Here we are, Michelle and me…and a few other women , visiting Florence, Orvieto and Rome. Michelle is guiding the group in Orvieto, the rest is through a combined effort of BOLD SPIRIT TRAVEL and ADVENTURES IN ITALY. I’m not accustomed to traveling with people other than another couple or just Michelle and/or Michael so I thought I’d hate it. But, I wanted to see Florence and Rome again (in depth,) so I joined the group. It turned out to be lots of fun and great camaraderie amongst us all. Michelle met me in Rome when I landed, our friend Jude drove us directly to Orvieto where we spent a few days before leaving for Florence to meet the group. Orvieto IS HOME!! Spent those few days visiting with old friends, their kids, and walking the age old cobblestone streets…the same streets walked by those in the 9th century BC.
During the centuries, Florence was considered, worldwide, a benchmark of literature, architecture, sculpture and painting. It’s often hailed as the birthplace of the Renaissance, a period that saw an unprecedented flourishing of arts and culture. Today, Florence is home to some of the world’s most renowned art treasures. It’s a city that’s crowded, vibrant, colorful and nothing but DELICIOUS…with surprises and sigh-worth sights around almost every corner. Here are some of my favorite sights…and of course, some GREAT graffiti street art.
We next visited Michelle’s and my second home, Orvieto. We stayed right across from the Duomo and Michelle did a stellar job of guiding the group in a much more leisurely manner than Florence allowed, giving us all more time to blend into the small community situated atop tufa rock cliffs and caves…a small jewel of a medieval hilltop town.
Last stop…Rome, the Eternal , Imperial city…built in 753BC with a history that spans over two and a half thousand years: breathtaking, romantic and timeless, considered to be the cradle of Western civilization, Western Christian culture and of course, the center of the Catholic Church as the home of Vatican City. Rome is full of remarkable gems of history, art and culture. It’s crowded, exciting and a great place to just walk the cobbled streets and soak up the ambience. I did notice that the city was bathed in graffiti though…there was quite a variety of the street art covering soooo many walls…
Oops…I almost forgot about a day trip we took from Florence…to Chianti country… a most beautiful area of Tuscany. Take a look at this stunning little village of Montefioralle … the nondescript village of Greve and the stunning countryside of Chianti country…
Always looking forward to my next Italy trip …it can never come too soon!! So grateful…always…for the support of Michelle and Michael…