Last Night In Rome

  

  Our last evening in Umbria, we had a few pals over for apertivi and the sunset, and it was great way to say 'ciao' to The Nut, until next time...

A wonderful last evening at The Nut.

  We are back in California now. I'm actually at my work desk writing this. Can't help but go back through the last day's photos in Rome. Who wants to work?

  Especially with jet-lag.

  Anyway...

  We flew out of Rome on Saturday, but took an early train down Friday to spend the day seeing art and eating. Rome was sunny and very warm...and spring has sprung, for sure.

  

  On the Rome Agenda:

  1) Walk around, enjoying the sights until we can check in to our room, and things open up.

  2) Buy shoes.

Snappy!

  3) See the William Turner exhibition.

A few of my favorites...

Close up detail.

More detail.

Simple beauty.

  

4) Eat some treats at Supplizzio.

Just a little snack....hehehe.

Eggplant 'polpette'.
Delightfully good.

These are suppli.

Deep fried rice balls.
This is with cheese and black pepper.

This is traditional with tomato sauce.
Oh. Dear. God.

 5) Walk off the treats and view some street art.

  6) Eat fried carciofi in the Jewish quarter at Da Giggetto

What? One lunch is just not enough, dude.
It's just a little artichoke....

...a crispy, crunchy, salty artichoke from heaven above.

  

7) Walk off the carciofi, seeing more sights, because there is still more eating to do.

We came across this odd Cercis (redbud tree), with flowers on the trunk.
Just found it interesting.

  8) Relax with a late afternoon glass of wine.

  9) Take a nap back at the room.

  10) Go back out late to have pizza at Remo.

It was packed!

I wait all year for this pizza.
We actually stayed in Rome for the night, just to eat here.
I. Kid. You. Not.

Yes, I ate the whole thing.
Sigh.

   10) Whine about how full we are, then be really sad to leave, then be really happy we even get to do all this, then say 'arrivederci' to Italy, until next time.


  Now, back to work, Girl!

A Walk In The Woods

  We've been waiting for things to dry up enough to take a walk in the nearby woods. The trees have been greening up nicely, and it seemed that the trails would be free of super sticky mud.

  After weeks of rain, and a week of sun, it was time!

  We chose to make our little foray into the woods early in the morning. There were hundreds of birds singing, and it was quiet and still...

The woods just outside the apartment.
Lots of trails to explore.

  We've walked through here a couple of times before, and look forward to many years of discovering new trails and adventures.

  Adventure #1: 

  When there is a fork in the trail, which way do we go?

Where now, Baby?

  Right now, the darling little wild cyclamen are all over the the place. They are fragrant and have variegated leaves. I just get a big kick out of seeing them growing in the wild.

Here are some with Ajuga. We have these plants in nurseries back home.
Here they are like weeds...really gorgeous weeds.

Early in the morning, the light is so lovely
coming through the canopy.

  We know that there are lots of wild boar that cruise through the area nightly, but it's scary to see so many hoof prints everywhere! Big ones and little ones. The babies are around, so it's important to be careful. You don't want to tussle with a mama that has babies with her.

  The babies are cute, though.

Hoof prints everywhere!

That's a big one.

  We've seen 'cinghiale' (wild boar), hedgehogs, porcupines, badgers, weasels, owls, bats, and yesterday I saw a fox. 

  It's nice being in the countryside. We look forward to seeing a wolf one of these days...

  

  We walked way up the hill, then around and back down.

  As we worked our way back to The Nut, we admired the neighbors property, which includes a small vineyard. 

  The vines are just coming to life after the cold weather...

Johnny loves any shed, barn, potting shed, etc.
That's the neighbor's place in the background.

Lilacs are in bloom all over now, too.
This is just next door.

  I know we will enjoy these walks in the woods often, as long as it isn't too muddy.

  Johnny is afraid of running into vipers, which can be super dangerous, but that's why we carry big sticks, wear boots and long pants.

Ahh, the country life!

    Later, I made a nice caprese salad for our lunch on the terrace.

    We worked hard in those woods!

Man, what a difference a little warm weather makes.

Mmmmmmmm. Fresh mozzarella is so good here.

  We ended the day on the other side of the lake, enjoying the sunset and making the most out of the last few days we have here.

  Thanks for showing up, Sunshine!

Quick Trip To Venice

  We have been so fortunate to have visited Venice so many times over the years. It has always been for the Biennale, a huge contemporary art exhibition. We love these trips every two years, and spend about two weeks each time.

  This year, we decided last minute to take the train up from Umbria and just spend one night. The weather was looking good, and there were two exhibitions that Johnny wanted to see.

  Plus...it's Venice, man!

  We hopped an early fast train, and were there by 10:30 am. Sweet!

  We spent hours walking, eating, seeing art and soaking in the very warm sun. We walked all over at night, staying away from the main tourist areas, which were very crowded.

  Next day, we hopped back on the train and were home just after dark.

  These are just some photos I thought to share.

  Lovely buildings around the area we stayed...

  Splender on the Grand Canal...

  

  Walking around...

  Detail from the building above...

  Details from around town...

  How a nursery is done in Venice...

  Happy to see the amazing installation, 'Support', was still around....

  And, boy, oh boy, spring was in the air!

  Relaxing between bouts of walking is always a pleasure, especially in a small 'Campo' in Venice.

  It was short and sweet. We promised ourselves that we would try to pop up every year, weather permitting. 

  Big lesson learned...One night is not enough! No matter how many times we've been there!

  Grazie, Venezia... A Presto!