On the road again...

Instead of heading to siena yesterday we wound up in Pisa and a beautiful small village called san minieta. We still haven't figured out the street signs or autostrada directions but we are trying to be spontaneous and go with the flow(definitely a new thing for me especially!). If we get lost we are seeing it as a new, unplanned adventure!  While we were expecting to pass by Pisa yesterday, our wrong turn put us right in the heart of Pisa and directly in front of the tower so in we went!

Howard found a new girl at Pisa Museum

 After an obligatory shot with the tower we went into the museum and then the cathedral.

One of the few shots of us together

 It really is overwhelming to think that all of this amazing work was created without any machinery so many hundreds of years ago (1400s).  Next it was on to miniato where we were planning to have a truffle lunch and make it back to home base before sundown (we are still not comfortable driving the hills at night!).  We were so encouraged when we finally pulled up (just around 3pm) and saw that the restaurant was

Beautiful San Miniata

open!  Excitement quickly turned to disappointment when we were turned away since the chef leaves promptly at 3pm.  This seems to be a common occurrance for us in Italy. If you

Lunch and some amazing scenery!!

are not eating by 2:30 you can forget it until dinner!!!  Luckily we found another very tiny place that was willing to make us a hot meal before we headed back.  Not to worry. We will return for our truffle meal this Thursday for lunch!  Got a little lost (ok.  More than a little lost!) on the way back home so last night we decided to light a fire (Howard found duraflame..what a splurge!)  and stay put! Perfect after our long day on the road. Today we decided to check out some local vineyards even though we really had no idea of where we were headed nor any reservations.  Luckily we got google maps working and that seems to have helped.  We stumbled upon a wonderful local (lucca) winery

Gardens at Maria Teresa

called Maria Teresa   The duchess of lucca originally owned the grounds and homes so you can only imagine how beautiful they are.  We were very fortunate that someone was there and that they agreed to show us the grounds and offer a

tasting.   We sampled (and purchased!) some great wines and olive oils.  Next order of business  (before the restaurants closed!) was to find a place to stop for lunch.  Bingo.  We finally were in time for a hot meal.  We had a terrific (very local) 3 course lunch for €10 (including wine!). That's about $13 for a terrific lunch.  The great news is that we made it back home before dark AND we didn't get lost.  Both howard and i are ovewhelmed by the natural beauty that is all around us. Another great day. Xoxo PS This post wouldnt be complete without wishing Lynne a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Can't wait to see you.

Overlooking lucca from winery

In front of the production house at winery