New York, New York

It's taken me a while, but here are some pictures of our quick trip to New York City.  Mike and I have decided that we need to go back some day and stay longer.  It was a short trip.  We rode the Amtrak train from Alexandria, Virginia to Penn Station in New York on July 4.  We walked around a little, ate a tasty lunch at Bryant Park, then went and checked in at our hotel.

Mike, Beth, and Scott enjoying lunch.

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn at Times Square.  It was really nice.  We got a room on the 12th floor because we didn't want to be too close to the street noise.  A good thing since the hotel is next door to a fire station.  In fact, it is the fire station that President Obama visited after Osama bin Ladin was killed.

Times Square

After settling in at the hotel we went for a walk through Central Park.  It really is a nice park in the middle of a huge city.  It was more crowded than usual because of the holiday.

Beth and Scott in Central Park

Mike and Mary in Central Park

Before going back to the hotel we stopped in at a local pub for a couple of beers.  They tasted really good because it was really hot out.  After resting at the hotel for a bit we went to eat at John's Pizzeria on Times Square.  As good a pizza as a person can get.  And the restaurant is really unique also.  We went back to Times Square to see the lights at night then headed back to the hotel.  We watched the fireworks on TV while listening to them outside the hotel.

Times Square

Times Square at night

 The next day we took a bus tour of downtown NYC.  It was very interesting and gave us a feel for the layout of that part of the city.  After lunch we headed back to Penn Station to catch the train back to Alexandria.  It was fast, but a lot of fun. We'll have to visit again someday..

Ceramics made by school children who saw the Twin Towers fall

Empire State Building

Back in the USA

After over 24 hours in airports and airplanes, we finally made it back to the good old USA.  Needless to say we were exhausted, so I am just now finishing my Italy blog.

Arezzo piazza where we drove in old town.

We left Cortona on Thursday, June 30 and returned our rental car to Arezzo.  The hail storm the night before had really dinged the car up, but since it wasn't our fault we didn't have to pay.   Getting the car back to the rental agency turned into quite an ordeal.  Mike took a wrong turn and in our efforts to get back where we needed to be we ended up in the old part of town at the piazza of the duomo.  I don't think we were supposed to be driving there, but once you get on the one way streets, you just have to keep going in that general direction.  The good news about ending up in that piazza was that we knew where we were and how to get back where we needed to be.

After returning the car, we caught the train to Rome.  We had decided to spend one night at Fiumicino in a hotel at the Mediterranean so that it would be easier to get to the airport on Friday to catch our flight home.  On the train ride we saw many of the places we had visited in Tuscany and Umbria and got a final view of Cortona up on the hill.

Final view of Cortona from the train

 We hired a taxi at the train station in Rome to take us to our hotel.  We thought that would be easiest, and it was but it was also very expensive.  Lesson learned.  The ride was quite an experience though.  Fast driving on crowded roads with motorcycles driving between the lanes of traffic.  Motorcycle drivers in Italy have no fear.

We stayed at the Hotel Del Mare by the beach.  It wasn't a fancy hotel, but was clean, had a decent breakfast, and was right on the sea.  This was our only chance to view the sea while on our trip.  It was worth it .  We ate at an excellent seafood restaurant, waded in the Mediterranean, and saw a beautiful sunset.

Sunset on the Mediterrean

Mary by the Sea

Mike by the sea

As it turned out, we made the right choice staying close to the airport.  We took a shuttle to the airport 3 hours before our flight was scheduled to take off.  He let us off at the correct terminal, then we waited in different lines for over 2 1/2 hours.  If we hadn't gotten to the airport so early we would have missed our flight.

So after a day back in the USA, some final thoughts about our trip to Italy.  Our choice to not do any type of tour was absolutely the correct one as well as our choice of where to stay.  I am sure we missed some of the typical tourist places to visit, but we really didn't care about that.  We didn't so much tour Tuscany and Umbria as learn about the people and culture of these places.  We so enjoyed being able to set our own schedule and decide daily what we wanted to do.  And Cortona is the best town we visited.  It is a stop on tours, but most tourists stay in only the lower part of town.  Plus the town still has a small town feel.  The residents sit out on their doorsteps of an evening visiting with their neighbors.  We loved the local shops with goods made in the region.


To those who have been reading about our adventures, I hope you have enjoyed my daily posts.  I have enjoyed sharing with you.  If you ever have the opportunity to visit Italy, be sure to take time to stay a while  in Cortona.  Until next time, arrivederci.