last stops

Sirmione....we made a detour to this beautiful little lake town located on Lake Garda. A place where Italians vacation. A sweet village full of shops and a castle too. I had bruschetta for lunch and snagged mom her empty wine bottle for her bottle tree.

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Castello di Tagliolo....another road trip this one to check out a winery in a castle perched on the side of a hill. 500 years of wine making in that castle. We tasted some red, and some white, and some dessert wine. It was a neat place and glad we got off the beaten path.

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Genoa....Maurizio took us on a day trip to his home town. We shopped in the street market picking up scarves, ties, cashmere. We made a stop at a local jewelry shop and I bought my "mighty fine Italian purchase" - a new watch. I love seeing it and thinking about being in Italy. We initially had a difficult time finding a restaurant for lunch because it was Monday and that is a common day off in Italy. But, I think it was meant to be because we found a restaurant on the sea that was full of locals. We ate a delicious lunch of pasta with shrimp.

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Our afternoon in Genoa was perfect. We walked along the waterfront and into "old" Genoa (12 to 14th century) in Christopher Columbus's old neighborhood. There were lots of little shops to browse in, old buildings to check out and some of the best gellato of the whole trip.

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Turin.....a trip to Turin was a last minute decision. (location of the 2006 Winter Olympics) Our main destination was the Egyptian Museum. We were amazed at how much Egyptian history was tucked away in Turin, Italy. It is the largest museum of Egyptian artifacts outside of Cairo.

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We also did some shopping in another outdoor market. I bought a couple pieces of stoneware. I love pottery! As usual, I wish I had bought more. There were beautiful stands with flowers, meats, and this fabulous table of cheese. We had a piece made from sheep milk. It was so strong and so good. Kenny didn't love it.