Hotel Roseto Pisa

... I have to walk across town to get to class now. One good thing that came out of this, however, is that because we were so close to her apartment she decided to invite the entire class over for a tea party after class today. Not sure why or how she came up with this idea, but I thought it was really cute.

This was the first genuine Italian apartment inhabited by genuine Italians that I ...

... fridge pulling out more and more food for me to try. He cut slices of Panettone fruit bread and a slice of every cheese on the table and put them in front of me. Now I started to feel like an American, stuffed to the brim. I realized now how bad this was for our health. Vilmo drove us home.
The next morning work began. We awoke at 8am, ate a quick breakfast then headed to the olive tree groves. The women explained to me the process of laying out ...

... caught the bus back to Florence – and on the way, viewed more gorgeous countryside and witnessed an incredible sunset over those rolling Tuscan fields. (After the sun went down and the “show” was over, I fell asleep for the rest of the ride. Hah.) Since we had such a big lunch, neither of us felt like going out for dinner, so we rested in our hotel room tonight, read, and booked our hotel room for Venice starting tomorrow. Onward we go!

Siena photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album. php?aid=164853&id=613699523&l=d 7d2db6b42

Thursday caught a bus to Siena with Nonie and Kerrin.
The Duomo there is one of the best and most beautiful churches I've seen inside and out - and I've seen more than enough churches to last ...

... 8230; and couldn’t find a park… jagged a disabled spot and thought we could always rip mick’s leg off if we got questioned.. Made a dash about 500metres up the road to see the leaning tower… it really is leaning!!… then quickly back to ensure the car was not towed away… back on the road heading north to Porotvenere..

... in the Etruscan times. We went home after that and were exhausted, but were up early the next morning to go on another walk (haven't walked so much in many years and our bodies are freaking out). We went through a few wineries this time and up a hill to the town of Montepulciano which was lovely. As they all are! Each way you look there is another postcard shot, its amazing. We left the tour at this point as they were going on to a winery and we didn't want to impose. We first and ...

... conversation with us and found that she was an American who had been living in Siena for 10 years. We asked her what made her stay and she said that she had fallen in love with an Italian. She added that she had a circle of American girlfriends all of whom had married Italians. This gave Kathie more fuel to her worries about Rachel doing the same thing if she took a trip to Italy.

Once back in Arbia, we rested, went to the wine party near the pool then onto dinner. We had ...

12.10.08 After being woken by a marching band early we get up, have hot rolls with vegemite (brought our own) and good coffee. Pack up as we are moving rooms today. Yah a hot shower and double bed. Spend time on internet then catch train to Pisa. Its quiet because its sunday and siesta time. Walk straight ahead down the middle of town for 30min.Streets are cleaner but it feels unsafe. Alot of graffitti. The ...

... disorienting because there's no horizon to focus on and the grade of the slope of the stairs keeps changing as you circle around the tower. I took it really easy and kept my hand on the wall most of the way down just to keep my equilibrium.

We went back down to the ground and wandered around for a while. Tried to take the classic photo of Boo looking like she was holding up the tower, but I ...

... the evening, not to mention world famous! Finally we rounded a corner and there it was - leaning crazily. You can't help but smile. As ...