tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86184398075060061872024-03-14T02:44:18.206-04:00Italy Trip ReportsJim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-30227339153443256792012-05-23T05:10:00.001-04:002013-02-08T10:58:17.911-05:00Italy: Spring 2012: Friday, May 18: Day 24: Cannara<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Italy: Spring 2012: Friday, May 18: Day 24: Cannara</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Another nice day....how long can this keep up?</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Sometime before we woke up, people slipped into the kitchen and squeezed fresh orange juice and made things ready for our breakfast. The only thing missing from this kitchen for my purposes is a drip coffee maker but I search around and rig up a reasonable facsimile using a funnel, a napkin and a teapot.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />We enjoy our breakfast--Teresa, the owner of the house--had made a "pizza di Pasqua" (a kind of cheese bread) and Jennifer made a delicious ricotta tart as well.</span></div><split>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">After breakfast, we have an appointment to take a look at the villa we are renting next year to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary and Diana's 70th birthday with all the boys, their wives and the grandchildren. The Fattoria del Gelso is just outside Cannara, actually within walking distance to town. I somehow get lost on the way there (not an easy feat in this small town) but we finally make it. We are shown around by the local "keyholder" and find all is great....lots of bedrooms and baths, big living areas, great kitchen, lovely swimming pool.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Here are some links to photos of the Fattoria....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<a href="http://www.experienceumbria.com/imagegallery/default.aspx?aid=3" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.experienceumbria.<wbr></wbr>com/imagegallery/default.aspx?<wbr></wbr>aid=3</a></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<a href="http://www.experienceumbria.com/imagegallery/default.aspx?aid=11" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.experienceumbria.<wbr></wbr>com/imagegallery/default.aspx?<wbr></wbr>aid=11</a></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<a href="http://www.experienceumbria.com/imagegallery/default.aspx?aid=13" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.experienceumbria.<wbr></wbr>com/imagegallery/default.aspx?<wbr></wbr>aid=13</a></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">We even get some fresh fava beans from the caretaker who tends the garden and is the in-house pizza maker.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">We then drive towards the hill town of Montefalco but make a stop to walk around Bevagna....another small town near Cannara. We do some shopping (some farro and lentils) and admire the main piazza with two facing churches.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="314" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2_lJffrCq-Y/T7yUAgPP9JI/AAAAAAAAOkA/IDGHtOgS5nE/s791/20120518_114035.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 2" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0eC3AR8hlIg/T7yUAv48eEI/AAAAAAAAOkA/vMGQwPROSI0/s593/20120518_114024.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Garibaldi is commemorated here (as in almost every Italian town) with a plaque on one the gates into town.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MpFJHM0rJ_4/T7yUmRn8cnI/AAAAAAAAOlA/2SLN5dqloSY/s593/20120518_143348.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Then we drive up the hill to the center of Montefalco, which--at 1500 feet--dominates the broad plain. We stop to admire the view...Montefalco is known as the "balcony of Umbria"....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YHWA0nfTulQ/T7yUmQBn21I/AAAAAAAAOlA/RFkz8eXx6uo/s791/20120518_121108.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">and do some more shopping in the town...</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 9" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R8JFmBWD_a0/T7yUmf0I3KI/AAAAAAAAOlA/JfLb-KO5YAA/s593/20120518_123648.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Time for lunch and we return to Bevagna to have lunch at Le Delizie del Borgo</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 10" height="314" src="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/5d/48/1b/the-entrance-to-the-restaurant.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">a trattoria run by a friend of the villa owners--Bill and Suzy Menard who also run Bella Italia, a Italian import store in Bethesda MD. We eat outside...all the tables are filled with non-Italians. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">We strike up a conversation with the people at the table next to us, who turn out to be Russians who now live in Minneapolis, and are also Italophiles.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The food is very good...I have tagliatelle with mushrooms and a plate of tripe, while Diana has a very good plate of salumi and a bowl of zuppa di farro. With a couple of glasses of local red wine, the lunch is very pleasant.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Back to Cannara for a rest and then another walk around town for me--although it is interrupted </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">by a rain shower--a very disturbing omen.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 11" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-PWJP14OSJcc/T7yUAt0G34I/AAAAAAAAOkA/FPeTJYWDmM4/s791/20120518_163113.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 12" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-guhvklOwEPg/T7yUAh1sG2I/AAAAAAAAOkA/M5hr1AGGF14/s593/20120518_163457.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 13" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-2IX6hRXnaSY/T7yUAnkMHCI/AAAAAAAAOkA/4yu4-poVDm4/s593/20120518_163542.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Later in the afternoon, we get back in the car searching for a local St. Francis connection, the Pala d'Arco--a roadside shrine marking the spot where St. Francis preached to the birds. We find it easily...we had actually passed it twice during the day.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 14" height="314" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-VllZnt6fLaw/T7yg8WBMz4I/AAAAAAAAOnk/-d3DoMMSYQw/s791/20120516_181906.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 15" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sVcdRIyAnhY/T7yg8UZP4eI/AAAAAAAAOnk/-DlKjxYBBVA/s791/20120516_181847.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">On the way back, we stop to buy porchetta sandwiches for dinner and pick up some local Montefalco wine at the supermarket. We eat at the palazzo and have a quiet evening listening to jazz and reading.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Tomorrow we will have lunch with friends in Vicchio (Tuscany) and then continue on to Modena.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Jim and Diana</span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-30867837715759885622012-05-22T14:23:00.003-04:002012-05-22T14:23:33.312-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Thursday, May 17: Day 23: Pisa-Cannara<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Italy: Spring 2012: Thursday, May 17: Day 23: Pisa-Cannara</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The sun is shining again on our final morning in Pisa. Before we check out, we walk over to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, where many of the original pieces from the Cathedral are kept. On the way, we get yet another angle on the tower.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-piNBKbjIbz8/T7TATy-_VUI/AAAAAAAANEg/hlca-1NRxQA/s791/20120517_095619.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We have usually had very good luck with Duomo museums and this one is no exception. The museum is very nicely laid out with good lighting, good signage in English (a big plus for us) and some amazing things on display. We spend more than an hour walking from room to room; for most of the time, we are the only people in the museum. Here are pictures of some of the exhibits that we liked the most.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">A set of original bronze doors from the front entrance</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y6T7uUcTO7k/T7UYetTS_SI/AAAAAAAANFg/eXz-H6DrghE/s593/20120517_100514.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">rooms full of statues and carvings from the outside of the building, some in rooms with frescoed walls.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Dg_iZ9g7RXk/T7UaA3ZcxnI/AAAAAAAANGY/y41PQl082Yg/s791/20120517_101637.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 3" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wMMDymZ2z2Y/T7UZX_-IMLI/AAAAAAAANGA/iaw_1Mnbzws/s791/20120517_101230.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">some terrific intarsia work--pictures and designs composed of pieces of colored wood.....amazingly intricate and beautiful.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="163" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xzcncszLknQ/T7UcCSRS5VI/AAAAAAAANN4/4AYV6wn1Kco/s1395/20120517_103220.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pchcyVPqYR8/T7Ueq3TqtuI/AAAAAAAANHw/ZXArUp-S4fE/s791/20120517_103247.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">an lllustrated bible with text read by the priest and pictures visible to the congregation so they can follow along.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rGuiy6pWxkY/T7U8LQBnstI/AAAAAAAANJw/ALasjCiYNyo/s593/20120517_103642.jpg" width="315" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and a lovely garden in the cloister</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="314" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Vt7c6Dnu3WA/T7XpwOeo3kI/AAAAAAAANM0/cYz02fhRbiw/s791/20120517_105454.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">right under the Torre Pendente.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 7" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3PMEltXiCn0/T7XlD1mOUfI/AAAAAAAANLA/CZWJjUozoCY/s791/20120517_104903.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We have had a good time in Pisa--both exploring the city and revisiting the Piazza dei Miracoli.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We get on the road and stop for our (almost) annual lunch of Tuscan fried chicken with vegetables in Lucca at the Vecchia Trattoria Buralli. Delicious as usual.....the frying is done in Jewish Tuscan style--flour first then egg, no breadcrumbs. We stop to see our friend Paolo at the Piccolo Hotel Puccini but he isn't there so we get back on the road for our next stop--Cannara.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Cannara is a small town just outside of Perugia...we are staying at a new bed and breakfast in one of the old palazzos in the center--the Palazzo delle Signorine.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.palazzodellesignorine.it/home.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.<wbr></wbr>palazzodellesignorine.it/home.<wbr></wbr>html</a></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
We have some difficulty locating the palazzo and we circle the town a couple of times before arriving in the right piazza....hard to believe we could get lost in such a small town. We are met by Jennifer McIlvaine<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><b>, </b>a young American who lives in Cannara. She does cooking lessons and guides people around the area</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<a href="http://www.lifeitalianstyle.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.lifeitalianstyle.<wbr></wbr>com/</a></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and is helping the Italian owners of the palazzo to get started. It turns out that we are the first actual paying guests. Since we are the only guests, we have the run of the place so, in addition to our spacious bedroom,</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="279" src="http://www.palazzodellesignorine.it/images2/image3.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> we get to hang out in the skylighted front room and the well-equipped kitchen. (Jennifer does her cooking classes there.)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I go out for my exploratory stroll around town....it doesn't take that long and many shops are closed on Thursday afternoon. But I make a few discoveries.....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">a self service laundromat</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N8bzOxp17Ss/T7ZwLXHH8LI/AAAAAAAANO4/oYL33CfapCE/s791/20120517_180407.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">a bar with a playground with inflatable play equipment</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lF7VfY4MHG4/T7ZwgrPS21I/AAAAAAAANPA/SvTqUmhUWuQ/s791/20120517_180559.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and a porchetta truck parked in the supermarket lot.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="314" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PA8h3Bm8P9Q/T7ZxyGnlHvI/AAAAAAAANPg/dU13RxCWbGk/s791/20120517_182333.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">....all valuable intelligence for our stay at the villa just outside of town where we are staying next year.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">For dinner, we walk around the corner and eat at Per Bacco, where we had eaten in the summer of 1998 when Seth was studying at the University of Perugia. The place has been redecorated since our last visit but it is under the same management. The place is very pleasant but I think the menu is a bit too "creative" for me. Diana chooses the tasting menu--a plate of assorted appetizers, two pastas--gnocchi and tagliatelle, a veal cutlet and strawberries for dessert. I have an onion based antipasto--Cannara is famous for its onions--a flan with onion cream sauce and bruschetta with an onion topping followed by a pasta dish with leeks and prosciutto. The owner is very charming and attentive to us until a couple of regulars walk in and he gets involved in long discussions with them.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In any case, we don't think we will be going back there tomorrow...but perhaps we will give it another try next year.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to our palazzo through quiet streets....tomorrow we are off to check out the Fattoria del Gelso.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim and Diana</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-34087715323786631872012-05-21T13:49:00.001-04:002012-05-21T13:49:09.950-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Monday, May 21: SPECIAL EARTHQUAKE REPORT<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Italy: Spring 2012: Monday, May 21: SPECIAL EARTHQUAKE REPORT</span></span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />I am stepping out of sequence to report on the earthquake that took place near Modena on Sunday morning. We woke up at 4 am because the bed was shaking...not violently but steadily for about 20 seconds. Diana felt that the whole building and room were rocking and she thought it lasted a long time. Then it stopped and all was quiet. We heard no street noise, no sirens, no commotion even after opening the window. We immediately thought that it might have been an earthquake and confirmed that there had been a <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">quake</span> with a quick search on my smartphone.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">But nothing else happened and we went back to sleep. We learned from the internet in the morning that the <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">quake</span> had been much more severe than we thought but all seemed normal at the hotel.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Only after we went out in the morning did we notice a lot of areas near older buildings roped off with tape. And when we got to the tall bell tower, there was a sign posted that it was closed so they could make sure there was no damage.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yUQfF4HAX20/T7jJ7aYaehI/AAAAAAAANlc/ynjp2AyDh6c/s593/20120520_101836.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">But the cathedral was open as was the Duomo museum.....and people seemed to be going about their business normally on a cloudy, damp Sunday morning.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">On the way back to the hotel, the street was blocked off and people were staring at the front and roof of an old church. Cracks were easily seen on the facade</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NLbnHiHsTwE/T7jVu08_sdI/AAAAAAAANqw/pEaEI7rhuRk/s593/20120520_122001.jpg" width="315" /> <img alt="Inline image 3" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_QQDMZV6bY8/T7jWFvUhgRI/AAAAAAAANq4/JTjl31owQ4w/s593/20120520_122100.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The effects were more evident when we drove to Carpi, a nearby city, planning to visit the museums there. On the very grand main piazza, the castle that houses the museum was closed as was the Duomo. The area in front of the long porticoed side of the piazza was cordoned off because of the danger of decorative chimneys on the roof falling.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-DPXmbnN3Z4c/T7nfIFyz-hI/AAAAAAAANsw/5asa3zuxLu8/s791/20120520_151517.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 5" height="420" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-C3VOL9oV1tw/T7nfvirRdTI/AAAAAAAANtM/5lkp4eu8TzA/s593/20120520_151759.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Across the piazza at the castello, the falling debris was even more evident.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 7" height="314" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-j77-5-VOMeo/T7ndyxBRSxI/AAAAAAAANsE/GK-A9WaikO4/s791/20120520_151324.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 9" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hg9_r0NQPqQ/T7neBPxFvKI/AAAAAAAANsM/YDqSSmU-vPQ/s791/20120520_151351.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It's lucky that no one was standing underneath when the bricks began falling.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">You have probably seen the television reports of the extensive damage elsewhere in the area.....but we are fine. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Jim and Diana</span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-28187351601624848122012-05-21T13:47:00.002-04:002012-05-21T13:47:45.743-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Wednesday, May 16: Day 22: Pisa<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Italy: Spring 2012: Wednesday, May 16: <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">Day</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">22</span>: Pisa</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We continue to luck out in the weather department....a little cooler this morning but still clear and sunny. Breakfast again in the charming hotel garden and then back to the Piazza dei Miracoli to visit the Baptistery and Duomo.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The Baptistery is a very impressive building...a very large structure with intricate carvings and sculptures on the exterior. It was completed in 1363.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="420" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-xACHQ7f0wPs/T7QvraGhCRI/AAAAAAAAMu0/gNH51cU4aTg/s593/20120515_100946.jpg" width="315" /> <img alt="Inline image 2" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wDCaLtG_tGQ/T7QxOHziSEI/AAAAAAAAMvM/mJvVuKFLklQ/s593/20120515_102110.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Inside it is largely unadorned....very high dome with a large, elaborately decorated baptismal font</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="314" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JchwomPW4Jw/T7RKcS2yvPI/AAAAAAAAM2Y/5G90NH6qmM8/s791/20120516_150746.jpg" width="420" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and an impressive carved Pisano pulpit </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VKeYDP9qOtg/T7RKzcCetfI/AAAAAAAAM2g/adZ7UfRqp3s/s593/20120516_150801.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">A notable feature of the Baptistery is the perfect acoustics...every half hour a staff member demonstrates how the sound travels and echoes and he is applauded by the people watching.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 5" height="314" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eXCzgi6LKEk/T7RHZWRgi4I/AAAAAAAAM1Y/2Ms5D-5bx0Y/s791/20120516_145730.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is the view from the second level that rings the building.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tKfCiKnsuMg/T7RIu8dVm5I/AAAAAAAAM14/Js9_wWVXdlU/s791/20120516_150055.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">While I am on the second level of the Baptistery, I take two pictures </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">that I like </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">of the Duomo and the Tower from the grated window.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 5" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1sEHjQa8q3k/T7RJwH-ckrI/AAAAAAAAM2I/zdxxH4MQH9c/s593/20120516_150251.jpg" width="315" /> <img alt="Inline image 9" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-q-oYOWIsdQ4/T7RKDwzGETI/AAAAAAAAM2Q/kpKKR6Ft9h4/s593/20120516_150324.jpg" width="315" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The Duomo--which is earlier than the Baptistery (begun in 1064)--has some very appealing features. First, the bronze doors to the center entrance, are very impressive--the panels tell the story of the life of Christ and is the only original door remaining.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 10" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bEc6lhK2KVU/T7RNA_uieCI/AAAAAAAAM3M/VUXnnwurz7g/s593/20120516_151241.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The gilded wooden roof of the cathedral is ornately decorated </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 12" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Tz9GS5uGNA4/T7RQLDWhP4I/AAAAAAAAM4E/-d5pU9vr0Z4/s593/20120516_153232.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and has the Medici coat of arms displayed in the middle.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">An even more impressive Pisano pulpit from the 13th century stands on the floor</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dTwpDTLmu3w/T7RN-Y4srKI/AAAAAAAAM3c/Hp5saOwD-3c/s593/20120516_152909.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Ironically it was only re-placed in the Duomo in 1926 after having been stored away after the disastrous fire of 1595 which caused heavy damage to the building.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />There is impressive mosaic over the altar reminsicent of the mosaics seen in Monreale Sicily</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="314" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Cj_WJO29JT0/T7RPm6kQrJI/AAAAAAAAM38/-F95OeKpD58/s791/20120516_153132.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and Diana especially likes the tiled Cosmatesque floors.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="420" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-SJTAFzk6rWs/T7ROu-kZqII/AAAAAAAAM3s/1s7QP7bk5Ds/s593/20120516_153015.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We walk back to the hotel and decide to have a light lunch in the garden since the <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">day</span> is so nice.....we enjoy the sun and the peacefulness.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">After lunch, we have arranged a visit to the Jewish cemetery which is located just outside the Piazza dei Miracoli behind the Baptistery. It is said to be the oldest continually used Jewish cemetery in Europe, dating from the 17th century. The Jewish community in Pisa was very similar to the community in Livorno--very integrated into the fabric of the city and there was no ghetto. One of the graves tells that the person was Mayor of Pisa in the early 20th century.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">It is always a bittersweet, melancholy <wbr></wbr>experience to visit these cemeteries....this one being in the shadow of the Baptistery gives it even more poignancy.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 10" height="420" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Rrn2jFybhz4/T7REMG-C-YI/AAAAAAAAM0g/zuzU67FmSqs/s593/20120516_143142.jpg" width="315" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Parts of the cemetery are well kept up but others have become overgrown.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 11" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0iANjsBMoKU/T7RDrAJTJRI/AAAAAAAAM0Y/3QkCO0Fo0_g/s593/20120516_143023.jpg" width="315" /> <img alt="Inline image 14" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-BkaDvvQICtE/T7RDG2KRVUI/AAAAAAAAM0Q/QK2Wtga7W8s/s791/20120516_143004.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I take another walk around another part of town and find the vegetable market where i buy some good strawberries. We go out for an aperitif at one of the bars in the student section passing by a big celebration for a recent graduate who is wearing the traditional laurel wreath.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The restaurant where I planned to eat dinner is full so we go to another place just down the street. I am a little apprehensive because there is no one eating there but dinner turns out fine...the people are friendly and the food quite good.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">After dinner, we make a return visit to the Piazza dei Miracoli to see the buildings at night without the crowds....it is a very different experience.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 15" height="314" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--P94bcP9YiY/T7RXzBNzBGI/AAAAAAAAM5U/SQYFMAQuUxo/s791/20120516_214658.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 17" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-M8Lj-LEt9pQ/T7RYZxs2N3I/AAAAAAAAM5o/MWa6BAJQ5EY/s593/20120516_214816.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow we head south to Umbria to check out the villa we are renting next year for the whole family.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim and Diana</span></div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-70694727624194795152012-05-21T13:46:00.002-04:002012-05-21T13:46:12.713-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Tuesday, May 15: Day 21: Pisa<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Italy: Spring 2012: Tuesday, May 15: <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">Day</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">21</span>: Pisa</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The sun is out again today....we have been mostly very lucky with the weather up to now on this trip.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />After breakfast in the charming garden in back of the hotel</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A5lydTpPXlY/T7Q-qrVGTYI/AAAAAAAAMzQ/KF5CG5BvVu8/s791/20120516_041216.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">we walk over to the nearby Piazza dei Miracoli, the grassy field where the Leaning Tower, the Duomo and the Baptistery are located. This is one of the most crowded tourist sites in Italy, lined with stalls selling souvenirs and there is a never ending stream of people flooding in from all directions.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />But it is also a very unusual open setting for the three buildings</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" src="http://www.coolwayholidays.com/upload/3117773870726437ace1129bcb20a13bcf68de.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">that somehow can handle the crowds, even all the people taking pictures of people holding up the leaning tower.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 18" height="315" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3102/3171683931_7279a9923d_z.jpg?zz=1" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We walk around the Piazza and then take a short stroll towards the center of town passing through the very grand Piazza dei Cavalieri (unfortunately being restored) with its elaborate painted palazzo </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-dcWOXRbb-vQ/T7Q8uisgonI/AAAAAAAAMyw/SicxAPQDT10/s791/20120516_075434.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and the building with the clock that gives our hotel (Relais Hotel dell'Orologio) its name.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Ez03jQq1FIY/T7Q-C6Hj6GI/AAAAAAAAMzI/E562HcxcSaw/s791/20120516_081720.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We are meeting our friend (and my travel colleague) Maddie Bacarelli </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-yo-xPxB1VB4/T7Q0Lq6eZsI/AAAAAAAAMwU/Crx0HFswmCk/s791/20120515_140311.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">for lunch in Quarrata, a town near where she lives. Quarrata has been called the ugliest town in Tuscany by some but we think that is unjust...although its modern piazza with this war memorial is a bit strange.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 5" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oY5Ph1ezG2o/T7Q0mgfJWYI/AAAAAAAAMwc/sEDqnr8HiE4/s593/20120515_140353.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Lunch is fine....and we have a good time catching up.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We try to drive back through the countryside but our first attempt ends us up on too narrow and curvy a road for our comfort so we turn around and try a different route. But we do pass a hillside with olive trees and poppies that are very striking.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 7" height="314" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rr11Zncqx4o/T7Q2tJs9AzI/AAAAAAAAMxA/3XSy1iYskrI/s791/20120515_142131.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The ride is taking too long so we find the fast road and get back to Pisa in time for a rest and some work. Later in the afternoon, we walk into the center of Pisa. We pass through section of town where the University of Pisa is located; there are students everywhere--walking, riding bikes, sitting in bars--which makes the town seem very lively. We walk along the river Arno which is flanked on both sides with impressive palazzi and some scullers on the river</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 9" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XC6XbOj1Plw/T7Q4k1B756I/AAAAAAAAMxo/pK1YyEi9Rd0/s791/20120515_175733.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 10" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Isor3ZEYioc/T7Q5LHU3smI/AAAAAAAAMxw/HDHIjynfJ38/s593/20120515_180158.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">past the statue of Garibadi in the Piazza Garibaldi</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 13" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-BAX67ok7rbk/T7Q6tZrO4QI/AAAAAAAAMyI/q8okMoiCSEU/s593/20120515_180636.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and then back to the hotel by way of the main shopping street</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 15" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6MYquL-rd6I/T7Q7a2T9zbI/AAAAAAAAMyY/1Kk5IeA_nTk/s791/20120515_180826.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In this part of town, you wouldn't even know that the Leaning Tower and the enormous crowds of tourists was a kilometer away.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We have dinner at another Slow Food recommendation, Trattoria della Faggiola which is just steps away from the hotel. We have some doubts when we walk in since only one table is occupied but we sit down anyway. The menu is very brief </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 16" height="314" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-fHYxTF5t34s/T7Q72GnRXRI/AAAAAAAAMyg/Gez7iKgJ2IQ/s791/20120515_195516.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">but dinner is quite good...asparagus soup and mixed salami and cheese plate for Diana and pasta with sausage and mushrooms and meatballs for me. We drink a local Pisan red with dinner.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow we will visit the Baptistery and the Duomo.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim and Diana</span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-51872143518485682282012-05-21T13:44:00.002-04:002012-05-21T13:44:47.727-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Monday, May 14: Day 20: Olbia-Pisa<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Italy: Spring 2012: Monday, May 14: <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">Day</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">20</span>: Olbia-Pisa</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A lazy morning at the Doubletree in Olbia....our ferry doesn't leave until noon so we have a leisurely morning in our comfortable room. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Even the short drive from Olbia to Golfo Aranci (about 10 miles), where the ferry terminal is located, is scenic. No lines for this ferry (we are returning to the mainland on a different ferry line--Corsica-Sardinia Lines, a French company) and we are quickly sitting in the lounge area, getting set for the almost seven hour ride. Diana quilts and reads, I work on the computer, read and walk around--the trip is quite uneventful and pretty boring, but comfortable enough.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The drive to Pisa takes about 30 minutes and we easily find our hotel (close to the Leaning Tower but a bit removed from the tourist path), park the car and get settled. The hotel--the Relais Hotel Orologio--is a stylish, old-style hotel with period furnishings, frescoed ceilings and tiny rooms...at least the one we are given. We ask about a larger room, are told nothing is available but we should ask again in the morning.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />By now, it is almost 9 pm so we go for dinner to the trattoria located next door to the hotel, I Miei Sapori. Not only convenient, but good as well...DIana has a good steak and I have a very rich zuppa di farro and a plate of lardo and greens. With a local Pisan wine, we are happy.and glad that the hotel is right next door.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Tomorrow we explore Pisa...we have been here for <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">day</span> trips before but we will have time to see much more than the Piazza dei Miracoli.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A few thoughts about Sardinia....even though it was the only Italian region that we hadn't yet visited, I was not enthusiastic about going there. And I was less enthusiastic about scheduling the visit to coincide with the big festival in Cagliari....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">But was I wrong....we both loved Sardinia--the scenery is just spectacular from the long sandy beaches and rocky coastline to the rugged interior, driving around the island is a constant pleasure. And it turned out that I really got into the Festa di Sant'Efisio and had a great time following the activities around town as well when we met up with the procession in Pula. The Roman sites at Tharros and Nora were fascinating and the wildflowers in bloom everywhere only made the scenery more beautiful.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another positve was how wonderfully friendly and welcoming the Sardinian people are...we had more pleasant interactions in hotels, restaurants and shops than we have had in other parts of Italy. And I enjoyed staying in Cagliari very much...I found it extremely lively with lots of things to see. And the food was very good...I had wonderful clams and mussels all around the island and we generally ate very well.</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Two things were quite different than other parts of Italy...we found that the villages and towns for the most part were not particularly attractive...and the art and culture was less accessible to us than it is on the mainland. </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And even though we don't take advantage of all the outdoor activities available there--swimming, boating, snorkeling, hiking, riding, etc---I think we would certainly like to return....</span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jim and Diana</span></span></div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-8835810555926337392012-05-21T13:43:00.002-04:002012-05-21T13:43:31.714-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Sunday, May 13: Day 19: Alghero-Olbia<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Italy: Spring 2012: Sunday, May 13: <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">Day</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">19</span>: Alghero-Olbia</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet another beautiful <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">day</span>...a little misty in the early morning but bright and clear after breakfast. We take our time in the morning, packing (we have to leave this beautiful place today), doing a little work and quilting on the terrace in the sunshine.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yTPlUM0W8hk/T6-D8-B6QeI/AAAAAAAAMZU/R8x08GMWY8U/s791/20120513_110807.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We check out of the hotel (but leave our luggage) and drive an hour south (on the same beautiful coastal road we drove on three days ago)...somehow driving in this direction is even more striking than in the opposite direction.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSxbAgHwKe3K-VSYEKUk9buT-SRrL2-Gm0hTmNW3ZJ8tYVTeDy-E2FPEtznoYi4VgdanA360TYPkYHdv1yiT8XAkjL4jIMrr3OLBjQNSsTHbi33yhPbhiKe3t7V2oPp7US3_DsDEqLD4/s1600/ZIMG_A731.JPG" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 3" height="315" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3539/3516793422_e608194700_z.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The restaurant where we are going for Diana's pre-birthday celebratory lunch--da Riccardo--is located in a small village south of Bosa. Maureen and Franco have been there twice before and have memories of a delicious lobster dish. Unfortunately, they have no lobster this afternoon but we do have a great meal....three of us have the seafood antipasto featuring delicious octopus and potatoes and artichokes while Diana has the antipasto di terra--prosciutto, salami, etc.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />The pastas are all excellent....I have clams and the rest have some variation of pasta with bottarga (pressed mullet roe--a Sardinian specialty) and then we share two large grilled spigola (sea bass). The local white wine (a torbato) we have is very light and crisp.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We then retrace our route back to the hotel, pick up our bags, say goodbye to Maureen and Franco at the airport and get on the road to Olbia--a two hour drive to the east side of the island--where we will get the ferry tomorrow back to the mainland.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The drive is fine...we get to see a nice variety of Sardinian scenery--rolling hills, rugged mountains, lots of sheep--as we go from coast to coast.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Once in Olbia, we have a problem locating our hotel..a Doubletree by Hilton (we are using points to stay there.) We can see the building but the GPS can't locate the street name and the signage is spotty. After cruising through back streets, we finally make the right turn and arrive.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The Doubletree is a modern, American style hotel set in the middle of an undeveloped area of Olbia. It has an eight story high atrium with an elegant bar and large lobby area. The room is comfortable and bright, lots of electrical outlets, a spacious bathroom--we feel we are in some kind of time warp.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="420" src="http://www.eco-olbia.it/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Doubletree.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 2" height="279" src="http://i2.bookcdn.com/data/Photos/LargePhoto2/70/7045/7045766/Doubletree-By-Hilton-Olbia-photos-Room.JPEG" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="336" src="http://media.bodaclick.com/img/img_moll/premium/galeria_marcada/24mil/4dec/hotel-doubletree-by-hilton-olbia---sardinia-31765.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We go to the restaurant which is large and empty. There is an elegant maitre d' who is very welcoming and three other staff waiting to take care of us but we only want something quick and light which we have.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />It's been a long <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">day</span>...the elevator takes us back to our room quickly.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Tomorrow we get the ferry to Livorno....we have had a great time in Sardinia.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim and Diana</span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-44989749381323870372012-05-21T13:42:00.001-04:002012-05-21T13:42:17.919-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Saturday, May 12: Day 18: Alghero<br />
<h1 style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Italy: Spring 2012: Saturday, May 12: <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">Day</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">18</span>: Alghero</span></span></h1>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Yet another beautiful morning....I take a walk before breakfast to explore all the "nooks and crannies" of the hotel grounds and to take a closer look at the Spanish tower and small lighthouse (faro) next to the hotel.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3rWEZ5mlM3s/T64DHhre4RI/AAAAAAAAL8A/CzPGrU5IQnw/s791/20120512_075922.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 2" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-49YLTlvxmIY/T64AIlzcMjI/AAAAAAAAL7g/KmMjyT_OhmQ/s791/20120512_075506.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">At breakfast we discuss plans--Grotto del Nettuno, nuraghe Palmavera--for the <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">day</span> but it looks like this may well be a "vacation from the vacation" <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">day</span>. Franco and Maureen rent a double kayak and set out for Capo Caccia, the high promontory at the head of the bay.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yt7_tPh7LyI/T64pO8ZxckI/AAAAAAAAL9A/snSzoJQEURE/s791/20120512_105434.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A couple of hours later, they return triumphant.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Sihr_BgyTec/T658VPfsa4I/AAAAAAAAL9w/t05bszaOc9o/s791/20120512_132351.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile the "landlubbers" remain at the hotel....working, reading, quilting and periodically scanning the horizon for the kayakers.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">When they return, they have a swim and we go out in search of sandwiches for lunch, which we find at a bar on the very crowded beach across the bay. We sit in the sun and eat and then the kayakers have a rest while we get in the car and drive to Capo Caccia.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />It is another stunning drive with beautiful views and steep precipices</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="314" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-_SJaD1hNZ0Q/T66AGUMwy6I/AAAAAAAAL-o/58KSOsY1KDA/s791/20120512_153511.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 7" height="420" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ofERanNTedk/T65_NceVeEI/AAAAAAAAL-Y/-6-pFfCG8HQ/s593/20120512_153124.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Dinner tonight is at an agriturismo, Sa Mandra, which is near the airport. Our first impression is not favorable--large parking lot, big playground for kids and a wedding party--but all turns out fine. Everyone gets the same food which is terrific and plentiful...we have lots of salume and cheeses, an excellent fregola dish (the Sardinian pasta that looks like Israeli couscous) and moist and crisp roast pig. Franco and I enjoy the cordula....lamb intestines served with peas. A very nice evening....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />An easy drive back to the hotel....tomorrow we will have an early birthday lunch for Diana, drop off Maureen and Franco at the airport and then drive to Olbia for our ferry back to the mainland.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Jim and Diana</span></div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-72872347779385549292012-05-21T13:41:00.000-04:002012-05-21T13:41:01.603-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Friday, May 11: Day 17: Alghero<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Italy: Spring 2012: Friday, May 11: <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">Day</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">17</span>: Alghero<br /><br />Bright and sunny again.....the view off our terrace is still spectacular.<br /><br /><img alt="Inline image 1" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-sOb7T1BP6DE/T6zJTuPkpzI/AAAAAAAAL0k/ckNYvjsMLd4/s791/20120511_073253.jpg" width="420" /><br /><br />After we eat breakfast and catch up with Maureen and Franco, we get in the car for the 15 minute drive to Alghero. There are beaches all along the<br />route...even as we reach the center. My parking karma holds up and we<br />find a space on the park immediately adjoining the old city. We stop in<br />the tourist office which is not only open but extremely helpful. The staff<br />person gives us a map of the city but also spends five minutes giving<br />us suggestions about what to see and where to go.<br /><br />We make a stop for some shopping....Maureen and DIana buy different kinds<br />of cork serving trays--cork being a major Sardinian product. Maureen,<br />Franco and I then climb the bell tower of the cathedral (no elevator) </span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="314" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GQ2MA6QGrXc/T62Ux4uvsGI/AAAAAAAAL20/p6AwU2jlrjc/s791/20120511_115300.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">and enjoy panoramic views over the city and the water.<br /><br /><img alt="Inline image 2" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JiaAUIMUK5Y/T62TtNkXAJI/AAAAAAAAL2Y/EwSJWG2VgFY/s791/20120511_115129.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 4" height="314" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-jsJ11LcOzKs/T62TZFRmaKI/AAAAAAAAL2Q/GmBfXUw29UY/s791/20120511_115103.jpg" width="420" /><br /><br />On the way down, we get a look into the interior of the cathedral from the<br />staircase.<br /><br /><img alt="Inline image 5" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pzTiqTvITvg/T62VLdnDZrI/AAAAAAAAL3A/0uLGi1id-ME/s593/20120511_115947.jpg" width="315" /><br /><br />Inside the cathedral, we are impressed with the carved pulpit<br /><br /><img alt="Inline image 6" height="314" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lsFmR3fxVTY/T62VyyqftUI/AAAAAAAAL3U/VL_Ubk-Jpho/s791/20120511_120308.jpg" width="420" /><br /><br />and the large digital prayer book (like a giant Kindle).<br /><br /><img alt="Inline image 7" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QLN3g0WR1BM/T62V6jVDnKI/AAAAAAAAL3c/PXrOryq5hBo/s593/20120511_120411.jpg" width="315" /> <img alt="Inline image 8" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-n42sl5y-I-Q/T62WLs5GaqI/AAAAAAAAL3k/E4RShYbr2Qo/s593/20120511_120510.jpg" width="315" /><br /><br />We continue our walk along the water outside the town walls. Alghero was an important Spanish city and there is still a Catalan influence in the<br />local dialect and on the street signs.<br /><br />The sea is beautifully clear here....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 9" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vbhiF5DuI5A/T62Wo_aUoNI/AAAAAAAAL3s/a6q5OaB482M/s791/20120511_121600.jpg" width="420" /><br /><br />After some more walking along the promenade</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 10" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-MZcITcuzSlg/T62YGOcLnQI/AAAAAAAAL4E/DysZkyy2h5g/s791/20120511_123202.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">we decide to have a sandwich for lunch....but the place we go to is closed. But we have passed the restaurant where we have reserved for dinner tonight and we go in and ask if they have a recommendation for a place to get a sandwich or a light lunch. They suggest that we have an antipasto on the terrace at their restaurant--a test run for dinner. It is a good idea...lunch is great--zuppa di ceci for Maureen and me, a plate oof excellent prosciutto and baked cheese for Diana and the mixed seafood antipasto for Franco. A perfect solution....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Back at the hotel, Maureen and Franco decide to go swimming and Diana and I decide to join them....the water is cold and the sea bottom is rocky so Diana only gets her feet wet and I have a brief swim. However Maureen and Franco spend a good time in the water with their shoes and snorkels. The hotel's pool is filled with sea water and also cold - the other guests are sun-bathing - no one is in the water.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Before dinner, Franco and I take a walk in the nature park next to the hotel....we walk on one of the trails that takes us through the forest and then down to the water. Along the way, we discover a small sandy beach</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 11" height="314" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f-UqUFcWtz8/T62dY6Sp0zI/AAAAAAAAL5k/X7worXEDZW4/s791/20120511_013237.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">and some bunkers from World War II.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 13" height="199" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-c7R72wcvJww/T62c1p6A9tI/AAAAAAAAMhY/bpIOQESq4DE/s0-d/20120511_013123.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />On our return. we take a path that dead-ends so we have to work our way through some thick brush to get back to the main trail but it works out and we make it back in time for dinner.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">We go back to Alghero for dinner at Andreini which has one Michelin star.....a bit more refined than we are used to. We have a very nice, lesiurely dinner although the preparations are bit too fussy for me, especially compared to the very straightfoward, simple and delicious lunch. But we have some excelllent dishes prepared with imagination and have a very enjoyable evening.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">We get back to the hotel near midnight....tomorrow's activities are undecided except for our dinner reservation at a local agriturismo.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Jim and Diana</span></div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-23282148110468466782012-05-21T13:39:00.001-04:002012-05-21T13:39:07.555-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Thursday, May 10: Day 16: Oristano-Alghero<br />
<div class="gmail_quote" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Italy: Spring 2012: Thursday, May 10: <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">Day</span> <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">16</span>: Oristano-Alghero</span></div>
<div class="gmail_quote" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another bright sunny <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">day</span>.....that keeps me in a good mood. After breakfast we pack up and get ready to leave Oristano. The hotel people - members of one family plus one other woman - are all extremely friendly, charming and helpful as indeed have been most of the Sardinians we've encountered.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our route to Alghero--in the far northwest of Sardinia--takes us first through the very flat Sinis peninsula...beaches, </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="314" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UfN2xqzKgVs/T68C7bmZywI/AAAAAAAAMUk/2cKdtPN_KAg/s791/20120510_105610.jpg" width="420" /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">dunes and lagoons, but as we get further north, the hills begin and we get some very nice views over the water. We make a stop midway in Bosa, a pretty town with brightly painted houses that is located along the only navigable river in Sardinia--the Tema. It is only navigable for six kilometers...but it gives the town a different look and feel than the other Sardinian towns we have visited.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-__N85tt49AU/T68Ho1OYopI/AAAAAAAAMWU/-89WOhMT3O4/s791/20120510_124901.jpg" width="420" /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />We drive up towards the big Malaspina castle that overlooks the town</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="padding-right: 10px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6FA7XCgK0qo/T68H5X3KLTI/AAAAAAAAMWc/4Z9xagPsbO4/s593/20120510_125354.jpg" width="315" /><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">and get a good overview of the center and surroundings.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kJBaM4VLgPI/T68DjNX19qI/AAAAAAAAMU0/d1c_IZHvpeA/s791/20120510_115023.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">When we go back to the center, we park the car and begin to look for the street where we had read about ladies sitting in their doorways working on their lace....and after walking down the main street which is very lively and attractive, we reach the old part of town</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="420" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-PRYA02ANhcQ/T68FdSlk9kI/AAAAAAAAMVc/-R9jiJpVhRo/s593/20120510_123337.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">and right on schedule, the lacemaking lady appears.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 5" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-GONPP5V7fNQ/T68FHMOBtGI/AAAAAAAAMVU/gBf5zPIeJrg/s791/20120510_123245.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">After some pleasantries, we admire some of her work and Diana buys a small piece that she likes.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />For lunch, we choose one of the many outdoor restaurants on the main street and have a light lunch (sandwich for Diana, clams and mussels for me) while enjoying the warm sunshine.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">The drive north to Alghero is touted by the guidebooks as one of the most spectacular in Sardinia...which in our experience would be hard to live up to. But the very good road does climb high as it winds (gently) along the side of the hills and we get some pretty spectacular panoramas both inland and over the sea.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="314" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HChaYoGN5Kg/T68Kuj3PNSI/AAAAAAAAMXk/wcLvwdSKHEo/s791/20120510_142854.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 8" height="420" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-H0Fuk4_DJeY/T68Kay80t9I/AAAAAAAAMXc/vIAoou7pKwI/s593/20120510_142804.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">We drive straight through Alghero...our hotel is about 15 minutes beyond the center. There is long stretch of beach and a nice promenade along the water outside the city walls and it seems to do an active tourist business. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">Our hotel--the El Faro--is set in a breathtaking position on the tip of a peninsula, surrounded by clear, colorful water, a rocky coast, green headlands, sandy beaches and a view out to the cape that stands at the mouth of the bay.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 9" height="236" src="http://www.elfarohotel.it/images/pagine/gallerie/10/01-Home-Page.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">This picture--from the hotel web site--is not an exaggeration. The building has lots of public space..both indoors and outdoors..where you can enjoy the surroundings and there are lounge chairs scattered all over the grounds. Our room is fine but the terrace is great - large, with this view over the hotel's terrace and the bay.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 10" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2DqxqQj-uFs/T68LCozHimI/AAAAAAAAMXs/UaNm-jv0_88/s791/20120510_153741.jpg" width="420" /> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">We get unpacked and have a drink at the outside bar....very relaxing. The hotel is so inviting that we decide to have dinner in the dining room (with floor to ceiling windows so we can enjoy the sun going down as we eat). And the food turns out to be very good....especially the baked ombrina with a potato crust and the excellent bean soup with mussels. We drink the last of our Sardinian vermintino as it gets dark and soon we have to leave for the airport to pick up our friend from Rome--Maureen and Franco--who are joining us for the weekend. Their plane is early and we get back to the hotel without a problem....</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">Tomorrow we plan to visit Alghero, maybe do some shopping and then relax at the hotel.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: medium;">Jim and Diana</span></div>
</div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-21760967104012923962012-05-13T04:59:00.000-04:002012-05-13T04:59:48.326-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Wednesday, May 9: Day 15: Oristano<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Italy: Spring 2012: Wednesday, May 9: Day 15: Oristano</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Another beautiful day for us to explore the countryside around Oristano. Our first destination for the day is the nuraghe at Losa located within sight of the main north-south highway on the island.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uZopTdaQqdU/T6v8OGxMQqI/AAAAAAAALlk/-05c1eQidwY/s692/20120509_103206.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The remaining tower is over 40 feet high and dates from about 1300 BC...still very well preserved. There are a number of outbuildings close by the tower and some newer Roman cinerary urns can be seen as well as the wall that defines the village's perimiter.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Climbing to the top by a narrow spiral staircase, there is a good view over the site and out to plain beyond.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-P8wUmcTvbDA/T6v9WjoazhI/AAAAAAAALmU/F91B8j-G63Y/s692/20120509_104446.jpg" width="420" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We walk around the nuraghe and go into some of the outbuidings (probably homes or storage buildings) </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-yAXIiNzW4NE/T6v-kyXY8AI/AAAAAAAALnE/BZakCXdtDME/s519/20120509_105419.jpg" width="314" /> <img alt="Inline image 4" height="315" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5EUXUmhiQkQ/T6v-HsNndtI/AAAAAAAALm0/hr5pYfhoHl0/s692/20120509_105236.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">and of course, the wildflowers are everywhere.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dDgrcQlJRWc/T6v-9LQSNqI/AAAAAAAALng/uUfWLM1LlPU/s692/20120509_111516.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We then make a leap from the 2nd millennium BC to the 20th century when we visit the boyhood home of Antonio Gramsci, the Italian political theorist and founder of the Italian Communist party. He grew up in Ghilarzia and the Gramsci Foundation maintains the house as a library and shrine to him.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="420" src="http://www.pasolini.net/gramsci_casa.jpg" width="303" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We are given a tour of the Casa Gramsci by a very enthusiastic staff member who has an encyclopedic knowledge of Gramsci's life and thought.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Here is the beginning of the Wikipedia article about him....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<b style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Antonio Gramsci</b><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"> (</span><small style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Italian pronunciation: </small><span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Lucida Sans Unicode'; line-height: 19px;" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_Italian" style="background-color: initial; background-image: none; color: #0b0080; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank" title="Wikipedia:IPA for Italian">[anˈtɔːnjo ˈɡramʃi]</a></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">) (January 22, 1891 – April 27, 1937) was an </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_people" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Italian people">Italian</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"> writer, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Politician">politician</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">,<wbr></wbr> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_philosopher" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Political philosopher">political philosopher</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">, and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistics" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Linguistics">linguist</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">. He was a founding member and onetime leader of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Italy" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Communist Party of Italy">Communist Party of Italy</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"> and was imprisoned by </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Mussolini" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Benito Mussolini">Benito Mussolini</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">'s </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascist" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Fascist">Fascist</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"> regime. Gramsci was one of the most important </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Marxist">Marxist</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"> thinkers in the 20th century, and his writings are heavily concerned with the analysis of culture and political leadership; he is notable as a highly original thinker within modern European thought. He is renowned for his concept of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_hegemony" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Cultural hegemony">cultural hegemony</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"> as a means of maintaining the state in a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Capitalism">capitalist</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"> society.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramsci" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<wbr></wbr>Antonio_Gramsci</a></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">We spend about an hour looking at bound copies of his newspapers, his letters from prison, photographs of family and associates, paintings of Gramsci and other memorabilia. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 9" height="315" src="http://www.casagramscighilarza.org/fotos/sala_01.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Some of the rooms are furnished with the articles that he grew up with.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 10" src="http://www.antoniogramsci.com/letto_rid.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">We learn that he was less doctrinaire than many Communists of his time and was open to collaborating with Socialists and other liberals. </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Gramsci was arrested by the Fascists in 1926 even though he certainly had immunity as a member of Parliament. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Our guide intimated that by the mid-1930s he was having doubts about the way the Soviet Union was carrying out the communist revolution and, if he had lived longer, would likely not have supported that type of State communism.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">In any case, the visit was both informative and moving...especially for nostalgic "lefties".</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">It is now time to find some lunch....we take a small road that skirts the edge of one of the many man-made lakes in Sardinia</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="313" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRWl1u--NnhZ_Zst1Heonr6OEIG-ShuiuUN9wc0-pK6lg7xmX4LIvZjXvha" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">hoping to find a bar or restaurant on the shore where we can have a light lunch. We drive for a while and there is nothing...not even houses.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">But as we pass a dam that creates the Diga Tirso (Tirso Reservoir) which is part of Lago Omedeo, we see a sign for the Trattoria Cantinedda. We pull into the parking lot and walk up to the seemingly closed building. There are two men sitting at a table and they tell us to go inside. There is no one inside except a friendly women who says of course we can have lunch outside in the sun at a table on the grass overlooking the reservoir.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3OJo7Ia-GHI/T6v_8hhNGsI/AAAAAAAALoU/OY2I5mzA_Wk/s692/20120509_133831.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">So we have one of those fantasy Italian experiences...the restaurant that appears out of nowhere, good food (antipasto and insalata caprese, an engaging proprietor who speaks to us in Italian, local homemade pastas and some nice white wine) in the sun with a beautiful view....delicious.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-roitLTVWA7c/T6wBNoCm_9I/AAAAAAAALpM/s2_Mg0wq_u4/s692/20120509_144009.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">When we are able to tear ourselves away, we go back to the hotel for a rest and then to do a laundry. We go to the Oristano museum (Antiquario Arbonese) which has a nice film about things to see in the Oristano area and many of the finds from Tharros and other local archaeological sites. There is a good model of the city of Tharros</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 4" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O-3CGNyHD30/T6wBg54c3kI/AAAAAAAALpc/iRblJhl27_I/s519/20120509_192134.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">and we even find the lion from Tharros that we had been looking for the day before.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9HWL1OEeBmk/T6wBiBS5I6I/AAAAAAAALpk/mXXPfYnkj6Q/s692/20120509_193042.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Still full from our lunch, we find a shop that sells Sardinian crafts (they had a sign next to the museum) and Diana buys some souvenirs and gifts. We have a nice conversation with the proprietor and his friend (he is happy that the advertising sign next to the museum is working) about Sardinia and the economy.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">We have a late dinner at a local pizzeria--La Torre; Diana likes her pizza with sausage and I have a plate of gnocchetti with a tasty mushroom sauce and a salad. Very efficient and very good.....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Tomorrow we are off to Alghero to spend the weekend with our friends from Rome.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Jim and Diana</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-52788775828585164022012-05-12T06:09:00.002-04:002012-05-12T06:09:37.146-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Tuesday, May 8: Day 14: Oristano<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Italy: Spring 2012: Tuesday, May 8: Day 14: Oristano</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Another beautiful day....looks like Sunday was an aberration. After a very pleasant breakfast at the hotel, we are off to Tharros, a Phoenician/Punic/Roman city, which is beautifully sited near the end of a long peninsula lined with sandy beaches about 15 kilometers from Oristano.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The site is on a hillside, descending to the water, under a 16th century Spanish guard tower.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 5" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-M1d77RqAtnw/T6wivfdSUxI/AAAAAAAALsU/YOM6iWXqBGU/s640/20120508_104312.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We walk around by ourselves, giving up on the densely written, mostly unreadable English translations scattered around. But it is a very impressive excavation--two large thermal baths,</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WffjfiyVo0o/T6wkIx7D4EI/AAAAAAAALsw/Px4chgKx2Gg/s640/20120508_104328.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> a large water cistern and acqueduct, a temple with two columns standing erect</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xoSbox5r0SE/T6wgjevrjhI/AAAAAAAALro/ildXF4LbBxo/s512/20120508_103345.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and a Roman road leading up to a hilltop sanctuary.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 7" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Wu6bDrhZ-yI/T6wmO42HHlI/AAAAAAAALtk/lcLaS6mD6JY/s512/20120508_105229.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Most, if not all, of what we are seeing is from the very important Roman city. The colorful wildflowers are growing everywhere and make the city even more attractive. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8mdUCPsz6tw/T6wg6aViutI/AAAAAAAALrw/5ZJOx2sncEo/s512/20120508_103422.jpg" width="315" /> <img alt="Inline image 9" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-tOXeX4W-emk/T6wgiO0kaBI/AAAAAAAALrg/qH5gZyBEHn4/s512/20120508_103124.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We spend some time trying to locate the statue or a lion pictured on one of the signs but can't find it.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I make the climb up to the Spanish tower to get an more panoramic view of the site and the beaches.....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> <img alt="Inline image 2" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8rHSnEWonbQ/T6wnWgt5bYI/AAAAAAAALuA/MwBukHiozj0/s640/20120508_112356.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 11" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lZA3kVnCakY/T6woWDQj6hI/AAAAAAAALuY/YxHfh4-MxoM/s512/20120508_112646.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">After leaving Tharros-- extremely fascinating and attractive--we make a detour through the town of Cabras--a old fishing village famous for its bottarga di muggine (mullet roe) and get lost in its back streets.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">North of Cabras are some more beautiful beaches...the "sand" here is actually made up of smooth, quartz pebbles</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 12" height="315" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/3144296789_57dac5e80b.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 13" height="315" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-LbjT2dGYioc/T6wqwaTkctI/AAAAAAAALvQ/KXWz0hbovVQ/s640/20120508_120144.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and beaches stretch on for miles, interrupted at intervals with rocky outcroppings and pretty little coves.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 14" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SmLgaeEOl8I/T6wqHYg14VI/AAAAAAAALvA/s7wwmIH0Gok/s640/20120508_120228.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We have a sandwich for lunch at a bar along the water at Marina di Torre Grande, which is Oristano's beach town. The tower is quite grand</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 16" height="279" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Oristano_-_Marina_-_Torre_Grande_(2).jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and the beach is quite pleasant</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 17" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uftHP2YDqGs/T6wr_-GvlpI/AAAAAAAALwE/Ndfh6qg08ik/s640/20120508_130835.jpg" width="420" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The tower across the water is at Tharros.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Later in the afternoon, we walk around Oristano and stop for a gelato. Dinner is at a place called Craf, another Slow Food recommendation. We enjoy our dinner a lot....I have a dish of fregola with clams...one of the best dishes I have had on the trip, followed by grilled mullet, also excellent. Diana enjoys her prosciutto and melon and her grilled orata. The house wine is refreshing....an uncomplicated but delicious dinner..</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The town is quiet as we walk back to the hotel.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Tomorrow we are in search of some more nuraghe.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Jim and Diana</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-68868194248003031232012-05-12T02:30:00.000-04:002012-05-12T02:30:14.716-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Monday, May 7: Day 13: Oliena-Oristano<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Italy: Spring 2012: Monday, May 7: Day 13: Oliena-Oristano</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As bad as the weather was yesterday, today the sky is blue, the sun is shining and it looks like it will be a beautiful day. We have breakfast again outside on the terrace overlooking the pool</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-AzmTFY91yCE/T6wyeBrPsYI/AAAAAAAALyo/rLQ6eM95AcE/s640/20120507_083609.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ZDYtcGHZdH8/T6wyk2aPTVI/AAAAAAAALyw/HuQqVxs8nwg/s640/20120507_083052.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">before we pack and up and get on the road.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Our first stop is the nearby hill town of Orgosolo. which was once the center of bandit country and now is trying to remake itself as a tourist attraction. The town has become an outdoor art gallery...buildings throughout the center are painted with politically charged murals on historical and contemporary subjects. Some are like cartoons, other are more painterly but they certainly add a distinctive edge to this otherwise somewhat rundown town.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Here are few of my pictures from Orgosolo...the attack on the World Trade Center towers on 9-11</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-b2eEagwbtMw/T6oIJ9WvlNI/AAAAAAAALWs/moS_c5OcK80/s512/20000101_021039.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">a Picasso-like mural on the store front where we bought some souvenirs</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-8RLicWarE_0/T6oIM0GvJ2I/AAAAAAAALW4/zqvsADhzaPs/s640/20000101_021137.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">a mural featuring workers</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 6" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5e0jXLYSWc8/T6oGUgTCrJI/AAAAAAAALWM/IkL0phGLlyA/s512/20000101_020502.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">and, of course, one of Garibaldi.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UdMfz36hufE/T6wz2AGSiqI/AAAAAAAALzE/rSaa7h_68ZE/s640/20120507_104134.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The murals originated as an art project in the 1970s and has grown from there. Here is a link to more of the murals.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<a href="http://www.chasingtheunexpected.com/2011/06/photo-essay-orgosolo-murales-sardinias-controversial-side/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.<wbr></wbr>chasingtheunexpected.com/2011/<wbr></wbr>06/photo-essay-orgosolo-<wbr></wbr>murales-sardinias-<wbr></wbr>controversial-side/</a></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">The town has succeeded in attracting some tourism...while we were there, four busloads arrived--three groups of Germans and one Italian.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 9" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xwYQhRCPS8g/T6wyk3rr0hI/AAAAAAAALy0/FqkhFe6teJk/s640/20120507_103926.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Then it is off to Oristano, a city on the west coast of the island. We avoid the main road for most of the trip and enjoy more of the beautiful Sardinian countryside, adorned with profusions of wild flowers everywhere. Our route takes us through the two highest towns in Sardinia--Fonni and Gavoi; both are centers for hiking and backwoods trekking.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />We arrive in Oristano at mid-afternoon and check into our hotel, the Il Duomo. We are welcomed very warmly by the desk clerk Valentina and hang out in our room for a while. I take an exploratory stroll around town to see where things are...things are very quiet but it appears to be an attractive town with lots of pedestrian areas.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The main piazza features a statue of Eleanora d'Arborea, the "guidicati" or ruler of the area in the middle ages.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <img alt="Inline image 10" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6qqktKGuCaE/T6wuCQnaa5I/AAAAAAAALxo/_c68wcxcMgs/s512/20120508_163018.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">There is an imposing Aragonese tower that guards one entrance to the center</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 11" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QDZZaq14aVw/T6wtID9gC7I/AAAAAAAALw8/Akwr13FVCi8/s512/20120508_161043.jpg" />\</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">and a tall and unique cathedral bell tower.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 13" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ncQIHyDIHJo/T6wutiC861I/AAAAAAAALxw/m_5POsNuDdg/s512/20120508_163920.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We have dinner at the hotel restaurant...Josto al Duomo...which is listed in the Slow Food Guide. The young chef is very friendly and spends a lot of time with us explaining the menu and discussing the wine but the whole evening ends up being a bit strange.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The menu is limited...there are two tasting menus and, if one wants to order a la carte, only three choices per course. The food is not bad....we share a selection of cheese and cured meats. Diana has dish of paccheri (large pasta tubes) with a liquidy pecorino sauce...unusual and a bit strange followed by a very good steak. I have a soup of </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">undercooked </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">fregola (couscous like pasta) with seafood, followed by a good fritto misto. The wine is very good....a ripasso di Valpolicella from the Veneto....chosen when we couldn't reach agreement with the chef about an appropriate Sardinian wine. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />We take the elevator upstairs to our room...tomorrow to the Roman city of Tharros.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Jim and Diana</span></div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-52846323454347202942012-05-11T09:11:00.001-04:002012-05-11T11:03:11.481-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Sunday, May 6: Day 12: Oliena<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="il">Italy</span>: <span class="il">Spring</span> <span class="il">2012</span>: <span class="il">Sunday</span>, <span class="il">May</span> <span class="il">6</span>: <span class="il">Day</span> <span class="il">12</span>: <span class="il">Oliena</span></span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The sky is dark and overcast this morning....the weather forecast predicted rain all <span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">day</span> and it looks like it was right. Being a "fair weather traveler", bad weather on vacation makes me grumpy. But we are able to eat our breakfast (from the very extensive buffet) on the covered terrace overlooking the pool, which is very pleasant.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">There are some interesting museums in the area so we plan to use the rainy morning to visit them and then hope for the best. The rain starts falling as we drive to Nuoro, the provincial capital and sometimes called "the Athens of Sardinia"--some of Sardinia's most famous authors and artists are from the area.<br /><br />We get to Nuoro easily and begin the steep climb into the centro and above, to our first destination--t</span><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">he Museum of Popular Life and Tradition. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y30vWma8YX4/T6tTlpKyCuI/AAAAAAAALak/YFrI3ZioST0/s512/20120506_103424.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><split>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Happily there is a parking lot in front of the building. The collection of Sardinian folk costumes and crafts is very imaginatively displayed. The costumes are dressed on mannequins in a large display case in the middle of the room...there are over 100 examples, many of which we had seen in the Sant'Efisio procession in Cagliari. Each town boasts distinctive festive and wedding attire.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 5" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-gG9bUNiuQLs/T6rUks-wgpI/AAAAAAAALYo/oVTWWFKtPF0/s640/20120506_100548.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 6" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oKTGHAB8cd0/T6rUi18Fk6I/AAAAAAAALYg/3--ndRDnaJI/s512/20120506_100747.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />There are other displays, set up as rooms along the walls, showing handicrafts, religious traditions, musical instruments and articles from daily life (guns, tools, etc.)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 7" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-CvFrhjhGHls/T6tLZ8zCrsI/AAAAAAAALY0/EAQqdKnFZcg/s640/20120506_100838.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 9" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cIelqHWUKYI/T6tLkG9z0jI/AAAAAAAALZE/oWkXkcunsms/s640/20120506_101425.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Particularly stunning are the recreations of the masked figures from festivals that take place around the island. Some of them are very menacing. Along with the displays there are many photographs of festivals from earlier years which gives the displays a richer context.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 10" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-eCU9-WoUPYQ/T6tODbM3yNI/AAAAAAAALZ4/_8h0s5jR7GI/s512/20120506_102225.jpg" width="315" /> <img alt="Inline image 11" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Ig18X-8gwvc/T6tN6ZQjUtI/AAAAAAAALZo/T7517_1H0ic/s640/20120506_102127.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Next, we want to see if any of the shops selling Sardinian crafts are open on<span class="il" style="background-color: #ffffcc;">Sunday</span> morning so we follow the GPS direction into the center of town. We also follow signs for the art museum, but streets closed for construction and the pelting rain do us in. The town, which is very steep and is filled with narrow, twisting streets, gets the better of us. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 14" height="316" src="http://icons-ak.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/m/Marta4/530.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We find ourselves circling around endlessly looking for addresses....and finally we decide to change plans.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />We escape Nouro and head east for the coast....hoping for improved weather. We think we see a brighter sky ahead of us and we are enjoying the scenery as we drive. Sardinia really is amazingly beautiful. But the rain is continuing. We stop at the beach at Orosei for a minute...it is long and sandy and stretches for miles..and then stop in town for coffee. The town is quite busy, both with locals and tour bus of Germans. Diana finds a shop that is open and makes a few purchases. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">As we leave Orosei, we are surprised to pass a long stretch of marble quarries...apparently quite a big business for the town.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="278" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3441/3954254108_6dcc6011af_b.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The road north towards Dorgali is even more scenic....the sea is off to our left and periodically appears as we twist around the side of the hills that come right down to the sea. The approach to the beach resort of Cala Gonone is even more dramatic.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0VNK4PpCDDM/T6tWeIiMmvI/AAAAAAAALbg/igtlP3C9wrw/s640/20120506_143402.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">And, as we descend to the town, the rain is stopping and the sky is getting brighter.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Cala Gonone is an attractive little resort town with a nice sandy beach and a stretch of restaurants and bars along a pretty waterfront park. We pick a place--Road House Blues--and are seated a table overlooking the water. Lunch is fine....and the setting and improved weather is great. We each have a pasta dish and a salad and even have a glass of wine. After lunch, we stroll along the water for a while before driving back up the mountain. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Unfortunately as we head back inland, the rain starts again in earnest so we return to the hotel. We spend the afternoon resting and writing.......Diana explores the hotel looking at the displays of art and crafts and pricing some of the things she is interested in buying -very expensive.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Dinner at the hotel dining room is as good as the night before....After the antipasto buffet, I have a very good Sardinian gnochetti with a wild boar sauce and Diana has a steak which she enjoys. We have the same Cannonau-Sangiovese blend as the night before.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />Tomorrow, better weather is predicted and we are off to the west coast of Sardinia.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Jim and Diana</span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-27453429054256130022012-05-09T03:29:00.001-04:002012-05-09T03:29:09.018-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Saturday, May 5: Day 11: Cagliari-Oliena<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Italy: Spring 2012: Saturday, May 5: Day 11: Cagliari-Oliena </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This is our last morning in Cagliari...I have really enjoyed staying here--both for the festival and the city itself--lively with interesting things to see and do. (Diana may be less enthusiastic because of the hilly terrain.) The hotel has worked out well....very spacious room, great location and friendly management. It would be better if there were an elevator to the first floor....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We say goodbye to the friendly folks at the bar and the boss (who urges us to visit his hometown of Sassari) gives us our last breakfast "on the house". We are heading to Oliena located in the mountainous central part of the island. If we took the fast road, we could get there in two hours but we want to see something of the southeastern coast so we decide to take the slow route.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Once we clear the Cagliari suburbs and beach areas, the Sardinian scenery kicks in. The road goes high up on the side of the mountains that come right down to the water, and it winds in and out giving wonderful views of both the coast and the rugged interior.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />We make a stop at Cape Carbonara, which is the southeasternmost point on the island. The beaches here are long, and wide with bright white sand.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WfmJs92cf9k/T6gCM1NtpkI/AAAAAAAALR4/UzDb5ispyLI/s692/20120505_120955.jpg" width="420" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">but as soon as we turn the corner and begin heading north, we get some more of the broad vistas over the water/</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6tJVVdEQZQE/T6gDPaJqvoI/AAAAAAAALSY/YUptSmGmQMA/s692/20120505_122203.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The road then heads inland and the landscape that we pass through is quite amazing. The road climbs up and up steadily and with the frequent changes of direction we are constantly having new perspectives on the wooded mountains, the hill towns, and off in the distance, the Mediterranean. It is really quite spectacular...this picture from the internet will give you some idea of what we saw.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="287" src="http://www.travel-images.com/pht/sardinia33.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end of the exhilarating drive, we pull into the Hotel Su Gologone which seems to be in a different world...although the setting is quite spectacular--deep in the woods under a rugged row of mountains.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="286" src="http://www.bahighlife.com/Media/images/hero2-9ae70fe8-21c6-4e5a-aec5-8608691d6944.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The hotel is quite rustic yet very sophisticated....beautiful extensive grounds with swimming pool, tennis court and children's play area, with lots of terraces and patios for sitting and relaxing. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="262" src="http://files1.caprionline.it/card/su_gologone_hotel/image/2_d.20111120115040.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">When we arrive, the hotel is packed with guests from a wedding luncheon that had taken place and there were people sitting, children running around and lots of activity. But when they clear out, the place is very peaceful.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The entire hotel is decorated with the work of Sardinian painters and folk artists...there are hangings and display cases in all the public rooms as well as in the bedrooms.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 5" height="174" src="http://www.hotelsugologone.com/images/hotel_su_gologone/large/02.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 2" height="314" src="http://static.asiarooms.com/hotelphotos/laterooms/216992/gallery/hotel-su-gologone-oliena_300720101413431447.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Our room is a three room suite (I did get an upgrade since the contact was made through our friend and colleague Maddie)....a small sitting room, the bedroom, another sitting room with an enormous jacuzzi and two balconies---and all decorated with a range of Sardinian paintings and folk art. Quite sumptuous.... ( This is now Diana - I have to add some more detail. The handicrafts include gorgeous carved wooden chests, ceramics, rugs, linens, etc. The bathroom has bright turquoise and white tiles with folk patterns. The hallway towards our room has a display of woven saddle bags, over 100 years old. Each room is named after a Sardinian artist and ours is full of Biasi paintings and lithographs. The public areas have beautiful, brightly colored pillows and amazing flower pots. The place is gorgeous! It's not perfect - tacky plastic glasses in the bathroom, and not great towels, but it is altogether a truly sumptuous treat.)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" src="http://www.bookinitaly.com/strutture/images/ssR4CoyTf3.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">After we get settled, I take a short walk down a country road to the park a few hundred meters away...there is a spring (Su Gologone) and picnic area and playground set in the woods under the imposing mountain ridge. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-nFj5OOy4GQ0/T6n-4roBPzI/AAAAAAAALUk/k9wG1rA8Q3k/s640/20120505_182345.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Since this is Italy, in the parking lot is a food truck and a bookstore/gift shop--even in this somewhat remote place.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We eat dinner at the hotel dining room (included in our rate) and it is terrific.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="294" src="http://www.charmingitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/italian-restaurant-su-gologone.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The service is smooth and the food is excellent, including the wonderful Sardinian bread- pane carasau. We start with an expansive antipasto buffet that tastes as good as it looks, Diana has ravioli stuffed with wild fennel and cheese and the roast pig, grilled in the gigantic fireplace.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="258" src="http://davidlansing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Sardinia-Su-Gologone.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I have the pane frattau again--the crisp Sardinian bread softened and served with a bright tomato sauce topped with a fried egg and some grilled sausages. We drink a nice Sardinian wine...a blend of Sangiovese and Cannonau, which lightens the more robust wine typical of Sardinia.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We climb two flights of stairs to get to our room after dinner (there is no elevator) working off a little of the meal....tomorrow, we explore this mountainous region.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim and Diana</span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-58200118314850724192012-05-09T03:27:00.001-04:002012-05-09T03:27:53.745-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Friday, May 4: Day 10: Cagliari<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Italy: Spring 2012: Friday, May 4: Day 10: Cagliari </span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Another bright and sunny day in Cagliari...after breakfast with our friends next door at the Coco Loco Bar, we get in the car and drive west along the southern coast of Sardinia. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We follow the same fast road that we took to Nora but when we get beyond that, I am disappointed that there are no views of the water--either the road is a bit inland or there are gated communities and beach establishments between the road and the sea. We finally get off the main road and head toward the beach at Chia, one of the famous resorts in the area--long stretches of sandy beaches, pretty coves and a Spanish tower watching over it all.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-TTPNnjUScoM/T6QT05Qrk_I/AAAAAAAALIM/ZZk7EYdZyOE/s692/20120504_101625.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 2" height="319" src="http://www.sardinia-holidays.co.uk/images/0301_93542_321955167_l.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We did see three riders galloping at high speed across the sand bar but I wasn't quick enough to snap a picture.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">After Chia, the road hugs the coast and gives us a lot of the views that we are looking for....panoramic vistas down the coast or closeup views of white sandy beaches and clear and colorful water.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qjDFiSuf_q4/T6QUpdpsEXI/AAAAAAAALJE/kD_QRUuiJXw/s692/20120504_103818.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 7" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Ciz1kRBtDq4/T6QUi0TXdBI/AAAAAAAALI8/upEBc8hf6k4/s519/20120504_103047.jpg" width="314" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Even the Sardinian cows enjoy the beach....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OaWCmZ0cH1A/T6QVyNd4gwI/AAAAAAAALKg/43nsLvc8lV0/s692/20120504_105353.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We arrive at our destination--the island of Sant'Antioco, which was an important Roman city. The island is connected to the larger island of Sardinia by a causeway that was first built by the Romans. There is a very large musuem and archaeological site here but we are not in a museum mood today so we drive on to the other major town on the island, Calasetta. As we approach Calasetta, the weather turns threatening so we opt for lunch at a Slow Food restaurant called da Pasqualino. We have a very good meal....tomatoes, tuna and onions first and then a fritto misto without calamari for Diana and couscous with fish and plate of mussels for me. We follow part of our daytime meal rule and skip the wine.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I had hoped to be able to visit the other island of San Pietro but since that would have meant taking two ferry rides, the timing doesn't work. So instead we take the road that circles the island--much of it through the rugged interior with occasional views of the water.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We drive on the fast road back to Cagliari and I set out to explore the upper city some more. It turns out there were once Jews in Cagliari but they were expelled by the Spanish in 1492. The section of town that they lived in was up in the Castello district but it wasn't a ghetto--they were expelled before ghettos were established. There are still a couple of reminders of their presence however.....the via Santa Croce street sign shows that the name used to be Vico dei Giudei</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-xT21XTJLWDc/T6QWjQjLnJI/AAAAAAAALLU/aMJAk-G0s58/s519/20120504_173153.jpg" width="314" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">and a contemporary arts center located on via Santa Croce is called "Ghetto degli Ebrei" </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="315" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--r5BbEggbYQ/T6QX0B5IB-I/AAAAAAAALMc/qJ3qdrq1Wy0/s692/20120504_175044.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">There are several impressive old defensive towers...one is called the Torre dell'Elefante (because of a small decorative sculpture of an elephant on its face. It doesn't show up in this picture.)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3hlFQ32kGS4/T6QXeGbrQfI/AAAAAAAALMI/Zli9E4VBA0w/s519/20120504_173902.jpg" width="314" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I walk past the big Pisan-Romanesque duomo</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 4" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JbjE0csoOO4/T6QYIL8fzSI/AAAAAAAALMw/b7aUbyVzKBg/s519/20120504_175548.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">and end up at the very impressive piazza on the top of the Bastione di Sant'Remy.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 5" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-KRDAPD0H8v4/T6QYSho2y_I/AAAAAAAALM4/4swv9-NHqdE/s692/20120504_181005.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">At the top, the views over Cagliari are great and it is a wonderful gathering place for the locals.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BucX97X6iGA/T6LwtAmbcnI/AAAAAAAALGI/XoHKckanhO4/s692/20120503_191453.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 7" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HCsYPk9ZzZQ/T6Lwi4sZ8tI/AAAAAAAALGA/5co_vEas8T0/s692/20120503_191326.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">This is the evening that the procession brings back the statue of Sant'Efisio from the church in Nora and people are starting to gather to watch the candlelight march that welcomes the statue. The procession takes the same route it followed on May 1 but in a reverse direction. <br /><br />We have a quick dinner at one of the restaurants on the parade route and then stand on the street to watch.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-gVj6OWT9_qM/T6Q3RiC8aTI/AAAAAAAALOY/rP3C4VHVseQ/s519/20120504_214158.jpg" width="314" /> <img alt="Inline image 9" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-rln5m_UGiL8/T6Q3InMVNMI/AAAAAAAALOQ/X--684PmiTs/s692/20120504_212745.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">(Diana is again quite taken by the embroidered shawls you see in the picture....and may be looking to buy one.)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It is quite a solemn affair with religious songs being sung and prayers chanted and it goes on for a long time.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We go up to the hotel room to await the return of the statue which finally comes by about 11 pm. The crowds are quite excited when the procession passes by.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 10" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WV1OdNUm1SE/T6RFDnHEaSI/AAAAAAAALQM/zexsntrhvgk/s692/20120504_225406.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">All in all it was terrific experience to be in Cagliari for the Festa and I am glad that Diana insisted that we come.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Tomorrow we pack up and drive to a fancy rustic hotel in the mountains of central Sardinia.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Jim and Diana</span></div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-79795747233236732552012-05-07T15:45:00.001-04:002012-05-07T15:45:31.116-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Thursday, May 3: Day 9: Cagliari<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Italy: Spring 2012: Thursday, May 3: <span class="il">Day</span> 9: Cagliari </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Another beautiful <span class="il">day</span>....we breakfast outside at the Coco Loco and then drive up to the Castello where the Archaelogy Museum (and a number of other museums) are located. The district is also the home to the University and has many picturesque narrow streets.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="420" src="http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Eclipse_101009/Cagliari_101009-4782.jpg" width="280" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">After a bit of driving around before finding a parking space, we have a short walk to the Cittadella dei Musei, a complex that also includes includes the art museum and the Museum of Siamese Art - behind this impressive entry arch.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="420" src="http://www.unica.it/UserFiles/Image/gallery/1156246212239citt_musei06.jpg" width="278" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We get in free....speciall consideration for the over-65 set. The museum is in a modern building and is well lit: the displays are very attractive but there is little English explanation as we make our way from room to room on the various levels. The museum is organized by digging site, not chronologically. We especially like the recreation of the "tophet"--a open burial area where the remains of babies were placed in urns.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" src="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/ec/ec/3a/reconstruction-tophet.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">the statues called "bronzetti" which are very old statues that are very detailed and expressive;</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Sk54sHxz81M/T6LEUYItReI/AAAAAAAAK_U/-0ZroqfOtSY/s476/20120503_112838.jpg" width="315" /> <img alt="Inline image 3" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-IOCqQwhi-wI/T6LFLZbQz8I/AAAAAAAAK_k/OZ56GSzoV_c/s476/20120503_112922.jpg" width="315" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">especially these wrestlers.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="314" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-k3x6AM7lYjg/T6LFiLN60iI/AAAAAAAAK_0/GPSmhGpbHO4/s635/20120503_112953.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The star of the museum for us is this stelae from Nora which is the first recorded written evidence of the name Sardegna--dating from about 8000 BC.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<img alt="Inline image 5" height="420" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3329/3455477427_5f82c1476c_z.jpg" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;" width="277" /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Since we are in an archaelogical mood, we decide to drive about an hour north of Cagliari to see Su Nuraxi. Sardinia is famous for its "nuraghi"--there are over 7,000 of these stone buildings scattered all over the island that date back to as early as the 13th century BC. It is generally believed that most of these structures were used for defense...an early version of a castle.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Su Nuraxi is the one of the largest and is distinctive for its village of stone houses that are attached to the main building. The main building was 20 meters high but the top part has been scavenged for other buildings over the years so it is now only 14 meters tall (about 45 feet).</span></div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="314" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--xteIunQu50/T6LpyUVoRsI/AAAAAAAALCc/FvEDHJ8RAGA/s635/20120503_143324.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The visit involved climbing to the top along a modern iron stairway </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 7" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0XvWhdtLZC4/T6LvbFDHAAI/AAAAAAAALFM/DZcu4bPjtfI/s476/20120503_152921.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">and then making your way down through the middle on more precipitous steep stone stairs.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">On ground level inside the building, there is a well and the entrances to surrounding towers that were added on in later years. The stone construction (no mortar was used) is quite ingenious</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="420" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mDjHGS65OpE/T6LtKsH0HZI/AAAAAAAALEA/-S8tUO6boPk/s476/20120503_150819.jpg" width="315" /> <img alt="Inline image 9" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Sy0NwPA8L1U/T6Ls7nvncRI/AAAAAAAALD4/ZpOwinXZ0cQ/s476/20120503_150239.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">It is possible that there are still many more nuraghi to be discovered.....there are many "hills" that may yet be excavated to uncover more of them.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 10" height="314" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wFW_x_YL6hs/T6LvTU2FwZI/AAAAAAAALFE/piW7l5AUnpw/s635/20120503_152849.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We take back roads to and from Su Nuraxi...we are driving through the Campidano plain, a major agricultural area. The gentle rolling hills are punctuated by rock outcroppings and flocks of sheep.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 11" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5224/5591789408_9353ac2c57.jpg" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">fields of wild flowers</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 12" src="http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1848/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1848-430859.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">and flocks of sheep.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<img alt="Inline image 13" height="420" src="http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P-473-488-90/21/2167/42YCD00Z/posters/oliviero-olivieri-campidano-island-of-sardinia-italy-mediterranean.jpg" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;" width="315" /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">(Confession: the three pictures above are not mine.)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We eat dinner at Sa Piola, a stylishly rustic trattoria just up the street from the hotel and a favorite of the people at our hotel. The menu is written mainly in Sardo so we depend on the owner Claudio for help in ordering. We share an appetizer of fried meatballs and vegetables that are nicely prepared and delicious. When we ask about some of the ingredients, he heads to his computers and googles the answer for us. I have a pasta with a red sauce from the Campidanese (very light and fresh) and Diana has a Sardinian orechiette-like pasta with shrimp and artichoke--both very tasty. Diana has an apple tart made with Sardinian pane carasau (the crispy bread known as "carta musica") and we drink a local red wine recommended by Claudio. A very nice meal....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />Tomorrow we are off for a drive along the southern coast to the island of Sant'Antioco.....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Jim and Diana</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">PS I did forget a major event from yesterday's report...we did find a laundromat and now have clean clothes.</span></div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-87871806267816104082012-05-07T15:43:00.003-04:002012-05-07T15:43:59.886-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Wednesday, May 2: Day 8: Cagliari<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Italy: Spring 2012: Wednesday, May 2: <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffcc; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Day</span> <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffcc; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">8</span>: Cagliari </span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A bright sunny <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffcc; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">day</span> but it is a bit too cool to have breakfast outside at the friendly bar next door to the hotel. Le Suites sul Corso doesn't have a breakfast room but gives coupons underwriting breakfast at neighboring bars. The staff at Coco Loco are very friendly and one speaks excellent English.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We get in the car and head west from Cagliari along the sea, enroute to Nora, the Phoenician/Punic/Roman city about 30 km from town. The beginning of the trip passes a lot of factories and shipping facilities. On the other side of the road is a big lagoon (stagno) where we see some light pink flamingos in the water. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="314" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Stagno_di_cagliari_g1.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The main road to Pula is pretty fast after we escape the suburbs of Cagliari. Along the road, a few of the towns have decorations along the street and we see some flower petals and greens on the streets. We are also following the route of the statue of Sant'Efisio to his home church at Nora and it is possible that we may meet up with the procession sometime during the <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffcc; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">day</span>.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">When we drive through Pula (the closest town to Nora), the streets are lined with flowers and banners and there are brightly colored pennants strung over the main street...so we may be able to see still another celebration.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The archaelogical site at Nora is impressively sited at the end of a narrow peninsula with exposure to the water on three sides. Long, sandy beaches stretch out from the peninsula and people are swimming as the <span class="il" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #ffffcc; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">day</span> warms up. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-rkG9-5m5XWE/T6E-tWGP7qI/AAAAAAAAKys/XP9tEfjH4c4/s692/20120502_103006.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">There is also a tower at the end of the peninsula...built by the Spanish in the 16th century.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="420" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yBkEBKpHKbw/T6E_bxHmK4I/AAAAAAAAKy8/B2ypxYPPxwQ/s519/20120502_103854.jpg" width="314" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We ask at the ticket both about when the procession is scheduled to reach Pula and she tells us "around noon, more or less." So we may be able to make it.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We are in a group with several Italians and a French mother and daughter. The guide gives us an audio guide in English so we can follow along but we find that we can do pretty well with a combination of Italian, French and occasional questions in English. The site is now almost all Roman...most traces of the previous inhabitants are gone. We walk around the Forum, the baths, through the residential districts and past the theater. There are some impressive columns still standing and some very nice mosaics....and on all sides, the beautiful Mediterranean.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1E5n7DAjnB8/T6FvtjPca7I/AAAAAAAAK2U/OAGRrc7P5NI/s692/20120502_112856.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 4" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Gw1CVc9WZXg/T6Fw7jeAvGI/AAAAAAAAK20/Hfc5Mz2xuaE/s692/20120502_113252.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 5" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Wy4tlqXLfbs/T6FyErGpxCI/AAAAAAAAK3U/BsA-Sck5O3s/s692/20120502_113943.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We hurry back to Pula to find out when the procession will arrive and where it will be. We find a parking space and I scout out a place to get lunch. We end up sitting outside at a bar across from the city hall and having a sandwich as the people begin to line the streets in anticipation. We talk with the old lady at the next table and the owner of the bar while we are waiting. Finally we hear some explosions from down the street which must signal the arrival of the statue. Men and women begin to scatter leaves and flower petals on the route. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VQkgVMQ2G2c/T6F1Kd73RfI/AAAAAAAAK30/ohswAWw4jQ8/s519/20120502_132532.jpg" width="314" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The procession arrives...a smaller version of the one we saw in Cagliari yesterday. Lots of groups in local costumes,</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 10" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ME1OwixkRVw/T6GbPgZ0-cI/AAAAAAAAK6Y/NSBcqlIEGqc/s692/20120502_134322.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> more richly decorated wagons pulled by richly decorated oxen</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 7" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Xi52r0l6A3E/T6Ga_PyRuKI/AAAAAAAAK6I/OHbX-Q9OgfE/s692/20120502_134012.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">people on horseback, </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 9" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-jk3qB4W09rE/T6F1kwtaVhI/AAAAAAAAK4E/Qs35AUpAhBY/s692/20120502_132728.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">the town band, the confraternity in their robes, a church group chanting prayers, local dignitaries and finally, the carriage with the statue of Sant'Efisio pulled by two large oxen. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 11" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-84H-PHRUUp4/T6GdCdsY6PI/AAAAAAAAK7g/rlZM_UcZ1f0/s692/20120502_135218.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Once the statue has passed, many in the crowd join the the procession.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img alt="Inline image 12" height="315" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0C6Ov1yuo18/T6Gd1xUefAI/AAAAAAAAK8I/6NowtWIsQMY/s692/20120502_135409.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">A nice counterpoint to the Cagliari festa.....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Before we leave town, we make a quick stop at the small archaelogical museum in Pula and then return to Cagliari driving on back roads...along the water and through some very pretty and very green hills.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I do some scouting around for dinner places and we eat at a very nice restaurant (also just around the corner from the hotel) called Ristorante Flora. It looks fancier than most places that we frequent and the clientele are mostly very well-dressed older people (some older than us even.) But the staff is very welcoming and the food is very good....we share an order of delicious fried meatballs (apparently a local specialty). Diana has a dish of "malfatti"--basically a spinach and cheese filling without the pasta envelopes followed by nice steak with tarragon sauce. I have a spaghetti with clams and mussels (mussels are also a local specialty) which is great, followed by a whole fish cooked in a sauce with potatoes and tomatoes....also very good. The local red wine (a Carignano) is easy to drink. Diana has a seada...the ricotta cheese pastry topped with honey...which is good. I stop for a very good gelato at the gelateria on the same street...very nice straciatella and fior di latte.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Tomorrow we plan to go to the archaeological museum in Cagliari.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br />Jim and Diana</span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-43422039031181667272012-05-05T02:40:00.000-04:002012-05-05T02:40:21.853-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Tuesday, May 1: Day 7: Cagliari<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Italy: Spring 2012: Tuesday, May 1: Day 7: Cagliari</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Today is the big day....the Festa di Sant'Efisio. We have planned our itinerary in Sardinia so that we could be in Cagliari on May 1. And when we wake up, the sky is gray and there is a steady drizzle--not a good sign for the Festa.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">A bit of explanation first.....Sant'Efisio was said to be a Roman soldier converted to Christianity in the 3rd century. While serviing on Sardinia, he refused to recant his beliefs and was beheaded at Nora, near Cagliari. A church was dedicated to him and he became the patron saint of Cagliari. In the 1650s, during an plague outbreak, the saint was credited with stopping the death toll and in 1657, fulfilling their promise to him, in thanks for his actions, an annual solemn procession from Cagliari to Nora and back was made. Sant'Efisio was also given credit for foiling the French invasion of Cagliari in 1793. Every year (except for 1917 during World War I ), the traditional procession to Nora and back has been observed...this is the 356th festa.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oa-154oZgM4/T6CeeKMvWhI/AAAAAAAAKtY/GzL_oWRwDLg/s692/20120501_182942.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Early in the morning, while it is still raining, I walk up to the Church of Sant'Efisio where many people are coming to pay their respects before the procession begins.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 13" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-LO79s_vJ5o0/T59-fmvQpeI/AAAAAAAAKQg/eHvs_m1-hVQ/s519/20120501_075506.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">On the street where the procession assembles, I see some of the participants arriving....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 15" height="252" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Kn07-bs0pJ8/T5-ng_pZc5I/AAAAAAAAKRc/xfc7VSVVevQ/s863/20120501_091007.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 16" height="252" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nlXhcVCUPeo/T5-oM_z-TOI/AAAAAAAAKSI/whzY68DGqbc/s863/20120501_091605.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Around 9:30, the procession begins....it takes a long and winding route through the streets of Cagliari before the statue and its retinue leave town for the walk to Nora.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This annual Festa has become a big deal in Cagliari....there are thousands of participants. The procession starts with more than 30 oxen-drawn carts from different communities around the island---the carts are decorated with flowers and ribbons, the people riding on the carts are dressed in traditional costumes and the oxen are wearing elaborate floral garlands. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="252" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DhQUbkbyhK4/T5-pgoIwYYI/AAAAAAAAKSo/xH5nmtNZhQI/s863/20120501_092227.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 3" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-gjMm1XNjL2E/T5_Sy9cTwMI/AAAAAAAAKUo/9LuXzHu-J9Y/s692/20120501_095846.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-h-gifkTe1Pk/T5_UG4XegDI/AAAAAAAAKVQ/vkP9V6z9yIw/s692/20120501_100258.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 5" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hgUmIxtA9_I/T5_Sjth-39I/AAAAAAAAKUg/lCUU5pqjt5E/s692/20120501_095835.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">(These pictures were taken right in front of our hotel....and from our balcony, we had a birds-eye view of the procession.)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The rain stops and the sun comes out and the rest of day is warm and sunny. The carts are followed by scores of costumed delegations on foot from many communities around the island...some are marching with local musicians and many are singing religious songs in what are apparently typical Sardinian folk-like melodies.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TIyUCMAevrU/T5_XheaEl4I/AAAAAAAAKXI/OGDkTcusMVE/s692/20000101_011005.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 7" height="420" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9G7FhokLFD0/T6AFX-w_JAI/AAAAAAAAKdU/KtqPguRMP7I/s519/20120501_105952.jpg" width="314" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NPlQ7dxMyw8/T5_WmFdQJ_I/AAAAAAAAKWg/SEjV1sIkzak/s519/20000101_010458.jpg" width="314" />n<img alt="Inline image 9" height="315" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lWv0HsX2o3I/T5_WFC87ECI/AAAAAAAAKWI/vFBKi2QoNBg/s692/20000101_010348.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 10" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PEz_jWGjVTc/T5_XAkJ2WaI/AAAAAAAAKW4/rWHgs0G-C3Y/s519/20000101_010538.jpg" /> <img alt="Inline image 12" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-e65I_Kvsadg/T5_VThAuwWI/AAAAAAAAKVw/-FJiD9j1Z-I/s519/20000101_010300.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">And then, on horseback, hundreds of riders in traditional costumes join in the procession - sometimes nine abreast.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 18" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-sS3AzaoQrag/T6BoKP8bAGI/AAAAAAAAKmI/KIccJoxfG9A/s692/20000101_011814.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 19" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LatlcV1Au1U/T6Bk5Uu-zvI/AAAAAAAAKlw/gvVPaOArIMU/s692/20000101_011403.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This "introductory" part of the procession ends and there is a pause until just after noon when the figure of Sant'Efisio is taken from the church and follows the winding route of the parade through Cagliari. I am waiting at the church as the small square in front begins to fill up. The oxen that will pull the carriage are standing nearby </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-NeK-mBQUDoM/T6CA_DIe60I/AAAAAAAAKnw/Xoe2xoJ8SD8/s692/20000101_012430.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally the procession is ready to leave the church amid loud cheering and fireworks. In the parade are the members of the church's confraternity, men dressed in formal wear and top hats on horseback, and other dignataries. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-x0Hu04-vn9U/T6Cbv9gBSpI/AAAAAAAAKrQ/MvzcEEwnAK0/s692/20000101_020951.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 3" height="315" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-77Jv__8j7yc/T6CZcQPQq5I/AAAAAAAAKqI/y7vq2U_T2gY/s692/20000101_020243.jpg" width="420" /> </span> </div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<img alt="Inline image 2" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-UwhXnSDMRc8/T6CdinJ-b0I/AAAAAAAAKsw/tDAwTy7Kyg0/s519/20000101_021355.jpg" /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Flower petals are thrown from windows along the route and the crowds press in for a closer look and a chance to touch the passing figure of the saint, and then some join the procession behind the carriage.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6lh9_dDUUBA/T6CdB3lu_6I/AAAAAAAAKsY/wmYiH47tcZE/s692/20000101_021326.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 3" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-sdDEoFN4cm8/T6CceabXIeI/AAAAAAAAKr4/otZ1vgfo_B8/s692/20000101_021114.jpg" width="420" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> <img alt="Inline image 6" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-BBv-yO6ZSWk/T6Cd7BSfawI/AAAAAAAAKtA/_OZDMe5gDyA/s692/20000101_022227.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The procession finally passes the official reviewing stand in front of the city hall and a small group accompanies the carriage and oxen out of town for the 30 kilometer trip to Nora.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">It is really quite an impressive festival...the participants seem very pleased to be included and the crowds lining the route are very enthusiastic.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">After the procession, we walk over to the Piazza Yenne which is crowded with both onlookers and costumed marchers. We have a quick lunch at a outdoor cafe sitting in the sun and watching the people. We get in the car and drive up to the Castello district that dominates the town and where the cathedral and many of the museums are located. But parking is at a premium and it takes a while to find an empty space. We get out and take a look at the huge Roman amphitheater where concerts and plays are held during the summer</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-jX-gco9mkxQ/T6CeTKxWDOI/AAAAAAAAKtQ/d_RQLSzvxHI/s692/20120501_165708.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">but it is closed up so we just look around from the outside.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I take a late afternoon scouting stroll looking for a self-service laundromat that we had heard was close by the hotel but after a long walk, I don't see it. I do come upon a big concert of folk music and dancing in the Piazza del Carmine where many in the audience are dancing along with the performers.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 9" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ba1uWLcTXBE/T6CfvxqiHoI/AAAAAAAAKuY/XtlaYRYUzrU/s692/20120501_185725.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 11" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4G4GKmFDIBg/T6CfkOI-GpI/AAAAAAAAKuQ/OniTjNfrE0s/s692/20120501_185546.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Dinner is at Su Domus Sarda, the Slow Food restaurant just down the street, where we tried to eat last night. The food is very good...I have a plate of prosciutto and salami to start and a local pasta called fregola (like orzo but round) with sausage and mushrooms. Diana has a cheese assortment and a "mixed grill". The portions are too big to handle and we can't finish any of our dishes...putting a damper on our enjoyment of the place.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">It is a short walk up the hill to our hotel....it has been a full and exciting day..</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Tomorrow we are driving to Nora, an important archaeological site and also the destination of the procession.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Jim and Diana</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-76795042449765489702012-05-04T02:15:00.001-04:002012-05-04T12:34:28.968-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Monday, April 30: Day 6: Palau-Cagliari<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.918); color: #222222; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Italy: Spring 2012: Monday, April 30: Day 6: Palau-Cagliari</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.918); color: #222222; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />We pack up and after breakfast we get in the car and start the drive from the northeastern tip of the island to the southern coast--a trip of about 300 kilometers or 186 miles. The sky has cleared and it looks like we will have nice weather for the drive. For the first part of the trip, the road climbs through peaceful rolling hills before the heading into the more mountainous interior. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="http://photos.igougo.com/images/p258904-Sardinia_Sardegna-Limbara_Mountains_from_the_Top.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><split>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">There are striking views of rocky hills as we wind our way to the hill town of Tempio Pausania </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="279" src="http://www.voyagevirtuel.co.uk/sardaigne/images/tempio-pausania-landscape-4.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">which we just pass through (getting a little lost in the middle of town) on our way south.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />We chose an alternate route (somewhat shorter in distance) that takes us through some stunning mountain scenery before descending to the plains.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="315" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_swKZ6h4WIrA/SlMoqhzyJ9I/AAAAAAAACRI/PVS83ThrQdA/DSCN0081.JPG" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The rest of the trip is on a a four land divided highway which is faster but less scenic. We arrive in Cagliari, the largest city on the island, in the mid-afternoon and we find our hotel quite easily. The hotel--Le Suite sul Corso--is right in the middle of the center of town not far from the waterfront. We park the car on the street and unload. Our room is very nice...high ceilings and spacious--with floor to ceiling windows and balconies that look out on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. We are in Cagliari for the big festival of their patron saint--Sant'Efisio--and there will be a big parade tomorrow that will pass right under our windows.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" src="http://www.bed-and-breakfast.it/foto/9587/locandafacc01n.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">I go out to check out the neighborhood and get our bearings and then we both take a stroll down the main street and along the shopping arcade on the waterfront. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="252" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0ESZfxhnpmI/T57691wHf_I/AAAAAAAAKOc/k9wmvHLXnrA/s863/20120430_170631.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">There are lots of people on the street and preparations being made for the big procession tomorrow...there are bleachers set up along the main route for spectators, the buildings are decorated with banners and flowers and the no parking signs are everywhere. I will have to move the car off the street to the parking lot near the railroad station but before doing that, we take a ride out to the very long beach area -Poetto- to the east of the downtown.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The very pretty beach goes for miles and there are hotels, bars and beach clubs stretched out along it.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="252" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wMTFybMOOb8/T577cN1qRnI/AAAAAAAAKOs/XlQhDDNegv0/s863/20120430_182143.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">We have some prosecco at one of the beachside bars</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="252" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S96bRg1w1_s/T57SgpsOdHI/AAAAAAAAKD4/WPdR4uIn-zA/s863/20120430_184027.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">and then head back to town and park the car.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">We have dinner at a very modest trattoria on the same street as the hotel (our first choice is all booked up but we make reservations for tomorrow night). The trattoria--Sa Turra--is almost empty when we arrive around 8:30 but it quickly fills up some with locals who all seem to know the proprietor. The food is very good...I have a dish of fried mussels which is terrific followed by a grilled sausage which is also excellent and would have been appreciated more if it hadn't taken so long to arrive. Diana starts with a cured meat antipasto followed by a dish of spaghetti with garlic, oil and pepper flakes - simple but good. Most of the regulars are ordering various preparations of mussels...something to keep in mind if we return.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Tomorrow we will spend a good part of the day with Sant'Efisio...the patron saint of Cagliari.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Jim and Diana</span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-63703877828612603372012-05-03T13:41:00.000-04:002012-05-03T13:41:14.150-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Sunday, April 29: Day 5: Palau<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Italy: Spring 2012: Sunday, April 29: Day 5: Palau</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Today the sky is angry and there is a light rain falling...una giornata brutta. We discuss whether to change our plans but there are not too many rainy day options in this area of Sardinia. So after breakfast, we get on the ferry for the 20 minute crossing to the island of La Maddalena. The island used to house a large US naval base (talk about hardship duty) but it was closed down in 2008. The Italian navy still maintains a base there.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" src="http://images.suite101.com/3046732_com_ferry_palau_to_madelena.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Once on the island, we drive out of the main town (which is much larger than I had supposed) towards the adjoining island of Caprera.and the home of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the military hero of the Italian unification as well as other revolutionary movements in South America and Europe. He was a charismatic figure and well known throughout the world. He had a falling out with the politicians who were running the newly unified Italian nation and retired to his farm on Caprera where he lived for most of the rest of his life. (If you want more details on his life, here is the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Garibaldi" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"> link to the Wikipedia article</a> on Garibaldi.)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />There is not much on Caprera other than the Compendio Garibaldi (if you don't count the beautiful beaches); The island is connected to La Maddalena by one narrow causeway barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="252" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bTiE349-7Dk/T57UkW5QS4I/AAAAAAAAKIU/JHGELtUVjvM/s863/20120429_115152.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The road leading up to the Garibaldi house is lined with parked cars and the tiny parking lot is full. And we arrive at the same time as a busload of Italian tourists out for a Sunday trip. The line at the ticket office is long and only 20 people are admitted at a time for the mandatory guided tours,so we decide to come back later in the day.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />The other activity we are planning is to take the 20 kilometer scenic drive around the island of La Maddalena. The start of the drive is not promising....we pass small industrial parks and a big shopping mall but things quickly improve. The road climbs and winds along the coast, providing lots of photo opportunities of pretty coves with beaches and rugged stone formations in the hills and in the water. The sky is still overcoast but the rain seems to be letting up which allows us to stop and take some walks without our umbrellas.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="252" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vNYq53CEQhI/T57Uwl3hSaI/AAAAAAAAKIs/Wc0ayBbMAow/s863/20120429_120843.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 2" height="252" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JnaKF3ghY6I/T57VMEcl6QI/AAAAAAAAKJg/geRyHK0izus/s863/20120429_121634.jpg" width="420" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="252" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7XWhtLzaURo/T57VxT4TdXI/AAAAAAAAKKg/lRlvOiGKVzo/s863/20120429_122425.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition to the wild natural scenery there are some houses and hotel complexes that have been built on the island.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="252" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FfD-sRlVbmY/T57VVia_VEI/AAAAAAAAKJw/hDC4U12ccP4/s863/20120429_121741.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">but even they fit </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">pretty well in</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">to the dramatic landscape.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">There are narrow coves with colorful flowers along the shore as well as stands of foliage on the dunes.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 3" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jRBhhtrOFIc/T57VKBI_ZVI/AAAAAAAAKJY/PlC_wwcc_x8/s519/20120429_121555.jpg" width="252" /> <img alt="Inline image 4" height="252" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tJMNDTh1uB0/T57WAOpI1_I/AAAAAAAAKK4/ePgE04gcsGY/s863/20120429_123337.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the loveliest stretches is at Baia del Trinita, a long sandy beach that we reach by a boardwalk built over the dunes. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 6" height="252" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ULURxjQo9ag/T57V1hoUtQI/AAAAAAAAKKo/j4w7vtVhkSY/s863/20120429_123023.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Even with the overcast weather, we come upon a French family swimming in this cove.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 7" height="252" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Z1FS7rXN-oY/T573iQ2_QyI/AAAAAAAAKLU/56eIj1GAKDU/s863/20120429_123938.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">After completing the panoramic drive, it is lunchtime and we stop for very good sandwiches at a friendly bar in town and decide to make another attempt to visit Garibaldi's house. At 1:30 pm on a Sunday, all good Italians are busy with their big dinner so we have no trouble parking and getting tickets. We are on a tour with 10 Italians and the tour guide speaks extremely fast so we miss a good part of the descriptions (we do have an English language brochure that gives us the basic details). We enjoy the visit...the house is furnished as it was when Garibaldi lived there and there are many pictures and momentos from his life including the emblematic red shirt worn by his army. He was a agricultural innovator and we see some of the farm machines that he introduced or adopted very early.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/multimedia/MiBAC/images/med/25/d2af5b95c8da4aa143355c6569685b97cc808171.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 2" height="279" src="http://teatriemusei.ovest.com/_img_sez/1654-2-grande-1-sala-cimeli.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 3" height="279" src="http://www.compendiogaribaldino.it/public_dnc/gallery/bigs/dsc_3813.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We drive back to La Maddalena and take the ferry back to Palau...the day has worked out very well despite the less than beautiful weather. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />This evening we are invited to have dinner with a Facebook and Slow Travel friend--Viktorija Todorovska--who is working on a Sardinian cookbook. She lives in Chicago and we have discovered that we know some of the same people.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<a href="http://www.olivacooking.com/?page_id=2" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.olivacooking.com/?<wbr></wbr>page_id=2</a></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Since we were both in the same area at the same time, Viktorija invited us to have dinner at the agriturismo that she and her husband Michael were staying. The agriturismo--La Valletta--is out in the countryside near the town of Santa Teresa di Gallura, off a very narrow rural road. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="315" src="http://www.agriturismo.it/imgs/000/936/room/14647.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: #969f31; font-family: 'helvetica neue', Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; word-spacing: 1px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The evening is a lot of fun...we have fava and pecorino, Sardinian bread (pane carasau)--very light and crisp--with Sardinian olive oil to start, and Viktorija has made a Sardinian sausage sauce and malloredus (Sardinian pasta) which is excellent. Our trip back to Palau on the narrow country road in the pitch dark is uneventful....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow we will make the drive to the extreme south of the island to begin our five night stay in Cagliari.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Jim and Diana</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-10964091705900118092012-05-01T16:14:00.000-04:002012-05-01T16:14:32.294-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Saturday, April 28: Day 4: Livorno-Palau<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Italy: Spring 2012: Saturday, April 28: Day 4: Livorno-Palau</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">An early morning wake-up call for 5:30 is botched by the hotel but we are up anyway..we have to be at the ferry landing by 7 am for our Sardinia voyage. We arrive without incident and in plenty of time....and then proceed to sit with all the other cars for more than 30 minutes until the ferry from Sardinia docks and unloads.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The ferry is huge</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Moby_Aki_Piombino.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">and speedily swallows up all the waiting vehicles...trucks, buses and cars...into its two-deck high parking lot on the first two levels.<br /><br />After some confusion about where to go (we are ferry newbies, after all), we check in and get our seat assignments in the cabin with airline style seats. But we want to go out on the open deck to watch Livorno fade away as we head for the open sea.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="252" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-XOSIZm6lnnU/T5wwWzwe7kI/AAAAAAAAJ3c/iS2giINTJFA/s800/20120428_081236.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 3" height="252" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-GjA6LFy7pOI/T5wwOSdvosI/AAAAAAAAJ3M/Yfwp3p1Ihzk/s800/20120428_081839.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="252" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dTj3i7ckQJg/T5wwR-RZ7-I/AAAAAAAAJ3U/JZavLQEmkfg/s800/20120428_081559.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">It is pretty chilly and windy on the open deck so we go down one level to the public area and get some breakfast at the bar. After we eat, we explore the areas of the public deck...there is a children's playground, a big multi-level lounge in the rear, a formal sit-down restaurants, several other bars, a self-service cafeteria and a gift shop. We sit down at a table next to the window and Diana starts to quilt while I see how the advertised wi-fi works. Turns out not well and the light on this side of the ship is not as good as on the other side so we switch areas and settle in.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />I notice that many of the passengers seem to be regulars...and have scoped out the best places to stretch out or where there are electrical outlets to power computers. There is lots of card playing and many people are heavily involved in crossword puzzles and word games.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I spend a fair amount of time just walking around and exploring....Diana sits tight and quilts. The trip is scheduled for six hours and we quickly find that the charm of watching the water go by is short-lived. But the journey does go pretty quickly even though we are slowed down by fog in the middle of the trip. We have a decent pasta lunch from the cafeteria and soon we are within sight of the Sardinian coast.</span> We never do return to to the reserved seats that we had paid for...and on our next trip, we will not reserve them.</div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Diana gets approached by an Italian lady who is very impressed with the quilting....and they discuss that for a while. The woman, a Florentine with a house on Sardinia, is very friendly--inviting us to visit her and offering introductions to friends in some of the places we will be visiting.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Once off the ferry, we decide on the "scenic route" from Olbia (where the ferry lands) to Palau, a small town in the northeast where we are staying for two nights. We make a few stops to admire beautiful views</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> <img alt="Inline image 6" height="252" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y6xJYD3cLGc/T57UFhBfcVI/AAAAAAAAKHc/c-OoryTh6fs/s800/20120428_153837.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 7" height="252" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-pJKfxSiw_DU/T57UIhOAnEI/AAAAAAAAKHk/AHtE4AUqur0/s800/20120428_153905.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">but the towns that we pass through--Porto Cervo, Baia Sardinia, Porto Rotondo--are high-end playgrounds for the rich....immaculately manicured and perfectly groomed--not exactly up our alley.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><img alt="Inline image 8" height="285" src="http://www.bbcostasmeralda.com/fotografie/PortoCervo.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 9" height="267" src="http://www.hotelchatter.com/files/32083/hotelcasaitaly.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We do stop for a gelato in a very modest, even down-scale town--Cannigione. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 10" height="363" src="http://sardiniafocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Angolo.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Very good gelato and no glitz.....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">When we pull into Palau and find our hotel, it has started to drizzle and the very friendly hotel desk clerk is quite pessimistic about the forecast for tomorrow. The hotel--La Vecchia Fonte--is very nice and we have a suite with two rooms and a terrace. We get settled, relax and play on the internet until dinner. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We eat just down the street at a very bustling and brightly lit restaurant, Re Ferdinando. (There is a lot of Spanish influence all over Sardinia.) My dinner is very good...Diana's is less successful. I have a plate of Sardinian gnocchi with pieces of fish and clams to start, followed by an excellent fritto misto. Diana's Sardinian gnocchi with sausage and tomato sauce is dull and the special house preparation of fish is just okay. We have a nice local white wine and enjoy the complimentary and delicious white pizza that is brought to every table. Diana has a "sebada", a cheese filled pastry topped with honey that is a Sardinian speciality.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomorrow we are planning to take a short ferry ride to the island of La Maddalena and visit the home of Giuseppe Garibaldi on the neighboring island of Caprera...but all is dependent on the weather.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Jim and Diana</span></div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-77442748821925265322012-05-01T08:13:00.002-04:002012-05-01T08:13:32.389-04:00Photos from Livorno - second batch<br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Diana enjoying a prosecco at the hotel rooftop terrace bar.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<img alt="Inline image 1" height="252" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IKmHRphE7Mo/T5xG7lDIhLI/AAAAAAAAJ4A/75tuh9brFBA/s800/20120427_184041.jpg" width="420" /></span></span><div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Liberty style (art nouveau) market in Livorno -- note the sculpture of market salespeople and produce.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="150" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZPjDI3tw8mk/T5xKKGiQtkI/AAAAAAAAJ7c/Pxt--n20gm0/s128/20120427_003455.jpg" width="200" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Glass and iron roof of market</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 3" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-HX4ctUQbj8k/T5xK82u9unI/AAAAAAAAJ78/n9rKNzHJZus/s512/20120427_003142.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Market scene</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 4" height="420" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-A3x3T7iT9Pk/T5xLyrhWb4I/AAAAAAAAJ8Y/U7O6uAcj2Tk/s512/20120427_003123.jpg" width="315" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Modigliani in 1908</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 8" height="314" src="http://www.livornoeffettovenezia.it/immagini/big/modigliani.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Part of the Livorno canal system</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 10" height="252" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wHfGcoTqchA/T5xHDXbEdKI/AAAAAAAAJ4I/9sCS6RvMBDA/s800/20120427_170737.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-77741169861297732492012-04-29T16:55:00.002-04:002012-04-30T00:25:14.766-04:00Pictures from Livorno - first batch<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are some pictures from Livorno that were meant to accompany the reports from the first three days.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Arrival day.....</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The Grand Hotel Palazzo</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-QbjI6Gw_sUE/T51XuPpWYaI/AAAAAAAAJ9A/igEIiP26FSU/s640/20120425_180413.jpg" width="420" />.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The view from the hotel over the Terrazza Mascagni...full of strollers on Republic Day.</span></div>
<div><split>
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="315" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ptCGXJ-Xq7g/T51Ya_s-6qI/AAAAAAAAJ9Q/uBfD24QYtEs/s640/20120425_171853.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The Livornese passeggiata</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="315" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6jtPI4olzmw/T51Yu89Z3aI/AAAAAAAAJ9Y/phGnvwztELA/s640/20120425_181005.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">From the synagogue in Livorno....</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="252" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Yx-ycRxeC34/T5xJGKG9apI/AAAAAAAAJ6Y/6UX1Ss5IlSE/s640/20120427_095706.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 1" src="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/Italy/legsyn1.jpg" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 2" height="252" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8JB4l-VGNIY/T5xJLhQZY8I/AAAAAAAAJ6g/u1aiZnIOSr4/s640/20120427_095702.jpg" width="420" /> </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><img alt="Inline image 1" height="252" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p5BhioP_oRg/T5xJdICCS5I/AAAAAAAAJ64/ScPYNsqTnyI/s640/20120427_095558.jpg" width="420" /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
The small synagogue downstairs...</div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<img alt="Inline image 4" height="120" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-V04P90kKOiY/T5xI_rWDpNI/AAAAAAAAJ6Q/Ezk8tRYuYp8/s128/20120427_095940.jpg" width="200" /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
At the Jewish Museum in Livorno</div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<img alt="Inline image 5" height="252" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-OQREggHJi3c/T5xIrdbflsI/AAAAAAAAJ54/CCrZtklrWb4/s640/20120427_102451.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 6" height="252" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-wv3yxr1Y0aY/T5xIkV5Qq3I/AAAAAAAAJ5w/16SWCe5-0CY/s640/20120427_102706.jpg" width="420" /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
At the Jewish cemetery...</div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<img alt="Inline image 7" height="252" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FqDpP9VKMy4/T5xINlaj9sI/AAAAAAAAJ5Y/DAsqbr1BIX4/s640/20120427_105652.jpg" width="420" /> <img alt="Inline image 8" height="420" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_CWEKA_cXd8/T5xHlC5K3AI/AAAAAAAAJ4w/fG96XBDYbUk/s512/20120427_105828.jpg" width="252" /></div>
</div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8618439807506006187.post-10013303025393654702012-04-27T16:54:00.000-04:002012-04-30T00:23:24.192-04:00Italy: Spring 2012: Friday, April 27: Day 3 Livorno<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Day 3 Livorno</span></span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Another beautiful morning and another superior breakfast at the Grand Palazzo Hotel.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We have an appointment to tour Jewish sites in Livorno this morning. Livorno has been an important center of Jewish life in Italy since the 16<sup>th</sup> century when Jews (along with many other non-Italian, non-Catholic groups) were invited to come and settle in Livorno and help develop the commercial ventures of the Medici. The Jews mostly came from Spain and Portugal, fleeing the inquisition. The community numbered over 1,000 even into the 19<sup>th</sup> century when, with the decline of the port, business dried up. Still there is a rich tradition of Jewish life in Livorno which was centered on the large and imposing Tempio Israelitico begun in the late 17th century.</span></span></span></div><split>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Livorno was heavily bombed during World War II and the synagogue was destroyed. The present building dates from 1962...built on the same site but in a very modern style.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our guide is late and we spend twenty uncomfortable minutes waiting for her with two people who turn out to be our “minders” as we visit the synagogue, museum and cemetery. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When the guide does arrive, she apologizes for her English which in fact is not very good but, with the help of one of our “minders”, we learn something about the building and the community. The interior of the synagogue is more pleasing than the somewhat odd, massive concrete exterior.....very high ceilings with lots of natural light. The ark and the bima are old—some from the old Livorno synagogue, others from synagogues around Italy. The women's gallery is upstairs- this is an orthodox Sephardit synagogue.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We are told that the Jewish community in Livorno still numbers 600, down from 2,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. They do have services on Friday night and Saturday morning as well as on Monday and Thursday. Perhaps we'll go tonight. We learn that there is a kosher butcher shop in the market and a kosher bakery in town.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A striking feature are the two rectangular bands of red cut glass windows set high up in the front wall which sends shafts of red light around the sanctuary as the sun passes overhead. The red color is supposed to represent the Jewish blood that flowed during the Holocaust.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We also visit the smaller sanctuary in the basement where services are held during the winter....they still use some of the religious furniture that was rescued from the ruins of the old synagogue.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Next stop is the small Jewish museum housed in an old building that used to be the local Yeshiva. There is one room with a couple of glass cases and a large gilded wooden ark. The cases have various prayer implements, Torah covers and other memorabilia—some quite impressive. There is also a scale model and some pictures of the old synagogue which was really quite impressive.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We then drive across town to one of the old Jewish cemeteries which was used during the 19<sup>th</sup> and most of the 20<sup>th</sup> century. It is quite overgrown and “our minders” and the guide are quite apologetic but I thought it gave the cemetery quite a melancholy feeling. Some of the gravestones are quite simple and plain and others are more elaborate, with carvings and sculptures. The wooden doors to the ruined building in the center of the grounds are half burnt and charred......but we don't know whether it is a result of vandalism or just accidental.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our last stop on the tour is the childhood home of the 20<sup>th</sup> century painter, Amadeo Modigliani who grew up in Livorno and whose family was active in the Jewish community. There are rooms filled with biographical information, photographs, reproductions of Modigliani paintings, pictures of his early sculptures (he had to give it up because the dust aggravated his tuberculosis) and homages to him by Italian artists who were influenced by him.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We found the visit to Casa Modigliani very interesting...the guide was better prepared to describe his life and career. Modigliani felt that he had to leave Italy because his style of painting was too radical for the very conservative Italian art establishment. So he went to Paris, leading a bohemian life as part of the early 20<sup>th</sup> century art world that was revolutionizing modern painting.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He died an early death at age 35 (tuberculosis and meningitis) and, according to the guide, his fame world wide is much greater than his fame in Livorno and Italy. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He was an extremely handsome, attractive man and here is one photograph taken of him in 1908 that is very reminiscent of the young Marcello Mastroianni; the photo could easily have appeared in a fashion magazine in the 1970's.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">We decide we want to have lunch outside since the day is so nice and we end up at one of the bar/restaurants that line the Viale Italia, the waterfront boulevard where our hotel is located. We pick one at random, take a table in the sun and have a very relaxing, pleasant and mostly delicious lunch. We do break one of our “rules” (and it is only the second full day of our trip) and have a bottle of white wine with lunch. We both have a tasty “land” antipasto—salume and cheese; Diana then has a large salad and I have the fritto misto. The waiter is very charming and we thoroughly enjoy ourselves.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After lunch, we drive back downtown to check out the right way to the ferry for our early morning departure tomorrow. We are glad that we did since the approach is quite convoluted....but I save the location on the GPS and we know the way. We make a quick stop at the TIM store to buy some credit for our “internet” key and then go back to the hotel for a rest.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After struggling to get my internet key to work, I decide to walk back to town and see if the wireless phone store people can help. I really enjoy the walk and it takes much less time than I expected; I was at the TIM store in the heart of the city in about 25 minutes. I end up buying a new key and the friendly staff sets it up for me. I walk back a different route and get to see yet another part of the city.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Diana has been on the roof quilting and enjoying the sun...we have a farewell prosecco...today we have lots of company enjoying the fine weather.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We decide to pass on services and since we don't have much appetite for dinner, we walk over the pizzeria where we ate on our first night. Unfortunately, the waitress who took care of us isn't working tonight so we can't get the advantage of being "returning" regulars. But when it is time to order, the waitress from the fist night appears. She was eating at the pizzeria with her family and was pressed into service--ostensibly because there were no other English speaking staff on duty. She is very friendly--it turns out she is Rumanian married to an Italian--and introduces us to her 2 year old son. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Unfortunately the pizza doesn't measure up to the fantastic bread-like white pizza that arrives on every table....but luckily we aren't too hungry.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We say goodbye to our Rumanian friend and her son...she says "Hope to see you again soon" as she did on our first visit.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At the hotel, I do a little work and we start to pack...we have a 5:30 am wake-up call. We need to be at the ferry terminal by 7 am.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tomorrow will be my first "sea voyage"....and we begin our 16 days on Sardinia.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jim and Diana</span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: medium;"> PS Unfortunately my problems uploading the pictures continue....but am ever hopeful of a resolution.</span></div>Jim Zurerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15610663177748285188noreply@blogger.com3