9/26 San Casciano V.P. - Tuscany

We found a nice little hotel (€58) here in this hilltop town just south of Firenze, and ate dinner at a great restaurant where we met a very nice, interesting couple from San Diego. We hope to visit them when we get to CA. I am sitting on a terrace overlooking an idyllic Tuscany valley (click on photo), drinking espresso and typing. Manfred can't take the coffee, so he's having a Fanta, and he was even asked if he wanted ice!! Tuscany is not nearly as beautiful as the Munich/Saltzburg area, but it has a better year-round climate. We have found that having a car is a huge handicap in an unfamiliar city, so we are not going to return to Firenze (sorry, David). We'll go on to smaller towns instead. Heading south to spend 4 more days and end up in Rome (which is actually only a 2-hr drive from here via the autostrada). .