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This is the view from our room in the vineyards of la Morra. The village of la morra is perched on the hill in the distance about 300 meters away. A nice short walk. Marlow picked a small bunch of grapes from the vine for our breakfast. They were hanging from the vine just outsideContinue reading “Home for the past week”

Los Angeles, California In preparation for our five week trip to Italy, France, England and Michigan, I packed weekly. Rehearsal packing. We will carry all our stuff onboard: one wheeled suitcase apiece and a second smaller bag, in my case, a viola. Will I use the viola? Who knows. Does Linus use his security blanket?Continue reading “Sunday, October 13, 2013 Los Angeles, California”

We spent the final three days of our visit with Lily in Rome.  Visiting fountains, ancient temples, churches, neighborhoods, gelato venders and museums. We certainly packed a lot into those days as you can see ….  Corridor in our crowded train to Rome.Fortunately we had a private compartment in first class! Making a wish atContinue reading “Arrivederci Roma!”

Another treasured family heirloom is the Travel Diary written and annotated by Nana on her first visit to Europe in 1925. She traveled with her family and visited England, Scotland, France, Switzerland and Italy. The 80 pages contain her hand written account of each day’s events as well as small sketches and drawings of sightsContinue reading “In Nana’s Footsteps Again — Sistine Chapel”

During our week in the Cinque Terre we were very lucky to have stayed in a home  with incredible views. The house clung to the steep cliffs hanging over the primary “harbor” of the village of Manarola.  The house had three living levels. The house is entered from the top level which consisted of theContinue reading “Our Home on the Coast”

Italy’s Cinque Terre is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and also a national park covering both the land and waters of this coastal area.  Hiking trails run throughout the park in a well organized and marked network maintained by the national park. Many of the trails have existed since Roman times. The trails can beContinue reading “Hiking the trails of Cinque Terre”

One of the favorite artworks displayed in our home is a watercolor of the Portofino harbor painted by my Grandmother on a visit to Italy in the 1940’s. Portofino,  watercolor by Margaret R. Hough 1940’s I found the painting still enclosed in Nana’s sketchpad and indeed the penciled outline of an additional sailboat or twoContinue reading “Portofino”

Lily arrived at Pisa Airport about 7AM (Italy time) on Monday, June 10.  On our way out of Pisa we visited the Torre Pendant (leaning tower) and were able to climb to the top of the tower.  On the way back to the Cinque Terre (also known as 5 Terre, CT and Five Lands) weContinue reading “Lily has joined us!”

Marlow couldn’t wait to jump into the water!

The blue dot indicates where we will be for the next week.