Todi in Summer

This is Todi...on the square....the first picture is of a wedding we stumbled upon one day in Todi...

The second picture is of Mom and Maxine (Gloria) when they came to visit.....I'll have to give you the story on Maxine when I get to that picture...don't let me forget...

The third is just a picture from the other side of Todi..that we don't often go to...and you can see the Duomo on the left...we finally visited the Duomo this week....was very nice...and classical I thought..wasn't overly ornate...I like the uncluttered feel of it....

We have been doing a lot of sightseeing around our area...there is just so much with a thirty mile radius that it is incredible.....

We visited the Marmore Falls this week as well....just scouting expedition....but Sue saw an article in a magazine and they mentioned these falls....so we thought we would check them out...

They are 30 minutes away from us....but took us about 3 hours to get there.....so next time we will take a picnic lunch and take the hike to the top of the falls.....

There was a nice lake town there as well.....will go back when Fran and Rog get here and will post some more pictures...the lake town is very picturesque...doesn't look real!

That is Florence Down There

Okay,

Florence wasn't my favorite city....but we are going to give it another shot...in case we didn't have the right frame of mind that day.....since it is one of those "can't miss" places in Italy...it surely merits another shot.....

This is us eating at a nice little bistro in a small town on top of Florence looking down at Florence..was actually my favorite part of the day...this was a beautiful little town....

And that last picture is of the Ponte Vecchio....world famous...it was really cool...you can see the shops all along the bridge....very quaint...

David's Butt

My 2nd favorite thing in Florence and my last would have to be Michelangelo's David....and his butt....

This is the concrete sculpture on top of the hill in a park overlooking Florence...his marble statue is in the museum......

This is not my favorite piece of his.....actually the Pieta'...I think is how you say it...was my favorite...that is in St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome.....but today we are in Florence.....

My Favorite Piece of Art in Florence

HEY! It's Art!

Okay, so you know how Florence is the city of the Reneissance period....has Michelangelo's David....and all kinds of other Humanity Appreciation Stuff........well I know that I'm supposed to appreciate it way...way more than I actually did......and my favorite piece of artwork in Florence is the Jester in Pitti Gardens.....

Humanities is alive and well in Florence.......and there is tons there to appreciate!....but it was by far my least favorite of all places so far in Italy.....

Anyway, this is a sculpture in the garden of the Pitti Palace...a very famous palace with tons of artwork in the museum now.....and gorgeous gardens

This is the Court Jester of the town.....look at his short little legs.......he is a little person.......

Anyway, I know that I should have brought away something a little more refined and educated back with me from Florence....but seriously...besides this little guy there wasn't much I liked about Florence....but we will give it another try when Fran and Rog get here.....maybe we didn't have the right perspective...so we are going to give Florence another chance.....

Buon Giorno! A tease of a treat for you!

Okay,

I am back on track now, however, the posts for June will be in no particular order.

We have been completely out of whack for the past month or so.....but was inspired today....

Just wanted to give you a little teaser for the upcoming sunflower season.....

There are rolling fields of these things....hillside after hillside after hillside.....I can't wait until they are all out....this is the first field that is out...and you can see that they aren't all completely bloomed....

But I know a couple of you have been waiting for these pictures...so wanted to give you one that I snapped today....on our way into Todi....just to tease you!

I apologize again for the delay....I keep saying that I will do better....but I never do....I know that the purpose of this blog is to keep you informed 'as we go along' ....not wade through 1000 pictures after a month of frollicking in the Tuscan Sun... hee/hee.....(just wanted to throw that in there)..kind of takes a little something away from the apology doesn't it? I'm just teasing...I will try to be better.....

We have also been enjoying our house and pool for the past few weeks.....

We had visitors here in May.....and then our family ...that's mine and Piddle's both...at the same time....under one roof......for 2 weeks...(11 people) ...maybe that was pushing it a little....just a word of advice...no matter what....I mean...no matter WHAT....NEVER NEVER plan a family vacation with family members from both sides of the family! The two weeks might have been the kicker......It was a disaster-waiting-to-happen....

But we have already debriefed from that ordeal...can't go backwards........and can appreciate the fun we had and really enjoyed spending time with the kids and our family...........

I do think the kids had a great time.......even though the adults couldn't behave themselves.... isn't that how it always is?.......but I think the kids enjoyed the adventure.........and that is what really matters.....giving the kids the opportunity to experience other cultures and other parts of the world....that's what it's about.....

Anyway, will keep posting.....may take a couple of days to get them posted.....but I'm on it!

Ciao!