Anna Halprin , Birth of Venus , Bolzano , Botticelli , Carezza , Castle Oliveto , Christopher Columb

Anna Halprin , Birth of Venus , Bolzano , Botticelli , Carezza , Castle Oliveto , Christopher Columbus , Cinque Terra , Cultural Tourism , Culture las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites , Dayton Ohio , Edward Breen , Edward Focke Breen , Family Relationships , Fiorentino , Florence , Florence American Cemetery and Memorial , Genoa , Gondola , Grand Circle Travel , Italy , John Ferneding , Juliet's balcony , Lucky Eddie , Luigi Arvada , Michelangelo , Mill Valley Film Festival , Musical Angel , Orvieto , Otsi , Painting , Palio , Pisa , Rome , San Gimignano , Sculpture , Siena , Stevie Nicks , The Contrada of the Forest , The Dolomites , The Italian Riviera , The Renaissance , Travel , Tuscany , Uffizi Gallery , UNESCO , Venice , Verona , Via dell' Amore , Walter Bayley , Warren Hellman
We travel for many reasons adventure and renewal among them.  Most often the real gift is a change of perspective.   I recently went for a two-week tour of Northern Italy with my mother, Milly Hubler , a well-seasoned traveler who has visited over one hundred countries. In many ways her identity has been defined by the trips she has taken.   For those who have the health las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites and resources to do so, travel is important especially for those who are older. The stimulation and connection to the wider world that travel provides seems to sustain and reinvigorate those who have the energy and enthusiasm for exploration and learning about other cultures.
Having a good tour leader also makes all the difference as we did with Luigi Arveda, program escort las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites on our recent trip (Sept. 17 Oct. 1, 2012) with Grand Circle Travel to Tuscany, The Italian Riviera and The Alps.    In addition to being thoughtful and attentive to all the details, his philosophical bent and sense of humor added to the enjoyment of our time in Italy .  Not only did he lead us to so many places, but he always encouraged us to look and to make our own discoveries.
We began our journey in Rome .  I found it hopelessly tantalizing to be there for all of 24-hours so recommend getting there a few days early to recover las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites from jet lag and explore on one s own or for the pre-trip extension.    After arriving and checking in to the Hotel Victoria , we took a whirlwind city tour and from the top deck of the open bus felt like drunken sailors on a spree snapping photos of over eighty major sites.  Truly astonishing to see the many architectural and cultural landmarks so thoroughly integrated into this bustling modern city around one corner, Vatican City and around the next, The Roman Coliseum.
Rome exemplifies an ever-continuing evolution with so many things of enduring beauty created out of the ruins of a different time with its storied past.  Walking through the Piazza della Repubblica on our way back, we stopped to visit the first of many astoundingly beautiful cathedrals, the Church of St. Mary of the Angels and Martyrs .  One enters through the ancient Roman wall into what was once the great central las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites hall of the baths transformed in the 16th century into a church designed by Michelangelo.
As we walked around the church I noticed many of the women were wearing these transparent butterfly scarves  which immediately engaged my curiosity since the butterfly las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites as a symbol of transformation has appeared in different forms in so many of my life s journeys.   I wondered if I was merely experiencing a new Italian style trend?  So I stopped to ask two young Italian girls why they were wearing the scarves, and they simply told me that a man at the entrance was handing them out to cover the bare legs and shoulders of the women so they could enter the church in a respectful manner.  An elegant and practical solution to a timeless problem, las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites none-the-less las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites the appearance of so many colorful butterflies in this place of centuries-old worship seemed like a positive omen to me.
I quickly learned that the fusion of style and practicality is part of the uniquely Italian approach to life.   I noticed las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites so many young attractive girls in Rome, fashionably dressed with high heels driving Vespas , the ubiquitous Italian motorcycle, with their long hair trailing in the wind.     All over Italy we would see parking lots full of vespas next to the beautiful churches and historic landmarks.
las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites Soon we were on our way to Florence , saying goodbye to our classy hotel just inside las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites the old Roman walls near the Villa Borghese , Rome s Central Park with beautiful gardens las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites and tall cypress trees surrounding a sumptuous art gallery in a cardinal las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites s mansion with an Etruscan Museum.    I did not need to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain to know that I would someday like to return to Rome to explore   All the main roads in Italy really do lead into Rome as we discovered as we headed out on the Via Compania through beautiful high-walled neighborhoods into the Tuscan countryside.  The Italians have a reputation for being creative drivers although a recent points system for traffic violations has done much to keep everyone civilized on the highways.
We stopped at Orvieto , a beautiful medieval hillside town just off the highway in Tuscany.  A short ride on a funicular and a shuttle bus took us into the main piazza where the imposing Cathedral Duomo s towering facade set the tone.  Beautiful shops selling brightly painted local ceramics lined the streets of the old town, now largely pedestrian walkways.  We had a panini for lunch Italian-style, buying a made-to-order sandwich of fresh mozzarella and tomato to eat while wandering, afterwards tasting the local olive oil and Chianti from a family-run business.
I bought a little cutting board made from the local olive wood and a mezzaluna , a special Italian kitchen dicer in the shape of a half-moon with a curved las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites blade and two round wooden handles.  Now when I chop parsley or garlic, I will think of Italy and remember that It is all about essence , particularly in relation to food.    I was surprised to find that even in the auto-grilles in the middle of the highways where we stopped on our longer traveling days, one would find chefs making las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites to order custom dishes like risotto their fast food made from scratch right in front of us and replenished frequently.
In the center of San Gimignano another las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites enchanting medieval town with fourteen towers, we enjoyed gelato made by an Italian world cup soccer star in the most enticing of deep and unusual flavors.  I tried saffron and vin santo gelati, which had the flavor of the sweet dessert holy wine .   I also learned that the pasta that looks like a bow-tie, in Italy is called farfalle , meaning butterfly wings.
In Florence at the modern Hotel Londra , we stayed a short walk from all the historic and architectural treasures.   Our local guide Simone Giovannoni gave a lecture on the art of the renaissance.     He told us how during the 1400s the merchants, wealthy through trade, became las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites the bankers of the larger Italian city-states like Florence and Siena.  They began to compete with each other to see who could build the most beautiful churches and make the most inspiring art particularly in the realms of architecture, painting and sculpture.   The ruins of ancient Rome, still very much visible throughout Italy, have continuously reminded all who live or visit of their glorious past. The artistic renaissance that flowered during this time was a kind of rebirth of the beauty of the earlier classical forms.
The next day we had much to think about when we saw Michelangelo s famous statue of David and his powerfully unfinished Prisoners at the Accademia Museum in Florence.   One could see all the emotions the young David was experiencing as he readied himself to kill Goliath determination and pensiveness at the same time masterfully sculpted into the marble, as he readied his sling and shifted his weight preparing las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites to fire his shot.
As we walked the streets las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites of Florence, we joined las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites the throngs of people marveling at all its architectural wonders.  To be a tourist in this stunning town is to feel like an astronaut landed on planet las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites renaissance. At the Uffizi Gallery , we looked in reverence at the paintings particularly Botticelli s Birth of Venus, an image that resonates with me as a woman who seems to be continually coming into my own.
Ever conscious of these extraordinary accomplishments, I think of our own American culture and how it could benefit from more of a Renaissance outlook. I wonder how we can move away from a culture of media images that are often violent and superficial to a culture that shapes everything that it does in its most glorious possible form?
Beyond Florence, there seems to be a symmetry of beauty throughout Italy, particularly in the Tuscan countryside where all is harmonious and the loveliness of the landscape cannot be over-described.    The glorious Tuscan light shines through the grapevines and olive trees planted in perfect rows on hillsides among the earth-based colors of the Tuscan farmhouses and agritourismos where guests may stay. With not a billboard or piece of litter to be seen anywhere, our advertising images in the United States seem to be a curious anomaly in comparison.
The Italians also seem to know how to express las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites their appreciation to others.  We experienced this directly on a visit to the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial , one of the highlights of our time in Tuscany.  The cemetery site was a gift in perpetuity from the government of Italy to the American people for the soldiers who lost their lives during World War II in the Allied campaign liberating Italy. Managed by the American Battle Monuments Commission,   outside the memorial is a beautiful sculpture on a tall pillar The Spirit of Peace bearing olive branches las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites as it hovers over the graves of the fallen soldiers. The beauty of the cemetery is astounding with the symmetry of its headstones, Latin crosses las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites and Stars of David laid out in harmonious relationship to the memorial itself.
One of the amazing things about visiting las vegas hotels with jacuzzi suites another country and learning about another culture is the capacity on