ArchivesCategory: Italy

Quick like a bunny, I made my way through Trastevere’s cobblestone streets, across the bridge over the suspicious Tiber and back down to the Internet café. Heather and I were finishing lunch at the Ditta Trinchetti, when I reached in my purse and realized my passport was missing. The worst thing that would happen is Continue Reading

Jesus, it’s hot. Carol arrived today and we had a delightful lunch at an outdoor café. We shared some bruschetta, aqua minerale and red wine. I enjoyed an insalata di tonno (tuna salad). The food tasted fresh and was just the nourishment we needed to make the trek up the hill to the Basilica di Continue Reading

Pretty penance. The Italy in my head is all about Tuscany and its rolling hills, gardens with bright red tomatoes and cypress trees lined up at attention. I had to experience it. But first we would drop by Florence for a walk around the Duomo, through the crowded Piazza della Signoria and across the Ponte Continue Reading

Statues-R-Us. Everyone was on their own today. HK needed time on the Internet. CK needed to work. And I had some holy errands to run over at the Vatican and to see the Sistine Chapel. From Trastevere I made the long walk along the Tiber until I felt that familiar guilt, made a left and Continue Reading

Brutality, pushback and luck. The #3 bus took us all the way to the Colosseum. That was great, but what’s greater is that the ticket machine on the bus was broken so we rode for free. There are inspectors that get off and on the buses in uniform or plain clothes and ask to see Continue Reading

The price of bread. Hanging laundry out to dry in Rome feels different than in Texas. It has nothing to do with a two-year drought or saving money by not using the drier and everything to do with European culture. Wearing underwear plucked from a Roman balcony warmed by the Italian sun makes me feel Continue Reading

We barely caught the afternoon ferry from Amalfi Town to Salerno. It was a great alternative to the bus, allowing us to see the homes and ruins dotting the coastline. As we approached Salerno we watched a plane fly back and forth from the mountains to the Med, collecting water to put out fires. By Continue Reading

dePositano’d and other tragedies. Woke up in Sorrento and had a banner breakfast of yogurt, cappuccino, cheese and fruit. I rarely eat brioche or croissants let alone those injected with chocolate but it has easily become the daily routine, and with the amount of walking we do, practically guilt free. In Italy 2006, Rick Steves Continue Reading

Pompeii and circumstance. Up at 6:30 am to catch a train that would take us to Naples, then Pompeii.  Switching trains is a challenge and the rumors of Naples hung heavy though I would like to believe it can also  be wonderful. What city doesn’t have its good and bad? The trains are fabulous and I have Continue Reading