Category: Travel

Day 0 Arrive in Lima
Today was a long day. We should have known it was going to be one of unexpected events when our plane ran into problems landing in Atlanta. There was a ‘minor caution light’ that came on for the landing gear so the pilot calmly announced that we they took care of it (whatever that means) and that we were ‘going back around). We landed okay….
Then leaving Atlanta for Lima there was an ‘uncooperative pump’ issue that had us sitting on the ground in our seats while the issue was ‘addressed’. I suppose they brought someone in to talk to the pump about its behavior. In any event, the pump settled down and we were on our way. By the time we got settled in at our hotel in Lima it was either 1:30 or 2:30 in the morning… either way, it was late.

Day 1 Lima, Peru

Rise and shine! Anxious to see Lima, we dragged ourselves out of bed by 9:00 AM and headed down for breakfast. I could tell that Tim was still groggy because he was mixing in mangled Italian, French and German as he tried to communicate with the wait staff… everything BUT Spanish. Once he got coffee he was fine (sort of).

Carol Brewer stopped by and after satisfying our appetites we met in the lobby to plan the day. Through the hotel we scheduled a bus tour to Pachacamac, an Inca archaeological site south of the city. After spending some time exploring Miraflores, we had a quick lunch and headed for Pachacamac.

The Pachacamac archaeological site is about 35km south of Miraflores/Lima. The site is impressive with several pyramid temples, dwellings, remains of decorating adobe walls and other interesting constructions built by 4 civilizations. According to what we saw in the associated museum, Pachacamac was one of the most important religious centers of indigenous people at the Peruvian coast before the arrival of the Spanish.

We were all struck by the desert-like nature of the area and the dry air in spite of the ocean being so close. We looked at several temples in various states of restoration and the guide showed us a sample wall with layered illustrations. We also climbed a significant hill with the main temple atop it. That hill is set back about 500 yards from the ocean with a nice view. The last thing we saw before departing was the structure where the virgins were trained and kept under protection. You still can’t get close to it even today.

The city of Lima has grown in recent years until it not supports a population of 11 million residents. In the southern part of the city we saw scores of tiny three person micor-taxis, an enclosed motorcycle with two seats over a two wheeled rear axle. We didn’t see these vehicles in the Miraflores section of the city; apparently Lima has rules about where these vehicles could go and where they could not.   I want to mention that unemployment was quite low, despite the huge population.  Everywhere you looked there was someone cleaning the streets, watering the grass or picking up trash.  For such a large city the streets were quite clean.

Sunday Pictures- Album

Day 2 Lima, Peru

This morning we met our fellow travelling companions and our Globus tour guide, Adrian.  He gave us a great overview of the next week and laid out all the ground-rules for the group. An interesting fact he shared was that Peru contains 28 of the 32 world climates and it is 58% jungle.  That was interesting and highlighted how little Tim and I knew about this country. Adrian also warned us to wear our sunscreen, hats and to drink the coca tea when we moved to higher elevations the following day.  At that point we had free time until 2PM, so John, Carol, Tim and I headed out exploring.

Lima is a coastal city, but sits on a pleateu several hundred feet above the ocean with sheer cliffs down to the water. Our first stop was the shopping mall at Larco Mar on top of the cliff. Just up the coast from the mall is the Parque del Amor, a park with a statue of two lovers kissing. An just beyond that park were these crazy people launching themselves off the cliff with para-gliding canopies. Out they when over the ocean, then they soared back over the land and quickly gained height! Awesome. Carol, John and Tim each signed up and took off out over the ocean and then over the buildings of Lima. Fortunately everyone made it back safely.

At 2:00 PM we all piled into a bus for a tour of the area.  Adrian took us to a local market where we tasted unusual (for us) fruits – some of which were very tasty.  We found out that Peru grows 3300 of the 11,000 varieties of potatoes in the world.  We visited a former monestary and walked through a large public area.  Adrian was extremely knowledgeable and informed us about the food, the structures, the economics, the climate, the people and the history of Lima and the country.  Peru is an interesting country with a vibrant culture. I couldn’t take notes fast enough.  Fortunately- there was no test at the end of the trip!   We were on our own for dinner (we had our first round of pisco sours.).

Monday Pictures – Album

Day 3 Cusco and the Sacred Valley, Peru

After a 5:30 wake-up call we’re off to the Lima airport and our first experience with the organization skills of Adrian. We quickly got through the crowds and checked our bags, then headed to the gate. Again at Cusco everything was organized for us. Organized as Lamas and Alpacas, we boarded our buses and headed for La Princesita and the Mother Earth Ceremony.

Shaman Lawda completed the Mother Earth ceremony before lunch. We each blew on her offering three times and then made a wish… After a delicious lunch, while enroute to Q’enqo, we learned that Eucalyptus was introduced into Peru in the 19th century. The site of Q’enqo is set on a hillside of erected and carved stone. Much of it is carved out of a naturally occurring monolith. Q’enqo is one of the largest and most impressive wak’as or holy places in the vicinity of Cusco.

Most of us were very tired and took a nap on the bus as we left Q’enqo on the way to our hotel. On the way we stopped in Pisac and visited a local market before heading on to the Sonesta Posada del Inca Yucay Hotel. After checking in, we had little time to rest before heading out to dinner and dancing horses. The meal was great, the horses entertaining and the trip back to the hotel was quick. We were all ready to hit our beds that night. This was a full day and we were all plenty tired.

Tuesday Pictures- Album

Day 4 Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, Peru

Finally, a day where we didn’t have to be up at four in the morning! This morning arrived with a nice cool sunrise. We all had time for breakfast at the hotel before boarding the bus at 7:30. The sun was just peeking over the mountains surrounding the valley as we headed north for the village of Ollantaytambo.

Ollantaytambo was an outpost for the Inca resistance led by Manco Inca Yupanqui after the arrival of the Spanish. When we climbed the many steps to the top it was easy to understand why they selected this place. It was still cool as we started exploring the town, but the temperature would continue to rise throughout the day.

The precise stonework in the walls of the village was amazing. No matter where you looked, the walls were set with precision that’s lasted for centuries. Our first stop was into the Guinea Pig hut, ranch or whatever. This smoke-filled stone structure had a thatched roof with an opening for the smoke to escape. After the small Guinea Pig roundup and rodeo was over we struck out for the rest of the town and the fortifications. But first, most of our group acquired the walking sticks that would be so useful once we got to Machu Picchu.

Along the way we caught a glimpse of a an image of Tunupa carved into the side of a mountain, and then our first direct view of the Terraces of Pumatallis. By now it was already warming up, so we grabbed our water and headed up the terraces… I can still feel that climb in my legs today. The views were incredible and the craftsmanship impressive. Even if we’d missed the Guinea Pig roundup, Ollantaytambo was well worth the time. I’d strongly recommend that you not miss this if you head to Peru.

After a short ride from the terraces we arrived at Ollantaytambo Station along the Urubamba River; we’d follow that river all the way to Machu Picchu. Adrian managed to get us all in one first class coach and we settled in for the ride. Along the way we had lunch and enjoyed the sights as Adrian pointed out the Inca trail and its hikers, terraced ruins and other points of interest. It was mid-afternoon when we made it to Machu Picchu Pueblo and we left the train, ready to head right up to the top.

Our bus took us up the side of the mountain with countless switchbacks. After the exciting 20-minute trip we still hadn’t gotten a glimpse of the ruins. Adrian organized us, got us quickly through the admission gates and we headed along the path. We rounded the last corner and suddenly there it was, right in front of us. Adrian announced, “You made it…, welcome to Machu Picchu!” It was awesome.

The pictures don’t capture the imagery. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon with intermittent clouds providing an awesome backdrop for the peaks. We explored, listened to the local experts and soaked it all in.

We enjoyed another bus ride that would qualify for a Six Flags feature and we were back in Machu Picchu Pueblo. We checked in and gathered for dinner where the big debate centered on the weather for the following morning and who was going to take the 6 AM bus back up the mountain in the morning.

Wednesday Pictures- Album

<strong>Friday</strong>

Today we can sleep in! We had a <a href=”http://tuscany.nyporter.org/Tuscany/Friday/22679069_HWgj5R#!i=1817206194&amp;k=B46PF8h” target=”blank”>leisurely morning</a>, followed by a pasta-making class. With some help from Romeo’s and Federica’s daughter Emily, Tim, Joe, and others made the pasta for lunch – from scratch. The process sure seemed simple; we were walked through each step by Federica and provided close supervision from Emily. The result – we deliverd the best pasta we’d ever tasted. Wow!

Afterwards, we hopped on our tour bus for a trip east to Valley Orchar, the town of Montalcino. Here they make only <a href=”http://tuscany.nyporter.org/Tuscany/Friday/22679069_HWgj5R#!i=1817192966&amp;k=4gVStM6″ target=”blank”>Brunello</a> wine. The Brunello gravevine is also known as Sangiovese Grosso. There are 205 wine producers in the valley all making the same kind of wine. It is very restricted in its production. They are not allowed to use irrigation and still call it the same pure wine. We all need to pray for rain for this area! It’s been dry since October.

If you drink this wine, be sure to let it breathe for 2-3 hours after opening the bottle. We had a great wine tasting class. First you check out the color of the wine by tipping it towards a white table linen and looking at the “arch.” If it is purplish it is young, red it is older. Then you smell the fragrance of the wine. Thirdly you “chew” the wine, is it astringent on your tongue and gums? A complex wine leaves a flavor in your throat. Brunello di Montalcino. After tasting this wine, table wine will never be the same.

Our evening was spent in <a href=”http://tuscany.nyporter.org/Tuscany/Friday/22679069_HWgj5R#!i=1817190935&amp;k=3w6kP2j” target=”blank”>Pienza</a>. Pienza owes its beauty and fame to Enea Silvio Piccolomini born in Corsignano in 1405 and elevated to Pope in 1458 (Pius II.) Pope Pius remodeled the Castello di Corsignano into a Papal residence and renamed it Pienza (Pius.) We had about an hour to shop before the stores closed at 7:00. We found a few shops with ceramics and an interesting cheese store (check out the photos.) There was a great view off the hillside down into the valley below the town. I took some photos of the stone walls. There was a huge crack in the side of the church, never did find out if that was from an earth quake or just natural settling of the structure over the last few hundred years. Our dinner here was not remarkable. But I think that is due to all of the excellent food and wine we had had everywhere else. At our table, the wine drinkers didn’t even ask for more red wine. It seems like table wine just isn’t satisfying anyone’s taste buds anymore. Folks at our table asked for white wine. No one seemed that hungry, although I do believe there were a few unusual plates ordered (rabbit, piglet? Who are these people! Ha!)

This was our last evening in Italy. It was hard to believe that a week had passed so quickly. Saturday we had to head for home. No more wine at lunch, no more bruschetta, no more tiramisu.

Thursday
Arcidosso, the Fortress on the hill. This is a tiny village of only about 1400 people, but I managed to get some photos of a few banks whose name I recognized from my wire room days. Conner took his customary drink from the local water fountain. If he doesn’t end up with dysentery or any other water-borne disease this trip, I will be impressed. This was Romeo’s hometown. Everyone knew him here. We stopped in a small shop and bought some local extra virgin olive oil in cans for taking home with us.

We had a special tour guide, the mayor or former mayor of the city. Romeo’s family was at one time very prominent in the town (mayor, grandfather was mayor, and so forth). Romeo grew up a stone’s throw from the “castle” jail build in the 11th century and used as a prison from about 1350 to 1960. Talk about crude. There was a cistern inside the walled courtyard to collect water in case of siege. The cells were distinguishable only by their location – the lower ones (hell) and the higher ones (heaven). Those in the middle must have been purgatory. We climbed to the top and took a group photo of those of us who dared to climb the steep steps. The construction of the building was so basic. You could see the stone (volcanic rock) as part of the structure and as part of the mountain.

Since we are so close to “home,” we had lunch at Romeo’s father’s restaurant, Trattoria Lacanda del Prete. Carlos and his wife made us feel right at home. They served us bruschetta, a chicken caccitore dish, pasta with meat sauce and centucci vincanto. This last course was biscotti dipped in a deliciously favored white wine. ) It was very nice. After all the wine, Tim commented that he wasn’t sure he could make it back to the bus. Mark, always ready with something witty, said “I’ll carry you. Suddenly, I think I can do it!” – I think it was the wine talking. ☺ Later we visited the Castello Banfi where some folks tasted the famous Brunello di Montalcino wine. It is described as having a flavor of sandalwood, with blueberry and blackberry aromas and hints of dried flowers. A full body, with fine tannins and a long caressing finish.

Dinner that night was already made for us by Federico and her team of helpers and served in the large dining room with all the tables joined together into one large table. I don’t know how we justified eating again, but most of us managed to do it!

Wednesday
Again we got up early and headed out on the bus for a 2 ½ hour trip to Florence (Firenza).  Here we toured the city on foot.  We saw a large statue of Salistro Bandini, the monk who invented credit. (If he had only known what problems that would bring to people and nations in the 21st century he might have kept the idea to himself!)   We walked to the Ponte Vechio – a bridge where on the most beautiful jewelry is sold in stores on both sides of the narrow, pedestrian only bridge.  Rubies, diamonds, emeralds, pearls and gold and silver – serious buyers only!  I lucked upon an abandoned map of the city and Tim and I walked around enjoying the sites, shops and people.   Tim even saw a bicicletta verde.

We met the group for lunch and Romeo took us to a quaint favorite of his, the Ristorante Mamma Gina.  They had a large back room where we were able to eat without disturbing too many others.  We had the nicest waiter who spoke clear English and was very patient with our table.  Everyone ordered whatever they wanted off the menu.  I can only recall that I had a cold artichoke and cheese salad – it might have had a vinegar dressing, I’m not sure.  It was just so light and the cheese was sliced paper thin.  The whole meal was delicious.

After lunch, we were invited to wander again and agreed to meet at the Galleria Dell ‘Accademia, the museum where Michelangelo’s magnificent statue of David is housed.  Security was very tight as you would hope it would be.  This was another beautiful museum full of marble statues, paintings and mosaics.  We were allowed to get very close to the statue of David.  It is huge.  His hands did seem a bit too big for the rest of his body though.  Not that I could do any better.  Just a comment, Michelangelo, not a criticism. We walked to the San Lorenzo market where we had about ½ hour to shop.  I visited a farmacia for throat lozenges.  Then we had a 2 ½ hour drive back to the villa and additional cooking classes!

Tuesday
The day arrived sunny and warm (although it was cool in the morning when we left for Siena, a “short” 2 hour ride from the Villa Poggiarello.)  We visited the famous Piazza del Campo, the main square where the various neighborhoods of Siena have for 450 years held a horse race twice a year, known as Il Palio.  Once you are in the square you can see how they have to roll up the awnings, pull in the tables and clear the outer area for the race.  They then lay down 6 inches of clay and sandstone on top of the cobblestone for the horses to race on.  Apparently, the noise and the number of people within the large square keep the horses nervous.  They always have to restart the race a number of times (3 laps – 17 horses, riders ride bareback – it’s all over in about 90 seconds – not all horses run at one time.    The winner gets a painting. )  The corner shops are lined with mattresses the day of the race to protect the horses as they make the sharp turns.  If you go, be prepared to stay for the duration of the event.  No one goes in or out during the event.  (I would think that the unavailability of restrooms might make it a challenge to attend as you are in there for hours!)

The Duomo di Siena towers above the city and the river, Arno.  We had some time to view the Duomo inside.  The walls were striped black and white (the areas ‘local colors’).  The art was beautiful – mosaics and sculptures, a perfectly preserved wooden nave.  One nice touch was that you could listen to a description of the various pieces of art via headphones (for a euro).  We wandered away from this area toward the restaurant Piazza del Campo.  We had one course of the most delicious “bread soup” ever.  I’m not kidding.  I had bread soup at another restaurant and didn’t find it even half as good as this was.  This small restaurant squeezed us in.  The locals who stopped by must have been both amused and annoyed by the boisterous Americans, who with the help of the red wine, got louder and louder.  (It was all part of the bonding process the group seemed to go through.)  After lunch we had some time to ourselves to shop and admire the city.  We had to meet the bus to go back to the Villa to take our first cooking lesson that night.

As part of the first group to cook (in our new aprons) we made dessert (Dolce) – Ponna Cotta allo Cioccolato, the Antipasto (Crostini al Peperoni), and one of the secondo’s (second course), piscelli primavera con pancetta (spring peas).  The ponna cotta is just heavy cream, sugar and the equivalent of knox gelatin.  You heat the cream and sugar, soften the gelatin and add it to the cream and sugar.  Then put it in small serving dishes and refrigerate.  Later melt chocolate and drizzle over the top – our use fruit or honey& nuts.  We had an altima insignate for this lesson (good teacher.)  We learned that the Tuscan trinity is carrots, onions and celery.  Also use the capers that come in salt and sea salt is the best flavored salt (little tricks of the trade.) The second group prepared the Gahberoni (shrimp) al brandy and the spaghetti con tatoni (calamari).  The whole meal turned out wonderfully, even if we do say so ourselves.

Up until Feb 11, 1929 the Vatican essentially controlled Europe.  Mussolini changed all that.  He gave them 1 square mile of the city in Rome to call their own.  Now about 1000 people live in Vatican City.  There are three main gardens in the Vatican – Italian, French and English gardens maintained by 35 gardeners.  There are also 100 fountains in Vatican City.  Official VIPs can fly into the helipad and stay at the St John the Baptist tower.

The tour of the Vatican Museum was overwhelming.  The statues, paintings, mosaics were just amazing.  There was a hall of tapestries from Belgium – each one depicting a different region in Italy.  One fascinating tapestry was tricky – if you looked at it from one direction it appeared that the table depicted went from front to back (left to right),  but if you walked a bit further to the right of it and looked back, the table appeared to point back to front (left to right).  Each tapestry took 5-7 years to make.  There were a number of statues that had been found buried under a hill in a field in 1508.  There were statues from the Egyptian Valley of the Kings (3500 years old).  Greek artists tend to make people look beautiful, perfect.  Roman artists tend to make them true to life.  Bees were the symbol of the Barbarini family.  The frescos (meaning “wet”) in the Sistine Chapel are just amazing.  It took Michelangelo 4 years to paint the ceiling.  It is rumored that he wouldn’t let the Pope even have a peep at it until it was completed.

After this amazing tour of so many beautiful statues, paintings, tapestries, and mosaics we had to leave the romantic city of Rome behind.  Romeo arrived to take us on our next journey. We piled our luggage in a large bus and rolled down the highway to the Grosseto region.  This was Tuscany!  Groves of olive trees, Cyprus trees, beautiful pink- blossomed peach trees, (trained to grow vineyard style for ease of picking) and, of course, vineyards surrounded us.   Off in the distance you could see on every hill top a town, oozing down the mountain in beautiful old stone, the roofs all gorgeous red terra cotta tile.  These were built ages ago on the tops of mountains for safety.   The newer towns were on flat lands.  We took highway most of the way to our next location.  Then we were on a long, straight dirt and gravel road between the peach orchard and an olive grove.

Villa il Poggiarello
As we pulled up to the end of the ¼ mile long driveway to our Italian villa home for the rest of the week our world traveler, Maryann, advised us that the Cyprus- lined driveway looked “just like England” – or there ‘bouts.  I think it was the majestic view that just over took her!  It was just like in the movies – the scenery took your breath away.

We unloaded the bus and met the Villa owner, Chiara (her husband, Stephano, was out of town) and Romeo’s wife, Federica.  We took a few moments to settle into our rooms (the villa was a gorgeous restored stone structure – indescribable.)  Then we had a “light lunch” of antipasto, bread, wine, and more delicious food.  Afterwards, Chiara took us out to the vineyard and explained to us their theory of good wine-making.  Every winemaker has their own plans on what makes a good wine.  The vines here had been cut WAY back  – this led to less grapes, but better grapes.  They make Muralia wine – 15% alcohol.  Vines take about 4 years to mature enough to grow the grapes needed.  We also toured the cool winery and storage area for wines maturing in casks and stainless steel tanks.  Well, by this time it was time to leave for dinner!  I know we just finished lunch, but we had a short drive ahead of us up a steep hill to the town of Montepesche.  Here there was a restaurant willing to open just for us on a Monday night.  It pays to have friends – or to have Romeo who has friends willing to do this for us.  Again we were fed some fabulous food.  If I write about it I may have to go get more food to eat, and I just finished dinner.  Dessert was tiramisu – who couldn’t like that!  Our driver managed to get us safely back home, winding down the narrow, dark, twisty roads – back to our villa.

Sunday morning, Marco (Rome Connection) with his three vans (and drivers/tour guides Max and Philippe) loaded us up and took us around the city. We had a terrific tour of the Coliseum – cutting the line significantly – group travel has its conveniences! Max got us up to the second level (we took the elevator – not an original piece of the Coliseum).  We learned that the Travertine marble that originally made up the whole Coliseum was later stripped from the place for other structures in the city – mainly, the Vatican. The metal rods used to hold the large pieces of marble together had also been stripped out by the “barbarians” and used to create weapons – canons, etc.)

The admission (during Roman times) was free for the people. This was because they had had their land taken from them, so the leadership felt it was the least they could do. Some of the regular attendees had carved their names in the marble. The leaders and wealthy merchants of course had their names professionally carved in. There was a built-in water system. Water started out in fountains (spigots) at the second level or so, and it ran downhill from there into the lowest level where it provided some water for the animals (lions, tigers, bulls, wolves, even ostriches- which I’ve heard can be pretty vicious) and persons soon to be led to slaughter. Only a very small portion of the Coliseum has been restored.

We also toured some Catacombs – these are maintained by the Vatican. Small niches carved in tunnels underground. Grave robbers have stolen everything but a few remaining oil lamps –each about the size of a small teacup. We had lunch at Hostaria Antica Roma where we definitely overfed and overcharged (80 Euro for two people!) It was an unusual structure, with niches in the walls, possibly old catacombs? Or were they just to hold more oil lamps? We had a good time starting to get to know the people in the group. After lunch, we saw the Circus Maximus where horse races and much betting occurred many years ago. We had some time in the Pantheon (meaning – all Gods) and admired the craftsmanship and artistry. The domed top was open and this allowed for rain to come in- it drained out through holes in the floor– also for the light to be a kind of sundial on the domed top.

Later we walked down a narrow road of shops to the Trevi fountain (largest Baroque fountain in the city – over 65 feet wide and 85 feet high) and threw our prerequisite 3 coins over our left shoulder into the fountain (from the movie Three Coins in the Fountain –) supposed to bring you back to Rome someday. We only had a light sprinkle of rain while at the Trevi fountain. (guys selling umbrellas appeared out of nowhere trying to get you to buy one.) We also peeked through a keyhole of the Malta Consulate across the Italian city of Rome to see the dome of the Vatican. — Three countries in one view. We drove by the Spanish steps, named for the Spanish embassy and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Back to the hotel to prepare for dinner. Because, hey, it’s probably been a few hours since we ate that huge expensive lunch! We had dinner with about 10 people from the group. We took a taxi – you pay the taxi from wherever it started from to your destination. So you might get into a taxi with 8 euro already on the meter. Seems like a scam to me. I bet only tourists fall for this.

Dinner was a laugh a minute. The food was excellent with a funny old guy as our waiter. He tried to tell us what to eat, but Barbara insisted on menus. The restaurant had one room painted a light red full of pictures of Popes. It reminded us of Bucca di Beppos. The food and wine were great. The waiter took a liking to Maryanne as she wandered over to check out the dessert counter. He referred to her as “Tiramisu” for the rest of the evening and she kindly gave him a peck on the cheek as we were getting ready to leave. A young waiter took our group picture.

We arrived in Rome on Saturday, March 24th right on time (7 am). After picking up our luggage we were met by Marco from Rome Connection and 2 eight-passenger vans. They took us right to our hotel, The Casa Bonus Pastor. There the friendly desk clerks were able to help us secure our luggage in a small room while we were fed our first Italian breakfast (yogurt, rolls, some with powdered sugar, some plain), and strong coffee with steamed milk. There was also a nice cold juice (apricot or mango?).

Some rooms were ready early, so we were able to put our luggage in our rooms and get ready for a walking tour with Barbara. I was able to purchase two postcards at the front desk with postage (about €1.2 for each stamp). Then, we walked as a group downhill to the Vatican area.

It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. We agreed to meet at 2:00 at a specific spot inside the walls. Tim and I wandered out of the Vatican toward the Tiber River. Fortunately, we had a fairly detailed map.

We walked down to the Umberto Bridge and crossed over the river. The river appeared shallow and we saw no boats or traffic on it. We just wandered the narrow streets, looking in shop windows and looking for a place to grab some lunch. We found a nice restaurant with outdoor seating right at an intersection. Most of the traffic was foot traffic, with an occasional moped or motorbike. Since we were just looking for something light, Tim ordered a pizza, I had some pasta and vegs.

While we were eating a violinist came by, spoke to the maître d’ and apparently got permission to entertain. He played a song or two and then walked around with his hand out. We gave him a Euro.

Continue reading Italy – Day 1