Rome Part 1

                   April 22 - United Airlines to Rome, Italy. Flying with Perry and Sally Sorenson

We are off into the wild blue yonder.

The Colosseum

This area was cover by the stage and is where the animals and Gladiators awaited their fate.

Ancient ruins and the modern city exist side by side.

Sally and Perry

People and Mediterranean pine trees

A fun rendezvous with my cousin Kate from New Jersey.

Always something that might tempt the tourist....plastic Colosseum sir?

Crowds waiting to get into the Vatican

Amazing art everywhere - hard  to photograph due to crowds and lighting

Doors of St Peter's Basilica

La Pieta - beautiful, touching, serene

Feet and slippers of a departed Pope

So the deal is the arm holding up the fellow is a fake arm and he is sitting on a small platform. Next stop Tuscany.

 

Tuscany

Podere Monti our home for a week. The villa is at the edge of the town of Saint Albino and near the larger town of Montepulciano. Sharing the villa with us were:

Perry and Sally Sorenson

Brad and Polly Oliver

Rhoda and Mark James

Lex and Geri Alexander

Polly’s sister Lorraine and her beau, Les

Indeed a grand time full of laughs, stories, great wine, wonderful food, good friends, and so many sights to see.

The villa

The View

More villa

Waiting for dinner..Les, Lorraine, Polly, Mark, Brad J, Sally, Perry

Chef Alessandro rolls out the pasta dough

The pasta

The chef at work

First course is ready

So many lovely things to see like balconies

Bell Towers

Churches

Countryside views (we did have a good amount of haze)

Hilltop towns

Good looking guys...

And art everywhere.

Lunch in Montepulciano

Pasta with wild boar sausage sauce - a specialty of the region

A collection of rock for a wall

The wisteria was in bloom and lovely

A pretty window..we saw many

Ready to eat! Lex, Buck, Brad O, Rhoda, Sally

This was empty when we arrived : )

Brad J, wearing his Italian apron, was always happy to refill wine glasses.

First to take up the swim challenge..Rhoda and Brad O

In go Rhoda and  Brad

And out they come...oh doggie, it was cold.

Not to be deterred..in goes Buck-also made a quick exit. The rest of us smart ones cheered them on and stayed warm.

Polly, Lorraine and Les

Church on a hillside

Doni, Perry and Sally

Gluten free and vegetarianism have arrived.

Smelling the roses

Narrow street and old buildings

Sunrise

Another hilltop town

Umbrellas

Part of the gang - Polly, Brad O, Lex, Geri, Buck, Rhoda, Mark, Betsy, Brad J - Lorraine, Les, Sally and Perry had departed. Doni is behind the lens.

Sometimes you don't need to speak Italian to read the signs.

The crowded bridge to Civita Bagnoregio - a famous Hilltop town. We went on May 1st not knowing it was a holiday and that the rest of Italy would be there too.

Civita Bagnoregio

Pretty Lizzard

We leave beautiful Tuscany and head to Assisi and then Rome. Our trip is nearly over.