New perennial garden at our local park – so lovely in the fall.My favorite neighborhood maple tree. It looks like this every fall and is always exciting to walk past.Perfect biking weather!!!Fun pumpkin patch – looked for Charlie Brown but he was no where to be found. 😉Beautiful end to our day!
“We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun.” – Winnie the Pooh
I want to thank everyone for traveling with us and most of all, for commenting on the posts. It meant so much to me, knowing that people were following along and cared enough to send a note. A huge shout out to my #1 fan – Casey! Thanks for all of your feedback, Sonshine. XOXO
Since we are flying home from Amsterdam, we decided to take a slight detour to Haarlem. (Where Harlem, New York got it’s name!). A thirty minute bus ride from the Amsterdam airport and we were at one of our favorite B & B’s. The next morning we started our day with a hearty breakfast.We rented a couple of bikes and headed out to their National Forest.As we rode out of the city, we passed a school yard with this sculpture. I loved it!!! “Picture, please?”In the forest we came across these wild ponies. Wild, but rather tame, or at least, not afraid of people.When we began riding in the Netherlands a couple of years ago, it all seemed so chaotic and a bit intimidating. People were crossing in front of one another and merging without even pausing to look around. Pretty quickly it started to feel more like a dance and before long – we were part of the ballet!
FlorenceSienaFrom the top of the tower – SienaBruschetta – amazing tomatoes this time of the year!Florence – DuomoVarennaBellagio – Lake ComoHiking in Cinque Terre.Manarola – Cinque TerreFrom the rafters of the Duomo – SienaIn the gardens of La Foce.La Foce Gardens – posted this photo earlier but think I it bears repeating ;-DWindowsill in Tuscany.Evening in Assisi.Just a delightful picture of someone’s garden in Assisi!From a cafe in Venice while having cicchetti (tapas) for lunch.Sunset in Venice.
Typical street scene, ending at one of the many, many canals.With all of these streets and canals come numerous bridges.Murph and I love going into the various local neighborhoods. This one is Cannaregio.Did I mention the bridges?It was so amazing to watch the resident kids. These three siblings – the boys on roller skates and their little sister towing a scooter – handled the stairs with ease. Even pushing and shoving, as brothers will do, while running up and down the steps with skates on their feet!You can’t tell from the photo but this neighborhood was jumping on a Friday evening. Restaurants and pubs overflowing with happy people looking forward to the weekend and the squares buzzing with kids playing soccer. When the moms starting calling the kids in for dinner, the game came to an abrupt end. To be continued tomorrow…We were rewarded with this lovely sunset, drawing our day to a close.The next day George & Mary joined us when we went to another neighborhood – Castello. We had breakfast in this 1896 greenhouse to begin the day.Pastries are an Italian “must”!No caption needed ;-DLots of clothes hanging out but this particular towel reminded me of how very much alike we are. After all, who doesn’t love Minnie?We visited a sculpture park along the way. Check out these “flowers”!Loved these dancers.But this was my favorite!There’s not an abundance of foliage in Venice so this tree lined canal was a welcome sight.
Dorsoduro – the neighborhood we called home for 6 nights.Going down the Grand Canal.Under the Rialto Bridge.Passing palazzos.St Mark’s BasilicaNo pictures allowed inside but trust me there was more gold leaf than a certain person’s towers. (Can’t bear to say his name along with such beauty)Atop St Mark’sCampanile (bell tower) on the left and Doge’s (leader of the city-state) Palace on the right.The Bridge of Sighs connects the palace to the prison.The view from inside the bridge – so named because when prisoners were taken to the dungeons, they sighed – knowing it was the last time they would see the canal and Venice.The Clock Tower (Torre dell’Orologio) built during the Renaissance in 1496.The tower sports one of the world’s first “digital” clocks (with dramatic flips every five minutes.)From St Mark’s Square we could see the bronze men (Moors) swing their huge clappers at the top of each hour. In the 17th century, one of them knocked an unsuspecting worker off the top and to his death – probably the first-ever killing by a robot!Of course, we saw gondolos everywhere!Walked over to the Rialto Market (Mercato), where we saw beautiful displays of fruits & veggies.And “interesting” ways to show off the fish.Many chefs were there, hauling off the “catch of the day”.
“First, think. Second, believe. Third, dream. And finally dare.” – Walt Disney
George dreamed of going to Bologna and so here we are!He found these rather strange looking plants and called me over to discuss. “Hmm, I know I have these growing in a planter in Florida”…on closer inspection we realized they’d been dipped in velvet! Ugh, neither of us were fans after that.Little did we know that tortellini is very prevalent in Bologna. And look at that cheese, yum!So many loggias or covered archways all around the city. Very pretty!Ummm, interesting fountain?Biggest reason for going to Bologna was a food tour that George arranged for us. We started at the cheese factory.So interesting to see how parmigiano reggiano is made.And so much fun to dress in plastic for this tour ; – )Next we went to a third generation balsamic vinegar operation where we learned that the really good balsamic is made of…two ingredients – grapes and time! That’s all folks!!!What can I say about the lunch they served us at this beautiful hillside agriturismo other than it was amazing!?! We lost count of the many courses they served us.And treated me well, even though I was the lone vegetarian.Prosciutto factory was a bit disturbing.All in all it was a fantastic day and our tour guide was as cute as he could be. And most importantly, George thoroughly enjoyed himself!Bologna has interestingly shaped benches for people to relax, all around the city. I’m game😉
“Come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned.” – Peter Pan
Orvieto’s cathedral has Italy’s liveliest facade. This colorful, prickly Gothic facade divided by four pillars, has been compared to a medieval altarpiece.The mosaics gleam in the afternoon sunshine.Close up of 14th century, gold leaf mosaic.The interior is warmly lit by alabaster windows, highlighting the black-and-white striped stonework.Impressive, right?In the center of the town is the Torre del Moro (Tower of the Moor). Great way to see the surrounding countryside.Easiest tower steps EVER!!! Wooden – evenly sized and spaced. Never seen the likes of these. Such a breeze to climb!Later that day we arrived in Assisi. It was hard to leave our balcony with this view, to explore the town that St Francis put on the map!Murph and I went on this forest walk just down from the Basilica. Nice to be in the woods for a change.Great vantage point for viewing the surrounding hills.Basilica of St Mary of the Angels – This huge Basilica marks the spot where Francis lived, worked, and died. It’s a grandiose church built around a humble chapel – reflecting the monumental impact of this simple saint on his town and the world.
When we read ” B & B Palazzolo La Foce let’s you sleep aristocratically in a small villa just below La Foce Gardens.” I immediately called that as my “pick”. We were not disappointed!The view was so amazing – George went down for a closer look. The peak on the left is an inactive volcano.Going to be hard to leave this place to tour the area hilltowns…One evening we went on the La Foce Gardens tour where I wished I had every one of my gardening friends with me!The gardens were a labor of love for Iris Origo, an English-born, Italian-bred aristocrat who left her mark on this area.The gardens cap a hill with geometrical Italian gardens and rugged English gardens that flow into the Tuscan countryside.Worth a pilgrimage for garden lovers.That evening we drove up rugged, hair pin turn roads to Monticchello to walk around and eat dinner.Very pretty at night.A bit out of order but this is part of the fortification for Montepulciano.La Foce cemetery – where Iris is buried.Iris was instrumental in creating the beautiful gardens but she is more renowned in the area for her part during WWII. She and her husband harbored many children and soldiers. At one point they had to flee to a neighboring hill top with 30 children in tow!Love these cypress trees.These two white horses came to graze in the nearby field in the evenings.How does this even happen!?!
Duomo – This 13th century Gothic cathedral, with it’s striped bell tower – Siena’s ultimate tribute to the Virgin Mary – is heaped with statues, plastered with frescoes, and paved with art.We went on a guided tour up to the rafters of the Duomo. While ducking our heads, we peered through opened stain glass windows for a bird’s eye view of the cathedral below.And we walked along the roof top. Very cool!!!Back inside and almost level with the dome, it was a real “high” to be this close to the top.We’re usually on the floor looking straight above our heads.Siena’s 17 historic neighborhoods, or contrade – each with a parish church, well or fountain, and square – still play a active role in the life of the city. Each is represented by a mascot (porcupine, unicorn, wolf, etc) and unique colors worn proudly by residents. When we heard the thunder of distant drumming we ran to see the action. This contrade,celebrating a holiday, honoring the Virgin Mary.With many neighborhood residents, wearing their contrade scarves, following the parade. As we walked around the town that evening we saw many long tables set up in different squares. Adults and children alike eating and laughing – clearly enjoying their neighbors and this holiday.A fine picture of Siena’s city hall complete with tower. This tower was built around 1340. At 330 feet, it’s one of Italy’s tallest secular towers. Medieval Siena was a proud republic, and this tower stands like an exclamation point – an architectural declaration of independence from papacy and empire.This is a fun shot of the tower’s shadow in the main square or campo. We were at the top of the tower when Murph took this picture.George and me at the Fountain of Joy (Fonte Gaia). The joy is all about how the Sienese republic blessed it’s people with water.And the pigeons too, I guess 😉ll Campo (officially the Piazza del Campo) – First laid out in the 12th century is the only square we’ve ever seen where people stretch out as if at the beach. Pretty nice view I’d say!Mary, George and me at the Campo on our evening stroll.Even their street lights are contrade themed. Very beautiful sight while walking along, as they are all in different colors to match the specific contrade (neighborhood) in which they hang.
Murphys on the Move 