Friday, August 31, 2012

Hello, Italy!

Welcome to Italy, 
where they live out loud.


Let's drive through Liguria, the green heart of Italy, and hike down to the sea.

I think I am color-drunk.
The bold, vivid shades have me reeling with delight. 


The Italians' brazen use of saturated colors is as warm and winning as the Italian people themselves.

Where but in Italy would laundry and worn finishes be this drop dead beautiful?


I find myself a new connoisseur of the brilliant umbrella.
Really, they're irresistible sculptures, aren't they?


Let's hop on a little ferry along the coastline of Tuscany in the Cinque Terre...

chugging past charming villages that have no roads
but abundant terraced vineyards.



The grapes hang ripe and ready for picking.

In front of many homes you can see wine presses. Wouldn't it be amazing to watch the grapes squeezed? I had no idea the old worm-screw type presses were still in use, but they are.


Now we're in Riomaggiore...

What's that I spy on the window sill along the street?


All the makings for a simple but delicious bowl of pasta, and the scent coming out the window is mouthwatering...


There's the chef, working his magic. No wonder we are so tempted. 
It's delicious. Can't you almost taste it?


Now let's indulge in a little gelato, shall we?

Mr. Wonderful is having cioccolato, I've chosen the amaretto.
What are you going to order?


More wandering down lanes, my pencil busy in the little sketch book...


I'll check in again when I can.

There are so many stories to tell...

my shock at the unisex bathrooms (Dorothy, this is NOT Kansas!)
the story of true love and padlocks along the Via del Amore,
and so much more.

See you soon. 
Ciao!