Roadtrip! (Italy Day 5)

Hitting the road in a nine passenger Mercedes van (with only five passengers) is an awesome way to spend a morning in Italy. I highly recommend it. We drove through the northern country side headed toward the teeny tiny town of Monte Bello, on the outskirts of Voghera and Pavia. As we drove, scenes/scenery from The Count of Monte Cristo flashed in my mind. It was so beautiful to drive by these huge brick homes, and fields and abandoned farms!

Along the way we made a pit stop in Verona, most famous as the setting of Romeo and Juliet. We entered the Arena through the Castelvecchio Museum archway (below).

Looking at the Arena, I couldn't help but think of Russel Crowe in Gladiator, nor avoid the sense of history and time, both past and present, that seemed to radiate off the bricks.

We ate lunch at a cafe nearby and took in the calm but constant buzz of tourists and locals as we gazed in shop windows and, of course, ate Gelato. I loved the stores! I'm not a big vacation shopper (besides unique things you can only find there), but I could easily spend a day shopping in Vienna. And the SHOES!!!! Ohh the shoes. They call to me. I need ear plugs.

Of course we needed proof that I was in Verona.

The boys wouldn't go near these people, so I braved them alone. Yes, the man behind the mask was actually making kissing sounds. Does that count as getting some Italian action?

We arrived in Monte Bella in the late afternoon, which heightened it's already apparent beauty with a mystical glow. Sitting in the middle of nothing but grape vines and gravel roads, we stayed at La Roveda, a farm (and sometimes private Bed and Breakfast) that overlooks the center of the village and conserves the remains of a fourteenth century fortress. The ruins include cellars where wine is produced today. It is owned by friends of friends so we were lucky enough to stay there! Jasper calls it "the castle hotel", and it really was. We had dinner with friends down the road, and I walked back alone with the moon as my flashlight.

This is the view from my bedroom window.

The boys spent most of their time in the yard.
I've never seen a more naturally lovely play area.

I spent most of my time taking pictures. :)

Yet another movie reminder....Ever After.

I feel like I'm in a movie right now, one of the Fantasy genre.