Turning 75 has its advantages! My lovely daughter, Gillian, is taking me on a Road Scholar tour of Tuscany – Italy: Classic Tuscany and the Treasures of Florence – where we will visit Lucca, Siena and Florence as well as a few surrounding villages. Twelve days! How marvellous is that?
Sadly, Gillian has to return to work at the end of the tour. Another advantage of being 75 is that I don’t have to get back right away; I am going on to Rome for four days of wandering and exploring. This will be my first visit to Italy, and I am very excited.
Mind you, this visit will not be all swanning around art galleries, tasting wines and eating fine pasta. The program notes warn:
Walking up to five miles a day. Extended standing during site visits with limited or no public seating. Uneven terrain, limited public handrails, unavoidable stairs, marble and terracotta flooring, cobblestones, steep inclines, loose gravel, dirt paths, escalators. Elevator use is limited or restricted in historic sites. Expect crowded conditions in pedestrian centers and museums.
Yikes!
As it is an educational travel company, Road Scholar sent a reading list, some of which I have sampled. The Scribe of Siena: A Novel is an entertaining time travel story with the protagonist going back in time to visit and fall in love with a medieval fresco painter. It’s a feel good read – they both catch and survive the Black Death. The Agony and the Ecstacy – a 33-hour audio book! – was more agony than ecstacy but nevertheless a fascinating (if a little bit biased) biography of Michelangelo. I confess I gave up half way through The Stones of Florence. Too many stones for me. I’ll wait to view them in person. There’s an interesting lecture on YouTube about the history of Siena – Siena: City of Secrets. Do not expect to see professional filming here, but Jane Tylus’s talk is entertaining.
I hope you will travel along with me and send me your thoughts and insights. Spero di vedervi presto!
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