Bob and Ann in Italy 2011

We picked up a Hertz car in the heart of Florence. It was a Fiat Panda – small but adequate for our needs. It was the same model that we had in le Marche last year. We drove back to the hotel, picked up our luggage, turned on the GPS and headed out to San Quirico. We made one stop on the way at one of the wonderful autostrada rest stops. We had pasta in one of its restaurants.

Back on the road, we soon left the freeway and got onto secondary roads. We reached Hotel Palazzuolo around 3:00. This is one of the hotels I stayed in on the BAC Green Roads of Tuscany bicycle tour two years ago. I booked it because it is in a central Tuscany location convenient to many hill towns and other tourist attractions. It also has a good breakfast buffet and a large swimming pool for Ann's favorite athletic activity.

Trattoria Osenna

After checking in, Ann took a swim in the pool. After she got out, we had a short, sparse rain shower. When the rain let up, we walked into the very old part of town. We wandered along the main street and side streets doing our tourist thing until 7:00 when the restaurants opened. We went to a small restaurant - Trattoria Osenna. We had not made a reservation so we were risking getting a table. Because we were early for Italian standards and because there were some tables set aside for drop-ins, we were seated without hesitation. We split appetizers of bruschetta pomodora and three kinds of pecorino cheese with pears. For a main course, Ann had thick vegetable soup and I had mixed grill – Tuscan sausage, beef and pork. The meal was very good.

After dinner we wandered around some more taking photos of main attractions of the town. The "young crowd" was gathering in the main square outside of a popular bar beginning their social rituals. Being the "old crowd" and not speaking Italian, we went back to the hotel in time to be in bed before 10:00.