Last day/night in Monty...tomorrow off to Parma!

Ciao!

I had a nice last day here in Monterosso. Spent the first half of the
day lounging at the beach - ahh, so great! A cool breeze, warm sun,
chair and umbrella, my favorite music on my iPhone...excellent! The
water was COLD first getting in, but of course felt good after being
immersed for a minute. The water here is extra salty (yes, that's the
official scientific term for it) - your feet and legs float to the
surface without any effort - you just naturally float. Or, maybe it's
the extra layers on me that provide the natural bouyancy :)

Had a lovely lunch as you can see from the photos below...a long nap,
some reading and people-watching, dinner...

Looking forward to a new destination tomorrow - Parma! The original
plan was Alba, but I've decided to forego the long driving that it
would have resulted in over the next several days (thanks for the
recommendation Mom!) And besides, apparently Parma is second to
Bologna in terms of "food capitals" of Italy. Parma ham, parmiagana
cheese....Oh! And I have a retraction to make! Apparently grana
padano is NOT parmigiana cheese. Parmiagana-reggiano cheese is the
best there is - and grana padano is actually different. As punishment
for my mistake, I will force myself to consume lots of parmigiana-
reggiano while I'm there :)

Love,
Lisa

Manarola view from the vineyard walk I went on yesterday

Pretty church shot in Manarola yesterday..

...this - gnocchi with lobster. I don't ordinarily like potato gnocchi, but these were light as pillows...OMG, so good...

I am fully recovered. I had this for lunch - monkfish with tomatoes and pesto, and....

Manarola, a lovely walk, a sad story, and rats. Rats, as in I don't feel good tonight :(

I had a nice leisurely morning, strolling around, lunch overlooking
the rocks and sea. Then I took the people ferry to Manarola, to
experience that town a bit as Jody and I hadn't really had a chance
(too exhausted from the hike, and more interested in a cold beer at
that point).

The town is sweet - pastel houses piled on one another on a little
cliff, a couple of quaint piazzas, colorful wooden boats lining the
dock entrance. I strolled up a trail leading through the vineyard
planted above the town, rows of vines with lemon trees intermingled.
And, gorgeous views when you reach the top. The trail leads to a park
perched out on the edge of the cliff. There, I noticed two plaques -
one in English and the other in Italian, making reference to a woman
named Sarah being claimed by the sea.

Once I finished the trail, and sat at a little cafe for a snack, I
became curious about the plaques and so did a web search with my
iPhone. The story is shocking, tragic, sad, and is a good reminder to
live every day to the fullest. I won't go into details here, but
encourage you to read the story and view some photos here:

http://www.cleveland.com/religion/index.ssf/2008/09/the_mother_of_a_young.html

Now, as for the 'rats' part of the story...The snack I had seemed
really great at the time - toasted bread covered in chopped tomatoes
and pesto. It was swimming a bit in olive oil from the pesto, but I
didn't think anything of it. However, apparently one can have too
much of a good thing 'cause I've had a tummy ache for the last several
hours and just generally don't feel good. I even skipped dinner
(insert incredulous gasp here). It's about 9:30pm, and I'm about to
watch a little Italian tv and then go to bed.

Will hopefully be all better in the morning!
Love,
L

Oh yeah! Almost forgot - this is the biggest Negroni cocktail I've ever seen, sipped while I wrote the previous post. Should be able to sleep tonight ;)

The hike, wild boars, dinner with new friends, and the biggest Negroni cocktail I've ever seen. It was a very good day.

Ciao!!

So! What a great day! Jody and I met up at 7:30 this morning, had a
little coffee and pastry, and then were on the Cinque Terre trail at
8. Fairly immediately, the stone stairs carved and/or deposited onto
the hillside begin. And go on. And on. AND ON. Yeaaah, I was out
of breath, sweating, and thirsty within about 20 minutes. It probably
didn't help that I hadn't had much water the day before, had slept
like crap, and had sugar and water (no coffee for me) that morning. I
know, I know.

About halfway through this first leg of the hike, Jody heard a really
loud rustling on the hillside opposite the small valley. We stood
there, looking and waiting, and then two adult wild boar appear out of
the bushes, followed by four baby boars, and another adult. So cool!
Of course, I think we had both consumed some "cinghiale" back in the
Chianti region, so there may have been a twinge of guilt as well :)

We continued on the trail. When we got to the area above where we had
seen the boars, I all of a sudden heard a bunch of REALLY loud
rustling right below the trail. So, being the outdoorswoman that I
am, I ran like a little girl, squealing, to where Jody was, and then
started clapping my hands loudly to scare them away. 'Cause even
though the trail was about 4 feet above the brush, well hey, I don't
know - boars might be able to jump that high!! But - having seen them
really makes the hike all worthwhile.

We made it to the next town, Vernazza. The map time for this portion
was 2 hours, but we did it in 1 hour 15 min. We took a couple of
photos, drank a bunch of water, and continued on to the next leg. The
wonderful thing was, at this point, we were the first of the day to do
this portion of the trail. We had passed the only other 2 ladies
early on, and it made for such a peaceful, great experience (even
through all the panting).

The next leg, for me, was just as challenging. While the elevation
was as high, it was slightly more gradual - but still a ton of steps
and switchbacks - and my fuel had just totally run out. But of course
we made it, accompanied by more incredible views, more people
(unfortunately), and then emptied into the lovely town of Corniglia.
This leg too, was supposed to be two hours, and we did it in another 1
hr 15 min. There, we grabbed a quick bite, and then continued on to
Montarola (the 4th town, or I guess 2nd, depending on which way you're
traveling!)

This one was much easier, but with lots more people. It was beginning
to warm up, but we had renewed energy with a snack (and a beer, for
Jody, she's my hero - I couldn't do it yet!). We got to Montarola,
about an hour and 10 min later, and were going to continue on to the
last 20 minute stretch to the next town, but realized we'd have to run
in order to make it and then get on the last boat for a couple of
hours there. So, we decided to forego the last 20 minute stretch,
known as "lovers walk" (I think), in favor of a couple of beers while
we waited for the boat at this town. It was lovely. Besides, who
wants to walk an easy 20 min stroll where hundreds of people have
carved their initials and names in love, blah, blah, blah :). Ha!

After the hike, I went back to my hotel, read my book, laid on my
terrace for a bit, tried to take a nap...Jody, Kelly, and I decided to
have dinner again tonight. We had a whole fish, seafood pasta, more
pesto, wine...Not as good as last night, but still good. They leave
tomorrow, and so we made plans to have dinner together in Seattle
before I move to Boston - yay! They're such great ladies, and added
so much for me to this portion of the trip. What a wonderful
coincidence that I met them here - lovely!!

Tomorrow will be a beach day, maybe a boat to one of the other towns.
A simple day. Ahhhh...

Love you all,
L

Haha! A kitty sitting in the window of a seafood reasturant tonight. I think I saw a little drool...

And Vernazza, as we say goodbye, trekking on to the third town, Corniglia. If you look in the distance, R of center, u can just make out Monterosso

The view of Vernazza, coming down the trail...

There's a little hobble in my step...after hiking 3 of the 4 sections of the Cinque Terre. Just had to skip the last, easy 20 min stretch in order to catch the boat back.

The Italian Riviera...food, hikes, sun, sand...and more food :)

Ciao!

I drove into the Cinque Terre this afternoon - specifically,
Monterosso al Mare. Got to drive up and down the treacherous
cliffsides 3 times due to a language barrier and lack of GPS
recognition. That was FUN. :). But, I finally arrived in one piece -
although it was to find they have me booked for 4 nights instead of
5. And even though most hotels here are fully booked, I was assured
"not to worry". And so, in true Italian tradition, I won't!

I have a basic room, but the seaview terrace on it is actually larger
than the room - fabulous! I'm sitting out here now, with a digestivo
and a cool breeze, listening to the waves lap and the lingering
chatter of socializing below.

Jody, Kelly, and I had dinner at a fabulous restaurant tonight -
Ciak. One of the specialties here on the Ligurian coast is pesto, and
so we had a big bowl of that with spaghetti, paired with a giant
sizzling clay pot of seafood stew packed with the day's catch. That,
and a delicious bottle of red wine. And dessert. It was AWESOME.

Tomorrow morning, Jody and I are going to hike the 5 Cinque Terre
towns, about 5 hours. We will then take the train or a boat back as
we will be spent! But it's been on my list to do and I'm very much
looking forward to it!

That's all for now. Provided I do not pass out from the hike, you
will hear from me tomorrow :)

Love,
L

Il gato. Just a little cat in a basket in Monterosso.

Ahh, the village of Monterossoso al Mare

...And the gorgeous, simple (and huge!) porcini-topped steak

The truffle pasta from Castinetta di Rignana this afternoon - beautiful, huh?

Last day/night in lovely Greve...

Ciao!

Slept in late, this being my last day in Greve - and, just because I
can :) Then wandered a few steps outside my door to the vibrant,
bustling Saturday market. Amazing - you can buy ANYTHING there! I
saw fish, jeans, herbs, bras, shoes, fruits/veggies, toys, cheese,
meat, purses... It was clear that for Italians across this area's
countryside, this was the day to "stock up", with many folks laden
down with 3 - 4 bags of goodies.

After the market, I hit the Internet cafe for a caffe latte and some
computer time. While I was there, I ran into Jody (cupcake gal) and
Kelly - they were doing some research into the Cinque Terre, as they
decided to head there this afternoon for their last few days in
Italy. What a great coincidence! They ended up finding a place in
the same town as I'm headed for tomorrow (Monterosso al Mare), and so
we'll hopefully all hook up for dinner. Yay! :)

For lunch, I took a nice little drive into the middle of nowhere, to a
place called Castinetta di Rignana. I'll put it this way - the
directions are: follow the signs, and just when you think you must
have missed one and should turn around, keep going for another 15-20
minutes. They have an outside veranda, with a spectacular view of the
hillside, and put together beautiful Tuscan food. I had a rich
truffle pasta dish, followed by a flame roasted steak topped with a
fresh porcini mushroom. I could only eat a little of the steak, and
so it also doubled as dinner, with a nice balsamic onion sauce and
salad I made :). Mmmm.

That was pretty much it for my last day...a nice homemade dinner, some
reading, a little Italian tv. I live a very good life! Looking
forward to hitting the road tomorrow, and being back in the salt
air...ahhh...

Hope everyone is well!
L xoxo

You probably thought I was exaggerating, huh? Those 7 large rad splotches are bites from last night. Yes, I now have a good bug spray and a cortisone cream!

The little bastards.

Yup. The little bastards. That's what I'm calling the un-freaking-
believable mosquitos here. They've been this way since I arrived, but
my capacity for not complaining has reached it's threshold.

For the first several days, they were stealthy. I never saw them, but
every day I woke up with a couple of big red itchy welts. In the
middle of last night, I awoke with 4 big bites in a row, along the
fleshy part of my palm where my thumb is. Apparently, it was a buffet
line for them. I almost fell out of bed in agony scratching the heck
out of it.

Now, I've started to see them. It's not possible to keep them out of
the apartment, as the bedroom windows aren't sealed - there are gaps
between the walls and the frame. Sitting here at dinner, I've just
been bitten on my big toe and the top of my foot. I'm not wearing any
perfume or lotion - am apparently just delicious. I would say "this
bites", but, well, you know. I guess it's a small price to pay. But
looking forward to heading to the coast on Sunday...

Today was lovely. (I know, I need to come up with a new word). I
walked up a very steep hill to the little hamlet of Montefioralle this
afternoon, after having my morning cappucino at the local Internet
cafe. The walk was gorgeous - the narrow road lined with silvery-
green leafed olive trees and grape vines heavy with fruit. I tasted a
grape - sooo sweet...just starting to see the beginnings of harvest
here. If it weren't for my heavy breathing, it would have been quite
peaceful. :)

I wandered around the little town, then had lunch on the outside
veranda of a restaurant perched on the side of the hill. Burrata and
pomodoro salad, and homemade mushroom ravioli with truffle sauce.

After lunch and the walk back down - a nap. Then some reading. And
some Italian news and their version of "who wants to be millionaire".
I like testing my Italian this way - I can understand many of the
questions and have even gotten some right! Then, it was on to dinner,
at a bistro a few blocks away that I had a very nice meal at a few
nights ago.

Not sure how I'm able to keep up this pace, but I'm doing my
best! ;). A favorite moment of the day (besides a little old Italian
man stopping in his car halfway up the big hill today, asking me if
I'd like a ride): as i walked home from dinner, I hear this beautiful
singing and music. The church door is open, so I peek inside...It's
10 o'clock at night here, and a small group has gathered and, I'm
guessing, is practicing for this weekend's service. Just a quaint
moment. It really is so great being here. Wish you could all join me.

Love,
Lisa

Fig tiramisu at lunch today, on the veranda overlooking the hillside...

The lovely, tiny cobblestone streets of Montefioralle

Grapes I sampled on the steep walk up to Montefioralle

Dario the butcher - quite the celebrity!

Me, Jody (cupcake owner), and partner Kelly

Volterra, a Wine Castle, and Cow

Ciao everyone!

Took a lovely drive west through the Toscano hillside yesterday, to a
small, walled town called Volterra. The scenery is so gorgeous here,
I just can't say enough about it. The beauty for me, is tied with
Sicilia - the latter being more "wild", while here is more
picturesque. Walked around the city, had lunch, and then headed
back. No significant sites - although I think the natural beauty
quite qualifies as such!

Today I did a wine tour, tasting, and lunch at Castello di
Verrazzano. You may recognize the name - Giovanni da Verrazzano
discovered the bay of New York, and the suspension bridge in NY with
the longest span in the world bears his name - he was born here in
1485. They've been making wine for over 800 years, and have seemed to
gotten it right. The tour of the grounds was lovely, the cellars of
enormous barrels and collections were amazing, and the aromas of the
fermenting wine and vinegars were intoxicating. And, as you can see,
the lunch was fantastic. Since I was eating at the butcher's tonight,
I kept it vegetarian. I can be a very smart girl, occasionally :)

As for dinner at Dario the butcher's restaurant "Solo Ciccio" (only
meat), well, it was a favorite experience so far....

Wasn't sure if I'd find the place right away in Panzano, but there are
two streets here. And a giant ceramic cow standing in front of the
restaurant. Not exactly subtle, but helpful :)

There were two big tables, in two separate rooms. At my table, were a
lesbian couple and their adorable 7 month old little boy, an older
gentleman from France via Washington DC (his wife isn't a meat eater
and so went out with other friends), two older couples from Canada,
and seven older ladies from the south, celebrating a birthday. What's
so cool, is that the lady couple was from Seattle - and not only that,
but one of them is owner of the "Cupcake Royale" conglomerate (4
stores in the Seattle area - the first of their kind, with the
exception of NYC). Everyone was SO enjoyable to talk with. I've
invited the gals over here for dinner - would be great If they could
make it. In hindsight, wih I'd asked for the others' info too! Ah
well....

As for the meat. Well, it was delicious. So delicious in fact that I
forgot to take any photos. Oops!! But I did get a photo of me, Jody,
and Kelly.

Hope everyone is happy and well!
L

Sent from my iPhone

My wonderful vegetarian lunch after the wine tour - 'cause, you know, I'm pretty much eating only meat tonight at Dario's!

Gino - the character who gave the wine tour today at Verrazzana

The lovely grounds of Castello Di Verrazzano winery

"Legs o' meat" - a.k.a. Prosciutto in the making! A shop a block from my apt in Greve

Roman Forum at Volterra

Medici Fortress of Volterra, taken at the archaeological park

Ahhhhh, Florence!

Ciao!

I took a little break last night, and only posted photos from my day
in Firenze, so here's the story part :)

Taking the bus into the city was divine - a beautiful drive, able to
look around without fear of careening off the road, etc. Coming into
the city, I was struck by the various green spaces Firenze has
maintained, which adds to it's beauty.

I very quickly, and proudly, found the two foodie restaurants I wanted
to check out while there, and then embarrassingly walked myself in a
circle right back to the bus station. Apparently my feet thought that
a 30 minute excursion was enough :). So, I set out again, wandering
the streets, admiring the architecture...The city felt more refined
and less hectic than Roma (well, 1.5 million less people will do that).

The foodie stops had been a little shop that makes panini tartufati -
teeny little sandwiches with truffle spreads in them (that was
breakfast); and then Obika Mozzarella Bar (not open yet - would return
later for lunch). I walked through the area around the Duomo,
admiring the statues, lines of the building...then headed to the
Accademia, where the statue of David was (but not before trying some
delish gelato - organic, seasonal - mmm).

Thank goodness I had made a reservation - the line to get in otherwise
was RIDICULOUS!! I actually got into the tour group line by accident,
and thought I might be booted, but they were overwhelmed and so waved
me in - ahead of everyone else with reservations! David is quite
amazing indeed - I'm so glad I went. He truly is the "the male form,
perfected". And, as an added bonus, they also had a Robert
Mapplethorpe photography exhibit, drawing similarites between his
images and sculpture. Amazing stuff.

After the Accademia, I had lunch at the Mozzarella Bar. The concept
is that of a sushi bar, but with cheese. Genius, really (Kaye - I
know you'll disagree :)). The photo below is of burrata - a supersoft
mozzarella with a hint of sweetness - paired with prosciutto di Parma,
and then a whole wheat toasted thingy topped with tomatoes, arugula,
and a little crumbled fresh mozzarella. It was fabulous.

After lunch was the Uffizi Gallery. It was incredibly crowded, and I
was underwhelmed. Many important paintings, but the era just didn't
strike me. A bunch if either docile-looking and/or naked people, lots
of portraits. Yawn. :)

And then it was back to the bus! Such a lovely day!

Ciao!
L

And, of course, lunch!! :)

Michaelangelo's "David" - he really is quite striking...

Such dichotomy! A beautiful old statue, right next to a modern purse shop!

The Duomo, Firenze-style

I cooked tonight! IN ITALY!!

I know, I get excited about the small things :).

The photo's a little tough to see, but here's what I made: a seared
veal chop with a sauce of porcini mushrooms, garlic, red wine, and
balsamic; polenta with truffle oil and grana padano (the best
parmigiana cheese around); fresh green beans. And it was YUM! Paired
with "When Harry Met Sally" on DVD in Italian, it was a lovely night.

Today I had my morning cappucino out in the piazza, and planned out my
week, researching the sites and towns I want to see while here in
Tuscany. Tomorrow is Firenze (Florence), I think Wednesday will be
Volterra and maybe San Gimignano, Thursday I'm hoping to tour and
taste at the Veranazza winery and then dinner that night is at Dario
the Butcher's restaurant in Panzano, Friday will either be Siena or
the towns of Montalcino and Montelpuciano, and then Saturday is market
day here at the Piazza, so I'll check that out and then walk up the
hill a couple of miles to the village of Montefioralle, where there
are a couple of quaint restaurants. And then it's off to the Cinque
Terre on Sunday!

Besides hitting the laundromat, having lunch, and planning my week, I
also tasted some great wine today! There is the coolest place a few
blocks away, called 'Le Cantine'. You load up a credit-type card with
as many euros as you wish, and then around the store are different
wine "stations", where bottles are tapped and ready to dispense tastes
of wine for varying fees. Some tastes, for inexpensive bottles of
wine, are only .80 euro while others, for bottles costing over 100
euro (about $150US!) cost 5 or 6 euro for a taste. You put your card
into the reader, press a button, and the wine dispenses into your
glass and your card is debited. I tasted some delicious varietals -
and overall, I thought the bottles in the 20-30 euro price range were
better than the 80 - 130 ones!

Okay, time for bed...hope everyone is well! Keep the comments and
notes (about anything) coming - I enjoy hearing from all of you!

Love,
Lisa

Dinner tonight - at 'Trattoria di Tansey' :)

And by the way...

...have had an amazing dish at this trattoria - homemade bread with
fresh figs in it drizzles with balsamic syrup, served along side of
lovely, soft salami-type meat with a little fennel and peppercorn in
it. Wow. It was SO good :)

Loving this moment...'Dirty Dancing' was far reaching...

I'm sitting here outside of a lovely little trattoria, having a
wonderful lunch, and two songs in a row from the movie "Dirty Dancing"
have come on. For the latter, "Time of My Life", the French couple
across from me are quietly singing along in broken English, and the
Italian group inside is humming/singing loudly along.

I love it :). Patrick Swayze apparently made an influence all over the
world....

Sent from my iPhone

The 'OMG fettucine' :)

The view of the Duomo from my hotel room window

The Duomo in Orvieto

When I die, bury me with truffles

Ciao!

Woke up at 3:41am this morning - one of those instances where I got up
to pee, knew the alarm was going to go off at 5am, and then laid there
for an hour, unable to fall back asleep, and so finally gave up and
got up. (sigh)

But, that means I got to the Sorrento train station with plenty of
time. Ride to Napoli was fairly uneventful EXCEPT - for the man who
sat right next to me, tried to talk to me in Italian even after I told
him I couldn't understand, then wanted to take a photo of me with his
camera once we arrived in Napoli, and then tried to help me with my
bag. I firmly told him 'no, NO'. I mean, hellllloo! Single woman
travelling, knows about the 'dangers' of the Napoli train station, and
you're gonna try and put your hands on my bag? I DON'T THINK SO! But
it's okay - I could have taken him :). Truly, I think he was harmless,
but you can never tell.

The train ride from Napoli to Orvieto - about 3 and a 1/2 hours, went
by quickly. I read a little, watched the countryside go by...Until
Roma, the only other person in my compartment were a few Italian folks
who didn't speak English. But we still offered each other to share
our snacks :). After Roma, three giggly Japanese girls got on, and
then the next thing you know, I was in Orvieto!

Renting the car was funny...truly one of those moments where you have
to follow the rule that - in Italy, experiences are often chaotic.
But if you embrace the chaos, aren't in a hurry, and keep your good
humor - then everything can still be enjoyable.

My hotel room in Orvieto rocks - a junior suite on the top floor, huge
bed, large bathroom with a full bathtub. It's the only room they had
left when I booked (poor me :)). There's a view of the lovely Duomo
(I'll post). After a nap, I took a bath (Miles Davis on the iPhone,
Campari and soda, my book) and then got dressed for dinner...

For dinner - I was turned away at the first recommended restaurant -
they were booked. But the second one was a winner! OMG. Homemade
fettucine with a sauce of truffles and mushrooms. If I had to choose
a last meal, that would be it. I followed it wih roasted guinea fowl,
also with truffles and a little balsamic. So simple - and perfect.
The best meal I've had in Italy, because it so hits my flavor profiles
- earthy, rich, warm. Ahhhhhh....roll me out of here and in to bed.
I'm a happy girl.

Tomorrow I drive to Greve in Chianti, where I stay in a lovely
apartment for a week. Looking forward to a full 7 nights in the same
place - a temporary home. From there, I'll explore the hill towns of
Toscano, Florence, etc...I'll make an itinerary (of course), but
leaving lots of room for improvisation. Also - I'm very excited to
meet Dario the butcher, in Panzano. You foodies out there - you've
probably heard on him. He's got connections to Salumi, Mario Batali,
and his Dad. It's very close to Greve. Some people choose proximity
to sights, I choose a butcher. Each to his own :)

Okay - night for now!
xoxo

Sent from my iPhone

The Umbrian hillside outside of Orvieto - a gorgeous patchwork of green

Amazing cheese plate my last night in Sorrento...

...and the famous pizza itself!

The famous "da Michele" pizzeria in Napoli...

Truly!!

I believe the Pompeiians were somewhat obsessed...

Joe - this one's for you :). Pompeii artifacts at the Museo di Napoli

And here's me, with my sore feet :)

Statue of Hercules - Napoli Museo

Sleep, sun, read, walk, eat, repeat!

That pretty much sums up my days here in Italy :)

Finally slept in this morning, which felt good. So excited to see
that the storm was chased away overnight, leaving us with another
beautiful day today - yay!

Sat out in the sun for a bit and read my book, then took a long stroll
down the old town streets of Sorrento to the marina below. Had a
caprese salad, and a fresh (caught that morning!) whole sea bass with
olive oil, basil, parsley, and lemon. Soooo good.

Made the long trek back up, meandered through town, then went to a
laundromat to do a 'real' load of laundry. Such a treat after having
washed clothes in the sink twice so far!

In a bit, I'll have dinner, and then maybe wander back into town for a
drink and some people-watching. Not a very exciting day, but quite
lovely and relaxing :)

Early tomorrow morning I'm walking to the port to catch a boat to
Napoli. I'll hit the museum there, which has some amazing artifacts
from Pompeii and many other historic sites, and then - pizza at the
famous 'da Michele' pizzeria. Yay!! Super-excited. For those of you
who have read "Eat, Pray, Love" - this is the pizzeria she visits and
expounds about. It is for pizza purists. They only make two things
there - margherita pizza (tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella), and
marinara pizza (tomato sauce, oregano, and garlic). You all know
which one I'm getting :)

Ciao!

Lunch today on the pier - fresh whole sea bass (already filleted here) with a sauce of olive oil, basil, parsley, and lemon

Ahhhh, sitting on a pier, listening to the waves, and having fresh fish for lunch!

Aaaand....the 'ancient porn' :)

Amazing frescoes that survived, on a church wall in Pompeii (taken from behind a gate or else I would have gotten closer!)

Domed ceiling of one of the Pompeiian public baths

Another plaster cast, this time of what they believe was an expectant mother (devastatingly sad)

Plaster cast of someone sitting and praying as the ash was likely coming down...