Falling in love with a quant town in Tuscany.

On January 5, 2026February 5, 2026 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation6 Comments

Monticatini Terme is a small town in Italy, between Florence and Lucca. It’s a great home base when visiting the Tuscany area. We spent a week here during our recent 2 week trip in Italy and then did day trips to the surrounding cities. This was our view from the hotel room and you could see the ferris wheel (pink) in the left.

We had some free time to spend wandering the town and soaking up the local food. On a late Sunday afternoon we got gelato and sat on a bench and watched everyone going about their day. It was nice to see more locals here than tourists.

Monticatini Alto (meaning high or tall) sits on top of a mountain at the edge of town. We could see the small town up there as we walked around near our hotel.

You can drive up to the mountain top but we took the funicular that was near our hotel. The funicular has been in service since 1898 and was a little jerky as we made our way up the mountain.

The view from the top was amazing. You could see most of Monticatini Terme from the top.

We walked all around the outside of the small village and on one side we saw a pool on the side of the mountain. Now that’s a pool with a view! The house was on the other side of the street and they had a tunnel under the street going from the house to the pool deck.

Shots of the village above. It was a little cool and windy up there on this morning.

We had lunch here. La Torre was run by some older Italian men who barely spoke English. We got salads and pasta and I had the best spaghetti cooked in red wine with pancetta and onions.

Riding back down the mountain later that afternoon.

Monticatini is know for it’s mineral rich thermal spas and is a designated Unesco World Heritage site. The Terme Tettuccio spa was built in 1779 and is still used today.

Looking down a quiet street.

The town has a lot of green space and there was a beautiful park near our hotel.

Sunset from our hotel on our last night in Tuscany. The next day we were heading back to Rome and Naples.

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.

Some iconic sights of Italy

On October 15, 2025October 31, 2025 By dinajohnstonIn Vacation14 Comments

Brett and I recently spent 2 weeks in Italy for the first time. We spent a week in Rome with one day in Naples and a week on a tour through Tuscany. We were traveling light with only a small carry-on and backpack each and I didn’t bring any of my camera equipment so all of my shots are with my phone. These are all just highlights of the iconic sights that we saw. The lines to get in the Colosseum were wrapped around the building. People were waiting hours to get in and that was with a ticket or tour so we didn’t go inside.

The Pantheon in Rome.

The Trevi Fountain. The crowds in Rome and Florence were insane and we were there during the supposed “shoulder-season” (which doesn’t exist here anymore). People told me to get to the fountain early to avoid the crowds but the only time it’s only lightly crowded was between 3am and 5am.

Florence from outside the walls.

The Duomo church in Florence.

The Cathedral of Pisa (next to the Leaning Tower) was completed in 1092.

The iconic Leaning Tower.

One of the 3 villages in the Cinque Terre that we visited. I think this was my favorite day. It was beautiful!

Mount Vesuvius (seen from the waterfront in Naples) that erupted on Pompeii in 79AD.

Not so iconic but this is Monticatini Terme where our hotel was during our stay in Tuscany. It’s near Florence and centrally located to many of the best Tuscan cities. We fell in love with this small town. The crowds were not there, the people were so nice and it was quiet and charming.

I’ll go into more details later when I get through my 1300+ pictures I took.