interesting sites in florence and tuscan area?  

If you are in your own car vs. a tour bus or some such thing
I can give you a ton of places that are a bit off the beaten path. Not so much design per se, but great places to eat and see.

arriving at pisa and leaving...
arriving at pisa and leaving again there some 12 days later. in between we're planning to use the train, bus and bikes.
so i assume some places you maybe have in mind will be tough to get at.
but i'm still searching for great, unspoiled places to eat or visit in the area of: pisa, firenze, lucca, livorno, coastline starting under livorno.. so i would love to hear your suggestions!
thanks in advance.
bj

Hey BJ, after Paris, probably my favorite region on the planet
although Dublin is pretty easy to take also. Florence is amazing, but it is a big city with a ton to see. Pisa of course, you have to see the leaning tower, yes it is touristy, but rather arresting in person, it leans and if you come upon it for the first time from the church side which would have it leaning to your right it can be kind of disorienting.
Southeast of Pisa is the great little town of San Gimignano, again somewhat touristy but then again Tuscany has been "discovered." Great towers, some great local pottery on the main street up through the center of town, and maybe the best Gelatto in Italy at the top of the street in the Piazza Cisterna, but not the shop on the left, but the first one on the right as you come through the arch. Great drinks on the Piazza across the way at the hotel with tables on the Piazza.
If you can rent a car for two days in Pisa you can easily get here in about 90 minutes. Great hotel near here is the Hotel Pescille. You exit San G and take the road down into the valley in the direction of Volterra. Ask in town and they can point you in the right direction. Pescille is an 800 plus year old series of buildings that is now a hotel. If you stay there try and secure room #50 which they call the "Room with a View". It is a tower room with windows on all 4 sides, bathroom on one level, bed one circular staircase level up. You can lie in bed with a glass of the cold local white and watch the lights come up on the town of San G, or sit in the bathtub downstairs and do the same thing.
Great restaurant here is the Antica Rosa, out the Pescille driveway, make a left and a mile or so on the right is some of the best food in all of Italy. Friends ate there, went back to the hotel and made a baby, that's how inspiring it is. A bit further south is the town of Sinalunga, which isn't really much of a town, but one of the great hotels is here. Locando dell'Amoraso. Essentially they took an entire Tuscan Village and turned it into a hotel. It is a Relais & Chateau property. While down in this region, which the English call Chiantishire, a sunrise hot air balloon ride with Rob Etherington is completely worth it. 2 hours aloft and land to a champagne breakfast in a Tuscan field.

Dublin, really? Seems the...
Dublin, really? Seems the odd one out 😀
Thanks for the leads and the comprehensive post, greatly appreciated! Ill definitly go and see that area to.
Greetings

It's Dublin for the Guinness
And the flat out nicest, warmest people on the planet. I also just happen to totally dig the indoor pool in the basement at the Hotel Merrion on Merrion Square.
It is a great place to either wind down from what always ends up being a fairly hectic time in Europe and or a great place to ease into a European holiday and transition into the anywhere from 5 to 8 hour time zone difference.