Back To Rome For A Day

A few weeks ago, way before the Pope died, and Easter, and all that...we decided it would be fun to take the train back to Rome and just spend a day walking around, eating and seeing art...

We took an early train down and started out walking. We haven't been anywhere near the Colosseum in quite some time, and since we arrived really early we decided to go check the area out again. It was a great idea, and there weren't that many people around...

Honestly, I'd kind of forgotten how stunning it is...

Really.

 Much of Rome is under massive construction, but we still enjoyed peeking around here and there...

The early light was perfect for photos.

Look! No people!

Johnny had read about the rediscovery of this huge sculpture, The Colossus...so we made the effort to find it...

Surprise...it's really big!

Very impressive, and free to view!

I just love all the ancient stuff laying around.
I lust after these pieces for my garden...sigh.

Lovely little flowering daisies...They are called "Margherita" here.

Taking a break to check the map.
Yes, an old school paper map. We love them.

Next...lunch a favorite place in the Ghetto area...

Double deep fried artichokes. The best.

Johnny chose a caprese salad next.

I had a pasta with a spicy red sauce.
All was yummy!

We also saw a couple of wonderful exhibitions, and went shopping for art supplies, which you can read about on our other blog, here:

Gallery Apodaca Blog

I hope I get it together to write more posts before we head home...we've been really busy, and there's lots to share!

Back to Umbria, March 2025

I'm glad to have a new laptop (Thanks, DD!) and get back to some blogging!

I'm writing this from Venice, actually. We've been here in Venice a week and head home to Umbria today.

Hopefully a post to come soon on our stay in Venice.

We arrived in early March to Rome, did our traditional night of pizza at Remo-

As always, exhausted but happy to be back...

This trip, we decided to bring along our Toasty bear. He was instantly comfortable and fits right in at The Nut. We knew he would-

Oh, Toasty...you crazy bear.

All is well here, though March was brutal, weather wise. Many days of cold wet and windy. It's March!

Upside, we tucked in with a good fire in the evenings and enjoyed relaxing with our books, cooking and going to bed early.

All was well when we got to The Nut, and we spent a few days just cleaning and shopping so we are settled in.

We're enjoying the views, walking in the mornings and spending time in the piazza most days.

Sunset

 

Morning light

The Toasty Bear loves the wood burning stove!

Of course I'm enjoying the markets and fixing treats at home...

Typical lunch 

There has been a lot of rain, and the landscape is incredibly green.

I'm looking forward to how it's changed in the week we've been up here in Venice. This is how it looked when we left-

More yummy food at home, I made a great pasta frittata with leftover pasta. I can't recommend this enough! When there isn't enough pasta left for dinner, just add eggs and cheese!

Johnny is getting the studio ready for painting when we get back. In the meantime, it's nice as a dining area.

View of the village from below...

All in all, we're happy to be back here, ignoring the world, eating, sipping, and taking our walks.

Is that so bad?

A Day In Florence w/ Helen Frankenthaler

Well, Hello!

I have not written a blog post since last Oct, 2024...early October. My computer died while we were here, and I haven't written since then.

Right now, April 9, 2025...we are in Venice again. I hope to add some more posts of this trip asap!

So...back in October 2024:

We took a day trip to Florence to explore and see the wonderful Helen Frankenthaler exhibit at Palazzo Strozzi. 

We started early, arriving by train around 8:00, so first things first....caffe!

We enjoyed walking around the city, seeing the beauty all around. The weather was good...

We stopped for a mid-morning bite at a favorite spot on Via Servi. We love the "cecina" here. It's a thin slice of a chickpea flour "pizza", sort of. I always get the onion version. Yum!

In the morning the crowds were not so bad, but by mid day it was packed.

Fortunate for us, most people were not at the exhibition!

We had looked forward to this one, and it didn't disappoint. An absolutely fantastic show...

For the most part, we had the place to ourselves!

NOW REMEMBER READERS...THIS WAS LAST OCTOBER,

NOT NOW!

Next, a late afternoon lunch across the Arno river at another favorite spot...

The crostoni here are the best. One with tomatoes, olives and melted cheese...and one with artichoke, olives and melted cheese. A good combo to share.

We took another stroll around town before heading back to the train station and home.

A good day in Florence!!