20 December 2012

I recently travelled on a coach tour to Tuscany and we were based in the Villa Ricci hotel in Chianciano, which is a famous spa town in the region. Tuscany is a stunning area with beautiful countryside and vineyards. The olive groves are a plenty, along with the many spectacular picture postcard towns, most set on the hillside, each with its own towered church clock towers and terracotta tiled houses. Tuscany really does have it all; world heritage sites, fabulous food and wine of course, and a good road infrastructure for getting around. Places like Rome and Florence are hugely popular year round and I would suggest trying to visit out of season - maybe spring or autumn. Siena is entirely lovely, in many respects my favourite Tuscan town. Historically it is hugely interesting and also easy to capture in a day. The famous horse race, Palio di Siena, must be an event to savour with all the tradition, customs and atmosphere. It would be totally unique. The Hotel Villa Ricci in Chianciano Terme is set against a beautiful landscape; Chianciano overlooks Mount Cetona, Lake Chiusi, Montepulciano and Trasimeno. The hotel amenities include a restaurant and bar, a lift, terrace and thermal pool in the wellness centre. All bedrooms feature en suite facilities, hairdryer and air-conditioning. Please note, there is an extra charge (payable locally) to use the thermal pool. This is a good 3* property and I thought the service standards and quality of food were good. The spa is particularly nice. The hotel is a 20 minute walk from the old town set on the hillside which is lovely. There are nearby restaurants, bars and shops. Chiaciano is a good central base for a tour based holiday. We arrived on the outskirts of Florence and stopped for a photo call on the hillside over-looking the city to get a first class view of the world famous Ponte Vechio Bridge. It’s unusual in the fact it has houses and shops constructed on the span of the bridge, the only other bridge known to have this is in Bath in England. Then we went on to the city. A local tour guide is a must; all official guides are well educated and well informed. There are many sights in Florence and there is no way you can do it justice in a day. The highlight for me was the Piazza del Duomo cathedral with its marble clad black and white exterior. It would be wise to time your visit away from the hot and busy summer months, even in October when we went proved fairly crowded. We also visited Siena, which is majestic, steep in history and originally the banking capital of Europe and inhabited by those with great wealth. Must do’s would include climbing the clock tower over- looking the Piazza del Campo (town square) where the world famous Palio di Siena horse race takes place. Duomo, the cathedral, is clad in white and green marble and, in effect, incomplete. Intended as the biggest cathedral in the world it was never finished. Rome was left to our final day so a bit of a whistle stop tour. After seeing many of the main sites from the bus we were dropped off by Vatican City. A couple of us decided to do a route march to the Coliseum which was about 20 minutes away. What can I say, it’s absolutely incredible. This huge structure was built in just eight years, the largest of its kind in the Roman Empire and capable of seating 50,000 spectators. The structure has done well to survive a major earthquake in the 14th century and massive fire in. We also got to see the incredible Pantheon which, for 13 centuries, contained the largest dome in the world. Spot the solid granite columns at the entrance, shipped in from Egypt weighing some 60 tons a piece. How they got them there is anybody’s guess! The Fontana di Trevi or Trevi Fountain is spectacular, completed in 1762 it really is a theatrical masterpiece. We also visited St Gimignano, a small, walled medieval town famous for its many towers. There were once 72 and now just 14 remain. They were a way of displaying wealth between the patrician families and many were torn down when Florence took control of the region. The town has a beautiful town square called Piazza del Duomo. Our final visit was to Bagno Vignoni, renowned for its hot springs. At the heart of the village is the "Square of Sources", namely a rectangular tank of 16th-century origin, which contains the original source of water that comes from the underground aquifer of volcanic origins. On our visit there were many artists doing landscape paintings in a lovely village. Overall this was a lovely trip and I would recommend it.

05 June 2008

After connecting flights from the UK via Oslo we arrived in TROMSO which is a lovely town/city with an eye catching cathedral. Renowned for skiing, you can also have the unique experience of dog sleighing (at Villmarkssenter, just outside Tromso) a 45 minute ride where you can be the ‘driver’ being towed by 12 enormously powerful huskies, fantastic! Then its back into a large wigwam type building with a central log fire for home-cooked stew, chocolate cake and coffee. This really is a 'must do'! Aboard the MS Polarlys At 12,000 tons it was not what we expected. The ship had a clean bright red and black colour scheme. On board all the public areas are very smart, clean and ‘cruise ship’ like. We found the staff friendly and helpful, and we stayed in a standard cabin; essentially functional and a bit bland, but all ensuite. No TV, but there was a 'in room' phone and air conditioning. Life on board was very relaxed with wall to wall scenery the whole time, it was amazing and when the weather was not so good we had a wonderful panoramic lounge with giant windows to admire the Fjords. On board facilities was different from a standard cruise and enjoyed light entertainment in the evenings, and there was a sauna and small gym on board. The restaurant was situated at the rear of the ship and offered buffet style breakfast and lunch, with a set menu for dinner. We found that if the set meal wasn't to our taste, the staff were happy to offer an alternative. Quality and variety of food generally was excellent with fish being fairly prevalent, but also a good varied choice of meats, salads and deserts. This ship is one of 14 that operate through a government license serving numerous ports along the Norwegian Coast. Hurtigruten was formerly know as Norwegian Coastal Voyages and the ships deliver cargo to some of the more remote places which very much rely on this service for goods. The scenery really is stunning and one of the most pleasant aspects is that, for those not terribly good a sea, land is nearly always within touching distance. At certain ports you can take time off the ship to do excursions and rejoin the ship further down/up the coast. We did this at Trondeneshalvoya visiting a 14th Century church and the Trondenes Museum, showing artifacts from the Viking ages through to the Second World War. The scenery this time of year (March) was breathtaking, with the spectacular Fjords, beautiful snow capped mountains and crystal clear skies. The Northern Lights are never guaranteed and we were unfortunate in missing out, but I am desperate to go back and try again! Our short cruise finished in Trondheim, where we did a walking tour taking in the Gothic British built Cathedral and University. A lovely port city with plenty to do and a real vibrancy about it. The cruise was wonderfully relaxing and interesting as you call in out of ports throughout the day. A real experience which I would recommend to those looking to unwind and admire a very special coastline. We found this type of holiday to be totally flexible in terms of whether you want to do a short or full length cruise, with the best time to catch the Northern Lights being the early part of the year.