Cinque Terre delights. I loved the pastels of the villages and the narrow lanes with hanging laundry and colorful mini 'gardens' like in the picture above. The marvelous walk from Monterosso to Vernazza merits a whole page to itself.
Volterra was peaceful. The ancient walls and Etruscan artwork were magnificent. But the most striking memory for me was a lovely sunset.
Florence: Definitely sensory overload here! Beautiful buildings, fantastic art, a colorful market plus the interesting Galileo museum. The Duomo was the first thing we went to see on our walk to try to overcome jet lag.
Rome: Ruins in the Forum and the massive Colosseum caused me to think about ancient Rome with toga clad citizens, senators, soldiers, slaves, and priests going about their daily routines. The people must have been really happy when the colosseum opened.
Rome: I loved all the ruins and tried to envision the city 2000 years ago when it would have been gleaming with marble and colorful statues that were painted to look more life-like. The picture above is a detail of the Trajan column.
Rome: While photography was prohibited in many museums, I was able to take this picture of Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peters Basilica.
Lucca: The city, surrounded by an intact wall, felt crowded because of the narrow streets. At the end of the streets there was often a view of a tower or a church.
Long poles were used to move the wings of the figure that tops this church.
The picture at the top of the page is a bunch of colorful flowers seen while coming into Vernazza on the trail from Monterosso.