One Day. One Bus. Five Stops.

This annual bus trip is such an enormous undertaking, we find it daunting. Up and out of Viterbo by 8 am and gone till almost  8 pm. An overview:  19 students, three professors, our guide, her son, our artist in residence, and one professor's spouse pile in to our big coach bus and head to our first stop: Cerveteri. This is a coastal town where there are Etruscan burial sites. It's blazing hot, dry, and the sounds of cicadas is crazy-making. I've been so many times that I went to the new caffè there and had two cappucinos as they blasted Coldplay. I did NOT bring my laptop and was forced to read and do crossword puzzles. I have a mind-blowlingly successful time relaxing. I could do this for hours, and do, sometimes. But I also swing to the other extreme and don't stop working. Fred calls me a vegetable peeler. He's referring to a story he heard once but I can't remember the details. Fred -- if you're reading this, remind me and I'll tell it.

Second stop is an Etruscan museum in Tarquinia.  Then the beach. Then a crazy park with zany sculptures. Again, I've been to all of these so many times that I wandered and shot pictures and settled into caffès all day. Not the healthiest of nutritional intake on this day!

First, scenes from Cerveteri:

These students look exactly like groups in the Louvre looking at the Mona Lisa.

But it was just a very well-loved kitty.

Sexy cat.

I love how one ear is on alert. Never let your guard down.

This tree is at the very top of the main drag in the center of Tarquinia. It's a good ten-minute walk to the top. And worth it.

The view back down the hill.



And the view the other way.






At the base of that tree is this little "monument."
It says: Here everything is still, enchanted in my memory.  Even the wind." By Vincenzo Cardarelli.
Here's more on him: http://www.niederngasse.it/rubriche/recensioni/il-vento-di-cardarelli-da-una-corrispondenza-privata-0




I got this gelato here at the top of the hill. Biscotti and cherry. I took a chance. Usually I get vanilla or chocolate chip.
It's really hard to take a chance when you allow yourself so few opportunities to eat gelato! But it didn't disappoint.

Now more walking around the other part of town.

These vines just hang in limbo, reaching out into the street above my head.

Tonight is a festa in Tarquinia. We know the set-up all too well! The theme is melon.

On tonight's menu:  olives with fennel, maniche (a pasta which translates to "sleeves," and you'll see why) with matriciana sauce, sausage and ventresca (which is a type of rolled up bacon—an Umbrian thing—which translates to "streaky," probably because of how bacon is streaked with fat),  beans with sellero -- not a clue what sellero is (not celery), fried potatoes, water, wine, and cantaloupe. All for only 12 euro!

Maniche -- sleeves pasta.

Ran into Fred drawing, as I often do!

My favorite car. The Fiat 500, or Cinque Cento. It never gets old seeing one --- the best scenario being when it is driven by a well dressed older couple. I've never been able to pull out my camera fast enough to capture it. The other day Fred and I saw a woman driving one whose huge hair reached the top of the inside of the car.

Next stop: the beach. SOOOOO different from what we're used to in NE. Or California. Or Florida, or Myrtle Beach. I think those are the only ocean beaches in the States I've seen. 

It's all so different from the medieval city we're used to. 

Much of it is lined with private clubs or restaurants/bars which charge a fee for an umbrella and chaise.

Funny tree that looks like a giant pineapple.

And this is the part open to the public.

For better or for worse :)

My escape :)  I swam in the Tyrrhenian Sea once. I can say I did it.  (And by the way, that's just a fancy way of saying part of the Mediterranean.)

Eating out gets old, even in Italy. So we were happy to sit on our balcony with fresh arugula salad with tuna and mozzarella, and potato and rosemary pizza from Pizzeria DJ, our favorite guy down the street. 

In case you were counting stops, there were two more --- the Garden of the Tarot and the lovely town of Tuscania. No pics from either stop!