Caution: border

Each time we cross the border into another country our GPS announces it by saying "Caution: border" like it's cause for concern.  

Borders don't mean much any more in Europe, but the border crossings are still there - sometimes depressing old buildings that should probably be torn down.

Crossing a border now usually means that you're about to pay a toll and continue to pay tolls to use their roads.

Since cities were not on our list of things to see on this trip, this is as close as we got to Milan.  A city of over a million people, that was just fine with me.  The Last Supper will have to wait.

The Italian Alps

This is Carrara marble.  Carrara is a city in Italy and where Carrara marble is mined, of course.  It was used for a lot of things since ancient Rome (and before) like buildings, churches and sculptures - Michelangelo's David and Pieta, the Pantheon, and even Harvard Medical School, for examples.

I took a dozen pictures, but couldn't capture a good one from the highway.  This one is from the internet, but it shows much better the mining of Carrara marble.

Villa Cheli in Lucca, Italy

This is where we stayed on our second and third nights.  It was so relaxing and we both decided later that we had our best meal in the restaurant here.

Enjoying a glass of wine on our very own terrace.  The weather was perfect.

Winslow's new friend, Mia (according to her collar).  

We still don't know to whom she belonged, but she made herself right at home in our room!