One of the things I love about Christmas here are the markets that they have everywhere.  Today we drove over to Arezzo to their Christmas market.  They have artists set up in tents around town and in the main piazza they have a Tyrolian themed Christmas market.  I’m not...

We’ve been invited to Michelangelo and Rosella’s for Christmas dinner and yesterday we went to help make the traditional Christmas cappelletti pasta.  Cappelletti means little hat and that’s what these luscious stuffed pasta resemble.  They will be served in brodo, in a broth, as the first course of the...

Steve is half Italian which is one of the reasons we got hooked on Italy to begin with.  His grandparents came to the U. S. in 1900 and never went back.  Like any good Italian tale, there’s a legend here.  The story goes that his 16 year-old grandmother met...

I never cease to be amazed at this town.  And the Italians.  Last night was the Anghiari Christmas processional and Steve was asked to play a role.  Sure, we said, and we proceeded to ask questions about what, when, where, what time, etc.  All the things you would want...

Recently we got a memo from the city.  One was placed in every mailbox so we dutifully got ours and with the help of Google Translate, figured out the gist of it.  They want us to put white candles on our window ledges during the Christmas season.  I love...

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  It is also the day that Pope Francis opened the Holy Doors at St. Peter’s and declared this to be a year of mercy.  In Italy, this day kind of kicks off the Christmas season, so it’s a special day here...

We’ve spent a lot of time taking day trips around here, but we really haven’t been north of here much.  Today we decided to drive to the Casentino area, which is northwest of here.  This is an area that’s known for its food and beautiful national park.  How ridiculous...

All roads lead to Rome – at least they do for the visitors we’ve had.  They’ve all flown in and out of Rome, so at the end of everyone’s trip, we spend a night or two (or three) in Rome.  After the peacefulness of Anghiari, Rome is a dramatic...

Traveling around can be tiring, even when the trips are short.  Sitting in the car, stopping in random towns – it can make you a little weary.  We took a day or two just to stay around Anghiari and the general area.  This is a beautiful area with lots...

We spent a couple of nights with Tim and Julie near Orvieto.  We stayed in an amazing place with incredible views.  It was out in the country about a 15 minute drive from Orvieto.  We got in after dark, so all we could see were the lights from the...