Where 2 From Here?

After a long 'winters' nap .. or it least it seemed so. Having traveled for three days we slept in this AM 'til 11 AM Italy time or 2 AM Wyoming time.
Then we headed out to see this fascinating city of Pienza.
Most times a picture says it all - So here you have it...
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So that's about it for today. Food (Tagliatelle with Morel Mushrooms), Fun (Pinocchio), Flowers (everywhere).. among the everyday life of wash, mail, and a Saturday wedding at the church in the ancient city of Pienza. Fabulous first full day in Tuscany

After two full days of travel we're here - and it's bellisimo!
I'm very impressed with the Rome airport - clean and modern and easy to navigate.
Our driver met us and we had a long (over two hour) ride from Rome headed north toward Florence. Gasoline is over 2 euros a litter so that's well over eight dollars a gallon. Yikes! Absolutely beautiful countryside. So reminiscent of the Roman times with the hillside boasting tall cylindrical trees that remind me of our Arborvitae back home.

Perhaps the Biden administration read my blog of yesterday because I'm terribly excited about the fact that I won't have to take a Covid test to return to my own country. I'm already hearing from friends and family of their plans to now travel abroad because the restrictions have been lifted.

We are staying at LaBandita Townhouse in the quaint town of Pienza. I LOVE it!

We decided to have dinner at our hotel cafe this evening - here's a photo of the outdoor restaurant. The food was amazing. We had Ravioli Osseobucco with foie gras - It was Outstanding. Just made my top 10 list of restaurants in the world.

We sat near a cattle rancher form England - close to London - so Jeff and he had a lot to discuss. Many similarities between the two countries of the challenges of raising beef.

It was a short-lived but enjoyable day. Tomorrow we'll spend the day roaming this fascinating city which was built between 1459 and 1462, the realized dream of Pope Pio II ( Enea Silvio Piccolomini) and now a World Heritage site. Hope to "see" you then.

We left Salt Lake City at six this AM and I worked on my computer for the entire three hour flight to Atlanta.
All was fine.
I'm working on an album of our barn and made some great progress. Here's the cover .. as a sneak preview

Once in Atlanta, we headed to the Delta lounge to pass the time until our flight at 7:30 tonight to Rome. It's a long layover and I thought I could get a lot accomplished on the album.

Well, guess again. I couldn't see the pointer on my screen. No matter where I scrolled I couldn't see the pointer or click on the screen to do anything. AH .. PANIC! I tried to troubleshoot using my phone without success. My big concern is that to come back into the US we have to have our monitored Covid Test (Yes, that's still required .... even though you don't need it if you're not a citizen and you come into the States by car, bus or on foot! I wonder why our government wants to pick on the Airline industry and all those potential travel dollars that could be helping our economy. UGH!! Anyhow, without a working computer that could be a problem to do the test and have it monitored online.

So, thank heavens I hac ordered Dell support when I got my new computer! Without it, this would have been a very costly day. I spent literally hours on the phone with tech support. And, as you can see, I was able to get the laptop working again. I wonder how someone can do IT work all day long and actually enjoy it. Good thing somebody does!! As I said, when they work they're great .. and thanks to Tech Support a disaster was averted.

We're on our way... we get to Rome at 11 AM on Friday. I'll be trying to catch some ZZZZ on the flight as opposed to working on my computer. There's an 8 hour time difference between home and there so it's a long day by the time we land. But I'll be in touch ....from Tuscany

I just read one of the most appropriate sayings I've come across about Travel ...

"If you're happy, travel to celebrate" ... I'm so happy to have our FREEDOM back to go where we want, when we want, without government contraints.

If you're sad, travel to forget"...Today we remember those who fought so we could be free, I'm sure there are many sad families whose loved ones gave their lives so we could live in AMERICA .. home of the brave - land of the FREE - let's not forget their sacrifices!

"If nothing is happening, travel to make something happen"

Well, something's happening next week!! We're escaping the snowy weather of Wyoming in late June/early July, and we're headed on a trip that's been postponed for two years. Can't wait to see and taste Tuscany... Hope you'll join us on the long-awaited adventure. Italy, Here we Come!

Hej translates to "Hi" in Danish ... and Hej Hej translates to "Bye". That's pretty much what our time spent in Denmark was like - we disembarked from the Voyager of the Seas and caught a taxi to the Marriott near the old village. We dropped our bags and headed out for a stroll around the town. The weather was cold and dismal yet we saw swimmers taking a dip in what had to be a pretty frigid water canal just outside from our hotel.

[/left]We walked past the Glyptotek - art museum and posed for a photo with the lion out front, the past the famous Tivoli Gardens - the oldest amusement park in the world. It wasn't open so we just got a little peak through the fence of the gardens and park within. Next stop, the souvenir shop where Beka bought her patch, I got a bell for my bike, Eric got a "Copenhagen" hoodie and we bought a Viking souvenir for Jason.

[left]We continued through the old streets of Copenhagen, admiring the architecture, stopping in the village square to enjoy a coffee, a Viking-size Carlsburg beer and hot chocolate. Afterwards, we stopped in front of the shoe store so Beka could compare what they had in stock to what they have at Itzin Shoe store where she works in Burlington, WI. Nothing beats the Danish that can be found in Denmark - Just take a glance at these mouth-watering delights!'

Speaking of food - I know, not again! Well, it is the last day of the Food Fest in Coastal Europe so for lunch we visited the Barr (means Barley in Danish) Restaurant which had rave reviews online. It did not disappoint. The menu was a little challenging but we were assisted by our waiter and dove into these unusual comfort classics from across the North Sea. Dining at Barr is akin to a gastronomic bear hug!

Jeff started out with the Beef tartare, his favorite European appetizer. Meanwhile we all munched on the white bread with beer mash, rye bread and butter. Eric ordered the Plaice (fish) sandwich, Beka got the Shrimp (little did she know it would come with heads on!) on toasted bread with dill, lemon and a soft boiled egg, She also tried the white asparagus with dried ham and crispy fjord shrimps. I had the best dish of all! It was Barr's pepper roast beef served with caramelized onions, pickled beetroot, shaved horseradish and a fried egg. Unbeatable. We tried the wine suggested by our server which was alright but nothing to write home about.

Who needs to eat dinner after such a fulfilling lunch. We went to bed early, got up at 5am to be at the airport by 7 for our morning flight from Copenhagen to Amsterdam.

Little did we know what our day had in store for us. All flights were delayed in Amsterdam due to weather which meant of flight from there to Detroit was also delayed. Beka just made it to her connection in Detroit at 5:10PM. We waited in the lounge for our 8 PM flight to Salt Lake which didn't get there until 10 PM. Talk about a L O N G day! So tired of sitting!! But all in all it was a great trip. Lots of interesting food as you've seen here. Good to be home but can't wait until the next adventure. Hiking in Tuscany in June