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Gee, this Chianti area is a beautiful place. There were no disappointments here: lots of walled towns overlooking farms and vineyards, surprisingly hilly countryside, rural restaurants and cafes with misty views, and lots of cool fall sun. You can rent a car and drive for hours. Get a convertible!

The idea was to fly to Rome, then take the train from the airport to Florence, deviating a bit west thru Perugia and Asissi on the way. That deviation about doubles the train time required, so I wouldn't do that again. But there are nice views from the train of mountains, all lush and green, and there are many tunnels, some I estimate at 10-20 miles long!.. So maybe 6 hours later, we disembarked in the dark at Perugia station having spent the whole day getting there from Sarajevo. Next time we take the ferry to Italy and drive! Direct to dinner - a bacchanalian feast of antipasti and wine. Wow.

Perugia is a big hill-town, one of many ancientformer walled cities in the area. This is truly an ancient place - steep and narrow streets, old stone buildings with huge doors housing shops and churches, and vast views of the countryside. This weekend was the annual chocolate festival, and every inch of the lofty cobbled streets was chockablock with booths & wagons selling chocolate in every conceivable form, including beverages, sculptures, even face paint (see right). Talk about crowded! Talk about pickpockets -- Patti caught some guy with his hand in my pocket! Pretty place, but one day of that was enough. We never did get to its next-door neighbor, Asissi, but would like to go back to the area and see more. Back on the train for 2 hours to Florence..

Florence was everything we expected, more or less. Its buildings are vast and old, and thus, to me, somewhat grey and tired when compared with glorious baroque Austria or ancient Rome. And it is more expensive, more crowded, and more rattling to visit than expected. Pedestrians share the downtown streets with taxis and Vespas and they're a continuous annoyance requiring constant attention, taking much of the pleasure out of strolling about. We toured a dozen dark, cold churches and lined up for the Uffizi gallery with all the tourists. We'll stick to the small towns from now on..

The drive south to the Chianti wine country was quick enough, and Montepulcino was the first night. A dramatic hill-town, with many in-town wineries offering tastings, a big view of the central valley, and cool bright days. We took day trips from there to Montalcino, home of the famous "Brunello" chianti wines (darkest red, big nose, expensive). and some others whose names I've forgotten. There are many towns to choose from, and the towns are full of tasting salons. Bring lots of Euros.