Getting That Travel Itch

If you know me well, then you know I have a severe case of the wanderlusts. And when I say severe, I mean exactly that. Severe. Drop everything at a moment's notice to hop on a plane? No need to twist my arm. Sell all my belongings to go around the world for a year? Why hells YAH! Some days are worse than others and lately, I've been scratching.

I leave in less than 2 months bound for Italy to take a felting class with 5 days after to do as I please. This is exciting for many reasons -
1) I'm taking a class with an amazing fiber artist whose work I admire so.
2) I've never traveled by myself.
3) It's in UMBRIA!

I've decided that after the class I'll spend 2 1/2 days in Siena (never been) and then 2 1/2 days in Rome (been there but need some more). I have rooms already booked - In Siena I'm staying at a place run by nun's. I've always had a thing about nuns....could be my Catholic upbringing, but they also happened to be reasonably priced, each room has a view and it's a short walk to Il Campo, the main square. (I have to be honest and tell you that it was an absolute thrill to e-mail them and ask them for a room with a view...just like the movie. This made me oh so happy.) And in Rome, I'm renting a room in a woman's apartment just across the Tiber via this site. I had the best experience last year using AirBnB for our trip to Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest (check out this NY Times article for a primer about them) but decided on the latter this time. I realize that I've never posted any pics from that trip! Another blog post....

The last time I visited Italy was in 1998. I dug through a box and found my terrible photos from this trip (I remember thinking back then that I really knew how to take photos) and for fun, scanned in a few that made me smile:

A Vespa near our pensione. 

The heavenly lighting and beautiful statues in St.Peter's Basilica.

                                                              Inside the Colosseum.

And outside, where these two guys made a killing stalking naive tourists and getting you to photograph them and then demanding money right afterwards. They seriously were as nice as they look here in the picture. (nice legs though)

If anyone has any must-sees/must-dos while I'm there, let me know! I'm hoping to visit some boutique stores while I'm there too...It would be great to have some Papaver Vert in Italy :)