There is up and there's down

Well, we are back in Germany. Zeb and Coral went to the hospital with Sara. We may have a new grandbaby by days end. Denise and I are babysitting the younger ones. I thought I might go back and catch up on some of the trip in the blog. The Internet service in Italy left a lot to be desired. There were good connections at some cafes but while you are out and about you don't want to stop and take time to blog.
One of the things I liked about the hill towns was the narrow streets and walkways. You might find one around any bend or in the middle of a block. Usually I had to take off on them and see where they went. Some go on through to other streets and some go to residences and dead ends. I think I will put together a group of photos when we get home about them. Here are a few in Cortona:








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Notice that these byways, as with most of the streets, go up or down, and often are pretty steep. It is easy to see why most Italians living in these towns have strong legs. Lots of "old" people (older than us) walk around and don't seem to notice the steepness. We have also seen lots of "old" folks riding bikes everywhere. They are obviously used to it and in good shape. I don't recall seeing overweight oldsters. There are some middle aged folks (mostly men) who seemed to have indulged a little too much. Italians are used to doing lots of walking. Maybe this is true partly because it is not convenient to drive and/or park in lots of places. Their attitude seems to be not to drive or ride anywhere it is possible to walk. A healthy choice.

Location:Cortona,Itay