Calcata

This is a tiny town on to of a cliff that is more than 1000 years old. About 40 years ago it was nearly abandoned and in disrepair and was taken over by a bunch of bohemian artists.

It's a pretty amazing warren of tiny streets.

More to come

There will be a few more pictures in the next couple of weeks. Use the box at the right to subscribe so you'll know when we add more.

The last night

We were just having a good time. Everyone is amazed we found this hotel. It was a huge place, 1000 rooms, and absolutely full. This was the night of the beatification of Pope John Paul, so the hotel was full of tour groups all booked into banquet rooms. We had to beg for them to open a dining room for us and two other parties. So there we are, three tables spread around an ornate dining room with about 200 tables, one waiter, and one guy making pizzas, the only food they consented to serve us.

Lydia couldn't get over it. She kept saying "there's something very wrong about this place."

Click to watch the video.

From Last Night

Driving, driving, driving

We did a lot of driving. Nearly 2,000 kilometers from Rome to Campobasso to Chieti to Florence to Venice to Pienza to Rome. We crossed the Apennini, the mountain range that bisects nearly the entire Italian peninsula from north to south, four times. Much of the driving was on the Autostrade, the fast four lane toll highway network that criss-crosses the country, complete with bridges and tunnels through the mountain ranges. Some of the driving was in city streets, very unpleasant (Campobasso), some of the driving was on country roads complete with sheer drops, dead-man curves, stone walls, no shoulders, narrow lanes, and miles and miles of olive and grape terraces.

Italy is a beautiful country.



To see pictures one at a time, use the link below:
Driving

Pienza, land of pecorino

The best pecorino cheese in the world comes from Tuscany. The best pecorino cheese in Tuscany comes from Pienza: Pecorino di Pienza. Even in Italy one must go to Pienza to obtain Pecorino di Pienza. We must have brought 50lbs back with us. At least.

Aside from cheese, Pienza is a beautiful hilltop village in the southern Chianti hills in the province of Sienna. Tourism has been good to Pienza, most buildings are in good repair, and the town is far too small for cars. The people are friendly, the food is delicious, and the views are fantastic. What more could anyone want?

Lydia loved it and said if she ever goes back to Italy, she wants to stay here.



To view photos one at a time, use the link below:
Pienza Album

Venice Album

Venice is like no where else on Earth. Beautiful, glamorous, decadent, sliding slowly into decay as the sea rises a bit more each year. Most Venetians don't drive as there are no cars, or even bicycles, in Venice. Venice is comprised of 118 small islands connected by 412 bridges. In her heyday, La Serenissima, as she was called, was a huge naval empire that controlled much of the Adriatic and whose influence extended far to the east. Venice once sacked Constantinople, and brought treasure from all over the Mediterranean to decorate her buildings and squares. Venetian dialect is so removed from Italian that it's almost another language entirely.

We love Venice and had a wonderful time here.



To view the pictures one at a time, use the link below:
Venice Album

Chieti

We went, we waited, we saw idol worshiping, we ate, we left. At some point we managed to trash the hotel room. You'd think we were rock stars.



To view the pictures individually, click the link below:
Chieti Pictures