Italy

family, Italy

Last day at the villa

Today, we leave Casa Duetto for good, and we are sad to say goodbye to our amazing view and quiet evenings in the Apennine ridge. We discover we have a set of orphan photos, snapped on this phone or that, and collected here as a reminder to ourselves of what life is like at the […]

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family, Italy

A day trip to Lucca

On this day of sunshine, we are able to successfully wrestle ourselves out of bed, take our showers, and make our way to Lucca for exploration. Not far from Florence and Pisa, Lucca has somehow escaped the masses of tourists bound for those two other places. Lucca is surrounded by a wall which dates back […]

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family, Italy

The vintage bicycles of Lucca, Italy

Our day in Lucca was filled with many nice images, but Pat was won over by the number of people who primarily travel by bicycle. The old city within the wall is closed to most vehicles (except for residents) so bicycles are a preferred form of transport. They come in all shapes, sizes, colors and vintages – […]

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family, Italy

Barga and Ponte A Serraglio

After a day of rest and recovery, we are ready to explore some of the many villages that make up the Territori della Valle Del Serchio. The driving remains challenging and scary, but luckily, the men like the adventure and the chance to go fast around sharp turns. First stop is Barga, considered one of the […]

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family, Italy

A long day’s journey to Casa Duetto

The first day is all about getting to the destination still in possession of all luggage and a modicum of good cheer. We meet our travel mates at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport for the ceremonial checking of the bags and frisking by the TSA. Two and a half hours, and we are in Toronto for a […]

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family, Italy

Three bittersweet farewells in one day

Hard as it is to accept, our trip is really coming to an end. We’ve seen amazing sites on two separate land masses, have spoken a foreign tongue, have walked until our feet are swollen, have seen an active volcano, amazing antiquities, beautiful people, and churches galore. For those gentlemen who may be wondering, the Italian […]

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family, Italy

Bologna Thursday — Time to reflect and consider

The rooftop of the Hotel San Donato is the perfect place to sketch — and to appreciate the ancient towers, churches, red tiles rooftops, and iron crosses that stretch out in waves. We don’t have much time left in this beautiful city, so we need to make the most of our day. Taken in toto, […]

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family, Italy

Bologna Wednesday: Off to Florence

We plunk down our 50 Euros per person for a round trip on the high-speed train to Florence. This will give us a new experience — riding a train in Italy — and will get us back to our tourist-free Bologna streets by dinnertime. Looking forward to a ride in the countryside, we are surprised […]

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family, Italy

A whole world under a library

We know it’s true that a library holds entire worlds, but few libraries hold an actual ancient civilization under the floorboards. Visit the Instituzione Biblioteche del Comune di Bologna, and you will definitely want to look in the basement. The main floor of the library is constructed of thick plexiglas tiles, through which you will get […]

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family, Italy

Santo Stefano: A Bologna landmark

As the detailed booklet we bought for five Euros tells us, “it was probably a pure, rich spring that began the wonderful history of Santo Stefano about 2,000 yeas ago.” About a five-block walk from the Hotel San Donato in Bologna’s central historic district, Santo Stefano is really a cluster of churches that are all […]

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family, Italy

Hello, Bologna

And so, our adventure continues. Up early to prep for departure from Sicily — Liz and Mike to Bologna where we will meet with sister Carla and her husband Les, and Charlie and Jane to Catania, where they will spend one last night in Sicily before flying back home to the U.S. In our industry, […]

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family, Italy, Sicily

Taormina in September

We are rested enough, and Taormina beckons. Our touring guidebook has this to say about it: “On a bluff above the Ionian Sea, at the foot of Monte Tauro, Taormina is Sicily’s most famous tourist resort.” Who wouldn’t want to go there? We decide to take the scenic route because our touring book also talks […]

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Italy

Our last day – PAR TOT!

On our last day in Italy we unexpectedly found ourselves in the middle of a huge event called “Par Tot” (meaning “For All”). I had a great vantage point standing on the edge of the Neptune fountain, joined by our friend Patrick from MN. It was a city wide event of costumes, music, dancing, floats, […]

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Italy

Bologna Day 5

What’s left to do? Ah, the Museum of Medieval History. Most museums we are accustomed to feature collections gathered from around the world, typical of an era or a people. But in Bologna, the collections are of local history. Bologna is unique in that, while other cities exalt rich men with massive tombs, the Bolognese […]

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