A hike around the hills of Tuscany

I spent my Wednesday afternoon walking around in Florence over the bridge. Going over the bridge (the Ponte Vecchio) always leads us to something really interesting- the other side of Florence is much more quiet and less touristy, a great way to spend a peaceful Wednesday. Our plan was to get up to Piazzale Michelangelo, which we eventually did, but we took a long way, stopping to eat our lunch overlooking the Tuscan countryside.

Elaborate gates leading to huge Tuscan manors on rolling hills.

This is one of the manors (I took this picture through a hole in a gate).

Quiet winding roads.

A view from Piazzale Michelangelo (you can see the Basilica di San Lorenzo, Palazzo Vecchio, the Duomo, and a strip of the Arno river).

Another view (you can see the blue dome of the synagogue that I stumbled upon here).

And all this was when it was a little rainy and gray out! We're going back next for more pictures.

Ciao!