Italy 2011…The Villa

I promise this is the last chapter of our Italian adventure…for this year anyway!  Well after our fabulous “groupo” took off, we had a brief but lovely four days in Florence (here a view from the roof garden atop the Hotel Grand Baglioni),

with our beautiful niece Fanny wherein Roger toured her through streets and monuments, and we had coffees and nice dinners and laughing…

and then Fan took off to go back to Spain and we hopped a train to Terontola

which featured this mysterious bit of information:

We soon picked up our little rental car and met up with our arriving friends, and in a tiny diesel motorcade we proceeded to the Villa Forconi.  On the way there down the long winding road, we had this view of Lago di Trasimeno.

And then the elctric gate problem,

the house and pool (!!!)

the various living rooms for TV or sitting

and the views…this one from the balcony in our room:

After settling in (and discovering the BEST bathroom EVER!!)

We started a week of touring, cooking, swimming,

and fun.  We visited hill towns including Bagna Vignone with a Roman bath mid-town

with a lovely little herb garden at one side

the perfect locale for a nice lunch…and let me recommend:

Our days were spent touring and then we would repair to the villa for a swim, a drink and the wonderful dinner hour, made so much fun by having a terrific kitchen were all six of us could cook:

with the dining table right near by:

and cook we did!

and then..YUM:

and tho there was occasional media…the villa had wifi(!)…it NEVER got in the way of the food:

and then the lunches in Cortona

San Sepulchro (where we went to see the Piero paintings…)

Gads…it looks like all we did was eat!!  Oh and there was a grill there too…

and next to the grill this implement…reminding us of home…

…and then…the inevitable departure was imminent…

arrivederla Villa Forconi and amici…

back to Firenze for one last night

and then off home…this one’s for Mike: