Roman summer, 2014

DAY TRIP TO SPERLONGA

best part of summer having the guys home, matthew relaxing at beach in Sperlonga

August 1,  Sperlonga August crowd

town of sperlonga

looking northward toward terracina

sperlonga looking south.  you can choose your beach spot either to the south or north of the town.

Way too many beautiful places to enjoy in Italy.

Christopher and Scott hiking uphill into town for a cool drink before 2 hr drive back to Rome

ROMAN SUMMER DAYS and NIGHTS

mandatory summer terrace photo

Matthew and

Christopher at local bar

a roman sunset

the newly restored lake in the villa borghese

                               Trips to the local beach, lake, roman dinners and outdoor opera

an Ostia Beach sunset

Ostia

part of the ponte rotto ("broken bridge"), has Roman origins

a Roman dinner on the Tevere next to the ponte rotto: way too many guys (and me), good thing I grew up with all brothers

we always take in an opera (or two) at the roman ruins of the Baths of Caracalla. Scene here from La Boheme.
wonderful projections onto the enormous Roman stones in the back.

our egyptian friends joined us for a "selfie" at the opera

the  Roman stones of the baths of caracalla snow-covered in a scene from the opera "La Boheme"! Refreshing on a summer night. It "snowed" on us at the beginning of this scene; lovely small white pieces of paper falling everywhere.

the stage sets were great and such fun designs projected onto the Roman ruins this year

SUMMER DAYS AND NIGHTS IN UMBRIA

due to the great generosity of our friends, Elizabeth and Domenico we get to enjoy some wonderful summer fun in Umbria

Umbrian sunflowers

Zucchini flowers from Salvatore's wonderful garden

the beginnings of the best frittata I have ever eaten made by friend and chef, Salvatore at Elizabeth's home near Todi

Domenico's mini moc ready for our short trip to our "secret" blackberry picking area

our morning harvest of blackberries

trimming the lavender

San Fortunato Church, Todi

a night out in todi for dinner at the great vineria of san fortunato, with a fantastic terrace almost literally on the steps of the church

yummy sliced prosciutto, can't wait to go back

an Umbrian sunset

home made crostata by Elizabeth one with blackberries I picked, ready for ferragosto lunch for 21 people!

more amazing food brought by Salvatore, sicilian cheese with pepppercorns

just a part of the feast prepared by Elizabeth for the (aug 15th) ferroagosto holiday,  great fun was had by all

an Umbrian chicken strutting her stuff

wonderful greens, blues and yellows (sunflowers) in the Umbrian hills

Umbrian summer roads 

A WEEKEND IN THE APENNINES (Abruzzo)

an August weekend hking in the Abruzzo

Scenery is very Alpine like at times

Scott and Boyd going for a stroll when we arrived Friday afternoon

lots of stones to contend with

campo imperatore area, Saturday

baby calf in abruzzo

such lovely views everywhere

choices

nice colors in the meadows 

looking further southeast

changing colors with the clouds

wonderful color and stems on these wildflowers

fantastic purples

hard to keep the camera in my pocket

our hotel, campo imperatore, with its surprsing history, in the clouds on Sunday morning.  we needed heavy fleece jackets to go out. Situated at 2.200 meters and built in the 1930's. Famous for being the place where Mussolini was held prisoner for 12 days or so after the fall of Fascism.  The German forces literally glided in during "operazione quercia" on Sept 12th, 1943 and "liberated" him under to the shock and surprise of the Italians guarding him. you can still see the room where he was lodged.  Place hasn't changed much!

campo imperatore ski area winter; hiking summer

our mandatory "selfie"

part of one of the wonderful fascist era murals on the wall in the hotel. there were a few others, wish I had more photos of them.

the skies were this blue at times, stunning 

loved these blues

 so nice

Lake Bracciano

 unusually rough morning waters at our favorite watering hole, white caps or not it is always relaxing here.

two of this year's cygnets

strolling through the village of trevignano at the lake

we get to buy fresh fruits and veggies at the farm on our way out of the village

Just a taste of our Roman summer. We were lucky this year as the weather was amazingly good. No dreadfully, awful, scorching temperatures to contend with.  Hate to see the end of the summer tranquility ending being replaced by the chaos, noise, strikes, and terrible traffic of "real"

Roman life.