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Ireland and Italy
  • Linda and Bill's travels
  • Linda and Bill's travels

Ireland and Italy

A 21-day adventure by Linda and Bill's travels Read more
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  • Trip start
    September 8, 2017
  • Linda and Bill's travelsIreland and ItalyTraveler

    Dublin airport

    September 9, 2017 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Trying to figure out how to drive the vw diesel we rented. It has stop/start technology. And the steering wheel is on the wrong side! So far, Linda's cowering under the passenger seat is dissipating.

  • Linda and Bill's travelsIreland and ItalyTraveler

    Carrickfergus Castle

    September 10, 2017 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Kelley was a tour guide at this historic (built in the 12th century) castle/fort at one time Lots of history into the 20th century. We had a personal tour. Original cannon on display. There's even a caricature of King John on the"throne"! He was not well loved.Read more

  • Linda and Bill's travelsIreland and ItalyTraveler

    Giant's Causeway

    September 11, 2017 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We took a drive along the northern Irish coast.with Kelley and Paul. Despite some nasty spots of icy weather, we had a great time exploring.
    The Giant's Causeway is a naturally occuring area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns. Most are hexagonal, resulting from ancient volcanic erruptions. The columns appear to be stepping stones for ancient giant warriors, and lead into the sea toward Scotland, which is only about 20 miles away.
    Along the way, we also stumbled upon a cave site used by the producers of "Game of Thrones" for an episode.    Read more

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    Last Day in Belfast

    September 12, 2017 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We left for Dublin this afternoon after lunch with Kelley and Paul and a visit to the Queens University campus and Ulster Museum in Belfast. Beautiful downtown campus with lots of "kids" and no parking. We found a palm tree in Belfast!
    Off to Venice in the morning.    Read more

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    Venice

    September 13, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We arrived in Venice today after a smooth Aer Lingus flight. We have a "darling" apartment (per Linda) overlooking a canal and bridge in the first picture. She's right, it is darling!

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    Second Day in Venice

    September 14, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We toured the Doge's Palace and St Mark's cathedral this morning and had a boat tour of the city this evening. First shot is of a canal off the Grand Canal at sunset.
    Second shows the neighborhood in which we are staying. These are followed by some pictures from the Doge's Palace and a random interesting door along the way. Lots of walking in Venice. It's a target rich environment for pics.Read more

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    Venice' 3rd day

    September 15, 2017, Darsena Arsenale Vecchio ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We had a free day in Venice today. We found the Palace Grassi (Linda's maiden name)! There was an art exhibition being held there today.
    We also saw a view which is reminiscent of the painting in our living room (with the blue covered gondolas). Linda also bought me a Maserati and I bought her a new sweater. Fair enough.Read more

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    Leaving Venice for Asolo

    September 16, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    After some morning hot chocolate and croissants we left Venice to drive to Asolo. Asolo is known as the city of a hundred horizons due to its mountainous setting. We walked up to the village this afternoon and took some of the attached shots. We began in drizzle, but returned in sunshine.Read more

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    Asolo and surrounding wine country

    September 17, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We took a tour of the wine country near Asolo today. We highly recommend this area for all of you travelers. The day was perfect with blue sky and billowy clouds. This area is best known as the home of the Glera grapes from which Prosecco is produced. Take a look at the pictures. It was quite a day.Read more

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    Gray day at Lake Garda

    September 18, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Linda's Nonno was born in a town near Lake Garda in northern Italy, so we made sure to stay in the area for the day. Sorry to say that we had a wet gray day to ride the ferry to Sirmione from Desenzano. But we had fun in Sirmione. This must be the gelato capital of Italy. The shops are thicker than Starbucks in Seattle.Read more

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    On to Tuscany!

    September 19, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We started our day in Rivotella, the town where Linda's maternal grandfather was born. Linda took a photo of gray Lake Garda. We then took a long drive to Creti in Tuscany, where we will stay for four nights. The Italian drivers all think they are Mario Andretti, but they appear to be consistent about it. We did some shopping after the long drive and made some salmon and salad for dinner. Touring Tuscany tomorrow.Read more

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    Touring Tuscany

    September 20, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    On Wednesday we took a private scenery/wine/cheese tour of the immediate Tuscan area. Beautiful rolling hills, somewhat reminiscent of California. It's a bit drier than Asolo where everything was still green. Great wine tour today along with the best gelato we have found - in the small village of Lucignano.Read more

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    Cortona

    September 21, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Cortona is the walled city made famous by the book and movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" (with the ever homely Diane Lane). We didn't see Diane, but did stroll the streets and had an opportunity to hike up to the Church of Santa Margherita (the path leading to the church is captured in a couple of today's pics.) Beautiful day in the low 70's and sunshine. We also spent some time in Foiano, where we sought out another gelato shop. Ay caramba!Read more

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    Cooking in Tuscany

    September 22, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    A bit of a lazy day Friday. Linda and I took a hands-on cooking class under the direction of our host Barbara and her mother at Villa Rosa Dei Venti in Creti. We made tiramisu and pasta noodles from scratch. Of course we needed antipasti and the right sauce. After 4 hours or so, we enjoyed the meal (along with wine from their vineyard) with our hosts and their family. It was the best!Read more

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    First day in Florence

    September 23, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    Today we drove to the Chiusi train station, dropped off the car and took the train to Florence. We arrived in mid-afternoon and immediately took off for the Uffizi Gallery where we spent a few hours gazing at works by Botticelli, Michaelangelo and da Vinci. Hey, those guys were good - and they all came from this area within the same century! We'll take a tour of Florence tomorrow and look forward to enjoying more of this city's culture.Read more

  • Linda and Bill's travelsIreland and ItalyTraveler
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    Tour of Florence

    September 24, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    So, I met this cute girl named Sparky on the Ponte Vecchio, and we decided to hang out and tour some sights in Florence. (The Ponte Vecchio is the most significant bridge crossing the Arno.) It was a rainy day, but our guide was excellent and we learned quite a bit about the city and it's history. The Florence cathedral was incredible.
    We also went to the Galleria Dell Academia and saw Michaelangelo's David along with some of his unfinished works. (We saw a small musical instrument museum attached to the Galleria.) I have included a picture of the world's oldest upright piano! (For some reason this impressed me.)
    The rain didn't slow us down, but pre-ordering tickets is a must to avoid hours long queues.    Read more

  • Linda and Bill's travelsIreland and ItalyTraveler

    Lucca

    September 25, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    We took a ride from Florence to Lucca, a very pleasant village about 80 minutes West by train. This is the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini, my favorite operatic composer. We toured the Puccini museum and learned quite a bit about the maestro. We saw some original costumes from "Madame Butterfly" as well as some original compositions with his hand written notes.
    We enjoyed some pizza and beverages and did a little shopping and sightseeing of local churches. Beautiful day. On to a little place we call Rome tomorrow.    Read more

  • Linda and Bill's travelsIreland and ItalyTraveler

    Florence to Rome

    September 26, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    We took the speed train to Rome this morning, arriving in early afternoon. The trains travel at a speed of over 200 mph, but it never felt like it. On the other hand, the taxi ride to our hotel was much more exciting. We only had a short opportunity to sightsee today as we picked up our tickets for tomorrow's Papal audience! Early start in the morning.Read more

  • Linda and Bill's travelsIreland and ItalyTraveler
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    Rome now and in the past

    September 27, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Yup, that's the Pope! We got up early to get to Saint Peter's Square for a papal audience today. We followed the advice of the priest who handled the tickets and got into a position for a close up photo op. Very exciting day. The man was about 6 feet from us.
    We also took a walking tour of the Colosseum and other historic sites this evening. We are tired, but content. Sistin Chapel tomorrow.    Read more

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