Author Archives: mtrafton55

Greetings from beautiful and mostly sunny Bologna, Italy. Tour guide Cindy has been nice to me, and gave me some time off as we explored the ancient and beautiful city of Bologna. Let’s take a tour of what we’ve seen over our nine days here in beautiful Bologna. The pictures we are seeing were takenContinue reading “3/7/23 Bologna Italy”

Greetings from beautiful and sunny Bologna Italy! Yes, after our snow/ rain downpour Wednesday we have been enjoying sunny weather. Highs around 58 degrees, so very enjoyable. You didn’t think tour guide Cindy was going to let me sit on our lovely patio, enjoy some wine and read a book, did ya? First up, Ferrara.Continue reading “3/04/23 Ferrara and Parma Italy”

Greetings from beautiful, but cold and snowy Bologna, Italy. Tour guide Cindy and I left beautiful Montepulciano on Tuesday and made the quick two hour drive North to Bologna. We’ve never been in this part of Italy before and are quite excited to spend the next nine days here. Your probably wondering “where the heckContinue reading “3/01/23 Bologna Italy”

Greetings from beautiful, but cold and a little rainy Tuscany. After being very lucky for five months, winter, and rain caught up to us the last three days and it’s been raining on and off😳 After our trip to Naples, tour guide Cindy says, short driving trips to end our time in Tuscany. Ok, saysContinue reading “2/27/23 Bagnoregio and Cortona Italy”

Greetings from Naples, Italy! When tour guide Cindy and I were planning this adventure, we didn’t have Naples on the must visit list. We’d visited this area in 2013 when we visited Pompeii and the Amalfi coast and listened to all the stories of crime in Naples. We’ll pass we said, but one thing drewContinue reading “2/24/23 Naples Italy”

Ok, I freely admit it, I’m a pizza addict! I love everything about pizza, the ingredients, the preparation, the baking and most of all the EATING! I baked my first pizza when I was 12, and have been baking pizza ever since! I’m lucky, I’ve been to the great pizza hotspots of the world andContinue reading “2/24/23 Naples Italy, Pizza”

Greetings from beautiful Tuscany! Tour guide Cindy is still running hot and asked for another driving/walking tour to Orvieto. Sure, says I! The above is not my picture, I copied it. Orvieto is an ancient city, (pieces of vases from 15,000 BC were found here) that is built on a plateau above the Tiber RiverContinue reading “2/21/23 Orvieto Italy”

Greetings from beautiful and cloudy Tuscany. You know Tour guide Cindy is on fire when I write two blog posts in a day. She’s on fire! Sometimes we forget that the Allies invaded Italy in WW11. San Quirico d’Orcia had substantial bombing damage in WW11. You know Tour guide Cindy loves her some Rick Steves.Continue reading “2/19/23 The Villages of Val d’Orcia, Tuscany”

Unfortunately, the weather in Tuscany has changed. It’s now cloudy and they say several days of rain are headed our way! Europe had a very hot and dry summer, so they need the rain. Tour guide Cindy and I grew up in the PNW, rain doesn’t effect us 👊 Lest you think we’ve been lyingContinue reading “2/19/23 Tuscany”

The old saying is so true, all roads lead to Rome. In Italy that’s 100% true. Rome was the center of the Western world for over 600 years, and Rome, more than any other Italian city, reflects that. Rome is huge and has a terrible mass transit system, so gridlock here is the story ofContinue reading “2/16/23 Rome”