** ITALY WITH FRIENDS JOURNAL PHOTOS**
Scenic Italy Tour - September/October  2018
Beautiful Lake Maggiore.The Scenic Italy tour group toasts to their first meal together in Stresa.Judie gets to celebrate her birthday in Italy!The ladies make some new friends, Matteio and Daniele.The lovely pool at Hotel La Palma in Stresa.That is Scenic Italy.
A break on Piazza Duomo in Como.The Como Duomo.On Lake Como.On the Lake Como Ferry.Beautiful Bellagio.Pretty Bellagio.Bellagio steep streets.Lake Como from "the point" in Bellagio.Jim and Teri enjoy a lunch with a view.My delicious lunch in Bellagioi.In Bellagio.In Bellagio.
Lake Garda.The amazing Sirmione Castle.Sirmione.Amazing castle!Lovely Sirmione.Late night in Sirmione.And she ate the whole thing!Yummy local fish.Yummy dessert!More yummy dessert!Topping the long day off with a Lemoncello. Salute!One tired group of travelers.
Welcome to Venice and Hotel Ala.Waiting to welcome me in my room at Hotel Ala in Venice.In Venice with the Rialto Bridge.Evening on St. Mark's Square.An evening stop in St. Mark's Square in Venice.Nancy with a very friendly lion in Venice.A Gondola parade.A great shot of the clock tower from the terrace of St. Mark's.How beautiful it that??Teri and Jim with the Bronze Horses of St. Mark's.Beautiful Venice.That is picture perfect.
Entering Verona through its old gate.Pretty Verona and the Roman arena.One big loving group!Bill and Maria make a pretty picture on the medieval stairs of the La Scala palace in Verona.Lively Piazza Erbe in Verona.Yummy delights in Verona.One of the lovely rooms in Castello Bevilacqua.The lovely courtyard of the castle.Just one of the beautiful rooms at the castle.Our table set for wine tasting and dinner.Look at this stunning Murano glass chandelier shaped like a Venetian gondola.Even the breakfast room at the castle is amazing!Maria and Mary are shocked at the meat and cheese plate for our wine tasting!Check it out!Jim and Teri enjoy our first wine, Soave.George likes the Amarone.All the wines for our wine tasting.What a special dessert!Bill and Maria look like they belong in a castle.Look who dressed up for dinner?Jim and Teri are as pretty as a picture.By then end of the night we have added a few more liqueurs to the mix.And the fun begins!One happy group with our wine tasting guide and his wife, Rienzo and Jacqeline.
Hill top location of winery. Orvieto in the far distance.Clara gives us a winery tour.Entrance to the ageing cellars.Inside the ancient cellars.Inside an 2000 year old wine cellar near Orvieto.Future estate wines.A hike up the hill.What waits up the hill.Vineyards.The chapel of the one time monastery. Today its where we had our cooking class.Inside the chapel.Starting the cooking class with Nonna Eleana.Maria gets busy making bread dough."And I helped"!Working on homemade pasta.Nancy and Bill work on the pasta.Next comes dessert.The freshest ingredients.What a view for dinner.Ready to enjoy all the fruits of everyone's labor.Our appetizers.Clara explains about each wine we will taste with each course.All the hard work for that pasta paid off.Trying the dessert wine.Yummy cookies for dessert.The estate wines.What a beautiful setting.Another pretty hill town in the distance.The estate vineyards.The sun sets as we say farewell.
A day in Pompeii with guide Monica.The Pompeii Forum with Mount Vesuvius in background.Judy and George cross the streets of Pompeii.A fast food joint in pompeii.The Pompeii arena.One of the many public fountains in Pompeii.Amazing view of the Sorrento from our hotel.In Sorrento, capital of Limoncello.Someone in this group really loves Limoncello.That is actually George and Judy swimming down there.At Valentin's Limoncello shop overlooking the town of Positano.After a wonderful Amalfi Coast drive with Guiseppe.
The American Military Cemetery.Wall of the missing with over 1000 names.A stop in Castellina for pizza.Teri enjoys an Aperol spritz.I get a chance to meet up with former IWF's tour members, Jennifer and Michelle.
The magnificent Orvieto Duomo.Dinner with Soloman in Orvieto.Teri finally found the perfect sized bottle of vinoSoloman works his magic.Soloman makes every dish a work of art.Bill is going to enjoy his pannacotte.George found some friends.Fun in Soloman's wine cellar.Maybe too much fun!Morning view from the hotel window.A lovely hill town.The beautiful countryside around Orvieto.