Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Rushin' to Russia Travelers

Here are the folks who are Rushin' to Russia July 30 - August 9, 2010, updated 'til it's final.

David Dornfeld
Janice Kreitz
Mary Kreitz
David Milkovich
Barbara Weinstein
Florence Weinstein
Paul Weinstein
Steve Weinstein
Jim Wittenmyer
Barbara Winkler

As of April 29

ITALY

What a great trip. Who wouldn't enjoy the water city of Venice, Renaissance-drenched Florence, and the complex flavors of Rome? We also stopped in a number of small towns. Fair Verona is famous as the city of Romeo and Juliet but I liked best the intact Roman arena. The Ducal Palace in Mantua was fabulous and the cathedral housed an important relic, supposedly the blood-soaked dirt gathered from the foot of the cross by (St.) Longino, the Roman soldier who speared Jesus. The Assisi of St. Francis is a charming hillside medieval town and Orvieto sits atop a cliff so steep we took a cable car to visit. We visited a winery isolated in the Umbrian hills where thousands of bottles age gently in grottos burrowed into the hills by monks 800 years ago. A highlight was the night in a charming inn at the village of Torgiano where we ate in a co-op owned by area residents and serving wine and food produced locally. What a culinary experience!
Italy remains one of the world's best destinations, handling hordes of tourists efficiently and still delivering the experience of a venerable, life-embracing, joyous culture with glorious layerings of history, gift-wrapped in beautiful natural surroundings. We all loved it!