curtains up at

TEATRO ALLA SCALA, MILAN







LA SCALA 





IS BREATHTAKING!!

lots of great energy 


just sitting here taking it all in

came with three friends - 
ANN and LISA - old friends, 

and SYDNEY - new friend


took train and stayed the night at
THE WINDSOR HOTEL
walking distance to train station
which is very convenient






this is ANN

this is the LOBBY - SO ELEGANT

and this is SYDNEY

THE STUNNING HOUSE - THE BOX IN MIDDLE OF BACK BALCONY IS FOR ROYALTY

THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR ALL OF US

WE ARE ATTENDING THE 3:00 SUNDAY PERFORMANCE
OF

JEWELS
by
GEORGE  BALANCHINE

MUSIC BY
IGOR STRAVINSKI

ANOTHER GLANCE AROUND BEFORE THE LAST JEWEL - DIAMONDS

the only time we could take pictures - THE FOURTH CURTAIN CALL

LA SCALA, WHICH HAS JUST BEEN COMPLETELY RENOVATED, IS ITALY'S PREMIER THEATRE AND ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS IN THE WORLD.

built on the site of the 14th century churh of SANTA MARIA ALLA SCALA, this world famous theater was commissioned from piermarini by maria theresa of austria, following the fire that destroyed the old TEATRO REGIO DUALE

INAUGURATED IN 1778, IT BECAME A PLACE OF ENCOUNTER AND ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE RULING CLASSES OF MILAN AND THEIR SERVANTS.

the roof was rebuilt after being destroyed in the bombing of 1943 and the theatre has been restructured and enlarged over the last decade.

IT HOSTS THE FINEST THEATRE PERFORMANES IN THE WORLD, AND TODAY PRESENTS A SEASON OF OPERA, BALLET AND CLASSICAL CONCERTS OF SUPREME EXCELLENCE.

THE UNASSUMING BUILDING THAT HAS HOUSED THE WORLD'S GREATEST OPERAS AND PERFORMANCES

HOLDS WONDERFUL ENERGY
most of attendees were tourists who were as excited as we four

the air was titillating the entire time

and our reward for sitting most quietly and politely at this MOST IMPRESSIVE, important theater. . . 

GELATO 

yogurt and black cherry

and strawberry and lemon



at a wonderful wonderful place run by a great couple who loved what they did - 

made gelato to make every customer want to come back for their gelato

even though there are 100's of others in the city!!!!!

and then walked back to the hotel 

past that daunting

cathedral . . . .



MILAN IS MEMORABLE!!!!!

MILAN TO LAKE COMO

my brother greg flew into MILAN so i took a train and met him there

we ventured to the center for a great lunch in BRERE an artsy area with many shops and restaurants - great energy

then walked farther to the CATHEDRAL and the GALLERIA

the cathedral is the third largest gothic cathedral in the world

on the summit which you can see in middle of picture stands the MADONNINA, an emblem of milan

no building can exceed it 

and, yes, that is a electronic billboard on the side of it - ohmy

galleria vittorio emanuele II  

176 architects participated in a competition to build a modern gallery dedicated to the king who had united the city with the kingdom of italy 

it is gorgeous - 
next to the cathedral

we took the underground from statione centrale to statione garilbaldi to catch the train to como

and here we are in the best of all seasons - spring

it was sunny every day greg was here - such a joy

we are walking along the lake to get to funicular ride up the mountain to get a bird's-eye view - fun

and here we are at the top looking for a place to eat & to enjoy the view

found these along waterfront - look a bit silly but also like a bit of fun 

WE FOUND A GREAT PLACE TO STAY JUST BLOCKS FROM THE LAKE - FIRST PLACE WE STOPPED - USED TO BE A CONVENT AND STILL HAS THAT SAME LAYOUT 

SO GO UP ON ELEVATOR TO FLOOR ONE, DOWN THE HALL, TURN LEFT AND GO DOWN ANOTHER HALL, ACROSS A SMALL PARLOR, TURN RIGHT AND GO DOWN ANOTHER HALL, TURN LEFT AND GO UP 6 STEPS, DOWN A HALL, TURN LEFT, UP THREE STEPS AND THERE IS THE ROOM - OHMY
CALLED THREE KINGS IN ENGLISH

 these pictures are taken from the 
slow boat that takes two hours to get us from COMO to BELLAGIO

just breathtaking - a hazy day but just makes it seem all the more surreal

mountains, villas, churches, waterfulls, villages - and quiet

but cool to cold so i was only one on outside of boat

did not want to miss one eye-full

we stopped at many stations along the way to pick up or drop off - 

all attendants in uniform - 
all stations were uniform

it was all so sweet and calm and pristine

what was there not to like - it was hazy and dreamy

and here we are at VILLA CARLOTTA - WHAT A TREAT!!

THIS PLACE WAS ONE STOP BEFORE OUR FINAL DESTINATION OF BELLAGIO

every time we turned a corner another blast of color

it could not have been more striking and glorious

everything is in bloom - it is breathtaking

no matter where you turned it was gorgeous

they also had a citrus garden, a bamboo garden , etc. etc.

we then took boat that got us to BELLAGIO in 5 minutes

what a fun place

we shopped 
and
we ate lunch
and
we climbed
and
we shopped
and we shopped
and
we climbed
and
we shopped 
and then 
we ate an ice cream treat

and then we went back to COMO on THE FAST BOAT which only took 45 minutes
WHAT A WONDERFUL COUPLE OF DAYS - ANOTHER ITALIAN EXPERIENCE!!!!!

A BIT MORE TUSCANY

TOO DEAR TO MISS - ROSES ALONG POOL FENCE

BUSHES WHOSE TOP LEAVES TURNED RED EDGING YARD

MILES AND VISTAS AND MILES AND VISTAS OF VINEYARDS
VILLA IS ON SMALL HILL SURROUNDED BY VINEYARDS AND OLIVE TREES
IMPRUNETA IS 12-15 MINUTES AWAY BY CAR
IMPRUNETA IS 30-40 MINUTES BY BUS FROM FLORENCE

THE VILLA - DONATELLA AND ANDREA LIVE THROUGH OPEN DOOR WITH AWNING
ANGIE AND DOUG RENTED UPSTAIRS FOR 6 MONTHS - REACHED BY STEPS YOU SEE
MALE PERMANENTLY RENTS DOWNSTAIRS ON RIGHT
UPSTAIRS ON LEFT IS OTHER APARTMENT FOR SHORT OR LONG TERM
A TRUE DELIGHT - SECLUDED BUT EASY ACCESS

UNDER THE TUSCANY SUN

CIAO!
JUST SPENT THE DAY IN THE ITALIAN COUNTRYSIDE WITH LISA VISITING DONATELLA AND HER HUSBAND ANDREA 






DONATELLA is the best ITALIAN COOK EVER - ate the LARGEST and BEST ITALIAN MEAL ever












as we begin we have whole porcino mushrooms marinated in olive oil and black olives

and yummy tomatoes and green or black olives and peppers on great bread

as well as crostini with white creamy cheese with chives on some

and another crostini with all kinds of minced vegetables and mayo and olive oil with a spicy flavor - oh dear
 

 followed by a delectable
ARTICHOKE LASAGNA


i could have eaten my weight in that dish









 





 even the BREAD was exceptional as some of it had salt - traditionally TUSCAN BREAD is unsalted as its main use is to sop up what is left on the plate or bowl

the bottom dish is pecorino cheese topped with mushrooms marinated in olive oil with specks of hot pepper - very very tasty
i had found it at the wine/cheese/meat shop in my neighborhood



lisa is a vegetarian so donatella had fixed her green beans with wonderful tomato-y sauce it was cooked in - so flavorful
and someone told donatella i loved turkey so i have delicious turkey with rosemary and sage - i could have eaten both of those dishes all day













followed by a choice of four of their CHEESES, TOMATOES that were as sweet as any fruit, and BEANS inside a long green pod that looked identical to a pea pod but was larger

the beans inside are best eaten with cheese - a yummy yummy combination

LAST BUT NOT LEAST 

we had delicious CHEESECAKE that lisa had brought and a heaping bowl of sugared STRAWBERRIES for DESSERT
cannot believe i did not take a picture - it was so good i must have dug right in - even after all the other!!!!



then we went outside for a walk to enjoy the scenery and the absolutely perfect spring day 

and the view from their hill - ahhhh

the small walkway down to the olive orchard

donatella's ROSEMARY plants

AND her SAGE with another type of ROSEMARY

OLIVE TREES, MEDITERRANEAN CYPRESS, the GREEN OF SPRING, HILLS dotted with VILLAS - AHH SPRING - AHHHHH ITALY

more olive, more green, more country

donatella and andrea own an orchard with 90 OLIVE TREES

LISA AND I both went back to florence with a bottle of olive oil from the latest harvest - how lucky we are

the little yellow flowers are almost closed up but earlier looked just like our dandelions - andrea said the name they give them in italy means PEE IN THE BED - fun

amen to a grand day