Italia- Rome 2

Vatican City
Rome's Fountains
Some of the best times we had in Rome were spent walking at night. The city is so stunning. We ended up at the Trevi fountain a few of the nights. It's so beautiful lit up.

Walk to the PantheonInside the Pantheon

View of Roman Forum
We ate.. according to Lynn the BEST Lasagna he's ever had in a little Trattoria in Rome. I'm not a big fan of lasagna, but I LOVED it too. This was his favorite until we got to the coast. ;)

Tuscany

We loved driving through Italy and especially Tuscany. There are countless Hill Towns to see.

Volterra has incredible views, etruscan artifacts and wonderful history.
Etruscan Arch- oldest known. Early example of arch and keystone.
Newly uncovered Roman Theatre
We stayed several days in a villa in Sienna and took day trips to surrounding areas by car. Sienna is magical, especially at night. Below is entrance to the ancient walled city.



Trattoria
Best meal in Sienna... wow.

Hill Town Orvieto's Duomo has the most elaborate and decorated facade in Italy.
Ever wonder where some of the beautiful hand painted pottery at Sur La Tab comes from? Right here... Hill towns are wonderful, We also saw San Gimignano which was fabulous.

Florence

What a marvelous place Florence is. I felt like I could see Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael or Botticelli walk around the corner at any time. It seems unchanged.

Viewing the David was a remarkable experience.
End of the day viewing Florence at Sunset. Bucket list item.

Cinque Terre

We spent several days on the Italian Riviera at the Cinque Terre- five villages connected together by a hiking path and then in the 60's or 70's I think, the train connected them. Truly enchanting villages and very beautiful.

Pesto Lasagna

Venice

On our way from the Riviera to Venice we stopped in Parma- lifelong fantasy fulfilled ;) We also stopped in Modena for Balsamic and Bologna. Parmigiano Reggiano Factory below.Venice is a magical place as well. It's best to just get lost in it's maze of streets.

Pink Lights...

NYC

In May we spent some time visiting my brother Jeff and family in NY before we flew to Italy. It was so much fun to see all of them again! We had a wonderful time and Jeff took off with us for a great day in the city.
Since we've done a lot of sight seeing on previous trips, this was different and sooo fun! A full relaxing experience (with lots of walking of course) going wherever we wanted. Shopping and food, what could be better? I loved it. Pictured above is Batali's Eataly. After a trip there, I almost felt like I'd been to Italy... almost. ;) Great Gelato.

Chelsea Market was such a great place. I had always wanted to go. Food network is upstairs. We had a wonderful lunch and coconut cupcakes from Elena's. Recommend not missing that!
Famous Donut Planet with a line out the door.

Farmer's Market in Union Square- the best bread and honey. We also discovered more shopping, much to Lynn's delight, and I squeezed in my suitcase a few treasures from Fish's Eddy and some other fun stops.

Birthdays and Baseball

Jacob turned 1o on May 3rd. I think back over this last decade and can't help wondering what our life would be like without him. He's becoming a little man and I love watching him grow up. This year he's become particular about music, clothes etc..
Jacob is a hugger and I can usually count on his arms sneaking around me as I'm cooking in the kitchen, or a kiss on my cheek while I'm working on the computer. I love to hear him sing around the house- and in the shower! He's become interested in singing at school., maybe choir is for him. :)
His birthday was in the middle of crazy baseball and the night before Lynn and I left for Italy, so we celebrated with a late dinner out this year with the promise of some great Italian chocolate we'd bring him home.