Italy 2008

Here are a few pictures from my trip to Italy. My favorite place was Cinque Terra. We stayed at a wonderful place in Monterossa called Hotel Villa Steno. It was so relaxing. Laurel and I managed to hike the trail to all 5 of the cinque terra towns in one day. It was strenuous and we were sore the next day. So, then we got to veg.

These pictures are in no particular order, but I am a visual person and love to show pictures of the trip rather than tell you too many details.




This is a picture taken during our hike in cinque terra.











This is the view from our deck in Monterossa.







Here we are getting ready to hike into Vernazza. This is the second town in Cinque Terra, so we are still feeling fresh.




The picture on the right is of roman Guard at Trevie Fountain. Notice that he is on a cell phone. There is something wrong with that.

















This is Laurel with friends Sharon and Katie at the Pantheon in Rome




















Trevi Fountain Rome

The Coliseum in Rome.

Here Laurel is with all of her friends in Rome





Carol at the Coliseum

Laurel at the Forum

We spent a day a San Gimigano. It wasn't very crowded and we actually got to play . This was a city with many very old towers and surrounded by Tuscan countryside. We sort of enjoyed just sitting on a bench and eating lunch.

This is in Siena. It is a bunch of little kids practicing playing the drums while marching. It was so cute, I had to snap a picture. I am sure they were practicing for marching in a parade during the running of the horses which is a Siena tradition.

We hiked up a hill in Florence and it suddenly looks like rain. We had a wonderful lightening storm follow by a downpour. We managed to hike down a hill and get into a museum before the big downpour.








I loved our deck in Monterossa.

I spent a lot of time there.

These were wild flowers(Iris) blooming on our hike from Monterossa to Vermazza. It was a beautiful hike.











Here is Laurel hiking into one of the 5 towns in Cinque Terra. We hiked all 5 towns in one day and had very sore muscles as a result.

On our deck in Monterossa. You can see why I loved this place so much. With a veiw of the sea, it was perfect.

This is back in Rome with Laurel, Katie and Sharon. It was fun getting to know her friends.

This is tour guide Laurel in the Coliseum

Here are the two of us outside the Coliseum. If it looks like we are always wearing the same clothes, we are. I packed a small suitcase.

This is down the street from the apartment in Rome. It was a great place to get a cappuccino in the morning.

So, I hope you have enjoyed my short tour of Italy. If you want to come over for a slideshow let me know. We took lots of pictures and had a great time. I didn't include food pictures, but I loved the food. Nutella and Crossiants for breakfast with a cappuccino. Proscuitto with Gorgonzola on bread for lunch. Oh, don't forget the blood oranges. Then at dinner our favorite was a bean dish with sausage in it. And best of all, you could get really good and cheap wine. A great way to finish a meal or have a snack on the train was with "pocket coffee". I brought some of those home. Ciao