Oh and the fabulous wine!

grape vines, Palazzoni, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Where wine is less expensive than water. Well of course I had wine every day..sometimes with lunch as well as dinner. Often just by itself. Kristi and Bill arranged for 2 wine excursions. The first was at Il Palazzo del Gusto where we learned about the qualities of all the Orvieto wines and tasted quite a few. We also were introduced to the philosophy of cittaslow, or slow food. Olive oil of course is fabulous in Italy so we had a little tutorial on OO as well.
Then one afternoon we went as the only guest party to Palazzoni winery where the owner, Giovanni educated us and entertained us. Of all the wine tours I have been on in California this afternoon surpassed them all. The ambiance of the winery and the countryside simply begs you to return. I am not sure I will have the opportunity to return to this lovely spot but I will cherish my memories and search for Orvieto's fine wines here at home. Doesn't this post whet your appetite for a nice glass of wine?

And yes, there were all of the classic Italian sights

The Coliseum, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

When I arrived in Rome I studied the map for the famous sights and headed out on foot. The first night I stayed in Tretevere, on the west of the Tiber River. Then the next morning I started out to do as much of Rome as I could squeeze in in one day. I started out for ancient Rome which except for the Coliseum is mostly underground. I passed many buildings I felt I should have known but didn't. After a few hours I hitched a bus to the Vatican. After a long wait in the square I was able to go in. Breathtakingly beautiful....so rich in art and marble but almost too rich. Then I headed south passed historical churches and landmarks, across the bridge of the Tiber and into other areas of Rome, all on cobblestone streets which are so charming. I had dinner in the Piazza Navona, the largest piazza in Rome, and rumored never to be occupied by locals. The piazza claims 3 lovely fountains, a 13th century church and a boatload of piazza entertainers and vendors with little kiosks, all with metal buckets out for your Euros. While I sat having wine and dinner huge gusts of wind came threatening to also bring a storm. The piazza was cleared in an instant, the waiters in my trattoria held on dearly to the umbrella poles to keep them from ruining their chances for any clientele and I just sat and watched it all, pulling out my sketchbook to catch a few scenes. In the evening I was in search of the Trevi fountain, not to easy to find even with a map. And at the end of the day with all of my favorite sights documented I headed home. 14 hours of walking and enjoying Rome. I even had time to be sidetracked by an art exhibit featuring impressionist art and was tickled to find 3 of Monet's waterlilies on display. Oh yes and there was a gelato after my visit to the Vatican. Rome in a day. You can do it with a good pair of shoes, a good map and feet that do not fail you. Here are some classic Italian stops.

Piazza Navona, fountain, Rome

Piazza Navona, fountain, Rome, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

cobblestone street, Rome

cobblestone street, Rome, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

The Vatican

The Vatican, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

St Peter's Cathedral, inside

St Peter's Cathedral, inside, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Trevi fountain, Rome

Trevi fountain, Rome, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Orvieto from the winery

Orvieto from the winery, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

My inspiration for my Italy trip was an art workshop

Jane LaFazio and our inspiration, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

My art teacher and friend, Jane LaFazio, taught a 5 day workshop on " sketching and watercolor: journal style" offered through Adventures in Italy. So I went to paint. The first morning we met in the convent courtyard with our gear and listened as Jane gave us inspiration and direction.

Ah! and there were MEN! Some were stone cold!

poet, Rome, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Italian men!!!!! You just can't avoid them! and why would you.

statue, Piazza Venezia, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

La Pieta, by Michelangelo, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

men to entertain us

street mime, Piazza Navona, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

street entertainer, Piazza Navona, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

and some really hot!

cooking class denise and lorenzo, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

There were very old and dead things

Orvieto from the necropolis, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Of course we all know that Italy has a deep history. The "rock" of Orvieto was first build and occupied by the Etruscans. Those are the guys that lived 600 BC even before the Romans. They buried their dead at the base of this rock city in the necropolis along with the treasures that they owned. The tombs have since been raided and lay empty but moss and lichen grow inside and wild flowers grow outside making this dead place very alive. That is Orvieto on the top and my portable chair in the foreground. Yes I should have noticed it in my frame but the picture is still good.

Etruscan tomb, raided

Etruscan tomb, raided, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

dead and alive

Necropolis, Orvieto, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Doors that go out

Palazzoni winery, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

There were windows and doors

windows and doors, Trestevere, Italy, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Who wouldn't recognize this as Italy with the terra cotta colors on the walls, shutters on the windows and doors of wood and iron? Even a garden wall draped with vines and bougainvillea. Click on any pictures to take you to more on Flickr.com