Once we were well “spritz’s” it was time to make our way to the Siena train platform. We are now professionals at navigating train stations but we still maintain a level of anxiety that keeps us on our toes and alert. Our ride approaches. One change of trains and a quick cab ride to the … Continue reading Rome in a day plus one.

After the meal at the cooking lesson we decided to have a very light dinner at the family run restaurant next door. Light on food but robust on wine. The wines grown on this and the property we were staying are the best so far. So after a wine induced sleep, we were ready to … Continue reading Into the home stretch.

Everything seemed to slow down our last two days in Orvieto. Monday and Tuesday definitely have fewer tourists arriving. Much less activity in the streets. W e finally got moving around 10:00 and headed toward the Duomo. This is my second favorite cathedral, just behind Santiago. One of the rare times I have taken photos … Continue reading Moving at a slower pace

Orvieto has quickly become our favorite. Twice the size of Volterra, it has at least that much more to offer. It has a feel of a functioning city versus one designed only for tourist. On our first day of sightseeing we walked the length of the city to our first monument of the day; St … Continue reading Step’n Up….and down.

The rest of our stay in Volterra was rather quiet. Even our favorite bar was closed for the day. We took in a few more sights , had an early dinner, and prepared for our morning departure. Descending into an Roman Cistern Over 20’ deep Ruins of a Roman Amphitheater and baths Taking a break … Continue reading Pushing the limits

Our last night in Florence was a hoot. We went to the corner American Diner and it was a scene right out of “Happy Days”. The food was delivered by rollerskate The food was pretty good And we had appropriate TV to watch Being the only Americans in the place, they were anxious to please … Continue reading It is confirmed….

We seem to be evolving into vacation mode as we are slow to get going in the mornings. By the time we have a coffee in the room and ready to head out it is approaching 10:00. So Sunday we stopped in the market for a late breakfast that proved to be a lifesaver as … Continue reading Wrapping it up in Florence

After our best nights sleep since we have been in Italy, we walked five blocks to meet up with the group of 14 that made up our three hour Walking Tour. We lucked out by having Laura as our guide. Laura doing her thang The best part these tours is skipping the line, that can … Continue reading Great day with a quiet evening

We had seen four of the five towns over the first three days, so now it was time to visit Manarola. Becky had scheduled a Pesto Experience for that morning followed by a lunch. Manarola was similar to Vernazza in that it has a primary street that ends at the harbor. It appeared to be … Continue reading We saved the best of the Cinque Terre for last

It has been a wild few days. The flight was great and on time. So much so that we arrived at the Termni Train station with enough time to catch an earlier train to Vernazza. Had a great experience when an older lady and her middle age son sat across from us. Becky’s grin and … Continue reading P, T and A plus Ferry