(9/14) We left our lovely B&B and headed west-ish into the heart of Tuscany and the Val d’Orcia, an area so beautiful it is a UNESCO World Heritage Center. This…

(9/13) We stayed two nights in the delightful Il Giardino degli Etruschi (Garden of the Etruscans), a Bed & Breakfast just outside Chiusi. There are five bedrooms, each with it’s…

(9/12) Villa Lante was a late add to our itinerary and was such a great idea. Built by a Catholic Cardinal with a serious fascination with water, it has tiny…

(9/11) Amazingly, yesterday’s flooding left no marks – it was as if the deluge never happened. We woke up at our usual late morning time, finished the leftovers as a…

(April 24, 2014) We woke up this morning to a strong sense of ‘this vacation is over.’ Three weeks is a long lovely time, but now we’re just into the…

(April 23, 2014) Wednesday we went to the Islands. One at least: Murano. We meant to do more, to do a whole circle of them, but once again slept in…

(April 21-22, 2014) Tuesday, J was feeling better, so we went out to see some museums. Although we aren’t big fans of ‘modern’ art, the Ca’Pesaro has perfect little gem…

(it’s the best way to explore Venice) (April 20 and 21, 2014) Our time in Venice was lovely, and very different from other cities. For one thing, J came down…

(April 19, 2014) Not much to say about today — we had breakfast then drove to Florence, then took the train to Venice. Not much else happened. A conversation we’ve…

(April 18, 2014) Another wonderful breakfast got us fueled for a day of wandering the streets of Orvieto. Our first stop was the gaudy confection of a duomo.