Italy

December 2009 was Italy.  What a breathtaking place!  Wine country at its best, the Tuscany countryside was picture perfect.  The castle was the best place to call home and a little rental car to get lost in was never quite small enough for Italian standards.  Each city was a maze and every face was a smile.  The leaning tower of Pisa, Cortona, Florence and everything in between was a fascination that knows no bounds.  This is a place that must be visited again and again.  Highlights:  Christmas morning in the Pisa Church.  Hiking up the Duomo in Florence Church.  Gelato, ahhhh Gelato.  Market Day in downtown Florence, what was I thinking not to have bought the rabbit fur coat and boots.  Style, Style Style, those Italians know nothing but!  Lunch at the little cafe in a teeny tiny town, smiles and nods got us some delicious sandwiches.  Snow, did I mention that an inch of snow on a little bit of an incline will halt the best of the mini cars in Italy!  Note to self, stay off any hills and inclines with snow.  Christmas time in any Italian town, now that is the essence of the holidays.  Simple grocery stores and markets, historic galleries and museums.  Walking the streets of cobblestone where if only the walls and streets could talk, ohhh what a story they would tell.  Vespas, next time forget the cars and ride a vespa!