A Little Bit of Home!

It's not New York but a beautiful sight on the Ile des Cygnes in the middle of the Seine River in Paris. There stands Lady Liberty. Given to the city in 1889, it faces southwest, downriver along the Seine. There are two dates on her tablet; July 4, 1776 the date of the Declaration of Independence and July 14, 1789 the date of the storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution.

French Woman!

She lives in the Tuileries Garden.

Italian Man!!

Michelangelo's il David.

An Architectural Masterpiece

Walking into the vast sanctuary of Notre Dame you are greeted with darkness and light. While the corners are dimly lit, the immense stained glass windows offer a kaleidoscope of colors. After exploring the inside of this great cathedral you must walk around to the back and marvel at the flying buttresses that hold up the towering stone walls. How in the world was this built without the aid of modern technology?

Declaration of the Rights of Man

The walls of the Concorde Station on the Paris Metro are covered with letter tiles. I was sure this was a word search and spent time trying to figure out some words. Come to find out it really includes the words to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen the French Revolutionary document which defines the individual rights of every citizen.

Milano!

The white marble duomo in Milan is perhaps the most striking! While Saint Peter's is immense the cathedral in Milan it unbelievably gorgeous with 135 spires reaching to the cloudless blue sky!

Where shall we eat tonight?

Jim came to Italy well-prepared with recommendations for bistros, trattorias, and hostarias. Every afternoon he'd work out the directions and have Sarah make the phone calls to secure reservations.

Be careful when you tell lies.

Carlo Lorenzini was born in Florence, the son of a cook and a servant, and spent much of his childhood in the rough streets of the city. He took the pen name of Carlo Collodi (Collodi is a small village in Tuscany) when he created Pinocchio, the puppet who wanted to be a "real boy". There are carvings, paintings and other depictions of Pinocchio all over the city. This one was on a bench outside a little shop.

Gladiators Galore!

These guys are hysterical! Dressed in Halloween costumes, they're all about trying to get your euros!

Shopping in Florence

Florence is filled with winding cobblestone streets and those are lined with colorful shoppes. Flowers, groceries and ceramics...and don't forget leather. For the more expensive jewelry stores head to Ponte Vecchio.

A Hidden Gem!

The famous Orange Garden, called Parco di Savello, atop the Aventine Hill. It is filled with families enjoying the park and lovers stealing some time alone away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Don't forget to take a peek through the keyhole in the gate of The Knights of Malta for an unexpected view of Saint Peter's.

Mozzarella di Bufala

Does this sandwich make your mouth water? Fresh mozzarella and salami on a crusty roll....heaven! It was a sunny, warm afternoon in the courtyard at American University of Rome!

Snow Again!!!

It snowed again! Everyone, I mean EVERYONE, is over it. I don't know how much we have on the ground but it's alot. I think it's the 5th snowiest (is that a word?) ever. We rarely go a day or two before we get more. 4" last night (Feb. 19) and expecting more on Sunday. We've already had 5 snow days. Jim had a sledding party at the club and about 150 parents/kids came and has a blast. There

All Roads Lead to Roma

We shopped and smushed and packed and finally Sarah was ready to go! Jim took her to Indianapolis to see Nana/Pops and Auntie Vicki before heading to O'Hare with a layover at JFK and overnight to Rome. Sarah's flights were uneventful which is unusual for her.
After settling in, meeting flatmates and exploring the city, classes started on February 1st.

Christmas in Iowa

Our long winter began in November and with another major storm headed our way on Christmas Eve, Jim, Sarah and Sandy loaded the car with shovels, blankets, boots and headed north to the Minneapolis airport to get Julia as they began canceling flights. It was a 7 hour round trip but was worth it as we were all together! It didn't matter if we got stuck on the road and Christmas was spent at the Motel 8...we were together. But we made it home and stayed curled up as the storm raged around us on Christmas Day.

Thanksgiving in Southport

While Jim and I visited Nana/Pops in Indianapolis, the girls took the Amtrak and had turkey with Grammie/Grampie and Brook/Alice in Southport. They even ventured into NYC with the "little girls" and Auntie Lynne and had lunch at Lombardis and shopped for scarves in Chinatown!

For Boston!!

Parent's Weekend: September 2009
After BC beat Wake Forest at the football game we all went to dinner at a lovely little Italian restaurant in the North End. Sarah, Emily and Laura each had a sibling and parents in attendance and it was a BLAST! After dinner we walked over to Mike's Pastry where we waited in line for the last cannoli of the evening. Yummy! Hard to believe that the girls are juniors and next year will be their last as BC students!

Is that another lighthouse?

We met Mike/Sheila, Jim/Connie and Susan/Dan in downtown Chicago for a little reunion. Everyone has been so busy that we haven't all been together since the Super Bowl in 2008. We started out with a girls visit to Grosse Pointe Light Station in Evanston. I have driven past this lighthouse many times but never realized it was even there on Sheridan Road north of downtown. The trees are all grown up now. But, we were able to climb to the top on an iron spiral staircase and had a beautiful view of Lake Michigan and downtown.