Bergamo is a large city about 40 minutes from us. We went there this past weekend for the second time. The Città Alta (“Upper Town”) is surrounded by Venetian walls built in the 16th century. The lower city is bigger and newer. We parked in the lower city and walked up hill to the Città Alta. Bergamo is not an easy city to navigate because you can’t just drive to the upper part because of ZTLs. ZTLs are everywhere in Italy and we have no idea when they will appear. A ZTL is a restricted traffic area that does not show up on the navigation system in the car but they must be avoided. If you pass through a ZTL a camera will take a picture of your license plate and you will get a ticket (a very expensive ticket, we hear) in the mail. The signs are confusing because some have times on them and we haven’t figured it all out yet. All we know is we turn around when we see one.

We parked down here and walked all the way up the hill. This is one of the reasons why Italians are thin. There is soooo much walking.

We had a great lunch in one of the piazzas. We ordered a beer that came in a wine bottle with a cork and it was so cool. The waiter made a keychain for me out of the cork. Oh, and it is served in a wine glass. The picture is of the meal Andy and I shared which is a very typical lunch in Italy, cold cuts and cheese. It was delicious. We took Sully with us. We are realizing that as Lucas gets older he enjoys staying home alone without his younger, annoying brother. He just seems happier at home sometimes.

The piazzas in Bergamo are gorgeous. This fountain has lions with the chain in their mouths. If you’ve ever walked with Sully you know that he likes to carry his leash in his mouth but the one time we asked him to do it so we could get a picture, he wouldn’t!

It was beautiful day and we really enjoyed walking around. Here are some pictures from this visit and our previous visit a month ago. The view from the upper city to the lower city is like no other.