Zurers in Italy: 2007
Day 1: Tuscania
The plane trip from Washington to Rome is good and bad....the Virgin Atlantic flight to London has lots of empty seats and we are able to move to a row where we have no seatmates and--more importantly--no one in the seats in front of us to recline into our space.
Day 2: Tuscania
It is a bit overcast when we get up (we are able to sleep through the night without difficulty) but while we are eating breakfast, the rain begins to fall.Tomorrow we move on to Orbetello in the far southwestern corner of Tuscany, only about an hour from Tuscania.
Day 3: Tuscania-Orbetello
The weather is pretty nice this morning....cloudy but with patches of blue sky.
Day 4: Orbetello
We get a late start this morning...it is raining and the room is dark.
Day 5: Orbetello
The weather looks promising this morning as we head east into the hills to visit the small hill town of Capalbio. The countryside we pass through is very green and is heavily agricultural--grapes, olives, cattle, fruit and vegetables.
Day 6: Orbetello
A rainy morning in Orbetello...... first we are going to visit the local Orbetello museum and hope for the weather to improve while we are there.
Day 7: Orbetello
It is a beautiful morning....the sun is shining as we drive to Pitigliano.
Day 8: Tuesday, May 8: Orbetello-Lerici
We leave for Lerici at about 10 am....I think that I like Orbetello more than Diana does.
Day 9: Lerici
It's a disappointingly overcast chilly morning in Lerici....not exactly what we were hoping for.
Day 10: Lerici -Parma
The castello looks nice bathed in the early morning sun......We take a stroll through the main square and down the main pedestrian street back to the hotel.
Day 11: Parma
After breakfast in the bar down the street from the Palazzo, we head over to the tourist office to inquire about apartment rentals for my client, in case the arrangments at the Rosa Prati don't work out. The staff person goes through her database and gives me the name of a b&b that also has a few apartments in the center but other than that she doesn't have anything else that I don't already have.
Day 12: Parma
It's warm and sunny this morning as we head out for breakfast. I forgot to mention in yesterday's report that when we got back to the room the night before my mobile phone was missing.
Day 13: Parma-San Quirico d'Orcia
Warm and sunny again this morning.....the drive from Parma to Florence on the autostrada takes just over two hours.
Day 14: San Quirico d'Orci
We all sleep well in the guest house in San Quirico d'Orcia and enjoy the great breakfast spread served at the hotel. It's Diana's birthday and she gets a present of Vestri chocolates from Seth and Kerensa.
Day 15: San Quirico d'Orcia
Another nice morning in the Val d'Orcia. After a leisurely breakfast (in shifts) at the hotel and some work on the computer, the group is off to Montepulciano, another beautiful Tuscan hill town to the east of Pienza.
Day 16: San Quirico d'Orcia
A few words about the guest house where we are staying ....the Casa Camaldoli.
Day 17: San Quirico d'Orcia
Today is the scheduled "free day" in southern Tuscany....no group outings are scheduled and everyone has the option of doing whatever they want.