If you guessed Italy, you’re right! We traveled there for two weeks and had a fabulous time. We had beautiful weather in the 70s-80s F. The only time it rained was on travel days!
“Traveling is the ruin of all happiness! There’s no looking at a building after seeing Italy.”
~Fanny Burney
Our first stop was Florence, with a great hotel on the Arno River. I spent a lot of time taking photos from the room’s window! After four days in Florence our plan was to travel through Tuscany and finish in Rome. Our stops included: San Gimignano, Siena, Assisi and Rome. San Gimignano was just a half-day trip on the way to Siena. My husband offered to drive through Tuscany and drop the car at the Rome airport. Our plan was to avoid driving in any major cities! Barring a few wrong turns, we succeeded!
Since we got home very late Monday night…I’m just now starting to edit photos.
I’ll post as soon as I can, beginning with Florence! Here’s one to start~
The photo was taken in front of our hotel, looking west down the Arno River. You’ll see the Ponte Alle Grazie bridge. This was the second bridge built over the Arno, the first being the famous Ponte Vecchio. Ponte Alle Grazie bridge was first built in 1237 and over the years had a home for nuns; then shops and homes, as the Ponte Vecchio does now. A fierce flood destroyed the bridge and it was rebuilt. During WWll it was destroyed by bombs. It was rebuilt in 1957 and remains unchanged.
Looking west along the Arno River. The Ponte Alle Grazie bridge can be seen in the photo.
Don’t change this channel! Stay tuned for more updates from Italy!
Thanks for hanging in there while I was away….I appreciate my blogger friends!
Judy
jayjaysfavorites 
Having lived just south of Rome for three years we had easy access to all of those places. I loved Tuscany and many weekends we would take off to this great little B+B run by an English couple on an old converted farm. Part of the fun was to sit around the great big dining table with other guests whilst Donald and his wife prepared the evening meal. We’d chat, drink a little, eat lots, chat more, drink lots, eat more, chat less, drink even more and finally stagger off to bed.
Next day though we would all be up and away exploring the countryside and many villages with a good hearty breakfast in us. Happy Days…..
Mike….what a great story! I would love to live there and be able to see more of the countryside like you did. This was my second trip, my husband’s first. It seems like we never get everything on our list covered! I said this time…I really think I could live in Assisi for a while. I love that town, small, peaceful, quiet…. I could go back to Italy in a nanosecond if it weren’t for the $$! Thanks for sharing your story!
Welcome Back – cannot wait to hear about your adventures, especially if this post is just a teaser, oops meant the beginning – ha! Have a Great One:)
haha…you crack me up, Renee! And I appreciate your support so much. I’m getting ready to put them in a gallery (I have too many to start with!). Galleries take me a while to set up. I’m sure there’s so many I’ll bore people. Oh well!
Thanks for your wonderful encouragement! Happy day to you!
I’ll have my popcorn ready for the next installed. If this photo is any example of what is to come, I’ll be ready. Awesome photo.
Gosh, Tess. You are my numero uno cheerleader! I adore you! I’ve got some (too many) ready for a gallery. I’m sure there’s so many I’ll bore people. But I find it hard to edit them down to just a few! 😉 Stay tuned. Galleries take me a bit to put together!
Interesting photo because I see no birds or boats on the water .
So true! I do have one coming up with a raft, and there are scullers on the river sometimes. I was hoping to catch them, but didn’t. (probably slept too late!) I swear the pigeons outnumber the people! I did get a pic of a seagull sitting on the fountain at St. Peter’s Square in Rome! And there were sweet ducks living under the Grazie bridge. But, you’re right, not as many birds flying around in Florence as we saw in the rest of Tuscany.
You lucky, lucky girl!!! How wonderful. 🙂
Thank you, I was very lucky, Zelmare! I hope the photos show up well!
What a fantastic view from your hotel! It sounds like you had a wonderful time in Italy – I’m looking forward to hearing about your adventures 🙂
I’m ready for the first installment, Meg! So hard to edit them down! I’m thinking I’ll do a gallery. I could go back to Italy in a minute if it wasn’t for the money! lol You did such a nice job of presenting your photos, by subject. I loved the way you did that. I’m not organized enough to do that! I love to take extra photos of things like gelato, pavement, signs, etc, and they will be in a separate posting. Right now I think I’ll go chronologically. (mostly ‘cuz they’re not all edited! lol) Believe me, you have been on my mind!
Welcome home Judy. You clearly had a great time taking in the sights and indulging in my favourite pastime of eating real italian food and drinking good wine. Lovely image. Not been to Florence but would love to go. Looking forward to seeing your other images.
Thank you, Jim. I’m editing as I can, and this has been an incredibly busy week! I apologize for my tardiness…. 😉
Hi Judy !! 🙂
What an amazing trip ! I can’t wait to see your photos. This one is so beautiful, I clicked on it to view it larger, what a great view you had from your hotel. Beautiful !
Thank you Jocelyne! I loved that hotel view too!
I would love to visit Italy again! I’m glad you had a wonderful time! I wish I could be in your picture right now 🙂 it looks so relaxing!
There’s just something about Italy that makes us all want to return! This was my second trip, and I could go back tomorrow if I had the money!!! 😉 PS..you can pop into my picture anytime!