From Italy With Love!

Buon Giorno!

I hope you all aren't getting sick of seeing photos of our trip to Italy!  I took so many pictures, I couldn't resist sharing more with you.

Lemon trees grow in abundance, especially along the coast.  So you will see lots of lemon products, ranging from lemon gelato (yum!) to lemon ice, to the famous limoncello, a very potent lemon liqueur.

I thought this little truck/scooter refreshment stand was just too darn cute!

Remember when I told you that driving in Italy is crazy? Well, we made the mistake of taking the 

"scenic route" from Rome to the Amalfi Coast, and ended up having to drive thru the middle of Naples.  It is a huge city, and the traffic is beyond nuts.  While I am sure there are some that love Naples, we couldn't wait to get out of there!  It is very dirty, crowded, and crime ridden (that is where the Maffia was founded, yikes!), and often referred to as "gritty".  It made me think of a third world country!  It actually took us one hour to drive thru the city!

 This is what it looked like driving thru the streets!

 Ahhhh, what a sanctuary when we finally made it to our hotel in Praiano, right on the Amalfi Coast!  I miss all of that gorgeous bougainvillea!

 More views of the gorgeous Tyrrhenian Sea.  I swam down in this little cove, but the photo hubby took of me was hideous, so I will spare sharing it with you!

 We visited this amazing cathedral in the town of Amalfi, which dates from the 9th thru the 13th centuries!  We had visited there on our first trip to Italy 14 years ago, and it's even grander than we remembered!

 It was such a hot day, so it was a treat to cool off inside and admire all of the amazing details.

 Wow, is all I can say!

 Just look at the ancient paintings on the walls and ceilings, below.

 I believe this is supposed to represent the Last Supper, below.

Wait, what do we have here??

An Italian mountain goat??!

 This little guy greeted us as we visited this centuries old stone watch tower, which was the home of an artist's studio.

 After our 4 days on the coast, we headed north of Rome to Umbria to visit medieval hill towns.

The region of Umbria may be a bit lesser known than famous Tuscany, which is right nearby.  But it's just as beautiful, and not as crowded or expensive.  

 The views were amazing!

 We stayed in the little walled village of Todi for 2 nights, a town that we fell in love with on our first visit to Italy.

I lost track of how many churches we visited on our trip.

This gorgeous one in Todi, the Santa Maria della Consolazione, was completed in 1607. 

 The interior was a bit spare compared to other cathedrals that we have visited, but it still was impressive and just so beautiful.

 I told you I was obsessed with ceilings!

Just look at all of the amazing carved details!

 Hard to imagine something so old still stands, in our country we tear things down if they are 50 years old!

 I just loved all of the neat alleyways tucked here and there in the villages!

 Yummy looking desserts!

 We did a bit of wine tasting in the building below, lots of fun!

If you aren't too sick of seeing Italy, I'll share more photos with you in a few days!

Ok, now that we are back home, I couldn't resist sharing a few pics that I snapped of our Katie today!

She visited the "puppy salon" this afternoon for a grooming, and I think she looks so cute!

 Don't let her shy looks fool you, this is one party animal!

Ciao!