Tid Bits and Last Minute Thoughts

At the beginning there was 42. Now, so quickly we are at 41. Forty two days, six weeks, almost a month and a half.

I often talk about the age of everything we encounter in our travels. Everything in the US is so comparatively new. The B&B we are staying at, our last, was built in the 14Th century. Who lived here? The plaza 500 ft from our B&B dates back 2500 years. How do you digest that?

Some thoughts over the last seven weeks:

Because we need to pack so light, we are restricted from purchasing things we like. Not so easy or cheap to mail and breakage is an issue. I guess we all have too much stuff anyway so maybe it is a good thing.

It seems that ninety percent of the music played in Europe is American music.

About 20 train rides over 3 countries. Four in one day. Some as fast as 185 miles per hour.

Spent lots of money but Carol is going back to work.

Several cogs and a number of ski lifts.

Some incredibly massive mountains.

Three car rentals.

Five B+B in Tuscany

Millions of grape Vines and olive trees

Medical ICD devices throughout Italy. They need them.

Six Hotels in Switzerland. Two in Italy.

Hundreds of miles walked.

Thousands of stairs claimed

Three plane flights

One transatlantic cruise

A seven hour train ride through the Alps sometimes as high as seven thousand feet.

A couple of thousand pictures.

Don’t know how many pounds of Gelato consumed.

Five potential currencies involved

Meeting the real guy Rick Steves

Eleven straight days of sun in Italy

Seven foreign languages

A ton of memories

A blog so we won’t forget

Tid Bits June 6

Had some tech glitches and wanted to be sure that all of you have been receiving the blog posts on a regular basis. Just post ok if all is well.

The budget is blown big time. Too much gellato.

We had crying cat’s at our Ovietto stay 24/7. Had to see them on the rooftops.

Surprise around every corner while traveling.

Haven’t seen a squirrel in Europe.

Only have seen two golf courses.

My number one memory is sitting on the patio of a tiny cafe high in the Alps at the edge of a cliff in a valley, overlooking 13,000 ft snow capped mountains and drinking a beer and having a bowl of soup. My Miller moment. This experience was worth the cost of the whole trip

A tough second place was meeting my hero Rick Steves.

Residents in Hill towns park wherever they want.

If US had Europe TV there would be riots

Under the Tuscan Sun

Those of you who love romantic comedies have this one on your favorites list. If you’re a male you remember that Diane Lane starred in it. If you are a true romantic you will also remember the romantic Tuscan countryside where it was filmed, particularly the stunningly beautiful hill town of Cortona.

As I write this post we are preparing for dinner on our second night here leaving Friday the eighth to return our rental car then board the train for Milan and our flight home on Monday the tenth.

The church bells are ringing now, loud enough for all the town to hear and all the windows are open I think just like the movie. This indeed is a special place, a truly special place where it’s main square dates back hundreds of years before Christ. The town sits high on a hill and is beautifully old.

It’s roads are barely wide enough to hold one car, pedestrians must be on the lookout, and curves and steep hills are everywhere. You cannot imagine the experience unless you are behind the wheel. Church bells are ringing again and I bet everyone approves.

Cortona cannot be explained in words. I don’t think that it can be explained in pictures either. You have to understand that what makes it so unique is that whichever way you look it is special. Look beyond and see miles and miles of olive groves and wine vineyards and beyond that mountains nearly surrounding you.

Pictures will shortly post in the event you cannot come. Oh, and you should watch the movie again.

Tid Bits

Switzerland was expensive for everything. Fondue for two, fifty bucks.

Italy food a third the price. Pizza can be had for six dollars.

Mario Andretty got his experience driving the roads in Tuscany. Now everyone drives like him.

Give yourself time for doing anything. Taking taxi to car rental place we ran into a parade on the narrow streets. No options. Meter ran.

One restaurant advertised that they had a wood oven.

The exterior of the cathedral in Orvietto is incredible. We have seen most of the best. This is the best.

Less than a week from now we will be in New England. Two more hill towns to visit.

Tuscany

With the narrow and winding roads every where, it is difficult to take pictures as you travel. With such natural beauty made more beautiful with the millions of grape Vines and olive trees, maybe it is better to have the thought that I will see it again when I return.

The ride from Siena south just gets more spectacular with every bend in the road. It is just More beautiful with the exposure of what is just ahead of each bend. You just look at the person you are with …. No words need be spoken.

Our first stop was Pienza. This far (the first as of this writing) easily my best. Just enjoy !