The heading above may not be good Italian (I wouldn't know!), but I hope it expresses my excitement about the country. What a great place is Italy!

May 2004 saw a friend-since-childhood (Tom) and myself wending our separate ways towards an agreed-upon meeting in the Venice airport for my (and his) first taste of Italy, where we arrived within an hour or so of each other.

While full of anticipation, I had no real appreciation for the fullness of the "adventure" that lay ahead. Fortunately, he was a little more knowledgeable about the treasures that were yet to come.

So while I happily clicked away at every possible "photo op", he was thinking about cathedrals and museums and other historic sites we really couldn't miss. ("C'mon Norm, just one more Duomo!") What a happy combination, especially since we shared a determination to amply sample the best wines (and food) Italy could offer (well, at least those that we could afford!). Now that much "sampling" can be a challenge. The good news is - I think we succeeded. The bad news is "what to do for an encore?"!

A detailed map is available by clicking on the one to the right. But the essence of the orange route outline is that we did the usual tourist stuff. Starting in Venice, where we stayed for a few days, we then took a EuroStar train to Florence (through some very long tunnels) for another few days. Then it was down through San Gimignano and Siena by car, (thank God I didn't bicycle as originally planned!) followed by a few days driving around Tuscany and Umbria before heading down past Rome and Naples to the Amalfi Coast. After almost a week on the Coast, we drove back to Naples where we dropped the car and visited for a couple of hours before boarding the train to Rome and, four days later, heading home.

With only one minor exception, the people we met and had dealings with over the 3 weeks were just great. I found particularly revealing and amusing an exchange with a young lady at the Uffizi Gallery that went something like this:
Tom: Can you tell me, why are so many of the exhibit rooms closed?
She: We're short of staff today.
Tom: Why is that?
She: (with a warm smile and a shrug): It's Sunday.....and this is Italy!

Welcome to my rambling recollections of that trip. With luck there might just be a photo or comment or two that'll influence your own planning or rekindle your recollections. I hope so.

Bon Voyage!

(A larger version of every photo on these pages is available simply by clicking on the smaller one. However, you might find the wait intolerable, depending on your connection speed and internet conditions at the time.

If you do find a large one that you like, maximize its window - you'll like it even more with the background stuff out of sight!)