Welcome To Venice!
Nighttime on the canal in Venice can’t be beat…
Or…wait, what about this:
Welcome To Rome!
Yes, home to the world’s most iconic Colosseum!
Or, what if I said we should hang out in this famous movie set?
Let’s Go “Under The Tuscan Sun!“
Yes, this is the REAL house used to film the great movie “Under The Tuscan Sun!”
You see, we are going to Italy! It’s a country that simply can’t be covered in one post, but I am going to try.
Italy is stunningly beautiful, filled with history and culture, and of course this!
Don’t worry, I won’t just tell you what this delicious Italian specialty is, I’ll make it for you!
My “Travel A – Z” series lands on the letter “I” – and folks, I have been to the incredibly country of Italy more than any other except France!
We’ve done so much in this country: here is Alex perching along the Arno River in Florence – and here she is tossing three coins in Rome’s Trevi fountain – well, once we could get to it!
There are so many things to see in Rome: there are fascinating ruins everywhere you look, right in the heart of town:
And of course, Rome’s Colosseum is as well – where you can take a tour inside and heard lots of history, and see where the Gladiators battles too!
Here’s a closeup look at some of our favorite places to visit:
Now, time to head to Tuscany, and the incredible town of Cortona!
This classic village is perched on a hillside, and it happens to be where Frances Mayes, the Author of “Under The Tuscan Sun”, lives…and you can rent the house where they filmed the movie!
We did and here’s a quick tour!
The house is called Villa Laura, and we rented it for a week to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary….and we took a cooking class one day with all of our friends!
Chef did the prep work, but then it was up to us to make our pasta – in this case “pici” – and it was so much fun!
Alex is rolling on the left, and that’s our good friend Chris doing this part as well…here’s how it looked all around the table:
Click here for more of our incredible stay at Villa Laura in Cortona!
No “Travel A – Z” story about Italy can forget Florence, with one of the world’s most iconic bridges:
The “Ponte Vecchio” is world-renowned for the charming shops built directly along its sides. Originally occupied by butchers and tanners in the 14th century, the ruling Medici family replaced them with high-end jewelers and goldsmiths in 1593 to improve the bridge’s cleanliness and prestige.
After shopping the bridge, take a walk to the Duomo:
Then time to check this guy out:
Michelangelo’s David is a 17-foot (5.17-meter) High Renaissance marble masterpiece created between 1501 and 1504. It depicts the biblical hero holding a sling and tensing defiantly before his battle with Goliath. The original statue is housed at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence.
If this make you thirsty, drop by one of Florence’s unique “wine windows” and order a glass like we did – check it out!
We loved discovering one of the remaining wine windows…and we also discovered the most famous restaurant for “Bistecca!”
Yes, it’s RARE – and that’s the only way they serve it – watch our expert servers carve it up table side for us!
Click here to see where we got it and how much we got!
Fin ally, time to head to Venice, and the incredible “bridge of sighs”…
I got lucky to capture this shot as the sun was setting, making the bridge golden while casting the gondolier in shadow….see the magical beauty of Venice Italy as the sun goes down by clicking on my story here:
Oh, and we went to Sicily, the “boot” of Italy, and we climbed Mount Etna!
Those aren’t clouds – it was acting up that day…that’s steam coming out of the top!
See how we got to the top by clicking here:
SO much to see and do in Italy – and so much more to explore!
I was inspired to do this “Travel A – Z” series because we love to travel, and exploring the world’s wonders make people less afraid of other cultures….one of my travel posts was from the beginning of civilization:
We were in Greece and what a magical time that was…here’s one of the many incredible sunsets we saw:
See all of our Greek adventures here:
The Greece story also has links to the previous entries: Australia, Bermuda, China, Denmark, Egypt and France…or just click the Travel button on the front page tool bar!
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Leave a comment and let me know your favorite travel adventures in Italy – and if you like this story, please share on social media – thanks!
Categories: Art, Exotic Travel, Food, Italy, Memoirs, Movies, nature, Pop Culture, Real Estate, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, Wacky Food
johnrieber 
I live much closer to Italy than you, yet I have only been there once, to Rome in 2002. I loved it of course, and maybe one day we will go to that country again, who knows? That beefsteak is too rare for me, John. I couldn’t bring myself to eat such undercooked meat. But my wife would love it! Shared on Twitter.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Great photos and great adventure….the steak looks wonderful….chuq
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