It poured rain today, but I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to be ‘stuck’ than Hotel Elena. Set up laptop in Cafe & FINALLY answered some business & personal emails while the wind howled & the waves crashed. Amazing views out the big windows of the Cafe. Read more

A gorgeous day on the Ligurian coast! Although my Hotel Elena in Recco offers a wonderful breakfast & terrific views of the Recco Harbor, I wanted to get OUT early this morning and walk to the nearby plaza to experience the people and local color. At La Perla Cafe I ordered a double cappuccino and Read more

Story by Sam Q. Bass, Thurs., Sept. 12th: YESTERDAY, while Sharon was out painting, I spent the afternoon walking around old Siena. I was fortunate to join the last VIP tour to the very TOP of the Siena Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Siena). The cathedral is a medieval church, dedicated from its earliest days Read more

Sadly, Sam began his return trip to Raleigh early this morning. He will fly from Florence to Paris to Detroit, and finally Raleigh. I will be lonely without him the next few days. I'm especially grateful for his sacrifice of time to create content for this blog almost every night! While I readied my canvas Read more

First day plans were slightly altered by rain, but we still had a great day touring the countryside for some good painting spots. We have a few shots to share of old Siena from motoring thorough and stopping between rain showers. Read more

After a quick trip to our favorite art store and good bye to our friends at the Hotel Il Guelfo Bianco we were off to the airport to get our car. And a bit later, following one wrong turn on the autostrade, we were on our way to Siena. Read Read more

The last full day in Florence was a wonderful resting one with casual sightseeing and wandering. After a leisurely breakfast checking email and catching up on loose ends, we headed up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo to get a panoramic view of the city. We took lots of pictures, Sharon Read more