Tuesday, May 24
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.
Lydia couldn't get over it. She kept saying "there's something very wrong about this place."
Click to watch the video.
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| 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
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
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
We love Venice and had a wonderful time here.
To view the pictures one at a time, use the link below:
Venice Album
Saturday, May 21
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
To view the pictures individually, click the link below:
Chieti Pictures
Firenze
Just a few pictures of our time in Florence. Lots of great shopping and a super meal at one of our favorite restaurants, Baldovino.
Click the link below to view the pictures one at a time.
Florence Album
Click the link below to view the pictures one at a time.
Florence Album
Friday, May 20
Roma...
The Eternal City, ancient, enormous, crowded, vibrant. A city where taxis and busses whiz past buildings thousands of years old, and pizza comes smothered in zucchini flowers.
Use the link below to view the pictures one at a time.
Roma Pictures
Use the link below to view the pictures one at a time.
Roma Pictures
Thursday, May 19
Debbie gets her groove on
After a long walk to an Internet cafe that turned out to be closed, Deb just collapsed in frustration. (poor Deb) But after a nice glass of wine at the Torino Bar and some smooth jazz, she felt much better! Click to play the video
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| From Italy |
Wednesday, May 18
Campobasso Pics, 21 April, 2011.
For those who don't know, Campobasso is where the Desantis family came from. The name, Campobasso, means low field; the town was founded at least during the Lombard reign (8th century), possibly much earlier. Although this wasn't our first stop, in some respects it was the most important.
Enjoy!
To view the pictures individually, please use the link below:
Campobasso Pictures
Enjoy!
To view the pictures individually, please use the link below:
Campobasso Pictures
After 5 hours and two fight delays...
...can we leave now?
As you know, we were delayed getting started from Jacksonville.
Similarly, we have been delayed uploading the pictures. here's the promise: They are on their way! Videos too, but be warned, some of the videos are not for the faint of heart!
Thursday, April 21
Roma > Campobasso
As you know we made it to Roma. Tonight we're in Campobasso, and tomorrow we'll go see the homes of the ancestors!
So, Roma was hectic. We arrived late, but managed to get to our early morning tour of the Vatican. The next day Linda woke us all at 11am! We raced to the Colliseum for our special tour, which was good, but the guide had a strong accent and it was difficult for Gram to understand her. We walked to the Carcere Mamertino after that, it's just down the street, but decided not to go in. Saints Peter and Paul were imprisoned there. New relics have recently been found, so instead of just being able to walk into the church that's been built above it and down to the pit of the prison, now you must pay for a long 90 minute tour. We had coffee instead and looked at the forum for a while, then went to the supermercato to get food for dinner and to the bread and cheese shop.
I think Gram liked the supermarket, she was chatting with a couple of Italians while we were in line. We got fabulous bread and a cheese called Burrata Pugliese, a mozzarella-like ball with soft runny creamy curds inside, really spectacular. I know Gram likes the food.
We then had a rather interesting taxi ride to the Pantheon for our free tour, ,the only free thing available in Roma.
The driver was really skilled, he had to be to drive 60miles an hour dodging pedestrians, cabs, busses, scooters, pedestrians, and trams while keeping up a non-stop stream of colorful language. Was in front and at first I thought he was crazy and talking to himself; then I realized what he was saying: Che fai Che fai cazzocazzocazzo incredibile cazzocazzocazzo Che fai vafanculo porcamadonna Che fai Che fai. he even obliged by shouting out the window at another car. Poor Gram said she had her toes curled up to her heels trying to put the brakes on!
Our driver to the airport was another story. he was right on time, drove slowly, and was super polite. He gave great instructions to get to the car rental office and even put the coin the the slot to get a luggage cart for us!
The car is a dream, we're going to have a very nice time driving around after this. A brand new Volvo 600, 6 speed. Gram refused to ride in the front saying she was comfortable like she was laying down. After suffering through a horrendous traffic jam around Rome and taking an hour to go 20 kilometers, and some heavy holiday traffic on the Autostrade, we got off onto a smaller highway into the mountains of Molise, the province of which Campobasso is the capital. Provinces and regions, think states and counties. Molise is called the province of fresh air. It's chilly compared to Roma, but very rural and beautiful. We stopped at a market selling regional mushrooms and cheeses, and Gram bought some beautiful cheese! And despite not having a map and directions that ended with "turn into street name unknown: arrive at destination" we found our beautiful hotel with very little trouble.
Gram had a wonderful meal; a nice piece of fish layered with paper thin potato slices and broiled. But the real prize here is the portiere! He suffered through my bad Italian, lengthy explanations, and impossible questions to help me locate the only evangelical church in Campobasso. It's about half-way between the great-grandparents' homes, and was definitely here when Giuseppina was a girl! Gram is thrilled that she's going to be able to see the church.
So tomorrow we see Campobasso, then off to Chieti.
So, Roma was hectic. We arrived late, but managed to get to our early morning tour of the Vatican. The next day Linda woke us all at 11am! We raced to the Colliseum for our special tour, which was good, but the guide had a strong accent and it was difficult for Gram to understand her. We walked to the Carcere Mamertino after that, it's just down the street, but decided not to go in. Saints Peter and Paul were imprisoned there. New relics have recently been found, so instead of just being able to walk into the church that's been built above it and down to the pit of the prison, now you must pay for a long 90 minute tour. We had coffee instead and looked at the forum for a while, then went to the supermercato to get food for dinner and to the bread and cheese shop.
I think Gram liked the supermarket, she was chatting with a couple of Italians while we were in line. We got fabulous bread and a cheese called Burrata Pugliese, a mozzarella-like ball with soft runny creamy curds inside, really spectacular. I know Gram likes the food.
We then had a rather interesting taxi ride to the Pantheon for our free tour, ,the only free thing available in Roma.
The driver was really skilled, he had to be to drive 60miles an hour dodging pedestrians, cabs, busses, scooters, pedestrians, and trams while keeping up a non-stop stream of colorful language. Was in front and at first I thought he was crazy and talking to himself; then I realized what he was saying: Che fai Che fai cazzocazzocazzo incredibile cazzocazzocazzo Che fai vafanculo porcamadonna Che fai Che fai. he even obliged by shouting out the window at another car. Poor Gram said she had her toes curled up to her heels trying to put the brakes on!
Our driver to the airport was another story. he was right on time, drove slowly, and was super polite. He gave great instructions to get to the car rental office and even put the coin the the slot to get a luggage cart for us!
The car is a dream, we're going to have a very nice time driving around after this. A brand new Volvo 600, 6 speed. Gram refused to ride in the front saying she was comfortable like she was laying down. After suffering through a horrendous traffic jam around Rome and taking an hour to go 20 kilometers, and some heavy holiday traffic on the Autostrade, we got off onto a smaller highway into the mountains of Molise, the province of which Campobasso is the capital. Provinces and regions, think states and counties. Molise is called the province of fresh air. It's chilly compared to Roma, but very rural and beautiful. We stopped at a market selling regional mushrooms and cheeses, and Gram bought some beautiful cheese! And despite not having a map and directions that ended with "turn into street name unknown: arrive at destination" we found our beautiful hotel with very little trouble.
Gram had a wonderful meal; a nice piece of fish layered with paper thin potato slices and broiled. But the real prize here is the portiere! He suffered through my bad Italian, lengthy explanations, and impossible questions to help me locate the only evangelical church in Campobasso. It's about half-way between the great-grandparents' homes, and was definitely here when Giuseppina was a girl! Gram is thrilled that she's going to be able to see the church.
So tomorrow we see Campobasso, then off to Chieti.
Tuesday, April 19
We are here, no worries
Sorry for the delay everyone. After a lengthy flight delay that routed us through Minneapolis and Amsterdam, we finally arrived in Roma at 7pm Monday evening. We had great greens and pizza with fresh zucchini flowers for dinner and turned in.
We made the Vatican tour this morning. Gram had a great time. Afterward we walked around Campo di Fiore and Piazza Navonna for a bit and had some gelato. Gram, who claims that she "doesn't know art" was in fact able to explain to Deb and Reba that a sculpture of a saint showed him being stoned to death, while they were still trying to figure out the Latin inscription. Hahaha.
We're all a bit tired and jet-lagged, so not much to say tonight.We go to the Colliseum at 1pm tomorrow, yeah, we can sleep in! Then to Carcere Mamertino, the prison where St. Paul was held.
We had fabulous dinner tonight: 2 kinds of bread, fresh ricotts, fresh buffalo mozzarella, puntarelle salad, baby zucchini sauted with the blossoms still on, two kinds of delicious tomatoes, and ravioli with porcini mushrooms! Yum!
We made the Vatican tour this morning. Gram had a great time. Afterward we walked around Campo di Fiore and Piazza Navonna for a bit and had some gelato. Gram, who claims that she "doesn't know art" was in fact able to explain to Deb and Reba that a sculpture of a saint showed him being stoned to death, while they were still trying to figure out the Latin inscription. Hahaha.
We're all a bit tired and jet-lagged, so not much to say tonight.We go to the Colliseum at 1pm tomorrow, yeah, we can sleep in! Then to Carcere Mamertino, the prison where St. Paul was held.
We had fabulous dinner tonight: 2 kinds of bread, fresh ricotts, fresh buffalo mozzarella, puntarelle salad, baby zucchini sauted with the blossoms still on, two kinds of delicious tomatoes, and ravioli with porcini mushrooms! Yum!
Sunday, April 17
Morning
Linda is hemming and ironing, Gram is dressed in a nice top, but is still wearing farmer pants and slippers, Deb is watering, Reba still hasn't brushed her teeth.
Oh yes, we're ready!
Oh yes, we're ready!
Saturday, April 16
No Pajamas Tomorrow Night!
This time tomorrow we'll be sleeping in our clothes on the plane. :)
Don't you feel just terrible?
Poor us. Sitting in those airplane seats on our way to Roma.
Don't you feel just terrible?
Poor us. Sitting in those airplane seats on our way to Roma.
Thursday, April 14
Wednesday, April 13
Rome Apartment
Follow the link to see the apartment we'll be staying at in Roma.
Aida Apartment
If you leave a nice comment I might even post a close-up pic of the bidet when we get there!
Aida Apartment
If you leave a nice comment I might even post a close-up pic of the bidet when we get there!
Checklist
Passports
Tickets
Confirmations
Suitcases
The perfect purse/shoulderbag (x4!!!!)
Phones
iPads
iPod
Lists, lists, and more lists....
Tickets
Confirmations
Suitcases
The perfect purse/shoulderbag (x4!!!!)
Phones
iPads
iPod
Lists, lists, and more lists....
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