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Thursday, May 19, 2016

Ah Italia!

Yesterday I was googling recipes for juicing and I came on one that called for Rocket.  And it made me reminiscent....

When we were in Italy, everywhere we went menus would say items descriptions that would contain the ingredient "rocket".  And after much searching and asking, we finally discovered it was Arugala.  Crazy!  (Actually since then I've noticed almost every other country refers to Arugala as Rocket).

So when I saw this I emailed the link to my Italian traveling buddies and was reminded by one of my bestie-nieces that it was exactly four years ago this week that we were in Italy on our gang-of-girls whirlwind tour!  

Four years ago ... Pompeii was once again changed forever!:). 

Ah the memories I have!...
Our house and private beach on Sardinia!  What an experience!


Our house and pool in Umbria... Way out of the way but pretty cool all in all!



The food we ate!
Fresh Sardinian sardines!

Fresh fish!

Fresh mussels!

Italian pasta!!! Yum!!

ROCKET!  On pizza!


Italian cappuccinos!  By the boatload!

Introducing my peeps to Magnum ice cream bars!!!

Italian vino --- in bottle... With meals ...
 
...with wine tastings!

...Or by vat!

The unique ways we got our local meals!
Sardinian mama and daughter who cooked for us right at our house!


And local ladies who taught us how to cook the Umbrian way in our Umbrian house!..



I can't forget the sites we saw!
Driving off the side of the road the first view we had of Assisi!

Trying to correct the leaning part of the Tower of Pisa!

The moon over our Mediterranean beach!

Handmade pottery in the Amalfi Coast...

Handmade Italian shoes, as in "come back in 3 hours for your shoes" handmade shoes!

Weddings in Rome

Sites that are quite ... Well ... 

And the views from our bathroom window in Ravello!
 
And speaking of coasts!  Who can forget the brightly colored buildings and beautiful coast of Cinque Terra!

And one of my favorite places!!!  The French island of Corsica and the amazing coastal town of Bonofacio!  Probably one of the only places that I really want to go back to!


The ways we found our way around!
Crazy taxi rides!

Trains that we found thanks to the suggestions of our friend, Rick Steves...

Escalators that took us into cities high on a hill!

Ferries

Our fearless navigator who, if we didn't have, we'd still be wandering around Italy trying to find our way home!

And none of us will ever forget what happens when you give Alison a stick shift, a mountain, and an winding road!

I can't forget the friends we made along the way...
Wild donkeys in Sardinia...

Sea kayaking on the Mediterranean with our new interesting stateside friend and a wild Italian driver/kayaker!



And then looking back through pictures and recalling all the friends Melody made along the way!...






Two weeks of amazing with four friends who are amazing!  I don't think I could have a tour of Italy in any better way!

And after walking down memory lane with all those pictures!... 
It's sad - but I have to remind myself....

Arrivederci Roma!

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