Italy, Tuesday, Day 7

Because today is July 4, I'll just skip ahead on our trip a bit to Day 7, when we boarded the bus in Sorrento to travel to Orvieto. It was terribly hot--our guide, Mick, said he thought it was near 100. From the comfort of our air conditioned bus we viewed neat farms and vineyards and ancient towns tucked and carved into the mountains for protection from predators long forgotten, or absorbed.

We stopped around noon at a country estate that had a winery that I believe went back to the middle ages, and the farm house and vineyards had pretty much been destroyed during WWII. It was in the Anzio area where there is a huge American cemetery (Sicily Rome American Cemetery), supposedly, somewhere in the hazy distance (it was terribly hot), our hostess pointed. The brother-in-law of a h.s. classmate of mine was killed there at age 18, Henry (Junior) Wilburn. It was a beautiful, peaceful site--you'd never know the grief, pain and horror of Spring 1944 that was all around. So in the wine tasting under the cool trees overlooking the vineyards, we toasted Junior and all his fallen Allied comrades, and even his enemies, also young boys--most under 20--of many countries and regions and nationalities (Poles particularly revisit this area as they lost many here). This is July 4 and it's important to remember freedom isn't free, it's very costly. The generations that remember this war are passing away, and today's young people can't imagine such a world event. So to all the Juniors of that war and all wars, thank you.

We stopped for a delicious lunch that included tender white beans in a tomato sauce.



The restored farmhouse where the owners greeted us and served champagne

Overlooking the glorious countryside, now peaceful