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Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Italy Day 7

 We left Venice Mestre at 9 am for our 6 hour ride to Orvieto. We had 2 stops along the way one for a rest stop and the other for lunch at an Auto Grill.  Those Auto grills confuse me and sometimes too overwhelming.  




We arrived in Orvieto around 3:30 pm and the last time we were here we took a funicular up to the top and it dropped us near the square.  This time we took us to the other side of Orvieto so we had a walk through the more of the town.  





Of course Michael found a cat or two or maybe more along the way. Anyone shocked again..😆 


We had some beautiful views from the top from our photographer extraodinaire. 













After the walk to the square and some of us needed to take a rest before concert....have I said it is hot? 


Yep Mark always captures me at my very best don’t y'all think?! 🫣


Ready to sing for the town.  The people really enjoyed the concert.  It is heartwarming to see the smiles and some of them even singing along with you.  


After the concert we took a walk back into town to the resturant for a group dinner. 

The Duomo di Orvieto




Along the way back we saw this florist and I must say the plants and flowers were very pretty. 


Walking to dinner 

The hanging above a table in the restaurant struck me as pretty cool.






Yeah not the best picture but it is what it is.. when in Rome do as the Roman’s do and they always seem relaxed so I am relaxed. 😎 

Creamy sausage pasta -unsure of the actual name of the dish
 Caprese plate

Below are cold green beans and I must say as odd as they look they were delicious.

Tiramisu and it was deliziosa!


After dinner we boarded our buses to head to Rome for the next 3 nights.  

Back at the hotel and Susan and Mark got the Grandioso Room so we have a nice room to visit and relax when needed the next few days.



Our last concert is tomorrow night in Rome.  There are some walking tours during the day. Stay tuned for more fun picutres. 

addio per ora 


Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Italy Day 6

After our day in Verona we were off to a Venice Mestre for two nights.

Here are a couple of photos from Verona of Juliet’s balcony, the amphitheater  and some information on the town. 

Verona is a city in northern Italy’s Veneto region, with a medieval old town built between the meandering Adige River. It’s famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet." A 14th-century residence with a tiny balcony overlooking a courtyard is said be “Juliet’s House." The Verona Arena is a huge 1st-century Roman amphitheater, which currently hosts concerts and large-scale opera performances.










Lunch in Verona 

Of course Michael had anchovies on his pizza the man who doesn’t eat pizza. 🤣


Mark ordered a salad….there wasn’t any lettuce! 🤷‍♀️


Michael ordered Apple Pie and ice cream and it was more of a muffin. He loved it even if it wasn’t pie. 

There was a group dinner at the hotel in Venice Mestre and we only got a couple of pictures just because 😉




The lights above the table in the lobby of our hotel in Venice Mestre. Very unique! 


As I mentioned in the last blog we chose to take a day of rest and it go to Venice for the day since we had been there before and it turned out we weren’t going to be singing in St Marks Basilica. 

But we did have lunch! 


Roasted vegetables 

Steamed vegetables. We really hadn’t had many meals that included vegetables except for tomatoes of course. 

Prosciutto and mozzarella 

Ham and cheese sandwich 


Mark got his salad with lettuce 😉


Spaghetti Bolognese 


Spaghetti Carbonara 

A photo hanging in the restaurant. 🤔


Sitting at dinner at the restaurant  by the window suddenly out of the sky above falls this lid!   🫣🤦‍♀️ There was a waiter outside cleaning a table and was as shocked as me. People on the street looking at it and up at the building. Kids taking selfies with it. Can't make this stuff up! 😂


Michael couldn’t stand it he had to go see if he could tell where it came from. 🤪


Turns out there are living spaces above the hotel and it happens fairly often. 🤷‍♀️

Next stop is Orvieto for our 3rd concert. 

Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone! 


Sunday, July 28, 2024

Italy Day 4 & 5

A little behind with the blog. But we were in Montecatini Terme on Saturday. 

 We chose not to go to Piza and Lucca and instead went in search of the Funicular  to Montecatini Alto. But first we needed to use GPS. Grace needed 2 pair of glasses. 🤓 



Along the way Michael found a cat to photograph. Anyone shocked?




We arrived after a hot walk to buy our ticket. Fortunately they had a nice place to rest with a fan to keep you somewhat cool.







Montecatini Alto, literally translated as Montecatini high, is the town on the hill above Montecatini Terme.


The views were beautiful. 




 We had views of the olive trees and the beautiful Orleander 




We had reservations for lunch at noon in this charming restaurant with our own little room. 


















Back down the mountain to get ready for our next concert. 

The venue was in the park near hotel with fantastic architecture and arts.
  

Parco delle Terme di Montecatini it is a world heritage site.










Below is the picture in Florence from our first concert that I told you we started the concert on the front steps. 



Day 5 was really just a travel day from Montecatini to Verona then here to Venice Maestre. 

Some pictures above Verona. 




 

The Po River below winds its way through four regions in northern Italy, namely Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Veneto. It touches the cities of Turin, Milan, and Venice, among others, making it an important waterway for transportation and commerce throughout history. 



It has been a long day but we are at the hotel and there is a dinner tonight at the hotel for everyone,  

Looking forward to a good night sleep.  We chose not to go to Venice tomorrow.  The day starts early and end very late.  We have been there before so happy to take a long day of rest.  I may have gotten a bit too much sun today.