Italia

Backwards & Forwards

First let me backtrack and cover our last day at sea.  The night before we had hurricane force winds, however by the next morning we had sunny weather and a great last day.  The schedule was adjusted so it allowed us to play all the sports activities and trivia!  Yea! It only took 30 days for em to figure this out!  LOL!   So B & I went one last time to bocce, golf putting, and animal toss.  We won in bocce and B managed to outputt everyone to win another set of golf balls I had to give away…  Animal toss you throw stuffed anmals from the 5^th floor and try to land them in hula hoops on the 4^th floor.  I was not very successful but B managed to qualify in a 3 way tie.  We suggested the playoffs be from the 6^th floor but Mike said no… 

My trivia team performed dismally at the early game but at Pub Quiz we only missed 1 question for 16 out of 17 right!  We were thrilled to manage such a great win in our last time together – and we got Marcel to buy us drinks for the prize!!   

My great trivia team: Marion, Mike, Jan, Gary & Greg  Me & Marcel

I was all packed before Pub Quiz so B & I went to the casino.  I think that B played just about even for the whole cruise and I probably lost $100 playing blackjack…  There never was enough players to play poker…

Kicked Off the Ship - lol!

We were just about the last folks to disembark in Civetevicci (the port for Rome)  & had to wait for the shuttle to take us and allll our luggage out of the port.  Once we finally figured out where I could wait, B walked up to Hertz to pick up a rental car.  He figured he was gonna have to upgrade to a bigger model just to fit all the luggage.  However about 40 minutes later he returned with an Opel and we managed to pack it all in…

Off to Barga

proof we made it to the top with the great panoramic view

We drove north to the Tuscan area an hour west of Florence in the mountains.  It was a very hilly drive with lots of windy roads – oh, did I mention the Opel was a stick?  Yikes!  I hate narrow switchback roads – closed my eyes most of the way.  We were trying to stay at a B&B in the walled city but they were full.  So we went back down a couple of blocks and stayed at the Alpino.  Although we were only staying 2 nights we had to bring in 5 suitcases cause B did not want to leave them visible in the back seat.  The hotelier thot we were crazy!  LOL!  The town was charming and we strolled around checking out the local shops and bars.  I was hungry so we sat outside a coffee bar and had a pastry and drink.  It was about 4pm and it seemed as if the whole town was “having a coffee”…  We decided to eat pizza for supper later so about 7pm B said let’s climb up 3 blocks and eat there – she was just closing by the time we struggled breathless up the hill!  LOL!  B said “I have a shotgun, a pistol, & a rifle – he would prefer one of these if I was trying to kill him”!  LOL!!   

B begins ascent

So went to the other pizzeria that was just down from the hotel on the level…  I had lasagna, yum & B ordered a pizza.  30 years ago when we traveled Europe a pizza was about the size of a 12” dinner plate – the one B got in Barga was extra-large and enough to feed 3-4 people.  I am really glad I did not order pizza too…  I think from now on we will ask about the size…ha!

Barga is a medieval city built on a hill in the 9^th-14^th centuries.  To get anywhere you must hike uphill and the center of the plaza is the Duomo, a turret structure that is part of the cathedral.  It is a gorgeous view once you reach the top and catch your breath – you are surrounded by mountains and many of them have fortified towns built into the hillsides.  We took lots of photos, but will post only a few here…

                                                  Duomo

picturesque view

 Siena

Cathedral Square

We drove south to Siena and staying at an ok hotel just outside of town.  We drove into town but never could find the hotels/b&b’s that were signposted.  We went back to the Siena train station and took a taxi into the city center.  What a beautiful place…  We found the main square with the church and had a pleasant walk and a great Italian supper.  B had spaghetti carbonara and I had pizza with bacon & egg on it – sounds weird but it was yummy…  What a life – eating pizza & gelato in a gorgeous Tuscan city in the piazza at dusk…  couldn’t get much better huh?  BTW this square that is pictured is the one featured in the new James Bond film with the horserace.  We are eating right in part of the circle where the horses run...

Tomorrow we will take the train into Florence and explore one of our favorite Italian cities.  Hope this finds ya’ll well – ciao…

Sunset in Siena