The Memory Bee: July 7 A week in Tuscany Part 2

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Our week in Tuscany continued at the La Dolce Vita retreat ... Every time we went somewhere I felt that we were driving through the center of a 3-D painting. The rolling green hills are magical!

The iconic cypress trees along the road make a perfect back drop for a group photo...

Our destination for this day was in Anqua at a gorgeous palazzo where we would be enjoying a cooking class, starting with a little refreshment in the garden...

Me and my sweet roomie Valerie...

Me and my delightful friend Cecilia from Norway...

Partners in "crime" ...

Alert the media... peeling potatoes...

Get those potatoes pressed through the ricer Nancy!

The Count who owns the palazzo and hosts us today...

Every detail is lovely...

The next day was a class day as we made jewelry with Amy Hanna... My necklace...

Sunday found us at the antique market in Arezzo...

I bought a few little treasures...

A favorite memory was that evening when we were having show and tell with our treasures from the market. Carolyn, our hostess for the retreat, was showing us a gorgeous piece (a tiny portrait painted on porcelain - maybe about 1 1/2" in size) and passing it to the next person, when it flew out of her hand and disappeared! Well, we knew it couldn't disappear, so the search began in the stones all around us. Everyone had to be careful to not step on the delicate glass.

A couple of the Israeli girls, who had done missions while in the Army, went into search mode - it was pretty funny! Luckily (and by accident) I saved the day when I emptied a girl's tote bag that was sitting nearby and found the precious piece sitting in the bottom of the bag! It was crazy but gave a lot of laughs once it was found! :)

Our last day was a free day, so I did my favorite thing to do at the estate - wander and explore and take photos. The estate dog, Bond, was my companion...

I love the peace of the woods...

and dream about the children that played in this playhouse decades ago...

A little pool time...

That night we had our closing dinner... good times with good friends...

making new friends...

This is Paola, our hostess at the estate, making sure that every detail is perfect...

I love these two... Paola and her husband Vittorio...

The last morning was appropriately foggy and gloomy as we said goodbye to each other and headed our separate ways, either home or off on another adventure...