On our first day in Italy, we chose a 10 hour excursion driving through the beautiful areas of Tuscany. On our first stop, we entered the walled city of Lucca. The city has kept its old-world charm. Cobbled-stone streets were narrow, making room only for a small car one-way or bicycles. Lucca is called the city of 99 churches, and we explored the interiors of several of the ornate structures.
We stopped for lunch at an Italian farmhouse and learned about all the orchards of olive trees and the acres of grapevines that we saw throughout the day in the countryside. Again, I probably missed some excellent wine at this stop but tasted several different kinds of olives--kind of sour!!
Our last stop was to Villa Torrigiani--one of the most important and elegant houses in the area including beautiful fountains and trees. The villa is shown second from the top of the photos for this blog. The top photo includes some of the grounds. As we strolled around the gardens, we concluded that even the very rich, who lived in homes like this, still lacked all the conveniences that we are used to in today's world; we wouldn't trade our small homes for this mansion with no indoor plumbing or central heating system!
Our second day in Italy, I decided to stay on the ship for some "alone time" while everyone else headed for some catacombs. I am very cluastrophobic, so catacombs didn't appeal to me at all! I read a novel and relaxed on the ship.
2 comments:
Wow, that looks like you had an amazing trip. I love the pictures and I am glad that you made it back safely, Grandpa kept calling to let me know when you would return.
Ashley,
I would love to be a reader of your new private blog. What do I need to do?
Aunt Marilyn
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