Seeing the Sights!

Claire, Emerson, and Colby flew back to London on Monday.  Just after Papa and I got back from dropping them at the airport, we gathered up Audrey and Whitney's families, and drove to Bardolino, on Lake Garda.  We took the express ferry to Sirmione, where we had lunch, the girls played in the lake, we walked around the castle, and we had more gelato.  YUM!  We got home late in the afternoon and played in the garden for hours, started a fire, and enjoyed the day past 9 pm.

On Tuesday, we drove back into Verona, where we visited the Roman Theatre and Museum, with its magnificent view over Verona.  We walked across the Roman bridge into the old city and had a fresh pasta lunch, then walked through Piazza dei Signori, saw the Scagliere Arches, Juliet's Balcony, had more gelato, enjoyed Piazza Erbe, then went inside the colorful and elaborate Duomo, before heading back to our palazzo in San Pietre in Cariano.  We swam in the pool, played in the yard, started another fire, then walked around the neighborhood until dark.  Another fun day!

Family in Italy

Audrey and her girls arrived on Thursday by noon.  On Friday, we drove to Lazise, a small village on Lake Garda, for a walk along the shore of the lake.  It was beautiful and we're going back to Lake Garda today!  Claire arrived on Friday night and Dan arrived on Saturday afternoon.  We went to Molina, in the mountains near our house, where we hiked to several waterfalls.  On Sunday morning, we went into Verona, crossing the Castelvecchio Bridge and walking straight to Piazza Bra and the Roman Colleseum.  We had lunch of local meats and cheeses, then to see Juliet's house, before getting gelato.  We ate our gelato in the Piazza Della Erbe and enjoyed the day.  Papa and I picked up Whitney and Greta at the airport late afternoon, and we came home to a birthday celebration for me!  What fun in the garden of La Serenella!  My gift was a beautiful book with family photos and notes from family and friends that I will treasure forever!  Thank you to all!!!

Before dinner, after dinner, every waking moment, Papa and I are enjoying the sounds of little ones running and playing in the garden.  We're having a wonderful time!

La Serenella

Papa and I enjoyed our last breakfast at B&B Del Giglio in San Donato in Poggio yesterday morning and said goodbye to Laura and Beatrice.  They were wonderful hosts throughout our one week visit.

We drove back into Firenze to drop our rental car, then took the train to Verona, where we rented another car and found our way to our 10 day rental La Serenella, in the village of San Pietro in Cariano.  La Serenella was built in 1592 and is Palladian designed.  We rented half the house, as the sisters that grew up in the house and inherited it, could not agree on what to do with it, so they split it in half and each rents their half to people on holiday.  We're quite happy with our half, which will sleep 22 and has an enormous garden.  The original interior details are beautiful, with vaulted ceiling in the living room, painted wood ceilings in all other rooms, mostly herringbone wood floors throughout, with stone stairway.  We are looking forward to having most of our children and grandchildren spend time with us at La Serenella over the coming days.

Tuscan Hills

We woke up to a cloudy day, so we took our time leaving the B&B in the morning, and spent a few hours just driving through the Tuscan hills nearby.  We visited two small chapels, one with a cupola similar to the Duomo in Firenze, and the second with four ancient columns in front.  The views in every direction of our drive were beautiful even under clouds.  The sky cleared just before sunset.

Orvieto

Before leaving home a few weeks ago, Papa made arrangements with the University of Arizona Study Abroad Program, to visit their Orvieto campus.  We arrived yesterday morning in Orvieto, a dramatically situated hilltop town rising from a vertical butte of tufa.  We were met by Claudio on his motorbike and led through the city gate to park.  We then met Alba, the Director of UA Study Abroad Program in Orvieto, and she and Claudio began a tour for us.  First we went underground to see some of the Etruscan dug grottos, wells, and bird roosts, dating back to the 9th century BC.  Besides their work for UA, Alba and Claudio are also archaeologists, so this was special for them to share with us. We went up on top for a walk through the city, with its festival banners hanging.  We met several UA students studying this summer in Orvieto, and then went for lunch with some of them.  The lunch was incredibly delicious on a small piazza, in a beautiful setting.  We so enjoyed our conversations and hope to stay in touch with Maggie and Kim, UA professors that live in Tucson, but are spending their summer teaching in Orvieto.  Alba and Claudio then walked with us through the Duomo, covered in frescoes from the 14th century.

We were so impressed by the UA Study Abroad Program in Orvieto and the opportunity students have to spend there.  Their lives are changed from the experience.  We had a wonderful day!

Siena

We were welcomed to Siena by a colorfully dressed marching band, ages 5 to quite old, many carrying multicolored flags.  We knew it was going to be a good day!  We walked through town, seeing palazzo after palazzo, and the oldest bank in Italy and the world, Bianca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, founded in 1472.  We walked through the Piazza del Campo with its 14th century Torre del Mangia towering above the city.  We bought tickets to see the Duomo complex and enjoyed every moment of seeing one of the most ornate churches ever built, from the inlaid floors to the cupola to the layered green and white marble pillars.  We loved Siena from the moment we arrived!

Volterra and San Gimignano

After doing our laundry, we had a full day, visiting two villages, Volterra and San Gimignano.  Volterra's roots go back to Etruscan times and it has a Roman theater.  It has been inhabited continuously since the 8th century BC.  Its Piazza dei Priori is beautiful and the views in every direction are breathtaking.

We drove from Volterra, through the hills of Tuscany to San Gimignano, with its many towers.  We can see San Gimignano from our B&B in San Donato, so we particularly were interested to see it close up.  It is the "creme de la creme" of the small villages we have visited so far, and we are not alone in our assessment, as there were thousands of tourists in San Gimignano.  It is quite special.