Corte di Re Artu Lucca

... that sticks to your lips…it’s that cheesy). Anyway, after that we discovered a chocolate stand on the corner. It was perfect! I’m not sure what I had, but it was delicious. Following a tip from my school we found a store to rent bicycles. There were many bike stands but using the store we did allowed us to rent our bikes at an hourly rate and gave us baskets and locks for the bikes ...

We left Cassino for Rome in the mid-afternoon by regional train. From Rome we connected with another regional train that brought us to "la stazionne di Cisterna di Latina", the closest train station to the town of Cori. We spentthe next 3 days visiting family in Cori.

Cori is an old roman town nestled in the mountains 50 km south of Rome. It a small quaint town where ...

... the boys have become big fans of cafe latte and cappuccinos. The second time we tried it, chocolate syrup was added to it. Even better. We will try making some at home.

The boys with my two cousins collected fresh mussels that grown on the other side of the rocky wave breaker. Well that evening we did have another 3 hour supper of pasta with fresh mussel tomato sauce.

A slow day. The weather was sunny and hot. We reached a high of 36C for the day. After coffee and breakfast, we left for Monte Cassino with my cousins.

The Abbey of Monte Cassino and the Monastery was founded in 529 by St. Benedict on the remnants of a pre-existing Roman fortification on the top of Monte Cassino (Casinum in Roman). Over the centuries the monastery and the abbey were attacked and partially destroyed by various groups, and ...

... Also, they are only 45 minutes away from beautiful beaches in Formia and Ghiada.

We spent the day relaxing with the family. In the evening they had prepared a huge supper. For those that do not know, eating is very important to Italians. They usually do not have supper before 8:00pm and it usually takes a few hours. It's their way to catch up on the days events and crisis.

... understood 'telephono.' and let me use one of the costumers cell phones to call Antenello to let him know I was here. While I waited for Antenello, a couple of the customers tried to talk to me and bought me a beer, which was a really nice and appreciated gesture even though it was a lost cause. I was sooo relieved to finally see Antenello and to be able to have someone understand me. I went to put my beer down and he said, 'don't waste it, take it with you. You're ...

... up to a church in the hills lol... It was well worth it though. The interior of the church was painted with many stories of the bible and we learned that it was actually a place to teach others who were illiterate about the bible. I was impressed that so many of the color lasted on the plaster for as long as they have. Its amazing how the art and architecture is so different from what we have today.

... br>
Gaeta is the home port for the flag ship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet. A total of 9 ships have been stationed here, the current ship being the USS Mount Whitney. The base itself is located on Monte Orlando, overlooking the Gulf of Gaeta.

The colourful and lively shopping area of "Via Indipendenza", with its quaint, narrow walkway, is approximately half a mile in length. It is paved in dark volcanic stone, and has many little ...

... there was no 10:30 train to Pisa. There wasn't a train to Lucca, either, at least not for a couple of hours. The bus schedule wasn't very enticing either, so we decided to hire a cab. Since Lucca was closer, that's where we ended up, $60EU later. OMG I so loved Lucca! This midievil labyrinth of a town is completely surrounded by a massive wall - like, I don't know, 60 feet wide? Somewhere along the way they paved the ...

... 6:30 and 7:30 PM, on a warm evening in late Spring, I biked the ramparts of Lucca. In that time, I was able to go around 2 complete loops (once in each direction). People of all ages were out for a stroll, a jog, or a bike ride. One particular part of the rampart must have been "the" hangout spot for all the young people in town, since there were hundreds of them there. There are 10 places where the ramparts jut outward from the wall in spade-shaped ...