The best guide ever

During our time in Tuscany we stayed at one hotel (the one with the incredible zebra striped interior decor) for six nights and took daily drives to various historic sites.  At each site we would be greeted by a local guide who specialized in the area.  They generally gave very good tours with lots of historic information and lots of walking and many steps.  However, our guide on day 5, for the cities of Lucca and Vinci, was the best ever.  She really should have been on stage. She was a a native of Lucca and regaled us with stories of the many battles between the wonderful people of Lucca and their wicked adversaries in Pisa (the third city we visited that day). From her point of view everything bad that happened anywhere could be blamed on the people of Pisa.  When a car drove down the street a little too fast for her approval, she claimed that the driver was from Pisa.  She gave us plenty of history, but made it so enjoyable that we didn't even notice all the walking we were doing.  In the evening we had another lovely dinner at a vineyard/ B&B.  Even more delicious than the first. 

Our vivacious little guide in the city of Lucca.

Somehow this shot makes the cathedral lean and the tower look straight.  Blame it on a tired photographer. The tower (the bell tower of the church) is interesting but the beauty of the Pisa cathedral should not be overlooked.  

Our last city of the day was Vinci, birthplace of (who else) Leonardo da Vinci.  It had a wonderful museum with carefully constructed working models of many of his inventions and his sketches and notes.

Sunset over the vineyard, so peaceful and beautiful.

Out of order, sorry.  This round building, the Baptistry of the Pisa cathedral should also be appreciated in its own right.