino that looked brand new. Not sure how old that was. We walked around a little bit before catching our train ride.

The white building was the oldest building still intact. The original town “parlour house”. Now it’s a museum. Love their motto “Where the customer always comes first.” You can read some history about it here.