Back to reality

Why are vacations so short? One week, two weeks...it matters little. It seems we always come home to mounds of work and within hours it feels like we never left. A few highlights:

Rog, we aren't in Kansas anymore...

View from our bedroom. Something's off...where are the pigs? The dead apple tree? The manure pile?

Pretty certain the Ohio night sky never looks like this.

Is this even real? 

Basilica of Santa Croce (1294), otherwise known as the Temple of the Italian Glories. It contains the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Dante, among others.

Getting some redecorating ideas for our entryway while in Orvieto.

Now where is my chisel?

Bolsena, looks a little different from lakeside resort towns in the US.

Civita di Bagnoregio, one of the most beautiful places, what remains is over 2500 years old, well worth the climb.

View from the footbridge. Easy to see why wind and water have caused much of it to crumble down the mountain. Also easy to see why less than 20 people live there. A loooong walk to the bus stop.

Says Luna (goat), "Mom, I think I'd like it here!" At a Sardinian Sheep farm in Tuscany.

A visit to the creamery where we reviewed basic cheesemaking techniques with our gracious host.

A peek into one of many aging rooms. Pecorino 5 ways: fresh, tomato paste washed, wine washed, red pepper and truffle.

A light tasting. That's a lot of cheese for 7 people.

Fresh ricotta.

Vino in Montepulciano.

The Roman Colosseum at dusk.

Retracing Caesar's steps on roads that date back to the founding of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. And we still can't build a road that lasts 5 years??

Goodbye fantasy life!

A welcome home with blooming hibiscus, healthy happy goats, dogs, cats, chickens and pigs. We have the best farm sitters, for whom we are forever grateful...Thanks!

Hurry, before the inspiration wears off and post-vaca-depression sets in...homemade semolina pasta.

With fresh marinara with this year's first basket of ripe tomatoes and basil from the garden.