Italian wrap up

I’ll never forget our Italian vacation, it exceeded all my expectations. Luckily I have many photos to bring me back. A few things stand out in my mind and I would like to express my gratitude to all who made this trip so memorable. A big part of it was sharing the experiences with family and friends. Together, we gorged ourselves with great food and enjoyed good wine. And of course the laughter, lots of laughter, sometimes uncontrolled laughter.

Jimi – your thoughtful meal planning, ability to improvise and expertise and grace in the kitchen was incredible. That’s why there was always a crowd watching you cook. It’s unfortunate I rarely get to see you these days. Thank you so much.

Joan – many thanks for all your help with planning and organizing this excursion. All the things you did to watch over us, attend to our needs, accommodate our wishes from throwing a coin at the Trevi fountain to finding the best gelato shop did not go unnoticed. It wouldn’t have been the same without you.

Jon – or Mr Perfect. Way back when you first brought up the idea of this trip, it seemed like a fantasy. I can’t thank you enough for inviting us and I’m sure you and Kathy did more things than we’ll ever know.

On some level Italy has ruined me. I’ll never enjoy Italian food again unless I go back. Also I now want to take 2-hour lunches.

I don’t think we’ve ever spent this much time together and I have to admit I was a little anxious about spending 10 days with 14 people in a foreign country. Now I can say that my anxiety was unfounded.

I also learned a few things on this trip:

  • Don’t give Uncle Dave too much wine.
  • Tami & Amy Tahoe are very photogenic.
  • Caitlin, beautiful as she is, I can never take a good photo of her. A failure on my part.
  • Italian versions of French Bulldogs are much bigger.
  • Italians don’t pick up after their dogs.
  • Italians don’t drink tap water.
  • Pesto is not supposed to be so heavy with basil.
  • Never shoot portraits without Amy Tahoe.
  • TJ Maxx $10.00 knives are a good deal.
  • Whatever happens make sure I bring that flash.
  • I can eat and drink a lot and only gain 1 lb. if I do a lot of walking.
  • Bring comfortable walking shoes regardless of how they look.
  • Ho bisogno di carta igienica più (I need more toilet paper).
  • Never let Jimi hold my passport.

Italy 2010 Day 10

Our final day in Rome started out by walking to Campo de’ Fiori, an outdoor market in the heart of Rome.

From there we headed toward the Vatican stopping on the way at a restaurant I didn’t think was that good.

Vatican

I decided not to post too many Vatican photos as they can look repetitious.

I had mixed feelings about going to the Vatican as I have my reservations about the Catholic church. However, I will admit that I found the Sistine Chapel to be magnificent. In the end, I was glad I went although I wish more photography was allowed.

Stitched Panorama

Saint Peter’s Square

Stitched Panorama
Stitched Panorama
Stitched Panorama

For our last dinner in Rome we revisited one of the “good” restaurants.

Italy 2010 Day 9

Rome

Day 9 started with a taxi ride to the middle of town where we started our walking tour of Rome. Giulio Cesari our tour guide was informative and charming.

Stitched Panorama

Colosseum

Stitched Panorama
Stitched Panorama
Stitched Panorama

After the walking tour, we had lunch and took it upon ourselves to explore the rest of the city.

Trevi Fountain

Stitched Panorama

For dinner, we ventured a couple of blocks from our hotel. The fried artichoke was excellent. I really enjoyed my puffed pastry, beef & mozzarella dish but Jimi ruined it for me by stating it was a glorified cheeseburger.

Italy 2010 Day 8

We checked out of the villa, but not without incident. The day before, it rained so the clothes we left hanging on the clothesline got soaked. We drove around town in search of a laundromat but learned from the tourist office that the only self-service facility was at the top of Montepulciano. Unwilling to carry 11 kilos of wet clothes up the hill, we decided to go with the professional cleaners near the villa. Our extremely limited Italian was compounded by the proprietor of the laundry not speaking any English. She didn’t even take our name. Would we get our clothes back before it was time to leave for Rome? How do we know that the neatly but mysteriously wrapped piles of clothes are indeed all of ours?

As promised, the lady had it ready at 9:00AM the next day. With that resolved, I created new stress by insisting on doing a pano before we left.

Osso Buco

ASCII Kolor stitching | 8 pictures | Size: 9022 x 4479 | FOV: 156.13 x 77.51 ~ -0.68 | RMS: 3.29 | Lens: Standard | Projection: Spherical | Color: LDR |

Rome

We made good time to Rome. We had drivers pick us up after we returned the rental vans to take us to the hotel. I stopped wondering why we needed drivers when we started zipping through the streets of Rome. The extreme narrow cobblestone road would have stressed me out if I had to drive on them.

At the hotel owner’s suggestion we had lunch at a place around the corner. The osso bucco was marvelous, the marrow was buttery.

Later in the afternoon we took an open double decker tour bus around Rome. It was nice to survey the sights from the comfort of a very high bus. Impossible to get any photos, but nice none the less.

Next we made the mistake of listening to another suggestion for dinner, which was right next door to the hotel. It was less than stellar. All the Italian cliches were present. The costumes, the singing. Our waiter either got our orders wrong or took it upon himself to change them. My risotto wasn’t cooked all the way. I guess they can’t be all winners.

Attempting to wash the bad experience down our throats a few of us went to a bar for an after hour cocktail. The very modern restaurant was playing euro versions of 1970 songs.