Travel

ROME…ah Rome…oh MY god we have to DRIVE in Rome… to return the car!!

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Coming from Saturnia by car, we tried to stay on Via Aurelia (a highway that turned into the street we were staying on (according to the map…eventually), but lost the signs, pickling it up 50 KM’s later as we entered Rome. Judy says it was the worst navigation job she had ever had… several U turns, and returns and about 20 minutes, and we found Via Aurelia (there are at least three of them in this town) and finally found our Condo (through Judy’s Shell Vacations Club)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDODGZK4irg

After unloading the luggage, at about 5:15, we then got direction from the receptionist (who never drives in Rome – we should have taken that as a sign!!)…anyway after 45 minutes of trying to find the drop-off that was “5 minutes away” and closing in 15 minutes, that was a no-go.  We then tried for the site on the other side of Rome that was open until 8PM.  What a mess!!! But it was a good start of a video game that is a real life video game! No good street signs, one way streets, you name it we had it. Motorcycles coming on around both sides of the car, hand signs and honking, no marks for lanes, smaller cars would crowd up along either side.  At about 10 minutes to closing, 7:50, we found it! That was almost two hour of driving in Rome, enough to last a lifetime.

From there it was a piece of cake on the subway and walking to our place. No dinner though, too tired.

The next morning we start out on the bus for the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill, “Ancient Rome” on the tour books.

You just have to see it to believe it… the video starts at the Victor Emmanuel Monument to Italy’s first king, built 50 years after the country’s unification. The 43 ft long equestrian statue is the biggest equestrian statue in the world. The king’s moustache is 5 ft wide, and a man could fit into the horses head!! Then you see some churches across from the monument.

From there we pan to the Colosseum.  Notice how big it is, and how they reconstructed the wood floor that used to cover where the fights were (below are the cages for gladiators and animals, lifted by a slave propelled elevator).  The wood floor was covered in sand (to soak up the blood from the fights)

Leaving the Colosseum, we scan the Arch of Constantine, who gave Christianity a huge boost when he converted in AD 312, and then the video turns to the Forum, where most of the discussions and decisions were made in Ancient Rome.

Then back to our condo, on a different bus, which threw us for a loop for a while, but we made it back. On our way we saw a restaurant we liked, and instead of stopping, we went home because David wanted a shower. When we came back, it was over an hour wait (should have thought of a reservation!) But the food was fantastic.

The next day was Sunday, and this being a very Catholic town we decided to go for the National Museum of Rome, Judy and I got sort of lost on the bus, going out of town instead of in, but a few busses and the metro and we were back on target. Luckily David had gone ahead on his own as he wanted to spend all day in the museum!

When we finally got to the Museo, there were some fantastic statues, both bronze and marble, lots of busts, some which were a different person’s face mounted on a nice body, paintings, glass artifacts, pottery, etc.

nevada county fair

Nevada County Fair Horse Show June 25-27, 2010

Nevada County Fair Horse Show at the Nevada County Fairgrounds June 25 – 27

Horse Show is part of the Mother Lode Fairs Horse Show Circuit

The 2010 Nevada County Fair Horse Show is scheduled for June 25 – 27 at the Nevada County Fairgrounds.  As part of the Mother Lode Fairs Horse Show Circuit, the oldest circuit show in California, this is a great event for both participants and spectators.

This annual three-day event gives spectators an opportunity to observe participants work with their horses as they compete in Driving, English, Halter and Western Shows.  The Driving Show begins at 10 am on Friday; the English Show at 8 am on Saturday; and the Halter Show, Western Performance and Trail Classes at 8 am on Sunday.

For participants, books and entry forms are available at the Fairgrounds Office or on-line at www.mlhscircuit.com or www.NevadaCountyFair.com.  Entries close June 7, and post-entries will be accepted. There will be classes for all ages and high point classes for the Mother Lode Horse Show Circuit. Additionally, this will serve as the California State Fair qualifying show for Nevada County Juniors. Entries can also be made on-line.

For spectators, admission is free so you can enjoy the Horse Show at California’s Most Beautiful Fairgrounds. There will be food and beverages available for sale in the arena. Make it a day – see the Horse Show and enjoy a lunch or snack while watching the show!

Other dates on the Mother Lode Horse Show Circuit include shows at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds June 19 – 20, and at the Amador County Fairgrounds July 28 – August 1.

Call the Nevada County Fairgrounds at (530) 273-6217 or visit www.NevadaCountyFair.com for additional information.

Contact:         Robin Hauck, Deputy Manager

(530) 273-6217;  robin@nevadacountyfair.com

animals

The Mixed Blessings of Puppies and Kittens

by Lisa J. Lehr

Ah, spring! The weather is warming up, it’s green everywhere you look, and the animal shelter is bursting with puppies and kittens.

They’re so cute! Who doesn’t love warm, fuzzy puppies and kittens? It’s positively un-American not to love puppies and kittens!

The problem with puppies and kittens isn’t that they aren’t inherently delightful; it’s that we have way too many of them. While the Nevada County Animal Shelter is a remarkable example of a nearly-no-kill shelter, the national statistics on euthanasia are shocking and too depressing for me to quote here. Let’s just say that any joy a mommy cat or dog could possibly feel at the birth of her children would be completely obliterated if she could know the overwhelming odds that her children would soon end up dead.

What are the arguments in favor of letting your cat or dog have babies? Let’s see…

“It would be nice for her to have babies once.”

“It’ll be a learning experience for my children.”

“I always find homes for them!”

To confront these silly arguments one at a time: cats and dogs won’t care if they never have children. They lack the pre-frontal cortex of the human brain, where long-term goals reside. Animals don’t dream of being surrounded by grandpuppies and grandkittens in their golden years. That’s a purely human trait.

You want a learning experience for your children? Take them to the animal shelter and show them all the doggies and kitties no one wants. Tell them what will happen to them, and that this is because some people don’t spay and neuter their pets.

So you always find homes for them. Okay, suppose you find nice homes for those four adorable kittens or seven precious pups. That’s four kittens or seven puppies already at the shelter who will now be euthanized, thanks to all those people who let their pets reproduce.

Unless you’re a licensed breeder, you have no business letting your pets reproduce. If you don’t know where to go or need financial help, contact the Nevada County Animal Shelter or any of the local rescue groups, including AnimalSave, Sammie’s Friends, and Scooter’s Pals.

No more unwanted puppies and kittens!

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter as well as animal lover living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for a message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.

Lisa is one of our local contributors to this blog, let me know if you are interested in being part of this blog.

—
Lisa J. Lehr
I write words that make you money–just ask me how.
www.justrightcopy.com
Visit my website and sign up for my fr~ee marketing tips.
New! No~cost Marketing Guide now available at my website.

Lisa is one of our local contributors to this blog, have anything
you would like to share with us, let me know……..John J. O’Dell

Travel

Hill Towns of Tuscany: Sienna, Montepulciano, Assisi, and a side trip to Saturnia, Italy

Renting a car in Pisa, we easily got to an exit out of town with no mistakes. Our plans were to go through Sienna, for a quick stop, then go on to Montepulciano, where we were spending the night in a castle!

In Sienna we walked past Il Campo and the Duomo, and the Cathedral. Sienna had as really good museum of Etruscan history and Renaissance Art, which we also toured. After a lunch we continued on to Montepulciano, where we took a walk to find the hotel, while David rested his knee in the car. Finding our hotel, we then had the attendant called by the wine tasting lady across the street. The castle, now called Camere Bellavista was neat, and we got a room for three, for an extra 30 euros.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9SUTw2t6NI

Then we explored the town, being very near the Piazza Grande, the Duomo, and quite a few wine tasting rooms. In fact I have never SEEN so many wine tasting rooms anywhere in such a small area. The wine is Vino Nobile, a hearty red, improved and softened with age and oak. But truly, every street you turned on had a wine tasting room. The restaurant we went to (forgot the name was very good)!

By the way, driving a car in an old city that was built in the early Anno Domini (AD) period is an experience. The streets are very narrow and making a 90 degree turn unto another street with inches to spare on each side of the corner is something you do with care!

The next morning, we left for Assisi, parked below the escalator, and began the Rick Steves tour, first the Roman Amphitheater from the first century AD, the buildings filling it today were built in the 13th and 14th centuries.  Passing right by our hotel without noticing it and continuing, we came to the Cathedral of San Rufino…  looking at one of the lions at the base of the Cathedral, you find the lion eating a Christian martyr, reminding worshipers of the courage of early Christians. Then on to the Basilica of Saint Clare (who ran away from a wealthy family to join the church after hearing Saint Francis of Assisi, talking about the life of non-materialism). She became a saint almost immediately after her death.

Because I spent four hours in a café with internet access, we were too late to see the Basilica of St Francis, but have some pictures of the outside. After walking back across town to the parking lot, it took several U turns and requesting information to make our way back to the hotel for the night, within the walls of the city.

Leaving at 7:30 am we quickly navigated ourselves onto the road to Saturnia, a natural hot springs (David had been waiting for weeks!!)  Along the way, we passed through an ancient city called Pitigliano.  That was fantastic when viewed from the side of the road and below. The whole town is built on a big hill composed of a light colored volcanic rock called tuff or “tufo” in Italian.  Apparently the seven hills of Rome are also made of tuff, and quarried tuff is in the Colosseum and Pantheon and is the material that most of the catacombs were built from.  It is apparently easy to work with (soft and easy to carve) as a building material then it hardens and becomes stronger when it is exposed to air. There are shops that have been cut into the mountain side (like a cave) and you can see them as we drove along the highway through the town. You can see the town and also a door shop which is tunneled alongside the road and into the mountain on the video.

The springs at Saturnia have a very high sulfur smell and we could tell when got close to the springs.  We found it, and bathed, but it was sort of lukewarm, not hot and a mild disappointment.

Next up: DRIVING IN ROME!!!…


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Travel

Monterosso and Pisa, Italy

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Buranco Agriturismo where we stayed in Monterosso al Mare
Buranco Agriturismo where we stayed in Monterosso al Mare

Getting ready to leave Monterosso and Buranco Agriturismo on Tuesday, May 18, 2010, we were greatly aided when the owner’s wife, Loredana offered to drive us to La Spezia, (where we were going to end up after an expensive taxi ride or an impossible walk with our packs and a train ride through the first 5 Cinque Terra towns!

Quickly (quite quickly, in fact very FAST) she drove us over some hills, down the other side, through some neat inland towns, fantastic views, quick switchbacks, passing cars about every five minutes on a narrow road where you could not see and were completely in the other lane, I think you get the idea?? She gave us a running flow of information, most of which we understood, and if we didn’t we said “Si” anyway, and we watched her have several incidents with other drivers where she made the famous Italian gesture over her shoulder with the right hand (hers was very refined – her husband is a member of Parliament – and not accompanied by any words… if you get my drift.)

Again, quite quickly, we were on the train station, and then on the train to Pisa. The Hotel Milano was quite nice and VERRY close to the train station. We unloaded and began our walk of the town. We got a little lost (although Rick Steves recommends doing that… and had a great meal at a sort of Turkish/Greek place with fantastic filled pita bread meal). I think because of this misdirection we also got to see the remains of a Roman bath, not even on the map for Pisa (See pictures)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X1LUE4a5UE

Then we walked toward the “Field of Miracles” from the Leaning Tower end of the field. Amazing… even after seeing hundreds of pictures in my life, I was still floored by seeing it in person, how huge it is, you have to walk far way away to get a decent picture.

The Duomo (Cathedral) and the Baptistery were equally fantastic, and we went to a museum to see the original drawings of the murals that cover the inside of the Camposanto Cemetery. The dirt inside the Cemetery is “holy dirt”, brought back by Crusading Pisasanos from the Holy Land. The “Holy Land” dirt is supposed to reduce a body into a skeleton within a day.

Really fantastic.

After all that we spent 20 minutes finding a Hostel for David, as our hotel would not take a third person.

The next morning we rented a car and were off to the Hill Towns of Tuscany…


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Travel

Monterosso al Mare, Corniglia and Vernazza, Italy

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Finally, an internet connection to blog with!

May 16, 2010

Monterosso al Mare, Italy… arriving by train, we knew that the Agrotouristico Baranca was uphill about 10 minutes away, so we called to have our luggage carried uphill for us to our place that we were staying at for two nights. The train arrives in what they call the “new” town, divided from the “old town” by basically a small mountain. After a snack, we walked around the rocky cliff that fronts the sea. One of the more expensive restaurants Ristorante Tortuga (Turtle Restaurant) is built right into the cliff wall (under the walkway). Walking further we enter the old town, and out to the breakwater. From there we can see the two bomb hardened bunkers built by the Germans in the occupation of the town. The Allies tried to bomb the train tracks, but only succeeded in taking out the Town Hall (it has been rebuilt on the same site.)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIe7V-_do3A

After wandering a bit we came to the main church in town, Church of Saint John the Baptist. It is built of black and white Italian marble in a Romanesque style, and next to it the Oratory of the Dead (also black and white) this was built by a brotherhood of good works, like a Rotary Club called “confraternities”.  The town had two, the black and the white. This building was the oratory of the Black group, and their good work consisted of arranging funerals, taking care of widows, orphans and the shipwrecked. Here is their symbol, a skull, crossbones and an hourglass…death awaits us all… (nice huh?)

We followed the suggested walk so we could explore the town and see the sights according to Rick Steves.  We went back to the waterfront to start our walk to the Church of the Capuchin Friars (a lot of steps in the “Switchbacks of the Friars”, but great views at the top. This church was also black and white, but a closer look showed no marble, just cheap 18th century stucco!! But the inside was nice and there were some nice paintings attributed to Antony Van Dyck.

Then we walked further upward, to a cemetery, built around and within an old castle. Very nice views. But lots of dead people. Following the Rick Steves map, we continued uphill, for some distance!!! Hard walking (a real hill!!) finally a sign for Buranco Agrotourismo. Down, down, down a hill. Finally, a big party (the owner is a member of Parliament and) had a big party going on. But we had wine tasting and leftover snacks, from the dinner verrry good!! Our place was very cute, sleeps three, basically a small house, over the wine room itself. Only after getting here, a strenuous walk of about an hour, did we get told that there was a 2 minute shortcut to the town!! Oh well, we got to see the sights, I guess.

The next day we visited first, the town Corniglia, high on a hill, we took the bus up (I was so glad), then walked down through the town, nice views, nice food. David hurt himself again (with his sore leg from the Heidelberg bike accident) trying to walk down the 400 stairs.

Then we took the train to Vernazza, it had a nice harbor, we walked to the top of the town, then back again, watching the stream, which in this town, has not been covered by a road. Nice town, but we were on the way back to Monterosso al Mare. A nice dinner and a night at the farm.  See the video of our experiences.

Next we move to the Hill Towns of Tuscany, see you tomorrow


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Travel

Manarola, in The Cinque Terra, Italy

I stayed up until 1 am posting Friday’s blog.  The built-in alarm woke me up at 6:30 am and I decided to sleep another 5 minutes. Well that was almost a big mistake, instead I was waking up at 7:30 and the bus leaves in 30 minutes. So we all rushed to our final packing and made it to the bus station with 5 minutes to spare.

Leaving Punta Ala by bus, we made it to Follonca in about 35 minutes and hopped a train to Pisa. From Pisa we transferred to La Spezia. Weather ranged between cloudy and steady rain all the way.

La Spezia is not a tourist town and we stayed there only long enough to grab a great lunch of Italian food. Then we took another train to our next vacation stop at Manarola, Town #2 in the Cinque Terra. We are staying there for two nights. The train arrives in the station, where you take a pedestrian tunnel (a two hundred foot long tunnel in which the inhabitants huddled in World War II during the bombings of Italy) to arrive at the main town.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OcSb8brztw

In Manarola, we hiked the trail that winds through parts of the many vineyards that hug the mountain sides.  Can you image the labor involved in taking care of these grapes, pruning, spraying, picking, and then finally hauling them off of the mountain? Then we went to the marina and enjoyed a drink and some coffee in the sunshine. Lots of tourists in this town.  The place we stayed, Casa Capellini, had a balcony and the most fantastic views. Some of the pictures you see in the video were taken from the balcony of our apartment. As you can see, the town is on a mountain side, and walking is either vertical up or vertical down, or at least it seemed that way.

The next morning we took the Via dell’Amore, (lovers lane) to Riomaggiore,  took the requisite picture kissing at the specified seat of love.

The town seemed smaller than Manarola, we did the Rick Steves’ walk to see the town and its churches, had a bite to eat at a Pizzaria, and took the walk back. It had started to rain, so we spent the afternoon in a bar, drinking caffe latte grande (and wine for Judy and David) and discussing David’s crazy construction ideas (among other things).

After a short nap, we went back (our second dinner in as many days) to Trattoria Dal Billy for a wonderful dinner of black pasta (made with squid ink) and assorted seafood, mussels, clams including some things that looked like they were from outer space, sort of a weird shrimp (this was for David and Judy). I had a steak, but it was sort of cooked in a sauce instead of grilled, but very good all the same. The Grapa was complementary, making a fine evening all around.

The next morning we took the train to Monterrosso al Mare… to be continued with the next blog…

By the way, we were in an area without  wifi for the last several days and I had some withdrawal problems, not having access to the internet, but now that I have a connection again, things are fine.
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Travel

Grossetto, Italy

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We awoke in time to catch the 8:00 bus to Follonica, thinking we had a train to catch at 9:30 AM. Got to town, went to the bus station and bought three tickets… checked the line and sat waiting. Trains went by on both directions at a high rate of speed… time moved on. Finally a railroad employee asked us what we were waiting for? We said to go to Grossetto… we walked him to the sign, and he showed us the 9:30 train only worked on Sundays and holidays… BUMMER.

So then we walked around, somewhat familiar with the town since we has been here the day before yesterday (that was  the day we learned to take the early train) Trip to the grocery for David to get some beer, stop for a sandwich, then down to the beach… not exactly hot, but not too cold either. So we sat on the wall and watched Italian society evolve around us, while David drank beer, and ate strawberries and sweet rolls.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69CdovqEaKE

Finally, time for the train… a quick ride, less than 50 KM (that’s what the ticket said) and we were at Grossetto.  All the shops in the train station wanted 7 Euros or more for a map… so we wandered, until we could pick up a free map (pretty bad Zerox), but we found a fantastic “Museo Archeological” and spent several hours learning about the old former city of Rocellae, an ancient town of Etruria (now Tuscany), which survived until the Middle Ages before being abandoned. The ruins are about 8 km northeast of Grosseto. There was lots of interesting pottery and other information about how life was lived in that time.

There was also information in the museum of Roman evidence in the area, statuary and pottery.

Then we wandered into the old walled city of Grossetto: The walls were begun by Francesco I de Medici in 1574, replacing those from the 12th-14th centuries, as part of his policy of making Grosseto a stronghold to protect his southern border. The construction took 19 years, the resulting walled city in the middle of the current Grossetto has a hexagonal shape, six straight walls, between each is an arrow shaped reinforcement , for defense. Until 1757 the exterior was surrounded by a ditch with an earthen moat.

After dinner, a quick trip back to the train station for the return to Follonica, and finally to Punto Ala, home until Friday and we venture on!
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Business, Local Writers & Contributors

Improving Your Business

Lisa J. Lehr is one of the local contributors to this website. I’ll have more about our travels in Italy tomorrow. By the way, I really appreciate Lisa’s contributions and welcome anyone else who would like to contribute to this site.

by Lisa J. Lehr

Have you heard about the tool that can bring in 90% of your sales?

If you have a website to promote your business, product, or service, there’s one tool that could literally bring you 90% of your sales. If you’re using this tool, you’re in a good position to capture the lion’s share of your market niche; if you’re not, you may be getting only 10% of the sales that could be yours. And if you’re not—and your competitors are—well, good luck!

This powerful tool is an auto responder series.

You may have heard the saying that it takes “seven touches” to turn a prospect into a client. Auto responders are the perfect way to accomplish those seven touches. Here’s why:

1.      They’re automatic. Once you’ve placed the opt-in form on your web page, and composed and queued your series of seven (or more) messages, those messages go out to your list with no further thought on your part.

2.      You create top-of-mind awareness. When your potential clients need the product or service you offer, you’ll be the first one they think of.

3.      The system is flexible. You can add, delete, or edit your messages, and/or broadcast to your entire list at once if you need to announce a special offer or news item.

4.      No one gets angry with you. Part of the automated system is an opt-out link at the end of each message. If someone is tired of hearing from you, one click and they’re removed from the list.

5.      You can up sell. You may be able to split your list into those who’ve bought from you and those who haven’t, and offer things like higher-end products and services, continuity programs, and affiliate products to your satisfied customers.

6.      You can partner with other local businesses. You send your subscribers coupons for your partners’ businesses, they do the same for you, and you multiply your list of prospects!

Auto responders are particularly useful if your product is a one-time type of purchase, or a seasonal or big-ticket item that people buy only occasionally. You don’t want your prospects to forget about you between that first “curiosity” visit to your site and when they actually need what you offer.

An auto responder series is an important part of a complete marketing program; the other parts must be in place in order for them to be effective. You need good web copy, for example, so your site visitors will stick around long enough to fill out the opt-in form. A news release may lead to a feature story about your business, which could bring in a flood of website visitors.

Your auto responders must be written well too, and can be created around any of a variety of themes: based on case studies or testimonials; focused on particular products or services you offer; or written like informative articles, establishing you as an authority in your niche.

Auto responders can truly mean capturing 90% of your potential business—or letting your competitors have it!

Lisa J. Lehr is a writer and copywriter living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for the message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.
—
Lisa J. Lehr
I write words that make you money–just ask me how.
www.justrightcopy.com
Visit my website and sign up for my free marketing tips.
New! No cost Marketing Guide now available at my website.

Travel

Follonica and Punta Alta, Italy

I made a video of a few pictures I took around Follonica and Punta Ala. However, I am still learning and this video is not too good. I lowered the resolution of the photos before I made the film and it shows. The next one will be better.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCOTP5JbHEM

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker