A SUNDAY VISIT IN PLACERVILLE

What fun! On Sunday Carol was kind enough to take me by to visit Aunt Betty and Uncle Jack. I just love seeing them whenever possible.

I also was able to visit with Shannon and her two kids, Sean and Savannah (Carol's grandchildren). The young ones are growing up so fast. They are so beautiful, as is Shannon.

All in all I had a wonderful weekend.

ANOTHER GIRLS' WEEKEND

How lucky I am! Last weekend was our fall girls' weekend. This time we went to Lake Tahoe. It is especially beautiful this time of year. We had a nice Thai dinner out our first night there. The rest of the weekend we mostly spent around the fire in our time share, provided by my girlfriend, Mary and her husband, Fred. We always have a great deal of stories and memories to share.

KIDS VISIT FOR A FALL WEEKEND

This wonderful weekend Ron, Amy, May and Rick drove down Friday night for a nice visit. On their arrival we had pizza of course. Saturday morning we walked to Starbucks and then had a delicious breakfast at home before heading to Costco. After Costco we went to a new wine bar in Ashland. We did wine flights and yummy appetizers. The girls then went shopping and the men tried to find the University of Oregon Ducks' football game at some sports bar somewhere. They had no luck. The girls had better success shopping.

The rest of the evening was spent with more wine and an incredible liver dish with vegetables dish provided by May and the regular old Albano meatballs. We were all pretty tired when we tried to watch a DVD called ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL.See Rick, May, and Amy diving into the candy bag (photo included). I am not sure how many of us stayed awake for that movie. It wasn't me.

Today after Mass Lisa called and we all got to talk to her. That was quite the highlight for everyone I am sure. The men and May stayed at the house watching football and Amy and I walked through Lithia Park. It was crowded with people with cameras. The beauty was indescribable. But I will do what I can with pictures. Amy and I then went to the movies to see a French film, HEADING SOUTH. Back home we had our Sunday spaghetti dinner. Then they piled into Ronnie's car and went back to Portland. All in all it was a great weekend. I am so grateful the kids made the effort to come to see us.

SUNRIVER 2006

We were only home two days when the time came for our annual weekend in Sunriver with our friends. We were still pretty jet lagged, but just couldn't miss this opportunity. The owners of the home in Sunriver moved to Eugene last year and we don't often get to see them. The quaking aspens are breathtaking in that part of the world.

So we had an absolutely perfect weekend of relaxing with friends, delicious food, and excellent wine. We took walks, read, ate and visited for hours on end. We went to an amazing restaurant in Bend for dinner on Saturday night and saw the movie, HALF NELSON.

Any spare time that we had Jan and I did jigsaw puzzles and listened to old music and sang along. As you can see we are really proud of our acheivement when we finish a puzzle. What a wonderful time!

On the drive home on Monday we had to cross the mountains to Southern Oregon. Around Crater Lake the snow became a complete whiteout. We were in the Volvo convertible and the ride was a bit slushy and somewhat slippery. Ron was and "excellert driver" and I was quite proud of him.

FINAL DAY IN ITALY---ROME

One bus ride to Salerno and one train ride and we were back in Rome for our final night. This was a very important night because we were to meet Lisa and her new family.
We did meet them in front of the Pantheon. They were thoroughly sweet. Three darling little girls ages 3,5, and 7. The mother, Meirav, is beautiful, bright and loving.The father, Saul, who obviously adored his little girls, watched them and played with them all during our visit.

They were kind enough to take us to dinner. We felt so much better about Lisa staying after we met the family. It isn't easy to be so far away from Lisa. But knowing that she is in such an ideal situation makes the separation a great deal less painful.

SEVENTH STOP--AMALFI

After two nights in Sorrento we took a boat to Amalfi. Another gorgeous city. Our accomadations here were almost a nice as Sorrento. We didn't have a private balcony, but there was a very nice balcony. This little town was an important port rivaling Venice and Genoa in the 10th century. Can you believe that? This community founded the Knights of Malta and the Amalfi cross became the Maltese cross. From our room we had a great moonlit night scene and one night there were even fireworks down by the pier.

Now they have a Cathedral of Amalfi which contains the remains of St. Andrew, the apostle. It is a mix of Moorish and Bysantine architecture. All of which blow your mind. On ghe day we were visiting the church was being prepared for a wedding. Just walking through this little town was a thrill.

On our second day in Amalfi we took a thrilling bus ride up to the mountain town of Ravello. These bus rides on narrow mountain roads are truly nail biters. One local lady was saying the rosary the entire trip. The drivers must have an amazing sense of their size. They fly along making hairpin turns with only their horns to protect them. Anyway in Ravello we went into a small shop called Wine and Drugs and did some wine tasting. After five or six glasses we purchased six bottles of some of Italy's best wines at an unmentionalbe price. Hopefully they will arrive here safe and sound. This wine seller even sold wine to Jackie Kennedy. He had a letter from her framed on his wall. The whole thing was quite an experience and we haven't even received our wine yet.

On Sunday morning we left Amalfi and headed back to Rome to meet with Lisa one last time before leaving her in Italy for the next nine months.

SIXTH STOP----SORRENTO

On my last morning in Rome before we left for Sorrento I got up extra early and headed off to see the pope. An "audience" with the pope means you gather in St. Peter's Square with thousands of other people and the pope passes by. He also gives a little talk in six different languages to this audience. You must have advanced tickets to attend this event.

I was lucky because my friend, Mary, who had been in Rome last Fall told me exactly where to sit. So I arrived three hours ahead of time and got a prime seat. I would have been able to touch the Pope. I was that close. But he has an entire slew of bodyquards, much like President Bush's Secret Service. The experience was quite special for me.

When it was over Ron and I needed to take two trains before reaching Sorrento. And then we checked into our hotel. Ron had found the Villa Garden online. It was a few miles outside of Sorrento on the water, just overlooking the Bay of Naples. Never in our lives have we had such a luxurious room. We had a large tiled balcony nearly hanging over the sea. This private balcony had a table with two chairs and also two lounge chairs all for us. It was the only one in the hotel. How did we get so lucky? The weather was warm and balmy. We walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. We had local wine and more scrumptious pasta. Mine was gnochi with prawns. Unbelievable!

The next day we took a cruise to the Isle of Capri. On the boat a charming man named Luigi convinced us to join his sightseeing group. He guided us not only through Capri, but also up to the top of the island to Ana Capri. Such sights, such incredible beauty.

After this full day we returned to our heavenly room, watched the sunset and pretty much crashed.

FIFTH STOP---Day Four

This is the day I insisted that we take a train to the city of Albano. It took us two hours to get there. It was a small non-tourist town. There wasn't really all that much to see here. We were hoping to get some Albano wine to share with my Dad. He and my Mom had bought some here 30 years ago when they traveled to Italy. Well, they don't make that wine anymore. But we did see Albano and had a delicious lunch in a small trattoria there.

And can you believe we actually saw a McDonald's in nearly the center of Rome when we returned.

Back in Rome in the afternoon we walked to Santa Susanna where I picked up tickets to see the Pope the next day. This evening we enjoyed wine and cheese in our hotel room. We had eaten such a huge lunch that this was all we could manage. After our light dinner we took a bus to Trestevere. Sometimes called "Rome's Left Bank", it is one of the trendiest places in Rome. So fun and exciting to see at night. There was a lot of youth and celebrating going on there.

One surprising thing about Rome was all the graffiti that scrawls all over Rome. Trestevere has the most colorful. Another memorable day!

FIFTH STOP---Day Three

On Monday in Rome we got up very early to see the Vatican Museum. We arrived there at sunrise. With all the great art treasures that we saw on this trip this was the height of them all. When we went through the Raphael's rooms I thought I had never seen more beautiful art. Then we got to the Sistine Chapel. Now I realize most of us feel we have seen photos of it and we might feel familiar with it. However, standing there under Michelangelo's frescos of the vaults and the story of creation and then seeing the Last Judgement left me in total awe. Here is the ultimate artist creation. It was absolutely breathtaking.

In the afternoon we change hotels and moved to the Coronet. We planted our things there and went immediately to the historical district. We walked all around Palantine Hill, through the coliseum, and we once again stood and studied the forum. On Palantine Hill was the Circus Maximus where all the chariot races took place. Of course the coliseum was haunted with the ghosts of the many tortured people who died there. We even visited the Mamertine Prison where St. Peter and St. Paul were sent.

We must have walked 10 or 12 hours today. The day was totally exhausting, but such a blessing!

FIFTH STOP---ROME, Day Two

This is the day that Lisa left us to fly to Hungary to visit friends. Ron and I decided to revisit some of the sights that we had seen the first night in the dark. We saw the Pantheon the Spanish Steps and the Piazza Navona in the daylight. We took a walk over to Campo di Fiori where they hold an open market each morning. I was able to attend Mass at San Maria Minerva, another stunning church. In the Pantheon they were still putting a double guard on the tomb of Victor Emmanuele. He was the King of Italy who united the country in the mid 19th century. We spent much of the day thinking about Lisa reaching Hungary and connecting with her friends safely, which she did. We had a nice dinner nearby our hotel again.

FIFTH STOP---ROME, Day One

After our three amazing days in the Tuscan countryside we drove south to Rome. It only took a few hours to reach the Roma area. We had been told never to drive within the Ring Road that surrrounds Rome. We had a little time before we needed to return the rental car so we decided to try to locate the home where Lisa would be aupairing. Her little town is called La Guistiniana. It is just northwest of Rome.

We did drive all around trying to find it. We finally did and the area is very rural and beautiful. After returning the rental car at the Leonardo de Vinci airport we took a taxi into Rome. Our hotel there was the Diplomatic. It was quite nice. Although we were a bit tired from our driving all day we decided to take a night walk around Rome. We went to the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, and the Trevi fountain. In the night lights all this was so magical.

On the next morning we headed to the Vatican. We saw St. Peter's Basilica. This is the largest church in the world. I was able to attend Mass at the altar right on the spot where St. Peter was crucified. The feeling is indescribable. The artworks in this place were seemingly endless. The Pieta by Michelangelo was so very moving. Also found here are many of Bernini's works. Breathtaking! Beneath St. Peter's are the tombs of all the Popes through the centuries. My favorite was John Paul II's, of course.

In the afternoon we went on the only organized tour of our vacation----The Ancient Rome tour. On this excursion we saw Capitol Hill where Ron found out that an early Etruscan founding family was named Albano. The guide was very excited when Ron showed him his driver's license with the name Albano. He announced Ron to all the other tourists. It was funny. From there we went to the coliseum, the forum, Palantine Hill, the Arch of Constantine and the church of St. Paul Outside the Wall.

In the evening we ate at a family run restaurant right next to our hotel. It was our last meal with Lisa before she went to Hungary the next day.

FOURTH STOP---TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE

In Florence we rented a Mercedes diesel car and drove southwest only about 20km or 15 miles to a beautiful Villa just outside Filigne Del V'Arno called La Palagina. Picture anything you have ever seen of rolling hills filled with vineyards. Then imagine an Italian Villa filled with marble floors,lovely works of art, flowers and a dining room in a charming cavelike setting. Breakfasts were served outside on the patio with views of the two infinity pools and the Tuscan countryside. Breathtaking once again.

One day we even went into the market in town and bought cheese, salami, proscuito and bread and had a picnic in a park in another small town. It was fun to visit a local market and see how the townspeople live and eat.

While staying at the Villa Ron was brave enough to drive the narrow roads and we took one day to see Greve and San Giamignano and another to see Siena. These are ancient walled cities with pathways throughout. Almost all motor vehicles park outside and you may walk the streets of little shops and observe the totally unique way in which these Italians live.