The John Feikema Family

Here are a couple of fun clips we made in our last day in Tuscany. These are the last “mile” to and from our lovely apartment at Le Torri. It was always fun (more for me I’ll admit) that last segment before we arrived, or the first segment as we headed out. It IS as [...]

I finished taking a scan through the 1,100 pictures I took on this trip. I have uploaded four albums into my Picasa account and they are now linked on my Selected Photos tab.
If you are interested, take a look. All thumbnails can be expanded.

Lake Como is much different than any of the places we have visited in Italy. It defies easy or simple definition. The surrounding area reminds me a bit of upstate New York with its deep lakes, steep inclines and dense vegetation. However, there are a number of differences.
A few include:

The Swiss Alps aren’t 30 miles [...]

Le Cinque Terre is made up of five ancient towns within a 5 kilometer stretch of coast along the Ligurian Sea. These towns retain their original charm and authenticity due, in large part, to the designation of the entire area as a world habitat site by UNESCO. The surrounding lands are a national park and [...]

We are now in Liguria, on the Mediterranean coast in a small town called Portovenere. Our original plan was to stay in one of the towns of Cinque Terre but we could not find a room. We were lucky to find a place here (Thanks to Sandy from Travel Leaders)! In the end, I am [...]

For our last day in Tuscany we debated between Cortona (e.g. Frances Mayes – Under the Tuscan Sun) and Volterra (another of the primary Etruscan cities). Volterra won. It was closer, it had fewer tourists.
We enjoyed it a lot. Not as much as Sienna, but more than Montepulciano. It was certainly classically Tuscan with its [...]

About fourteen years ago we visited northern Italy (Genoa, Pisa, Firenze) and southern France (Aix en Provence, Bonnieux, St. Paul de Vence, Chateauneuf du Pape). Finding your way through an old town like Aix with a spouse navigating with a map can be a real test of a marriage. I do not recommend it. The [...]

Wow!
We’ve heard so much about Siena for so many years that I was convinced that when we actually arrived it would be a let-down. So far, it is my favorite spot. It was amazing. You can see the Il Campo tower when you first arrive.
It looks great. But when you turn the corner into [...]

Our apartment is on Via Poppiano. It gets its name from the local castle. We were a tad road-weary and decided not to make today a travel day but we wanted to explore – even just a bit. We decided to visit the Poppiano castle just two kilometers down the road.
We had a chance to [...]

Monteriggioni was another stop based on advice from a friend (thanks Doug!).

Monteriggioni is in the province of Siena in Tuscany. The town played a vital role in the on-going conflicts between Siena and Florence during the Middle Ages. Based on the height of the towers and the thickness of the slot in the entrance for [...]

Greve was our first stop on our swing through the heart of Chianti. There seem to be more grapes per square mile in this part of Chianti than anywhere I’ve been. I know that some of the best wine grows in the worst soil and conditions. With that, I am expecting this stuff to be [...]

Next stop, San Gimignano. It takes its name from the Bishop of Modena, St. Gimignano. In 1348 San Gimignano’s population was drastically reduced by the Black Death Plague. The construction of their towers dates back to the 11th and 13th centuries. The architecture of the city was influenced by Pisa, Siena and Florence. Wikipedia has [...]

A friend told us we had to visit Certaldo Alto. I am glad we listened. It was a little hard to find. Actually it was easy to find sitting up on the hilltop. However, it was tricky to figure out how to get there.
Originally an Etruscan-Roman city, it was a fief of the Alberti Counts [...]

We got an early start Saturday morning and took off for Tuscany. The Autostrade out of Bologna quickly turned into more than just getting passed by big Mercedes and BMWs at high speed.
It became a game of tunnel, bridge, tunnel, bridge as we approached Firenze. The hills of Tuscany make building roads a lot more [...]

Renting a car in Italy is a fun experience. You’d better be in a relaxed mood.
We decided not to have a car for our time in Milano (which was a good move). This morning when we checked out we headed directly for the central train station to pick up our car. We were originally [...]

Well it was a planes, trains and automobiles day. Fortunately without most of the drama, or John Candy or Steve Martin. It was a long day. We left Mpls. at about 8:00, airport delays and all. We flew NWA/Delta on an Airbus 330 (one of them that didn’t drop into the Atlantic). We were in [...]