Home Again!

I arrived home on time last nite after an uneventful but long trip home.  Boy, it was good to be here!

Some additional thoughts on Italy.  First of all, it was an amazing trip.  I saw so much, had a great time hiking and on our yoga retreat, and with Gary and Beth.   We had some driving adventures and some walking and hiking adventures, got lost a few times, but were always OK!  We got plenty of exercise!

There are so many bike riders in Italy!  It makes a lot of sense I the old towns and cities with the narrow streets.  

All the medieval walled towns throughout all the parts of Italy where we traveled were really something.   It seemed like every time we looked a new direction, there was a new small or large walled town.    Loved it!

Even though our Italian was pitiful, we always managed to communicate.  Smiles and pointing work well!

When traveling in Italy, it is a good idea to travel very lightly.   It seemed like there were always lots of steps to climb or hills to walk up. 

Always take a "cold prevention kit" when traveling.  I used it and shared my supplies with several fellow travelers.   Between airplanes, changing weather, and other travelers, colds seem to be a hazard of traveling.

I have been so fortunate to travel to such wonderful places.   Hope I get to keep doing it!!!

 

Last day in Italy

We woke up early and cleaned out the refrigerator.   Beth roasted tomatoes and they were yummy.   We enjoyed our apartment in Monterosso.    It was roomy and had nice bathrooms and a great kitchen.   Cinque Terre was a perfect ending to our trip.   The hiking was hard but good, the scenery spectacular, and the laid back atmosphere very welcomed.   

Our drive back to the Rome airport was easy.  We made our last stop for lunch and a short walk in Civitavecchia.   This was a port town and quite different than any of the other towns we have seen.  We has lunch in a kebab place.  Nice change of menu!

Cinque Terre day 2

Yesterday was Beth's birthday, and we had planned to have dinner in our apartment, which was a really good plan as it was raining and blowing and we were happy to be inside!   Gary made an excellent caprese salad and we had roasted vegetables and pizza (our most regular meal here in Italy).

This morning we were up early again and had a nice breakfast here then got on the train to Corniglia.   When we arrived in Corniglia, we climbed 385 steps to town, then a few more within the town.  We looked around town a little, then started the hike to Vernazza.   We thought this was an easier hike, but it was not.   In addition to being steep, it was wet and the rocks were slippery!   We trudged along, and were happy to arrive in Vernazza.

We had a nice lunch under a maze of beach umbrellas!

The trail was much more crowded than yesterday.     We stopped and talked to some fellow hikers.  

Then we took the train back to Monterosso and did a little shopping, Internet surfing, blogging and resting before dinner.

Lucca

Our next stop is the walled city of Lucca.   Gary found us a great hotel deal and we were happy with our suite!  

We took the bus into town ( no driving within the walls for tourists).   

What a nice town.  It was not too crowded and very nice for exploring.   We were glad we decided to change our itinerary and come here.

David

Our next stop was the Accademia Galleries where Michalangelo's David is housed.   Quite a story.

This was a small but impressive gallery.  Some scenes around Florence.

Galileo Museum, Pitti Palace

I just loved the Galileo Museum.  This was Gary's pick and it was a great choice.    The collection included many early instruments used for astronomy, navigation, medicine, etc.   here are some pictures.

Florence

We were greeted by Rocco, our air B&B host who escorted us to our apartment.  It was a true city walk up (50 steps).   Small and quaint, but quiet and clean and pretty comfortable.   We were across the street from the US Embassy, so the streets were blocked off and there was a relaxed pedestrian atmosphere.

We were hungry, so we found a little pizzeria and had dinner and wine.  We met two young sisters from Canada who had also just arrived in Florence.  We took a long walk and quickly learned that the streets  can be very confusing!  Thank goodness for google maps and a good sense of direction!   

Monday morning we met our tour guide Florinda in front of our building and had a great three hour orientation to Florence, then lunch, then a rest.  Monday night found us at the rooftop bar at the Westin for a drink, some nice snacks, and a spectacular view.  

We took another evening stroll.  Found a little hole in the wall Indian place.  We have eaten lots of pasta and pizza!    

Tuesday morning we got up early to walk to the Duomo and take the 414 steps to the top.   The crowd set the pace so the climb was not bad and we were rewarded by a spectacular view.

The descent was fast and easy!

Beach, Pitigliano and La Capitana photos

Cinque Terre

We left Lucca after stopping to get a rain jacket for me.    We had lunch and a short walk in Carrara and saw some marble work and lots of large pieces of marble around town.   Some of the sidewalks in the city center were marble,   You could see the marble quarries on the mountain sides.

We arrived in Monterosso al Mare around three and found our next apartment.   This is another walk up.  This one has 88 steps!   Very nice apartment.    We took a long walk looking for wifi and some food.   We left in a light drizzle and returned in a steady rain!   Luckily we all have good jackets.

Off early today under clouds and very light rain to hike from Monterosso to Vernazzo.  Fantastic hike.

Trevi to Poreta and La Capitana

LOur last long hike, 12miles.   Up and down under dark clouds much of the day.  We did not get wet, though!    We arrived at our lovely agroturismo, but could not be shown to our rooms right away because the men were in the fields harvesting olives.  I was beat after our three day walk and took a break from yoga, which I needed.  

We stopped by the entrance to a garden for lunch this day.   

The agroturismo was lovely, but the temperature had cooled off so we could not enjoy the pool.   We did enjoy Lissi's birthday at dinner and a good yoga session in the morning before we started our next driving adventure to La Capitana, near Maggliore in Toscano.

Gary needed a break, so I drove and Beth navigated.  We had a great drive, some of it over windy country roads.  The drive was nice.  We did really well with most of the drive.  The GPS and google maps failed us during the last ten miles. But Paulo came to lead us to La capitana.

What a beautiful old estate.   Beth and I had a big room upstairs with our own bath.   It was quiet and very rustic.   The arrival to La Capitan marked the beginning of our official yoga retreat.  We had more yoga and more time to visit.   The yoga was excellent, but the room and floor were cold.   

On Friday morning, Beth and Gary and  I walked down to the winery that we could see from La Capitana.  What a treat.  We met a nice young man who showed us around the winery. We saw the grapes being crushed and the vats and barrels.  Then we had an official tour from a lovely young lady.  The building was built to look like a ship, as the winery is near the sea.     The barrel storage room has a ceiling that looks like waves.  

Friday afternoon Beth and I drove to the sea.  We had a short visit, then back to La Capitana.   We had another nice dinner and more time to visit with our group.   

On Saturday Beth and I took off after breakfast for a great drive.  Our first stop was Saturnian, where we saw an amazing natural spa.  Then we stopped in town for a snack and we found a shop where I bought a nice wool jacket.   Then off for more exploring.   Our next stop was Pitigliana, which was built on top of rock cliffs.  Amazing!  Then Sorvano and Sorana, then home.  We shopped in a little shop with some ladies who spoke no English, but were delightful to us anyway.     We enjoyed our explorations of the area.

Sunday was our last day with the yoga group.  After morning yoga, we had breakfast, said our goodbyes, then took off for Florence.

More pictures from this part of our trip in the next post.

Spello to Trevi

We had an easy morning with yoga on the patio followed by breakfast.  Then we explored Spello and took a bus to Foligno, where we had lunch, then started our "short" 8 mile hike.  The countryside is so beautiful!   We had a wonderful evening and dinner in Trevi, a quiet old town.   These old hill towns with their original buildings and old walls are amazing to see.   Most of them are World Heritage sites.

We had the nicest group of people!   Thomas and Paolo, our leaders,  Govanna, Rosella, Paolo's wife and longtime friend, Charlie and Teresa, Mark and Cathy, Marie and Rob, Karen and Jay, and Lissi!    During our hikes and afterwards we had lots of time to get to know each other.   

Hike to Spello

This was our longest day of hiking.  We took off at 9:30am.  Our first stop was at Eremo Delle Carceri on Mt. subasio, where St. Francis spent most of his time.   It was a beautiful and peaceful spot.  The eremo reminded me of the wonderful Buddhist monastery I visited in Thailand several years ago with its peacefulness and gorgeous mountain views.  After a long day of hiking, including an unplanned detour by Beth and Gary and I, we arrived at Spello!

Sunday in Assisi and spa day

Our yoga retreat starts today and we are meeting our group little by little.   Beth and Gary and I spent some time at a beautiful spa in the basement of a new hotel.   It was lovely!   See the old roman ruins that were found when doing this modern day renovation.   Many buildings are built over old ones, and ruins are sometimes preserved.   The hotel we stayed in was renovated inside a medieval building.  They left a few nice touches when they modernized.

We had our first yoga session on Sunday evening and then dinner with the group!     

Around Assisi

After a really nice dinner we had breakfast at our hotel then decided to hike to the fort guarding the town.   This was quite interesting and included a 360 view from the top.   We walked through a narrow tunnel and up spiral stairs throughout the fort!  We were awarded with great views!   Walking around Assisi involved lots of hills and steps and got us in shape for our hiking!   We will be hiking part of the Camino de Francesco, a vigorous hike from Assisi to Poreta.