Gina

We got to talk to my sister on Thanksgiving. She called, I missed the call, I sent her a message on Facebook and she was able to call back. The wonders of technology. :-) This is the first time any of us have heard her voice since she left. I think she had a slight cold, but otherwise sounded great and it was so much fun to talk to her. It is light there 24 hours a day now - no sunrise or sunset. My favorite story was this one:

"We will leave the bar at 11:00 (or whatever) and go outside tired

and ready for bed. As soon as I step outside

I say 'Dang it! I forgot my sunglasses!' "

It just cracks me up that her first thought at night is about her sunglasses. Makes total sense of course, it is just funny.

This is sunset about a month ago when they still had them.

Hiking at 10:30 p.m.

Working on the runway. They have to quit using this runway now b/c the sea ice is melting.



Whoa.

Love you Gina!

Jay's New Hobby

Who would have thought going to Italy would provide Jay with a new hobby and our latest idea for a coffee table book. It started in Florence where people were pretty much shoulder to shoulder. I thought October might be a little less crowded, but no such luck. After getting off the train we muscled our way over the Ponte Vecchio hoping for fewer people on the other side. Again, no luck. We walked up to the Piazza Michelangelo and here it began. Jay had the camera and I wasn't paying much attention. Then I noticed him pointing it straight at another person. Me: "What are you doing?!" Him: "Taking pictures of all these people taking pictures." Ha Ha! He informed me that it was an art because you have to make it look like you are really taking a picutre of something else. In the very touristy areas this is not difficult. The picture below was taken later in the day and some of Jay's best work: he got a picture of the picture taker and the poser!

I am taking credit for this one. Two in one!





Photographer in the making.

Now, nobody steal our idea for a coffee table book, but next time you are on vacation try this. It is actually very entertaining and you can get some funny photos.

Firenze

I. Love. Florence. It holds a special place in my heart. I have been each time I am in Italy and I will continue to go each time I go back - as long as I rub the bronze pig's nose, which we did. There is not one specific thing that draws me to Florence, although the excellent shopping and delicious gelato don't hurt! I think maybe it is because I have so many memories in this city.

The first time I went was on a tour while in high school. My Dad was a chaperone and we were planning to meet up with the Monacos who were on a family vacation and would be in Florence at the same time. My Dad didn't call Mike, Mike didn't call my Dad - they said "Oh we will just run into each other." Well something was working in their favor. As our group exited the Galleria Academia the Monacos were attempting to enter through the exit. Hooray! I got to spend the rest of my first time in Florence with childhood friends, Angie and Nicole. Our favorite story to tell from that trip is how we all got huge gelatos, had taken two licks, and when Kailen went up to pet a horse it knocked hers on the ground! We laughed, she cried.

The second time I was in Florence I celebrated my 19th birthday. I still wear the sandals I bought myself that day.

The third time I was with Angie again. It was HOT. We were pretty miserable. And we were broke. I remember sitting on the sidewalk, both of us digging through our pockets and coming up with just enough change to buy a gelato. To share. We stayed in Fiesole, just outside of Florence, a 10 minute ride on the number 7 bus. Angie's parents both worked in Fiesole years ago. It was the number 7 bus when they lived there too.

The fourth time I got to spend with my husband. I was so excited to share something that means so much to me and has played a big part in my life with Jay. We accidentaly ate our first meal out at an "Italian" restuaraunt run by Indians. Oops. We walked to the Piazza Michelangelo and went and saw Michelangelo's David. I made Jay rub the pig's nose. It was a great day and Florence lived up to its potential.

View from Piazza Michelangelo.

The Duomo

My first picture of me and this statue is with Angie and Nicole. I have continued to take a picture each time I go back. It is tradition.

Pontassieve

We didn't sleep very well this week. It could be because we took a nap upon arriving breaking the number one cardinal rule of avoiding jet lag. It could be because Italian beds have nothing on American beds (even our crappy one). It could be because we were consuming copious amounts of wine. My Dad referred to this as "wine-lag". :-) Whatever the case, we spent most nights awake from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. Since we didn't really have an agenda this didn't prove to be too much of an inconvience. Well, I take that back. By the time we woke up and were ready to go out and about it was always 1:00 p.m. which meant everything was closed until at least 3:00. Oh well!

On our first full day we went and had cappucinos - delicious - and just started walking. It was a beautiful day, probably in the high 60's low 70's. I saw a sign for a cemetery and I thought that might be neat. We ended up on one of their "wine roads" walking through vineyards and lots and lots of olive groves. Neither one of us had seen a producing olive tree up close and Jay tried one - he did not recommend it! I wish I could have gotten a picture of his face. Pretty sure these olives are not any good until they are pressed for oil.

Mmmmmmm. :-)

For the record: I knew EXACTLY where we were...HA!

Vineyards, with an olive grove in the top right.

Pontassieve ended up being perfect for us. It was a 5 minute walk to the train station from our B&B and then a 20 minute train ride to Florence. Florence has a large train station that is a main hub so from there you can get pretty much anywhere you need to go. We spent one day in Florence and one day in Siena. The rest of the time we just enjoyed being in a small town in Tuscany. We walked a lot, ate a lot of bread, cheese, salami and wine and just relaxed. The weather was great - a little chilly, but sunny every day.

The grocery shopping was always interesting. They actually had a big supermarket, which is very uncommon for Italy. They had baskets that you could carry or roll! (Please see the picture of Jay below.) We thought they were pretty funny. We also got in trouble one day for picking out fruit without putting a plastic glove on. This cute old man who didn't speak any English came up to us with a glove and put it on my hand. Oops! At the check out stand we typically just held out a handful of change and let them take what they needed. :-)

Check out the room colors! Maybe that is why we couldn't sleep!