Are people allowed to walk on the colosseum battle field?

Quote from: rendang on July 15, 2012, 03:27:15 AM
  Just happened to notice the lovely,voluptuous curvature of the Italian grid girls at Mugello and not to put to fine a point on it could you please stop torturing us and just post the make the beast with two backsing chicpics !   
 

You guys are going to be so disappointed. Remember that being a grid girl is a pretty exclusive gig ... you get to be up close and personal with the superstars of the sport.

Anybody 'working' WDW gets to be up close and personal with tens of thousands of Ducati owners. Now consider what the 'average' Ducati owner looks like and determine how attractive a gig that is ... I am not trying to offend anyone, but we need to be realistic here.

Quote from: heatherp on July 15, 2012, 06:07:47 AM
I said boys not grandpas Betty.  geez.   

But he IS God's gift to women - ask him, I'm sure he'll confirm. Now if they don't have laws against me taking pictures of boys in Italy then they should, lets just leave it at that shall we.

Quote from: cokey on July 15, 2012, 07:07:44 AM
Are people allowed to walk on the colosseum battle field?

Hmm, battlefield you say? I probably need to read up on my history but it was more of a stage ... which no longer exists. Under the 'arena' there were various tunnels and accessways - apparently these are accessible if you pay for the big bucks tour (which we didn't). Tonight I'll try and find a picture of the inside.

Yea, stage where many died in battle. 

Quote from: Betty on July 15, 2012, 12:42:47 PM
Tonight I'll try and find a picture of the inside.

Tonight is here:


Not a lot happening down there.

The Ducati Caffe

We also managed to swing by the Ducati Caffe. Although there was a merchandise shop attached we resisted the urge to spend money ... it was early days and we figured we would be presented with further opportunities later in the trip. We stopped here for an early (by Italian standards) dinner ... which unfortunately we thought was pretty ordinary. But not to worry, it felt quite comfortable ... or perhaps familiar ... surrounded by Ducati ‘stuff’.

S’pose most would think the sheer volume of Ducati ‘branding’ or indeed the whole concept to be a little cringeworthy ... but it probably only confirms my place amongst the Wankeristi/Ducatisti (ooh, not sure which one to strike out there) that I liked it. The walls were decorated with Ducati art, models in cabinets, merchandise for sale, a carbon fibre bar ... and an 1198 Superbike mounted vertically to the wall.

Outside on the kerb there was a couple of Monsters and a 999 â€" so that was rather appropriate too ... and Jukie took the opportunity to be chatted-up by their owners. Communication was somewhat limited to the use of the iPad and sharing our family pics.

The bar:


Some signage/art:


Ooh and this is where it all began:

Quote from: rendang on July 15, 2012, 03:27:15 AM
  Just happened to notice the lovely,voluptuous curvature of the Italian grid girls at Mugello and not to put to fine a point on it could you please stop torturing us and just post the make the beast with two backsing chicpics !   
 

Let me help    (from 2010, but ....)

Look Betty I know you warned us about your happy snaps but the plain white pics are getting a bit boring. 

Quote from: stopintime on July 16, 2012, 06:32:34 AM
Let me help    (from 2010, but ....)

  Thanks, 2010 was a fine year.                          

Quote from: heatherp on July 17, 2012, 12:31:04 AM
Look Betty I know you warned us about your happy snaps but the plain white pics are getting a bit boring. 

Quote from: heatherp on July 17, 2012, 12:31:04 AM
Look Betty I know you warned us about your happy snaps but the plain white pics are getting a bit boring.  

+1, exciting as it reads seeing is believing

Hmm perhaps some Flickr setting I am yet to master.

EDIT: Is that better?

Quote from: Betty on July 17, 2012, 03:25:36 AM
Hmm perhaps some Flickr setting I am yet to master.

EDIT: Is that better?

Much    Thanking you 

Siena

On the way up to Siena the Boss took a dip in the thermal waters of Terme di Saturnia along with a variety of the fit, the fake and the flabby. It was on this journey that we got a sense of what we had missed on our previous trip as we got to enjoy some nice twisty, country roads. We also made a stop at Abbazia di Monte Olieveto Maggiore perched high, and peacefully, up in the hills â€" it is a massive complex but it seems the surrounding hills are starting to slip down into the valley.

Our first day trip was out to San Gimignano where we climbed the Torre Grosso (their tallest tower) and wandered about. It is a town where nothing really seems out of place except for the 848 we caught glimpses of riding through the tiny streets.

We wander into the old part of Siena from our hotel and stumble across Ducati Siena inside the city walls ... but must admit it is rather odd visiting a Ducati dealer that doesn’t actually have any Ducatis on the floor.

We visited San Dominico, Piazza del Campo and the Duomo which was planned to grow bigger than St Peters. The climb up Torre del Mangia is apparently over 500 steps but the views aren’t too bad from the top.

Another trip in the car saw us visiting smaller towns out amongst/on the hills such as Castelmuzio, Montefollonico, Montepulciano & Pienza. The roads are generally smooth and well paved full of twisty fun and we encounter far less traffic than we had expected.

Terme di Saturnia (she's in there somewhere):


Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore:


San Gimignano from Torre Grosso:


Ducati Siena:


Torre del Mangia on Piazza del Campo:


Siena's Duomo:

Well thanks for all that study in medieval architecture and the likes but poor old Robert is lying in his sick bed
waiting for all the tits and bum photos......................have a heart and help the poor fella out.

Florence

On our way up to Florence we made stops at some more of the hilltop towns on the back roads including San Gusme, Villa a Sesta, Castello di Bordio (closed unfortunately), Badia a Coltibuono, Panzano, Villa Vignamaggio (Mona Lisa’s family home) and a few other towns including Greve in Chianti.

We did a trip around Florence on Segways which makes you somewhat of a celebrity especially with Asian tourists. The Segway tours are a good way to orientate yourself in the city centre (we did a similar thing in Rome 3 years ago). But unlike in Rome we were unsuccessful in getting the speed limiter turned off â€" this only really poses a problem when I am trying to catch up.

We checked out some of the big churches, piazzas, etc including Piazza Signoria, the Duomo, San Lorenzo, Piazza del Reppublica, Palazzo Strozzi, Orsan Michele & Piazza Santa Croce.

I had already climbed the dome of the Duomo so we head up the Campanile this time which is far less busy and practically as tall (with 400-odd steps). We borrowed pushbikes from the hotel and rode up to Piazzale Michelangelo which has awesome views of the old town looking across the river.

Although practically part of the city the roads up to Piazzale Michelangelo are wide (by Italian standards), well paved and nicely curved so the scooter and bike riders have some fun.

The Boss groggin' on at Mona Lisa's family home:


Segwayin' at the Duomo:


Brunelleschi's dome / the dome before the storm:


Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo: