A taste of Italy

Well okay, maybe this isn't truly a "taste of Italy". We have 2 new family members since returning from our trip. One is an adorable black and white tuxedo kitten named Beatrice (or Bea, or BeaBop, or Busy Bea). She's my bud! AND, we adopted (from rescue) an 11 month old Italian Greyhound. Oh my. He's adorable. He and Bea love to play together. They even have their own blog: www.jjandbea.blogspot.com Check it out. Taylor doesn't want anything to do with it, but she does comment on occasion.

Meanwhile, I'm looking for a job. Check out the critter blog.

Ciao,

Kathy

Ciao, Florence

We've decided to rent a car to drive back to Rome tomorrow rather than taking the train. We need to say goodbye to Tuscany one more time and give Ornellas and Gail a chance to catch a quick glimpse of it all.

Today was rainy and cool, but we did manage to walk the city, look at the sights, shop a little (mostly very expensive). Although we've had a great time, we are all looking forward to getting home to our routines. When I'm complaining about a month from now, don't remind me that I said that, okay?

We'll blog from Rome tomorrow night. Thanks for checking into the blog.

Ciao for now.

--Kathy

K & P Enjoying Italy

Kathy and Peggy near the Spanish Steps in Roma!

Peggy post-Uffizi

The picture says it all! Left to right - Gail, Rosemary, and Peggy along Ponte Vecchio in Florence.

Cinque Terre

I am a bit behind in adding pics to the blog. Here's a nice little shot of the view of one of the Cinque Terre towns on the road back to Portovenere from Vernazza.

The highlight of our day in Vernazza - Cinque Terre

Okay,we had many highlights of our day in Cinque Terre including a fabulous lunch at il Baritto in Vernazza. The owner doted on the 5 of us and we even had dolce (dessert). Yum! On our way back up the very narrow (1-car) road, we ran into a family of wild boar: momma and 3 babies. Suffice it to say that none of us are going to try the wild boar now that we've actually met the family!

A Town Like Florence

Peggy here. Florence is breathtaking, for more reasons than one. We visited the Uffizi today where the largest collection of Renaissance painting is housed. We started in the Middle Ages room, with all of the altar pieces and madonnas and the stacked cherubs. There was a gentleman in one painting who seemed to say "Oh no, not this again". The painting with all of its gold leafing and halos was what they were painting when the Renaissance painters were born and then the Renaissance painters grew up and went to town. It was remarkable to see them struggle on canvas. Some paintings are successful and some are not and that is just the way art goes. They took the human body out from under the heavy cloaks, quit painting everybody with a hunched back, and painted semi nudes and painted depth rather than stacking their characters.

We walked across the Arno River to tourist shopping and that was a nightmare.

We have nothing planned for tomorrow, which is a relief. I believe that we are arranging for transportation back to Rome...train or rent a car? I am voting for train but I see the light in Kathy's and Rosemary's eyes and can see myself in the back of an alfa romeo.

The hotel here is utterly charming. We look out onto an atrium where we have all set up shop and snacks and sit and chat under the Florentine sun and full moon. There are only 9 rooms here and the owners seem to run happily at our requests and the requests of others. We have breakfast here, all set up very nicely by the owner, and are treated like royalty.

Florence sparks my imagination and I will come back to this beautiful city. I am returning home to study Renaissance art and what happened after that.