Briandi 2 at 5 Terre

Under "picturesque" in the dictionary it says "see the Cinque Terre". We arrived ala Anthony Bourdain, that is, with no reservations. The room we scored in Vernazza (fourth town from the south) for the first 2 of 4 nights here had the most spectacular location possible - right on the harborfront overlooking fishing boats, cafe table, pastel buildings and tuquoise water. We were ready to move into that room forever and fantasized about how we would turn it into a little apartment.
For the next 2 nights we really moved up - 114 steps, that is! A minor inconvenience. The train strike yesterday? Also a minor inconvenience - welcome to Italy! Look for our happy shadows waving at you from the boat picture...

Burnt in Siena

Siena - it's a whole world unto itself. A trip to the massive cathedral could easily fill a day, or at least a brain, with its hordes of internal and external eye candy. There are endless statues and colored marble intricacies and guilded paintings and ornate floors... and then you go inside!

Il Campo, the town square with its distinctive tower on the Palazzo Publico, offers acres of bricks where students study and sketch, while tourists like PolloGomma sip lattes and let their imaginations try to conjure up scenes of local events - the pagentry of dance competitions with enourmous banners, the annual horse race around the square, all the medieval charm and history that still permeates Siena today.

And that stuff is modern compared to the Etruscan history we find in Volterra. Even 2500 years ago, they could really carve a funerary urn!

Postcard from Pienza

It's our last day of a week at an agriturismo (farm B & B) in the Renaissance Tuscan village of Pienza. Snapped these photos as we said farewell to our favorite shops and alleys. As you can see, we sometimes had to share our town with tourists - ugh! But mornings and evenings it belonged to us locals...

High Time in the Hill Towns

Just arrived, but so far the tastes and sights of Tuscany are as promised - fabulous. For you "Twilight - New Moon" fans, we enountered no vampires in "Volterra" (actually filmed in Montepulciano, last photo).

Capricious in Sorrento

Can't post this from our hotel in Sorrento, but the view of the sea is great (as pictured below, we think). Good wine, good gelato, tasty all around. Excursion to Capri ("CAP-ree") yesterday was full of great views, magical grottos and a chairlift ride (pictured) that was a total hoot.

Off to Toscana (yeah, Tuscany) tomorrow - from a seaside paradise to the heart of rural, scenic Italy.