I guess it’s time to finish with the posts about our Tuscany vacations. This is the last one.
First some shots from Lucca. Lucca is perhaps not as spectacular as Florence, Siena, San Gimignano... It’s surrounded by a wall. You can find a number of beautiful 12th century churches (Duomo di San Martino, Basilica di San Frediano, San Michele in Foro...), but the city centre buildings are often more recent - but still quite old. There are some very nice 19th century style shops in the major street. It’s the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini.
First some shots from Lucca. Lucca is perhaps not as spectacular as Florence, Siena, San Gimignano... It’s surrounded by a wall. You can find a number of beautiful 12th century churches (Duomo di San Martino, Basilica di San Frediano, San Michele in Foro...), but the city centre buildings are often more recent - but still quite old. There are some very nice 19th century style shops in the major street. It’s the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini.
Tuscany is known for a number of beautiful villas. Here is one example from Collodi with the Garzoni gardens. Collodi is the birthplace of Carlo Collodi, the author of “The Adventures of Pinnochio”. 
Fiesole is close to Florence. On the top of a hill is a small San Francesco monastery which you can partly visit. A small chapel contains some beautiful paintings. Especially remarkable are the views you can get of Florence and the surrounding hills. 
At last, some views from the small village, close to where we stayed, San Donato in Poggio, as most other Tuscany villages, also with a long history. The top picture shows you the surrounding, typical, landscape. 
Friday again. Time to wish you a very nice weekend!
Posts
43 comments:
Incroyable ! Sans avoir lu je commente pour être la première !
Serai je la deuxième ?
donc troisieme
Alors Peter, cela fait quoi d'être dépucelé par une marguerite (il faut pour comprendre passer sur mon post sur les reflets aux pyramides) ;o)).
Bon trêve de plaisanterie, passons au chose sérieuse (ce que miss cergie ne fait pas, qu'elle honte ;o) ).
Je reste scotché sur les photos :
1) la croix dans ciel
2) Les escaliers du monastère, sublime, on dirait un petit labyrinthe..
Tu as vu Peter, j'ai bien fait de ne pas laisser passer l'occase qui ne se représentera pas de sitôt !
Je reviens, je vais me sécher les cheveux...
Quel beau voyage tu nous fais partager là, Peter. Tes photos sont magnifiques. Tout est beau sur ces photos. Une découverte de la toscane sans bouger de chez sois, c'est formidable. Merci !
Cela s'appelle être défloré comme une fleur, Olivier
Lucca est tout de même très spectaculaire, et puis la brume de chaleur ne vaut peut-être pas celle du petit matin cependant elle sied bien aux paysages de Toscane.
La végéation, les arbres notamment sont dépaysants et les villas grandioses. Tu y as eu une suite ?
;o)
On est bien primesautier ce matin, Olivier et Lucie-Lucca-Margie-je t'aime un peu beaucoup !
Dépucelé (ou défloré) avant même le petit déjeuner, ça démarre fort pour toi Peter. Refais-toi un petit café pour t'en remettre !
Comme toujours la multiplicité de tes photos est un régal car elle nous donne plein d'aperçus différents, gros plans ou vision d'ensemble, j'ai même vu passer une petite paloma dans une des rues !
Bon week-end Peter !
une plongée en apnée en Italie. Quelques très belles photos au service de ce magnifique pays avec des cadrages plus risqués que d'habitude. En bonne voie vers la béatification ;)
Et ils ont même l'éléctricité!
Another interesting place in Lucca is the square, which was an old Roman amphitheatre.
matriensis:
One of the Lucca photos is from that place!
Hi Peter!
What a magnificent week with all these wonderful posts. Of course, Florence is probably unbeatable, but I have a special trend for San Gimignano (the towers, the square, the museum and the ice-creams); must confess however that being in Siena during the Palio must have been quite exciting. How did you manage to get such a good spot for the picures? Italian connections?? ;))
And then we have Fiesole! Lovely, and a great Orient Express Hotel, The Villa San Michele!
Finally Lucca, a most unknown gem! What a tour!!!
With all this beauty from your pictures in front of me, I’ll have to get off! Finally I'll be off from tonight (September 5th) through Monday morning (September 15th). But I don’t leave you empty hands: a beautiful beach and lots of champagne wait for you at Blogtrotter. Enjoy! ;)
Thank you for your frequent visits to my blogs, Peter. I like to come here to return the favor and see what you have up this time.
There is no doubt you are a good photographer and a crop expert with the mind of a genius, but to focus both your mind and your camera of things 1200 years old is almost like a miracle.
As you probably know, we do not have anything in this country 1200 years old unless it's Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon; or maybe our sitting president; but that's all.
I am in awe of your collage ability and your skill with words seem to be limitless.
I admire you and your ability to travel, at will, all over the world and know where you are at any moment and even able to describe it days or weeks later.
You are a fabulous person.
I would give you a hug if I could grab you.
ooooh yeh ! LUCCA is fantastic too, wow Peter!
You have seen the best part of Tuscany, Have you seen the castel on top? this shots are so great I really enjoy seeing them (back) h(of course) we've been in Lucca , so I really LOVE seeing this photo's . Italy is so great.... Whats your next destination?
Ps Madoona yeh! If you are able to get a ticket I would advice you: GO! Its not noisy but great to see the show, she's really a star of m heart. and I do NOT go often to shows, this one was worth seeing...
Happy weekend !!!
Thanks for sharing the Italy shots :)
JoAnn's D Eyes/HOLLAND
(ps-ps: my internet-modem was broken so I could not react earlier excuse me!)
I wish you a nice weekend, too. And I see ... you have seen a lot in Tuscany. It must be beautiful there. I wanted to be in Florence or Venice in the middel of September (birthday), but it was impossible to get a flight. So we decided for Bologna instead. I will be sitting on the piazza very soon. Perhaps we can go to Florence as well. So your beautiful photos are just the right thing for me to see and read.
It is still spectacular Peter...absolutely stunning photos there. Just have to plan a return trip soon :D
You have a wonderful weekend too.
I forgot , what I was saying to you after reading that touching comment of Abraham. And I agree with him.
Happy weekend to you, Peter!
Every scene is so beautiful, it's overwhelming. I must get there one day. All that stone, brick, vegetation, beautiful architecture. You must have been so full when you left.
C'est difficile de dire celle qu'on préfère, peut être les vitrines du bijoutier ou la ruelle si étroite de Lucca.
Pinnocchio, une oeuvre immortelle, comme Peter Pan ou Alice au pays des merveilles, à inscrire au patrimoine de l'humanité.
Peter, thanks for the fabulous tour. I have loved being able to see this part of the world through your lens. Your photographs are superb as always.
PS My French class was cancelled. I am so disappointed. I will just have to fall back on the few phrases I know, whip out my dictionary or beg for help with a pleading look on my face!:)
marguerite:
Bravo!!
cergie:
Battue de justesse!! :-)
olivier:
On ne peux pas toujours gagner. Le principal est de participer! :-)
olivier:
Ca a été un bon début de la journée, merci! :-). Merci aussi pour tes compliments!
cergie:
J'imatiente... Tu as un sèche-cheveux éfficace?
claude:
Un voyage sans trop de frais...!
cergie:
J'avais du mal à me reveiller à l'heure des brumes matinales.
La porte de la villa restait fermée!
nathalie:
J'étais obligé de boire trois cafés ce matin!
(La Paloma me suit presque partout. Tant mieux!)
lasiate:
S'il suffit d'être un bon photographe pour être béatifié, je vois bien d'autres candidats!
hpy:
Ils ont de la chance!
matritiensis:
You are right. I already answered above!
gmg:
You find wonderful ice-creams all around in Italy. It's said that "Vivoli" in Florence offers the best ice-cream in the world. (It was closed for holidays in August!!)
I had no specific good place for my Palio shots. I just used my arms and tried to have longer arms than my neighbours!
abraham:
I'm really touched by your extremely kind comments! I wish I could hug you also! You are definitely an incredible person! It's always a pure pleasure to visit your different blogs!
joann:
You are right. Italy is nice! Maybe I will be in Venice early next year (carnival times). Still with a question mark. I'm at present dreaming of a trip to Mongolia... maybe by the Transiberian... Nothing decided.
ingrid:
A September trip sounds nice! Less tourists and the beginning of beautiful colours...!
shionge:
Including a new visit to Paris, I hope!
leena:
Abrahal's comments were really touching! I'm now also touched by your comment! (I would also like to hug YOU!)
ruth:
With your photographer talent, I wold very much look forward to your Tuscany posts!
alain:
Tu as raison!
A Coddoli, ils ont crée un Parc Pinnochio. A éviter! Rien à voir ou faire et très cher!
virginia:
Too bad! But, when in Paris, you can always count on me if you need some help!
I completely agree with Abraham's comment! He's said it so well what we all feel so dearly about you, your blog, your passion for travel and photography.
Like Leena, I too forget what I had initially planned to say..
The Tuscany villas are gorgeous :-)
How beautiful! No wonder Italians love their country so much, even the Italians who no longer live in Italy!
Do you speak any Italian, Peter? I wonder how difficult it would be for me, a non-Italian speaker, to travel in Italy and to go to the wonderful places you have seen on your holiday.
I'll stay with all the greenery of Italy in mind, green is not too present over here! Have a nice weekend!
N'est ce pas trop difficile de se retrouver sous le ciel parisien avec l'humeur maussade des Parisiens loin de la joie de vivre et la faconde de nos cousins italiens ?
Il semble plus facile de supporter avec bonne humeur Berlusconi de l'autre côté des Alpes que son homologue dans l'hexagone.
ash:
I'm confused about all these compliments...
shammickite:
No, I don't speak Italian (of course a few words), but with a bit of English, French, Spanish...
Language should not be an obstacle for a visit to Italy!
therese:
Green is a quite nice colour! (Among others.)
deslilas:
A choisir entre Berlusconi et Sarkozy...
one day i hope this will be my post... hahhahaha... im going to blog about this place.. one day i will....
wow! what a picturesque scenic beauty!
Fantastic photos! I would like to be there...
My son knows Lucca and loved the place!
The landscape is quite a view to behold!...It certainly looks like you had a fabulous time....
Je suis trop contente de voir des photos de Toscane et surtout de Lucca où j'étais en vacances. merci Peter pour ces photos ensoleillées...
Bella! Multo bella!
Okay, that's the extend of my Italian vocabulary. :-)
Italy is next on my list of places to visit, especially Rome and Capri.
Wonderful, wonderful!!! My sister who is a lawyer, did her doctorate in European Institute, which is placed in Fiesole. I think it is the most beautiful placed university on Earth :-)
Post a Comment