2007 08 25 Our Italian Adventure

We took an Insight tour of Italy from August 25-September 8. We got a good overview of the history and culture of the country, saw a variety of sights, and climbed a lot of hills to partially offset our daily consumption of gelato, the luscious Italian ice cream that is readily available. Our 27 traveling companions from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the US were pleasant, compatible, and fun.

The map shows the general scope of the tour and our base locations for one to three nights, but we took many excursions to other places as well. Follow the arrows, starting and ending in Rome. It was a country roads tour, so most of the ride was on narrow mountain roads with steep drop-offs and hairpin curves. Our driver, Dino, handled them beautifully. The hill towns were our favorite places, but we’re glad to have spent some time in Rome, Venice, and Florence as well. I’ve chosen a few representative pictures to show the variety of our activities. Bill will follow up later with a more complete set of reflections, which will be posted on our website.

This is the Commonwealth Cemetery at Cassino, one of several cemeteries honoring the allied dead from the World War II Battle of Monte Cassino.

We were in the Abbey of Monte Casino during Sunday mass. At the time I took this picture we were listening to Gregorian chants. The building is a reconstruction as the Allies bombed the entire monastery to bits during the war, thinking that German troops were hiding in it. St. Benedict’s original room is still intact down below, and we were able to see it. The original abbey was founded by St. Benedict about 529 on the remnants of a pre-existing Roman fortification.

We visited Pompeii on a hot afternoon—45 degrees Celsius or over 100 Fahrenheit. People who were sensitive to heat had a tough time of it. We were warned to bring umbrellas to use for shade. The heat didn’t bother me, and I thought the tour was fascinating. That’s Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

This is the Sorrento Coast, one of the many lovely views we enjoyed along the coast.

Just outside our hotel in Sorrento a village festival was going on. This one happened to be the festival celebrating the eggplant. Following the parade there was singing and general merriment that went on into the night

One of my favorite lunches was at the ancient farm of Rosa and Maria, where we ate and drank only what had been produced at the farm. Rosa greeted us and explained how they make the wine and then she interpreted while Maria, who spoke no English, made mozzarella before our very eyes. We ate fresh caprese salad and drank limoncello on a patio in a shady arbor.

Our friends Norm and Sue Loomer, newly retired and celebrating, accompanied us on the trip. On a night of poking round Sorrento with them, Bill found Ristorante Bagni Delfino (thanks to the Rick Steves guidebook) on the waterfront and we had a delicious seafood dinner.

We visited Santa Maria degli Angeli, which is built around St Francis’ original church that still sits intact in the middle. St Francis worshipped and died here, so it’s a very big attraction for pilgrims. A congregation from Sicily, complete with their church banner, were chanting and doing a sort of circular line dance at several holy sites we visited that day.

This street in Assisi is typical of the streets in the many hill towns we visited, though it’s wider than most and the light is better. Our hill town street pictures are generally pretty dark.

Our tour director, Anna Targett from Birmingham, UK, did an excellent job of giving historical and cultural background information as well as being very capable of keeping us happy and attending to details. In addition to Anna, we had local guides in most of the places we stopped. This is Giovanni, our Cortona guide, explaining some Etruscan ruins.

Cortona was “put on the map” by Frances Mayes in Under the Tuscan Sun. This is the home where she and her husband still live.

The pigeons in St. Mark’s Square in Venice are cute, but heaven help us if avian flu ever hits here.

It had to be done. Doesn’t every tourist in Pisa have to stand for a picture in front of the campanile? That’s Norm and Sue with us. We are still sporting happy smiles because the thunder, lightning, heavy wind, and sheets of rain hadn’t hit yet. Minutes after this picture was taken we sought refuge in the Composanto, the cloister-like building that houses the tombs.

Is this gorgeous or what? It’s a view over Tuscany from outside San Gimignano.

Bagno Di Vignolo is a spa, with a spring bubbling into a huge pool at 55 degrees Celsius—that’s hot. The run-off down a rocky channel is a good place to stick your feet in the thermal mineral water after it cools off a bit. While we were relaxing here, Anna and Dino, our tour director and driver, were laying out our picnic feast of local meats, cheeses, and wines they’d picked up at the grocery store.

At Tarquinia we entered Etruscan tombs, excavations, and museum. This is a family tomb that contains frescoes and places for both cremated and uncremated remains.

Back in Rome at the end of the trip we did the usual sites—Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Vatican, Coliseum, Catacombs—that just have to be done in Rome. I’m glad I did it, but I don’t need to do it again. The crowds in the Vatican were downright oppressive. It was body to body in the Sistine Chapel. You’ve all seen pictures of those other places, so I’m including the Baths of Caracalla here.

We plan a return visit to Tuscany the first week of June 2008 with all our children and grandchildren. We've rented a 500-year-old vila with eight bedrooms and three bathrooms for fourteen people. Now that we've done the overview, we're ready for some time to savor the beauty of Tuscany.