Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/02/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Dear Bill Where you the Bill from" this is America!"? If so: Well, Tuscany is a s red, not the wine but more than 50% still votes communist, or PDS/RFC as it is called now, so you better watch out. Forget about the crime issue (but leaving stuff in the trunk of a car with foreign number plates about the stupidest advice one can imagine anywhere), Italy isn't worse than anywhere else. Forget also about leica dealers there are two in Florence BONGI (near Piazza la Reppublica) and PHOTOTRE(via Catalafimi) but do not expect special deals, there stock is small, Bologna and Rome are much better. I usually by my stuff outside Italy. All Nathan's suggestion make sense. Maybe less about the wine, far less sophisticated than you would expect. But give it try anyway. If you really want to taste a real good wine leave the traditional Chianti's aside and try some of the new wines such as those made of only San Giovese or Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, usually marketed by ANTINORI or FRESCOBLDI. I f you do not know what to do with your money buy a bottle of SASSICAIA, the leica under the Tuscan wines but all the other wines of BOLGHERI are great. Enjoy your trip, watch out it might be cold. Andreas Dr Andreas Frijdal Casalmonte 50020 San Polo in Chianti (Fi) Tuscany Italy frijdal@tin.it +39-055-8307318 home frijdal@iue.it +39-055-4685332 work - -----Original Message----- From: Nathan Wajsman <nathan.wajsman@euronet.be> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Date: 12 February 1999 21:54 Subject: Re: [Leica] Trip to Italy >Bill, > >I have to pass on Leica dealers, and I have never been to Rome, but Florence >and its surroundings are definitely wonderful. The city itself is well >documented, so I will not dwell on it. But if you rent a car, I would highly >recommend driving south to Chianti (20 km from Florence) and further to >Montalcino (40-50 km). You can also go on to Siena (perhaps 40 km from >Florence), a beautiful medieval town. Chianti and Montalcino are home to >Italy's greatest wines. Many of the wineries can be visited, and often are not >nearly as commercially oriented as those in, say, Bordeaux. You will have the >opportunity to taste and buy wonderful wine (at great prices), meet really >interesting people, and of course take nice pictures. In Montalcino my favorite >is Fattoria dei Barbi, tel. 0577-849356. Chianti's principal town is Greve, and >the most interesting winery to visit is Villa Calcinaia, 055-854008. We went >there in the summer of '97, and our two-hour visit with the owner, talking >about the history of the place (owned by the same family since the 16th >century) and drinking their wines, was the high point of our trip to Italy. It >is wise to call before coming to visit. > >Nathan > >Bill Grimwood wrote: > >> I will be going on vacation to Italy (and I know that is not America) ( I >> have learned my lesson well) ( all in good fun) in a few weeks, 4 days in >> Rome and 4 days in Florence. Can anyone recommend some good Leica dealers? >> I am always looking for a good piece of used equipment. Is the exchange >> rate good? >> >> I think my equipment will be as follows: 2 M bodies, 21mm, Tri Elmar, 50 >> Noctilux, and 90 Elmarit and a small flash. Do any of you have been there >> have any other recommendations. Are tourists allowed to make photos inside >> the buildings of the Vatican? This will be a new experience for me as I >> have only been to the Italian Alps. >> >> Is there any crime problem I need to be especially aware of? >> >> Thanks in advance >> >> Bill Grimwood > > > >-- >Nathan Wajsman >Overijse, Belgium > >Photography page: http://members.tripod.com/~belgiangator/index.html >Motorcycle page: http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/downs/1704/index.html > > >