Nino and Adriana were wonderful to us. They greeted us with hugs. They planned the week out for us so they could show us their part of the world. They did a great job.
This is the town centre.
Gelato. I have to say that gelato is nothing like the ice-cream we get here in Canada. The gelato is the best I've ever tasted. I loved it.
This is a typical sight - laundry hangin out everywhere. They do not own dryers in Europe.
The Italian countryside - beautiful.
We travelled to many small towns. The towns were built up high on the hills. And the streets were made of stones. This is quite typical of these towns.
This is the world's narrowest alley.
Nino and Adriana took us out for lunch at a country restaurant. They are very proud of their food in Italy. The food served in this restaurant was grown in the area. It was very good.
I found it amazing how they beautified their stone and brick environment with exotic plants etc.
Here we are up at one of those towns on the top of the hills. 
This day we travelled to the world's oldest republic -
One of my favourite days in Italy was the day Nino and Adriana and myself drove into the countryside and searched for wild asparagus and then stopped for a quick visit with one of their friends. It was great to be close to the earth and smell the dirt and leaves. I always enjoy being out in the country and appreciating the beauty of the earth.
Civitanova is right along the ocean and so we had time at the beach.
They spend their time at the beach a little different than us. All along the beach are like beach clubs where there are beach chairs etc. They weren't quite open for the season yet but this is the club than Nino and Adriana belong to. When they come down to the beach this is where they come.
One day Nino planned for us to go to Rome. We took the bus to Rome. We left early in the morning and returned late at night.
This is the famous steps in Rome from that old black and white movie "Roman Holiday"
Finding our way in Rome
This fountain was my favourite sight in Rome. It was amazing. Now I know I have over used the word amazing but it really does describe this fountain.
The tradition at this fountain is that when you throw a penny into it you are guaranteed to come back to Rome someday. We threw in our pennies.
I asked these 2 police officers if I could take their pictures and the one officer motioned for me to join them and...
...have my picture taken with them. Believe it or not but we are all standing on the same level of pavement.
A War Memorial
There are incredible statues all throughout Rome. I took this one to give you some perspective, but...
...to get a true perspective of size I've taken one with David in it too.
All throughout the old city of Rome there are ruins. The current city of Rome has been built upon these ruins all over and they have unearthed these ruins. It's pretty cool.
This picture I took because it symbolized what we consider to be Italian. The land of true lovers. These lovers are resting in the cool of the shade just outside the Colesseum.
Here's the Colesseum
Vatican City
I didn't get the whole story on this stone but people would come up to the stone in one of the cathedrals and touch the stone.
A famous statue.
The cathedrals were breath takingly beautiful and ornate.
Gelato again and again and again. We loved it.
While we were in Rome we had some showers. This was really the only rain that we had the whole month that we were in the UK and Europe.
This is the river in Rome. As you can see the lack of rainfall has affected the level of the river. It is very low.
Having breakfast out on the deck at Nino and Adriana's.
Feeling that Italian Sun
One of the great times we had in Italy were the meals we shared with Nino and Adriana. Adriana is a fabulous cook and we were treated with some true Italian meals. Over the meals we had many conversations. We communicated with Nino using English and us using rudimentary Italian or sometimes I would use French if I couldn't find the Italian word. As the week progressed we understood each other more and more and were able to discuss many topics of interest.
Being hosted in Italy by Nino and Adriana was wonderful because we got to do so many things that tourists just don't get to do ie searching for wild asparagus and then here - I got to watch Adriana make pasta from scratch. There is something universal watching women prepare the meal for their family. 
We loved our times in Italy. They were amazing. Thank you Nino and Adrian. We look forward to you coming to our part of Canada.
