...made my way up the Arno
... and down to the Ponte Alle Carraia. I was passed by some organized running group and their coordinated red shirts added a stream of undulating color to the early morning light.
I circled
back a few blocks north of the river and stumbled across a trendy
shopping district including shops for Gucci, Fendi, Dolce &
Gabanna, Alberto Ferreti, Moschino, Missoni, etc.
Spotted some more Blub art....
At the Piazza di Santa Trinita, I stopped to snap some pictures of the statue and the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo
Everywhere, beautiful buildings and exquisite doors...
As I ventured down the Via Porta Rossa, I loved finding these remnants of the City's history - ornate rings to tie up the horses and, I'm assuming, hold a torch at night.
In these narrow alleys, you could see how building walls were joined for stability.
I strolled past the Mercato del Porcellino - just setting up in the early morning light.
I circled back to the Piazza della Signoria and climbed the steps of the Relais and Kathi and I packed up and got ready for our taxi to the
Avis rental garage. We had breakfast at recommended cafe Rivoire, just
across the street from the Relais. We got croissants and cappuccino and
they were good but the cost was three times more expensive than anywhere
else we had eaten. Without the ability to sit out in the Piazza and people watch, it hardly seems worth the price. Oh well....
We got the cab the Relais had arranged for (very helpful) and made our way to the Avis location. It was very busy at 9 am and we waited probably a half hour before we were able to make our arrangements, but it was quick and painless. We had made the reservation in the US, but had to wait until we picked up the car to get any optional insurance. I showed them the international driver's license I had paid for, but they didn't care about that. Better safe than sorry, I guess.
Instead of the Renault Cleo, we were "upgraded" to a VW Polo which is a car I was looking for but didn't show up in the US website options - bonus!
I took pictures of every inch of the car before the grand depart, fired her up, pushed in the clutch (standard version) and we were off! Kathi did a great job of navigating us out of Florence using a google maps phone app. Onward to Volterra - our first Tuscan town.
On the way to Volterra, we came across the "Big O", the exhibit "Luoghi d"Esperienza" by Mario Staccioli frames the beautiful countryside. I could not resist the urge to take a photo.
After parking in the Piazza Martiri underground lot outside Volterra and ogling at the classic cars parked there... 
We hoofed it across the city past their ancient Roman theater to check out their market. It was the only Tuscan market day we were going to make.
The Roman theater...
It was kind of a cheesy flea market set up with mostly junk but they did have nice fruit and vegetables and Kathi got figs, tomatoes, peaches, and a few other sundries for a future picnic.
Everywhere we saw zucchini
flowers for frying. And that made Kathi happy.
No, I did not buy one of these goofy tourist hats!
We returned inside the City through the Porta Fiorentina.
... and hurried past the ancient Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo.
We
had hired a local guide, Anne Adair, to give us a private two hour tour
of Volterra so that we would understand the history and architecture of
these old Tuscan towns and that would help us interpret what we were
going to see as we toured many of the other small Tuscan towns in the
coming days.
I just pointed and got tuna and ham (which seemed to be a popular combo all over Italy). Um, that was a mistake...
The tour with Anne was wonderful she was super knowledgeable about the ancient Etruscans and their pre-Roman innovations. She taught us about half-circle arch construction, all the amazing Etruscan stonework, and incorporation of their design and stone craft into Roman construction and engineering.
We started our tour at the Porta all'Arco built in the fourth century B.C. Looking out at the countryside beyond the wall that, at one time, supported 20,000 people.
Looking from the outside in....
Looking along the city's current two-mile wall ... 
... and into the countryside...
Anne taught us about early religious ceremonies and iconography. We learned how baptisms used to be performed with young adults and that's why the early baptism fonts are several feet deep - to accommodate adults. We learned how the Baptistry is purposefully oriented so initiates entered from the west, and after the ceremony exited to the east now facing the church entrance - symbolically representing their entrance into the faith. Cool stuff!
The western entrance to the Bapistry now sealed shut :(
Inside the Bapistry - this is how baptism fonts used to look... tall!
The Baptistry alter...
The Duomo in Volterra - under renovation until 2020 so we could not enter...
Next we visited the Piazza del Priori, Volterra's city hall. It was built around 1200 and claims to be the oldest of any Tuscan city-state and is thought to have inspired the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. These town centers made the architectural point that no Pope or emperor was calling the shots in this independent city-state. Volterra was proudly independent and democratic. They had their own armies, taxes, and even weights and measures. The Piazza square hosted a market and the council chambers were in the bell tower.
And as if to demonstrate its continuing function as the city hall, a bride and groom emerged from the building as we were touring by...
Anne taught us about the geology of the area. Long before Volterra was colonized, the area was covered by the sea and you could see evidence of this history in the stone used to make the street pavers. It contained sea shells, remnants of the soil's marine past. 
Scenes as we walked the streets of ancient, beautiful Volterra...
It seemed like the residents took great care in the appearance of their city with flower boxes and flowers everywhere. 
Anne told us that in the old days, none of the bricks would be exposed like they are now. Rather, they would be covered with a veneer of plaster to protect the erodible bricks. However, the city prevents this logical practice because the tourists want to see the bricks and it makes the place "look" more ancient..
Supports between buildings to hold the walls up...
One of the highlights of the tour was when she took us to the Alab'Arte Alabaster Workshop.
The craftsman, Giorgio Finazzo, took a chunk of alabaster like the ones above and before our very eyes transformed it into the beautiful bowl (below) which we then purchased for a mere €10.
On the Via di Sarti, we came upon the simple but beautiful Church of Sant' Agostino which was part of a convent of the religious order of St. Augustine.
We finished our two-hour tour at the Etruscan museum. Here we learned about the Etruscan civilization, the breadth of their vast pre-Roman empire, their art, and their funerary customs.
This picture is of a reproduction of how the underground tombs were arranged so that funerary urns could be grouped together to emphasize family bonds and treasured objects.
Etchings from the side of one of the urns...
Alabaster bowls and other artworks...
Vases with Greek myths...
The museum is chock full of funerary urns...
The ceiling above this display room... 
The garden in the back of the museum where we took a break...
The private tour was not cheap, but well worth the price. Anne Adair has a wealth of information to share about Volterra, its history, its people, and you could tell by her passion and love of Volterra, she's a proud citizen of Volterra and Italy.
We had some time to kill before dinner so we took a stroll around the Archaeological Park and got a glimpse of the "Acropoli Etrusca".
Around 7 pm, we drove outside the city to find the recommended restaurant Trattoria da Bado and planned to get there right when they opened (we didn't have a reservation) and so we could make the drive to the agriturismo where we would be staying for the next week or so. While we waited for our order, we had a nice chat with our adjoining table mates, Graham and Sue, from New Zealand.
On the drive home, I got some photos of the setting Volterra sun and then we continued on, taking the slow country roads south to Asciano and the Agriturismo Paradiso.
On the drive home, I got some photos of the setting Volterra sun and then we continued on, taking the slow country roads south to Asciano and the Agriturismo Paradiso.
By the time we arrived, it was pitch black, the driveway was uphill, unlit, and narrow, and there was a big drainage ditch on the right-hand side. I carefully proceeded up the hill until I got to a point where I had to either turn left into the parking area or continue up the hill to the farmhouse where our room would be. I now had a dilemma. I was at a dead stop on a steep, narrow, gravel driveway with a big ditch and driving a standard shift car.
Every time I tried to move forward I was sliding backward on the gravel driveway until finally I gave it lots of gas and ended up burning rubber as I spun rocks all over the place to make it to the top of the hill. As it turns out, all the other guests were outside on the terrace making conversation and having a glass of wine as we stormed the hilltop screeching to a stop. All eyes were focused on us as we sheepishly got out of the car and unloaded our suitcases. Our embarrassment continued after unloading and greeting our host because then I had to turn the car around and I was trying to back up doing a three point turn uphill. So now I was sliding downhill while trying to backup uphill with the same problems and now instead of a ditch I had a stone wall that was just itching to put dents in my rental car. I eventually got the car turned around, and with some instruction on the crafty use of the electronic parking brake, parked the car in the lower parking lot. We slunk our way to our room, shut the door, quickly unpacked and hand washed our clothes, and went to bed in anticipation of our first Italian country morning.
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