Pictures, finally!

This picture was supposed to be at the end, but I couldn't move it. 
You'll know what it is from the LAST picture in this album.

This is my first session.... bear with me.  
Northern Italy part of the trip.... with the Trafalgar tour of "The Hidden Treasures of Italy"....  let's see how it goes....

Town Center

Inside the main shopping mall



The ceiling at the top of the malll

The magnificent DUOMO in Milano



Another view

Fabulous Caprese salad

The inside of Il Duomo in Milano

Fried Anchovies, very delicious

Squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta and spinach and deep fried
OMG!

Name of the restaurant:   Il Kaimano

Rissotto is Milan's and northern Italy's specialty

Our waiter was very entertaining

I don't know why they're shining, but it's all sort of dried mushrooms and tomaroes.
There must be thousands of varieties.



The marbled floor of Il Duomo is one of the most beautiful in all of Italy



 

The very famous La Scala Opera House in Milano
 

Lake Como where George Clooney has several villas

One of George Clooney's villas

Another famous villa

This is Amedeo, our guide

Famous composer..... can't remember the name

Mr. Puccini himself

Another famous composer....

Mr. Giordano himself

You won't believe, but these are CHOCOLATES!  Milano

Okay, now we're in one of the hidden treasures:  Bergamo

Carol(ina), from Colorado, whom I later paired up with in Bologna and Florence

The Royal Chapel in Bergamo

Donizetti's tomb and resting place.  There are eight children in the
tomb, signifying the octave on a piano.

Another view... sorry I don't know how to turn these around....

This is Bardolino, another hidden treasure.

Bardolino wine is very famous... ready for some food?

Yellow tuna, salmon, and white fish carpaccio (raw) and shrimp!

Condiments on top, just look at this plate!  YumYum

Gelato, anyone?

Come on!

Something from, here, maybe?

This is the place!

We in Bardolino, the town, waiting to get on a boat to Lake Garda,
the longest lake in Italy.

Beautiful gardens, still lots of flowers all over

Wanna ride?

This is Bardolino, right off the main square.   Had cofee where this white chairs are.

Charming Bardolino

Off to Lake Garda

Those AWFUL villas!

Even more awful!

Same as above, it hsa its own olive groves and vineyard

Just around the corner.....

Here's Amedeo (I would get confused and start calling him Edamame)
talking away, but no one can hear him because the motor on the boat
was very very loud.   He couldn't help himself!

Most awful of all!

Look at the color of these two trees.   They were spectacular!

Another hidden treasure:  Verona

This is Juliet's house and you can see how people leave letters on
the wall.

You're supposed to go up and rub her naked breast.   That's
Nancy from New Jersey.  She touched it.  I didn't.

If you can tell me how they do this, I would love to know!

They're real people holding themselves up God knows how!

Verona

Verona's main square.  We're sitting in a restaurant right across from the
amphitheater.

Verona's amphitheater

Group dinner at a working vineyard and olive grove.
Two brothers run it and the food was outstanding.

Again, famous Bardolino wine

Just a little bit of Italy's apple orchards.   Along with grapes,
apples, and olives, they dominated the countryside.

Another hidden treasure:  Balsano.  This is an interesting
town because it borders Germany and it's very bilingual
and bicultural.  Everything is in two languages and they
have German and Italian schools.  The food here was outstanding,
very German.

Marketplace in Balsano

I need CHILES!

Very traditional, German, leek soup - yumyum, especially
when chilly outside

Another famous, traditional German staple:  apple streudel.

Guess what I saw at a small store?

Colors, colors

More colors



How about some tomatoes?

How's this for lettuce?

T

Formaggio, anyone?

Ayayay, just can't decide!

These are those tiny tiny tortellini.  If made properly, seven of them
need to fit into a tablespoon, and they do!  Made by hand.....

Fresh buffalo mozzarella for that Caprese salad!

Anybody for rabbit?

This is for the "take home and just boil" person. 

Beautiful market in Modena, another hidden treasure.

Balsamic vinegar barrels in Modena

Notice how they had a cloth over the opening.  That's to
help with evaporation so the vinegar gets more and
more concentrated, and the more concentrated
the more expensive it is.

Tasting different kinds of balsamic.  See those two little
round bottles, sitting together?   One of them, on the left sells for $100, and
the other one, aged 25 years sales for $450!   Of course you get
a crystal bottle to keep!  Can't even describe the taste!

Luciano Pavarotti's resting place.

Pavarotti's tomb

The family's plot

Many members of the Pavarotti's family

Cemetery

And for the guys on the tour....   Ferrari Museum!

This is my next car... and I do want it in RED!

Now, I've joined Carol(ina), and we're on our own.
This the view from our hotel window in Bologna.

Riding around in a double-decker in Bologna

Bologna from high above, in the double-decker

Church in Bologna

Gorgeous fountain in the middle of the town center in Bologna

This is Franceso, our waiter in Bologna.  This is the place
where I had the BEST meals in all of Italy.  I brought Paco
here and will bring anybody else who wants to come!

Town center in Bologna



We're off to olive oil and chianti tasting to a real working Vineyard
and olive grove.  It's a family business.

Different olive oils, tomato (marinara) sauce, cheese and honey

Look at these recyling garbage bins.  They are all over in Italy.
Why can't we have these in the States?

Every picture = one cone, okay?   Are you counting?

Now we're in Florence, at the Piazza de la Signoria (which means
government)

There are replicas of most of the famous sculptures in Florence here
around the whole piazza.

There's Mr. David in all his glory!

I don't remember who this is, God of the Sea?   Trident?

More sculpture... do you know what it means when the horse
has one foot high up like this one?   Homework!

La Chiesa de la Santa Croce = The Church of the Holy Cross.
Magnificent Marble façade, all white and green Marble which
is totally Florentine style.  Later, the pink Marble was
added, like at Il Duomo.

Doors to the Santa Croce

Inside Santa Croce, tons of construction and/or remodeling.

Part of the ceiling work at Santa Croce

Front view

Very famous place to eat for Porcheta (suckling pig) and tripe
Florentine-style

Fungi

More fungi and pomodoro secco

This is the suckling pig, except it's been deboned and stuffed with herbs
and spices, rolled up and cooked.  The store slices pieces of it and you
can either eat it like a sandwich or just straight, au jus.  It's one
delicious and VERY popular food all over Italy.  And, it's
pretty inexpensive.   The sandwiches are HUGE!
 

Okay, so much for now.   There are  hundreds more.   These were of the first stage of my aventura-italiana.  Next stage is when Paco gets here.  I already know how to do this, so expect some more.  Today is Sunday in Florence and it's sunny and gorgeous.   I will go to Mass at the Cathedral which is a 5-minute walk and then we'll see.  I joined the social hour at the Hotel David yesterday and it was soooo nice to interact with people from all over.  I think I am going to make it a habit.  And, the finger foods are yummy, plentiful = dinner!  Then, because it's dark and coooooold, I take the bus "D" back, which leaves me about one block from the apartment.  On that block is the deli where I buy all my goodies.  I have my list ready to go for today!  Arrivederci and yippee for me, now I know how to upload pictures.  Ya no te quejes, Aimee.....   :)