Italy 2008

Italy

We’ve made it to Italy!

Report number one – Bologna: The flight was long, grueling and cramped but got us here in one (I guess two?) pieces. We took a bus from the airport to the center of the old city, got off at the first stop and ran into Patty on the crowded sidewalk in about three minutes! She […]

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Italy

A short stop in Arezzo

Report #2 — Only a few short hours down the AutoStrada is the charming medieval town of Arezzo. Cobblestone streets, picturesque shops, and many fashionable women in impractical shoes. We arrived in the rain, and sought shelter at the first restaurant we could find. Ravioli with burro e salvia (butter and sage) for Mike and […]

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Italy

Arriving at Villa Podere Miri

Report #3 — Not far from Arezzo is our villa. We arrived at the gate, and found Patty Matas and Linda Harvey waiting, bleary-eyed from an all-night train trip from Salzburg. We waited, fully cooperative with the instructions that we were NOT to arrive early. It was 3:30. Check-in was 4:30. We waited some more. […]

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Italy

Lucignano in the rain

Report #4 — Eggs for breakfast and then off to explore. A day of pouring rain, so we drove until we arrived at a town — Lucignano — that happened to be between downpours. More Italian doors to photograph. Nothing to eat, though, as everything in Italy is closed between 1 and 5, plus it’s […]

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Italy

Cortona, another beautiful hill town

A leisurely start to the day with cold pizza for breakfast. We were the last of our group to leave the villa, then drove to Cortona, being led all the way by our GPS girl. She is very strict, although her Italian pronunciation is very bad. Cortona is a crazy place, with slopes that seem […]

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Italy

Two days in Tuscany

Report #6 — The Villa Podere Miri is the place to be for painting, reading, palm-reading, swimming and resting. But that doesn’t mean we stay. The day brought a visit to San Sepulchro, another Tuscan hill town, and then a return visit to Arezzo since it wasn’t raining. Some light shopping was in order, but […]

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Italy

Volterra Day

Report #5 — On the recommendation of Rick Steves, we set out for Volterra, a good two million hours away. After a night of heavy eating and many, many mountain switchbacks, carsickness set in for some of our party. Patty navigated, Mike drove, and Liz lurched grimly from side to side. We stopped for lunch […]

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Italy

San Luciano winery tour

Just outside Monte San Savino, and near our villa Pia Modere, lies the San Luciano Winery, an artisanal vineyard with 63 hectares of grapes, including Trebbiano, malvasia, grechetto, sangiovese, canaiolo, and montepulciano varieties. We were greeted by Proprietor Stefano Ziantoni who graciously explained his processes and helped us sample the wines, which are lovely. Should […]

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Italy

Roccamorice – The motherland

In the early 1900s, Antonio Pietrangelo and his wife Maria emigrated to the United States with their two small daughters, Asunta (Sue) and Mary. (Petrangelo family photos here) Once here, they set about creating many more children, including Liz’s dad. So, a visit to the ancient homestead was in order. Roccamorice sits atop a hill […]

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Italy

Sulmona, Italy

We love Sulmona! We returned here because of our love for it ten years ago. We found a great place to stay right in the old town at Hotel Stella and the prop. Roberto Bono used his best English to give us special attention and good advice. Our room was spotless and the coffee bar […]

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Italy

Drive south of Sulmona

There’s much to explore in the province of Abruzzo, which isn’t a tourist mecca, but should be. We plotted a loop that would last us the day. First to Prestocostanzo, a little-visited Abruzzese hilltown. Of course, we took the requisite door pictures. Then on to Pescaseroli, with a stop at the Lago Barrea for fresh […]

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Italy

L’ Aquila, Italy market and museum

Off to L’Aquila, the capital city of Abruzzo, founded by the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II if you care about these things. We arrived in time for market day, where we could choose between fruit and pajamas, vegetables and copper pots, kitchen towels and calipers, or the latest fashions from Milan (sort of). A tour of […]

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Italy

Two days in Spoleto

A beautiful drive through the mountains took us to the charming arts-colony town of Spoleto. Famous for the Spoleto international arts festival, Spoleto also offered to us a hotel OUTSIDE the wall of the historic center, WITH a parking space (yay). We checked in to the Hotel Clarici, then spent two days exploring. The Museum […]

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