Travel Thoughts

I’m going to be travelling so I won’t be able to update this blog for a couple of weeks. Travels are great for collecting ideas and photos for my oil paintings. I know I’ll see too much in too short of time but some of the places on my itinerary will be the Dolomites area of Northern Italy. There is a strong Germanic influence in that region. I will be staying in Ortisei, the Italian name for Saint Ullrich for a few days. From there we drive south to Tuscany. I’m looking forward to strolling through Cortona, made famous by the book “Under the Tuscan Sun”, revisit Pienza the Renaissance town which has been the backdrop of several movies, such as “Romeo and Juliet” and “Gladiator” and of course, who can ignore Sienna and the famous circular piazza. But the biggest treat is just driving through Tuscany with it’s rolling hills and beautiful farm houses. After a few days there we head further south and end up in Pescara, my husband’s home town.Known for its long beaches, sun worshipers and bathers come to Pescara to spend their summer days to bronze their bodies and splash along the water’s edge. The city sits in the middle of the boot that is Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. Although Pescara’s history is very old the city is rather new and contemporary compared to other Italian cities. Turn of the century high-rises, balustrade balconies on beach house villas, Art-Deco homes nestles among more modern apartment buildings and hotels. The city is eclectic. I’ll walk along Corso Umberto Boulevard, starting at the train station to walk the few city blocks to the Lungo Mare, the beach. The best time to go is in the early evening when the stores have re-opened. The early evening window shoppers come out in pairs and do their due passi stroll up and down the Corso. While I love stopping to look in designer boutiques, cafes, art galleries, my attention is usually held by impromptu soccer matches that start up in the piazza among local children, groups of old men standing about discussing things old men do in any country, co-eds who giggle and strut and general people-watching.