Italy 2009

  • Back in Vernazza

    OK, so just a postscript to my last post from Monterosso: Oh my friggin’ god! The walk back from Monterosso to Vernazza was pure torture. Made the hike to Corniglia feel like a stroll on the walls around Lucca by comparison. Well, maybe it was because it was the end of the day and I…

  • Monterosso al Mare

    I wish I’d spent my entire two week vacation in the Cinque Terre. I just love it here! Yesterday at about 18.00 a thunderstorm rolled in off the mountains. I bought a bottle of wine and a hunk of foccacia and sat out on the balcony of my room, overlooking the water, under the canopy, watching…

  • Martedì, settimana due

    My train for Castelnuovo di Garfagnana leaves in about an hour, so Iàve been wandering around Lucca this morning, took a bike ride on the walls (itàs like the Lucchesi version of Greenlake), and popped into this Internet spot, where they charge ten cents a minute. In Firenze I got 30 minutes for a Euro.…

  • Domenica

    One last post from Firenze. It remains hot and sunny, and I am glad to have the respite of my air conditioned B&B in a very convenient location. Iàve been to more things than I can remember. I have been writing down highlights in my journal, so Iàll be able to share details later. The…

  • Venerdì

    Sono in Firenze. Forget the throngs. (Take San Gimignano and multiple by 1000.) And I donàt know why there is a need for a hundred different booths on the street selling the exact same belts, scarves, and T‑shirts. None of that matters. I was here 5 minutes, just walking to my hotel from the bus,…

  • Giovedì

    Sorry to all who have been waiting for my first report; I only today discovered that the hotel has internet access. And this keyboard types some bizarre (Italian) characters, so if I accidentally type some accents, forgivè me. So the first thing to report it that it has been terribly hot the whole time. Today…