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Off the Beaten Path: Capo di Ponte
Another little town we happened upon unexpectedly, Having left Lago Iseo and trying to further up toTesimo in northern Italy we happened upon this small village. 
There was nothing special about it, but upon further investigation we found the hotel Cumili in the center of town that just opened. Next we found that there were prehistoric rock carvings close by.
It is an easy walk to get around the park. Signs are very informative and the views from high up on the hiltop are amazing. 
The styles are Tyrolean as we are approaching the northern area of Italy. Switzerland is a short ride from here. 
Map of Capo di Ponte and the surrounding area
As we left heading north top Tesimo, there was still snow in the hills as we passed a ski area. This photo was taken on July 14th, 2008.
Some more information from Wikipedia
The stone carvings of Val Camonica (Camonica Valley) are located in the Province of Brescia, Italy, and constitute the largest collections of prehistoric petroglyphsin the world.[2] The collection was recognized by Unesco in 1979 and was Italy’s first recognized World Heritage Site. Unesco has formally recognized more than 140,000 figures and symbols.
Posting from my iPad.
The WordPress app for desktop computers does not like to work with my Apple Photos application. I have found several workarounds for this, mainly by opening the Apple Mail app and starting a new message. I then open the media browser and 
select the album that has the photos for the post I am composing. My photo library has over 30,000 images. That is difficult to manage worth the media browser for mail. But the WordPress app for IOS meshes nicely. I am able to choose from any of my albums. This is so much easier that the other method.
Some photos taken last year in Firenze. Beautiful trip. Climbed up the campanelli and viewed the entire town. This year we are spending 51 days in Sicily and mainland Italy. We will be visiting Cefalù, Castello Buono, Siracusa, Gange, Lago di Garda, and almost three weeks in Roma. Can not wait.
Off the Beaten Path: San Giovanni in Fiore
In 2001 we made our first sojourn to southern Italy by car. Our destination was Sicily and we had several stops along the way. In Cosenza we stayed at the Hotel San Francesco. Cosenza was a nice town and we were going to take a day drip. The receptionist at the hotel suggested San Giovanni in Fiore. Her directions ( pre GPS days) were follow the signs for Sila, a mountainous region about forty-five minutes away. It is home to the Parco Nazionale della Sila. We followed the signs and eventually arrived in San Giovanni in Fiore. 
At first there was not much to see. The streets were empty of people but as we approached the center we came upon the Abbey. Music was coming from the abbey and a young man approached us. He said he was a tour guide and brought us into the Abbey,
The town appeared deserted.
The abbey.
Today there was a wedding in progress.
The original abbey burned in 1215 and was rebuilt on a new location in 1230. 
The interior shows the stone walls. We left the abbey and our tour guide took us to a piccolo ristorante. As is common in Italy, there was no sign and the door was a strubg if beads hanging down to prevent flies from coming in. 
The entrance certainly did not attract a crowd. 
Lunch was fantastic. We were give a glass of grappa to finish off the meal. In the mirror you can see the only other customers that day. I especially liked the stone work which is so prevalent in Calabria. 
Another street with out anyone around.
As we left to head back to Cosenza, we ran into a small traffic jam. This is why I love Italy.
Map of San Giovanni in Fiore
A moment on Lake Como
What better memory than sitting down to breakfast and dinner while looking out over the lake. We had a wonderful apartment at Wright Art BnB on the lake. We enjoyed breakfast and dinner with the most amazing views. La vita è bella. 
TODAY IN THE WASHINTON POST: The Ape celebrates 70 years.
What you say is an APE, not an ape, but the ubiquitous little combination of a motorcycle and pickup truck that plugs along all of Italy’s roadways.
Credit photo and text above from the Washington Post.
The Ape hauls almost anything, from buildng materials to fruit and fiish. 
A clasic Ape in Toscana
Nothing elegant about this baby, plain and simple, it does the job.
This one was at an Airbnb in Montepulciano.
Not only did he sell fruit and vegetable, he serenaded the streets with his words on the health of his produce.
This fruit vendor was in Cefalù, Sicily. (fruttivendolo)
Some info from Wikipedia:
At the end of World War II, most Italians, badly affected by the war, lacked means of transport and, more importantly, the financial means to acquire and maintain full-sized four-wheeled vehicles. In 1947, the inventor of the Vespa, aircraft designer Corradino D’Ascanio, came up with the idea of building a light three-wheeled commercial vehicle to power Italy’s economical reconstruction, an idea which found favour with Enrico Piaggio, the son of the firm’s founder, Rinaldo. The very first Ape model and the mark immediately following it were mechanically a Vespa with two wheels added to the rear, with a flat-bed structure on top of the rear axle. The early sales brochures and adverts referred to the vehicle as the VespaCar or TriVespa. The first Apes featured 50 cc,[3]125 cc or 150 cc and more recently 175 cc engines.
It is hard to imagine a 125 CC engine pulling a big load.
Capo di Milazzo Hidden Treasure In Sicily
We first discovered Milazzo and Capo Milazzo in 2011. We arrived hoping to take the ferry to the Aeolian Islands the next day. Since our trip is spontaneous we were finding our lodging on a daily basis. This evening all hotels were booked. I continued to drive from Milazzo to the the point which looked promising but we did not find anything. Like any good tourist does, I said lets stop and have dinner. Now or luck turned. A couple sitting next to us heard our conversation and said they were staying close by and had rented an apartment. We could follow then and they would introduce us to the owner. How kind they were.
Long story short: The owner said we would be able to have an apartment tomorrow, as it was vacant but not cleaned. I said give me a broom, clean sheets and we will make it work. It was a bargain, 50 euros a night and we had a place. See the photos and you know why we extended our stay to four nights.
Our apartment with a pool. Even had a washing machine! 
Down town Milazzo is inviting in the evening, but not crowded.
This is where it starts to become such a thrilling place to visit. I followed the signs.
Mare, the sea awaits with a natural piscina, or swimming pool. 
The walk started high up above the rocky shores below.
I think there was over 160 steps to get down.
A slow descent.
The piscina awaits.
Crystal clear water protected from the sea. 
Families came to visit. 
The lighthouse or faro. Below are some of the flowers and sights. 
I think if you visit Sicily, this make a great place to stop. Visit the Capo, cape, and visit the islands by boat. The city is not too big, but has enough to keep a shopper happy and a food lover content.
La bella lingua Learning Italian
Our first trip to Italy was without the benefit of any knowledge on my part of Italian. My wife with he Sicilian parents had a knowledge of some words and phrases. I realized this was a disadvantage but not the end of the world. So much English is spoken in Italy most people can get along. Most restaurants in the tourist areas have dual or triple language menus. English, German, and Italian are prevalent.
I want to go further and speak to people and know what the road signs say. Not having access to an Italian teacher, I took another route. Pimsleur had a CD course in Italian. I bought the course and ripped the CD’s to my iPod. That was the beginning. It is a good way to learn conversational Italian. Eventually I progressed from levels 1 through 5 which encompasses about 48 hours of lessons. I did enjoy it as I was able to listen while driving or riding my bicycle.
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Beyond this I also used duoLingo. This is a free program with excellent content.
Exercises progress from basic to upper intermediate. It is easy and I have been using if for about 6 months now. You can progress at your own pace and go back to. From time to time you may be asked to donate, but this is minimal. An excellent program for iPhone, tablets, and Android products. You must have WiFi or cellular data connected.
There are many exercises to improve listening and writing skills. Voice recognition is available for pronunciation practice.
Next there is Rosetta Stone. This is my least favorite method. The program has five levels and retails for about $200-250 on Amazon. It is available for PC and MAC. It does a good job of teaching vocabulary and grammar, but I find it painful obtuse. In many cases you have to decipher a photograph and answer questions based upon your interpretation of the picture.
Some times the photos are not clear and you may give a wrong answer.
It is your choice on Rosetta Stone, I just find it slow. But the content is good. It has voice recognition to help you with pronunciation.
. There is also a subscription version. Te computer version is copy protected to one PC or Ma and can not be used on another until it is deactivated.
There are other programs out there. Transparent Language as a program for phones and tablets. It is subscription based. Seems ok. They offer a free blog with the word of the day. Michelle Thomas has CDs for many language and they are priced reasonably.
Buona fortuna! or as they say: In bocca al lupo
