Italy

It's been awhile since the last travel post.  Guess we were saving up for something big, and Italy turned out to be it.  We recently spent several weeks eating our way through the country.

We started off our adventure in Rome.   It's quite an amazing city, full of so much history and beauty.  Our hotel was centrally located near the Spanish steps, and we walked everywhere.  Tony claims his phone app recorded one day with 20 kilometers.  I'm not sure I trust the accuracy of that, but I can tell you my legs felt like it.

Scenic highlights included tours through the Colosseum, Forum and Vatican City together with visits to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the Spanish steps and Trevi fountain.  Culinary highlights included the prosecco, prosciutto with melon, pasta and gelato.  The food everywhere was sooo good.

An even bigger highlight was a visit from fellow nitwit Raleigh, who flew down from Geneva (where he and Scott are living this year) to hang out with us for a few days.  Scott tried to make it, but a meeting in Lisbon got in the way.  The visit with Raleigh was a great unexpected treat.



After five days in Rome, we took the train to Lucca, a town in Tuscany known for the 500 year old walls encircling the city, narrow cobblestone streets and beautiful character.  Very good friends Bob and Don have been traveling there for the past 20 years and have a wonderful condo in the heart of Lucca.  They played host to us for the next week and half.


Being in Lucca with Bob and Don is quite extraordinary because they've become part of the town.  With their knowledge of Italian, they know all the shop keepers and have local friends everywhere.  They are also foodies, so they know the best places to eat.  And boy did we eat!  Tony couldn't get enough of the gelato, and I ordered different pastas everywhere we went.

While in Lucca, we took the train to Pisa one day.  It's only about an hour away, and well worth the trip.  Another day, we took the train to Carrara at the foot of the mountains where all of the carrara marble comes from.  A short taxi ride up the mountain took us to the small village of Colonnata, known worldwide for lardo, a pork fat delicacy.  I couldn't think of much that sounded less appetizing that a slab of pork fat, but it turned out to be really really delicious.  The lunch we had there was amazing.

We spent the final two days in Florence, Bob and Don joining us there.  The history, art and culture are overwhelming.  We toured the Uffizi gallery and Acadame, home of the statue of David, among other places.  And of course we continued our eating extravaganza at some wonderful restaurants there.

The entire trip was delightful.  We're now working on losing the pounds we gained in Italy.

For more photos of Italy, CLICK HERE