Happy Halloween!!

I have had a fun day, mostly.  A little bit of trick and a whole lot of treat.  This is the first time in years that I've been at a place where I could hand out candy to little costumed cuties. There isn't any trick or treating in my apartment complex and for years we lived on a busy road in the country where cars didn't stop to let their kids out and it certainly wasn't a good idea to let littles walk along the road.  But tonight was my night.  My GPP lives in a subdivision, and agreed that we should hand out candy this year.  I bought the candy and, when he saw how much I had bought, he said it should last us ten years.  But despite the cold and snow flurries (burrrr) we ended up almost out of candy.  Yay!!! My very favorite costume was a traffic cone, very appropriate if you live anywhere near State Street.  

About that little trick though.  Along with other candy I bought a couple of bags of Tootsie Rolls because I really like Tootsie Rolls, and, you know, there might be some left over. While doing some computer work earlier in the afternoon, I decided to treat myself to one Tootsie Roll, just for a boost of energy.  I bit off a chunk, savored the flavor, started to chew on it and suddenly felt something hard rolling around in my mouth.  It really didn't feeling like candy.  I will be seeing my dentist Thursday morning to get a crown reattached. 

progress report

 Last year I blogged a few times about the little first grader I was tutoring once a week through the FWCS Study Connections program.  I'm delighted to report that I will be tutoring him again this year, only now he is a big second grader and both of his front teeth have grown in.  His speech isn't perfect yet but the teeth have helped a lot.  He informed me, very proudly, that these are his grown up teeth. He must take good care of them so they will last a while.  I told him how long mine have lasted but I'm not sure if numbers that large mean much to him.  He told me that he thought his (which are nice and straight and  white by the way) need to last at least 12 years.  As he explained it to me, he needs that long to get through college.  "First you go to high school, then you go to college and then you're a grown up."  It's good to have goals.

Here Kitty, Kitty...

 My west coast brother once again has time to alert me about special days, now that his youngest daughter is married and pretty much moved out, at least as far as I know.  Today, he has informed me, is "National Cat Day" (I'm pretty sure there are at least 360 of those each year) and also "National Hermit Day."  I thought I knew what a hermit is (I've sometimes thought I might like to be one, especially when my GPP beats me at Gin Rummy and Scrabble in the same day).  But that's a story for another time, or maybe never.  I did beat him at Wordle.  Anyway, I checked out the definition for hermit.  Google says it's "a person living in solitude as a religious discipline." Substitute 'being' for 'person' and that could describe a cat, which seems appropriate on National Cat Day.  Even the religious aspect.  As the old saying goes, dogs think they're human while cats think they're god.  You know it's true by the way they greet you.  When I would return from any trip, even only to the grocery store, my dogs would practically do cartwheels, in their eager anticipation of sharing my life and space again.  My cats, on the other hand, if they deigned to show up at all when I returned from a trip, would stroll into the entry way, look me over as if to say "Oh, it's you." then turn and stroll away to resume their interrupted nap.  It is true that cats sleep about 22 hours a day.  Sounds like a hermit to me.

Blue cat blues...

 A recent question in my page-a-day trivia calendar was 'In the classic Looney Tunes cartoons, what is the name of the cat that Tweety Bird is always outsmarting?' I'm sure you remembered the answer as quickly as I did.  What made me chuckle, as I read the question, was the memory of the little old 'grandma' who owned Tweety Bird, and the car she drove.  It was a black box on wheels (a little like a model T) and I am reminded of the image as I drive around downtown in my little car.  It's blue, not black, and a Fiat, but still the comparison seems appropriate.  My car is on my mind right now because yesterday, as I started to back out of the garage, the CHECK ENGINE light came on.  I was on my way to my manicure appointment, which, you know, is important, but just as soon as that was finished, I headed for the dealership where I ger all my work done.  When I got there I told them about the light and asked about getting my 30,000 mile service done since I had been getting frequent reminders that it was due.  Actually I only have 29,445 miles on the car, not bad for a nine year old car.  Again, the little old lady image.  I decided it would be good to get the work done before real winter sets in, and they had time so I had it done yesterday.  Now my tires have been rotated, all systems checked, nice fresh oil put in, filter changed and bunches of other stuff done, for an only mildly exorbitant price.  In addition, they did discover why my check engine light came on.  It was a leak in the ESIM (Evaporative System, Integrity Model).  And I'm guessing that tells you just as much as it told me.  Evidently it's fixed now, for a slightly less exorbitant price.  As I was leaving, after putting my still smoking credit card back in my purse, I was assured that "You shouldn't need anything done to that car for a good long time."  I certainly hope not.  However, I will be heading back to the dealership on Monday to return a strange little box they left plugged into the car, under the dashboard, by the drivers door.  The box has a bright yellow tag hanging from it stating in three languages 'must be removed before car is returned to owner.'  Woops.  I will be good and return it to them.  Maybe they'll be so pleased that they will give me a refund.  Ha ha ha ha ha! 

over head projector

 My west coast brother has informed me that today is World Audiovisual Heritage Day.  Just hearing that brought back memories.  Any of you who are retired teachers, or still active teachers or presenters of any kind can relate.  In my various careers I have used overhead projectors, movie projectors, slide projectors, split screen Zoom applications, and regular Zoom.  I have projected on the big screen from my computer, worked math problems on a white board (the electronic type), and never forget green and black chalk boards and white boards with erasable markers.  I've even created Power Point presentations.  In other words, I am a survivor of audiovisual experiences through the years.  It did not always go smoothly. 

one more blog about the wedding...

 Today my west coast brother informed me that it's National Chicken Fried Steak Day and Worldwide Howl at the Moon Night.  This message assured me that things are somewhat back to normal, and helped me realize that I'm not quite ready to stop thinking about wedding memories.  First the moon. As I sat at the rehearsal evening cookout, watching the crescent moon rise over the mountain (see yesterday's picture) I said to one of my youngest great nephews, "Isn't the moon beautiful?" He replied "Yes, it reminds me of the one at the start of movies, with the boy sitting on it with his fishing pole."  I haven't been to a movie for a while but I knew exactly what he meant.  It was a nice bonding moment.  The chicken fried steak reminded me of the Thursday before the wedding when my brother, sister-in-law and two of their grandchildren and I ate supper at a Denny's.  I had country fried steak (close enough) and a lovely conversation with my great niece who I held when she was one day old.  I have seen her since then, but not for five years, so it was a pleasure to get reacquainted with her 12 year old self.  She was so excited about the role she would play as greeter at the wedding, her newly pierced ears, and the earrings the bride have given her.  My  whole visit was a wonderful chance to re-bond with so many relatives.  

A picture of me with one of my very favorite nieces, the mother of the two mentioned above, and the artist who created the wedding cake and most of the floral arrangements. 

I'm back...

 I really enjoyed, as I always do, my week long visit with my west coast brother, sister-in-law and assorted family members.  The main event of the week was the wedding of my youngest niece.  She's 25 so don't worry, she's not a child bride.  I helped where I could with chores like cutting carrot cake into individual servings and helping put to-die-for lemon bars into individual cupcake papers.  Tough jobs but someone had to do them. I thoroughly enjoyed being the matriarch of the family.  

A sliver of moon at sunset. Perfect weather for the rehearsal picnic dinner.

The bride and her bridesmaids.  I'm hoping to get copies of some of the professional pictures, but these will have to do in the meantime.

 
Some of you will remember my memoir about the well traveled bouncing horse that has been back and forth across the continent four times.  I was thrilled to see it still in use, but didn't get a picture of the cute little flower girl as she rode it. Such fun.

off I go again...

 I've been home from Italy and Greece for a week and a half, and have managed to do all my laundry, with the help of my GPP and his oversize washer and dryer. Now I'm heading out again. My flight tomorrow leaves at 6:05am and arrives in Spokane at 11:20am, with a quick detour to Atlanta.  Don't you love flying west?  Happily, it's not an international flight this time so no customs to get through. My visit will involve. even more happily, the wedding of my youngest niece.  I love my family and I love weddings so I'm very excited to be going on this trip.  I will try to behave myself and not embarrass my niece and soon to be nephew-in-law.  But, you know, sooner or later, he will figure out that he has married into a really wonderful, totally functional family with a few quirks to keep things interesting. I hope he's prepared to meet the matriarch. 

the end of the journey

 This is my final blog about our Italy/Greece trip but before I get into that I must say KUDOS the Philharmonic and Heather Headley for an amazing opening show for the POPS series.  Ms. Headley, a Tony and Grammy award winning Broadway star, and Fort Wayne native, was also a great stand-up comic.  Her comments between songs were very funny. Of course her voice was amazing too. Great Show!!!

Now, about leaving Athens and heading home.  As promised, our pre-paid cab driver was at the hotel by 9:45am to take us to the airport for our noon flight.  He seemed pleasant enough, although he didn't speak much English, but I must admit I was a little concerned when he seemed to be plugging the address of the airport into his GPS system.  He got us through all of the thick downtown traffic and really made up time when we hit the open highway.  We arrived at the AA terminal a little breathless but otherwise ok.  Obviously we made it on to our flight to Chicago, managed the customs hassle, and, with a four hour layover, had plenty of time to make our connecting flight to Fort Wayne.  After driving about half way to FW, the plane finally took off and we were up and down in 31 minutes, arriving on schedule at 11:05pm.  My GPP was there waiting to take us home.  What a welcome sight.  Finding that our suitcases had arrived with us was another plus.  

This was supposed to be sent last night but my laptop was doing weird things and I couldn't complete it until this evening.

I'm heading out on another flight in two days so stay tuned for further adventures.

Beautiful Athens

 My travel buddy and I had added two days in Greece to our vacation and so we made our way from Rome to Athens.  Navigating the Rome airport was an experience but we made our flight to Athens with time to spare.  I was surprised that we didn't have to go through Customs when we arrived in Athens, then realized that Italy and Greece are both EU countries, so it's like going from state to state in the US.  As part of our package, we were met at the Athens airport by a driver who whisked us away to the Stanley Hotel, not a very Greek sounding hotel name but far and away the nicest hotel we stayed in on the whole trip. It was in Athens that we both tested positive for COVID.  We didn't announce the fact to anyone but wore masks and did our best to keep our distance from people.  We discovered to our delight that the ninth floor restaurant (Cloud 9) had excellent food, a lunch menu available until 6:30pm, and a view of the Parthenon.  It was an indoor/outdoor restaurant with sliding glass panels to open the whole area when the weather was good.  We ate all three of our suppers in that restaurant, always seated at the same small table with that amazing view of the Parthenon. We ate at 6:00pm when it was never crowded.  We weren't sophisticated enough to eat with the evening crowd.  On the first afternoon we took a bus ride around the city on a double decker bus.  We sat in the very front seats on the top level and it was a lot like an amusement park ride.  Athens drivers, like those in Rome, are fearless. Driving a bus, truck, car (of any size) or motorcycle, it makes no difference.  Constantly switching lanes and passing with scant inches to spare is expected.  I have now added Rome and Athens to my list of cities I will never drive in; ride yes, drive no.  In case you're curious, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco are also on my list.

We did walk around some on the second day. in search of gelato, among other things, and discovered this lovely old building across from our hotel, in the early stages of restoration.  I especially like the railings.

A view of the traffic circle that we saw from the balcony of our hotel room. There were six streets feeding into this round-about, no traffic signs at all, and no apparent system.  Vehicles just merged in whenever they saw the slightest gap.  We heard lots of sirens but never actually saw an accident.

The view of the Parthenon, high on its hill, as seen from our restaurant table.  Like Rome, Athens is a city of layers, from the ancient to the ultra modern. Very exciting.

A view I liked from our bus ride.  I would like to go back to Greece sometime when I am feeling well and have lots more time to spend there.  

The end of the Italian adventure

 On day 8 of our Trafalgar tour we headed back to Rome and were taken to see the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Michelangelo's masterpiece.  Not surprisingly we weren't allowed to take pictures in the chapel.  We had about 15 minutes to try to absorb the whole scene, walls and ceiling.  While I would have liked to spend the time lying flat on the floor and gazing up, it was so crowed we could barely move, let alone stretch out.  Still, I did accomplish that other item on my bucket list for this trip.  After viewing the ceiling we ate dinner in the Vatican, which not everyone can say.  We ate in a large open hall surrounded by glass cases full of antiquities and gifts to former Popes. 

The next day was a free day for my travel buddy and me before we headed to Greece on Sunday.  Because we still weren't feeling great, although not yet aware that we had COVID, we hired a cab, with a very nice driver, to take us on a tour of the ancient sites of Rome. We had agreed on a fixed price for a two hour tour but we actually took over three hours.  Still he only charged us for the two.  He stopped at many sites, arranging for us to see and photograph the best scenes.  We really enjoyed our day in Rome.  I am intrigued by the layers of Rome from 2000 year old ruins to buildings of the middle ages and Renaissance to ultra modern Rome.

Some of the scenes from our drive around Rome.

going off tour

 After thinking about it for a few days, I decided to tell our regular guide how very disappointed I was not to have seen the 'David' when we were in Florence and ask if there was any way we could still arrange to see it.  I told her that my travel buddy and I were willing to give up the planned activity for day 7 (which was a cooking class) in order to see the 'David.' Many years ago I was an art teacher and lectured in Art History at IPFW so seeing the original works of art that I had studied and taught about was important to me.  Our guide, Vivien, suggested that we could take the train from Montecatini, where we were staying, to Florence, about an hour ride.  We decided to do this, made reservations for a tour of the Academy to see the 'David' and boldly set off on our un-guided adventure.  We found the train station, a 10 minute walk from our hotel, bought our round trip tickets for 13 euros each, not a bad price, rode the train to the Firenze (aka Florence) Centro station, and asking for directions many times, found our way to the Academy, located the tour group we were booked with, bypassing long lines of people along the way, and were in time for our tour. (We even had time for a quick gelato.) I didn't realize I had COVID at this point and just thought it was the crowds of people and the heat that was making me so weary.  It was all worth it though.  We saw the 'David' and many other fine works of art, made it back to the station in time for a late afternoon train, full of commuters, and finally back to Montecatini, patting ourselves on the back for having accomplished our solo adventure.  I must admit it did make me appreciate tour guides.  

'David' in the distance.  We walked through several galleries to get to this spot.

It's hard to explain the difference between the original and the copy that stands outside but when you see it you realize the detail and finish that make it almost breathe.

We were told that 'David' was originally commissioned to stand on top of the cathedral steeple, but the powers of the time decided that didn't seem quite appropriated so Michelangelo's 'David' stood at the entrance to a palace in a city square, where the copy is now, for a few hundred years until it was decided to bring it inside because of vandalism and weathering.  Now it stands protected inside a gallery with only two broken toes to show for it's rougher early years.  

COVID strikes...

 I don't have any special memories of the two towns we visited on day 6.  Siena has a 13th century marble cathedral and San Gimignano is famous for having a lot of towers, surviving from the middle ages.  Looking back, I realize that this was the first day I exhibited symptoms of COVID, but I just thought I was very tired from the previous days of site seeing.  All I wanted to do was sit around and eat gelato.  I highly recommend the lemon which I got every time but once.  My travel buddy convinced me that I really should try another flavor so I got mocha once and promptly dropped a glob on my white jeans.  So much for variety.  Did I mention that the temperature was near 90 each day?  My big brimmed sun hat, that I bought in Spain many years ago, came in very handy indeed. But enough complaining.  We had a nice air-conditioned bus for our rides from town to town and saw so much that was beautiful everywhere.

The bell tower of the marble cathedral.  If it leaned it would be as famous as Pisa's tower.  The details were exquisite.

A view of part of the front with the sun lighting up the gold leaf triangles.

One of the many towers of San Gimignano, one of the last remaining walled cities in Italy.

Sometimes looking down a side street (or alley) reveals surprising layers.  
 

The best guide ever

During our time in Tuscany we stayed at one hotel (the one with the incredible zebra striped interior decor) for six nights and took daily drives to various historic sites.  At each site we would be greeted by a local guide who specialized in the area.  They generally gave very good tours with lots of historic information and lots of walking and many steps.  However, our guide on day 5, for the cities of Lucca and Vinci, was the best ever.  She really should have been on stage. She was a a native of Lucca and regaled us with stories of the many battles between the wonderful people of Lucca and their wicked adversaries in Pisa (the third city we visited that day). From her point of view everything bad that happened anywhere could be blamed on the people of Pisa.  When a car drove down the street a little too fast for her approval, she claimed that the driver was from Pisa.  She gave us plenty of history, but made it so enjoyable that we didn't even notice all the walking we were doing.  In the evening we had another lovely dinner at a vineyard/ B&B.  Even more delicious than the first. 

Our vivacious little guide in the city of Lucca.

Somehow this shot makes the cathedral lean and the tower look straight.  Blame it on a tired photographer. The tower (the bell tower of the church) is interesting but the beauty of the Pisa cathedral should not be overlooked.  

Our last city of the day was Vinci, birthplace of (who else) Leonardo da Vinci.  It had a wonderful museum with carefully constructed working models of many of his inventions and his sketches and notes.

Sunset over the vineyard, so peaceful and beautiful.

Out of order, sorry.  This round building, the Baptistry of the Pisa cathedral should also be appreciated in its own right. 

Something different...

After the previous very busy day of walking all over Florence, day 4 offered us a delightful change of pace. We visited the Bay of Poets, Porto Venere and the UNESCO-protected Cinque Terre.  If you haven't heard of any of these places, don't worry, neither had I.  What it is is a long coastline (part of the west coast of Italy), featuring five  villages (cinque terre) famous for their colorful houses, which we viewed from a boat with a few shore excursions, and, at the end of the day, a train ride back to our bus.  

You can see, on this stroll through one of the villages, how different the buildings look from the buildings of Florence.

The arches support the railroad track which helped open the area to tourists in the 1950s. Above are the terraced vineyards.  Wine was the major source of income for the area for generations.  Now it's tourism.

This is a good example of how the very colorful houses have been built up into the hillsides.

Another view.  I liked the tower, and the blue, blue sky.

It occurred to me that these buildings look like the back drop for a musical production.  It really was a beautiful boat ride.

a slight delay....

 After enjoying a wonderful performance by the philharmonic yesterday evening (the PFW site isn't as beautiful as the Embassy but the sound was excellent so I will adjust) I had just settled down to write my blog when the lights went out.  Not just my lights, the entire building was dark.  Since I can't type when I can't see the keyboard, and having received a text from I&M assuring all of us that the lights would be back on by 3am, I went to bed.  So here I am writing an early morning blog.  

I have traveled in Italy before but I had never been to Florence or Rome, two big items on my bucket list, so I was very excited to be heading for Florence on day 3.  It was a beautiful city to explore and to shop in.  I did indulge in a little souvenir shopping at the "Gold Corner" which was also, conveniently, our meeting place at the end of our free time.  As part of the Florence experience we had been promised a tour of the Academy, where Michelangelo's original 'David' is displayed, or the Medici's Palazzo Vecchio, depending on availability.  As it turned out, we toured the palazzo, which was a lovely building with some beautiful art work and lots and lots of steps, but not what I was hoping to see.  Don't worry, my travel buddy and I rectified this situation. You'll hear about that on day 7.

I really like the style of this church, one of the first we saw in Florence. Notice the Star of David at the top.  This is a Christian church but the architect was Jewish and was encouraged to add this nod to his heritage.

A close up of details on the Duomo, the main cathedral of the city. The three colors of marble used together are a hallmark of Italian Renaissance architecture and one of the things I really wanted to see in Florence.

The outside 'David,' a very good copy, but not the real thing.  The original was moved indoors many years ago to protect from weather and vandalism. 

A classic view of Florence, so beautiful.

My travel buddy and I at the end of a long, weary day.  We have been friends since high school and have taken several trips together. I'm more organized and keep us on time, but she spots signs and figures out where we need to be more quickly, so we make a good team. 

food, lots of food

 Whoever decided that the Mediterranean diet is good for you must not have feasted in Tuscany.  On the evening we arrived there, we were driven to a 'delightful regional restaurant' which was also a B&B (12 rooms) with a vineyard, and olive orchard, and lovely rolling scenery all around.  We dined outside in a patio area while music played and people laughed.  A few tables away from us, a wedding celebration was in full swing.  We were served locally produced wine and lots of food.  We discovered that a typical meal included an antipasto dish of olives (I love olives), cheeses, sliced tomatoes, pesto and more.  Then came a pasta dish, and then the meat and potatoes.  Of course all of that was followed by dessert and more wine.  It was a chilly but lovely evening.  I even danced a little.

This is a stairway in the patio area where we ate.  I think it's lovely.

Here is an interior shot of St. Peter's Basilica that I forgot to include yesterday.  We were allowed to take pictures there, unlike the Sistine Chapel which comes later in the trip.

This really doesn't do it justice but the Tuscany landscape is beautiful.  I didn't expect mountains but they run the length of Italy. The grayish trees in the foreground are olive trees.  

Once upon a time...

 two intrepid travelers, friends since high school, took off to explore parts of Italy and Greece.  First success, we made it through the Charlotte Airport (the first of several airport adventures) and on to our overnight flight to Rome.  Day one was spent with views of Rome and dinner with our fellow travelers. There were 45 of us on a Trafalgar tour, a first for us.  Day two was when things got really interesting.  We spent the morning touring St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, then took our first bus ride, from Rome to the city of Montecatini in Tuscany.  A lovely little city with a unique hotel.  The beds were comfortable and the shower was good but the decorating was very strange. Picture frames, lamps, mirrors, chairs, all adorned with heavy curls and swirls and upholstered with zebra striped fabric, heavy drapes, dark red bed spreads, you get the idea.  Happily, most of our time spent in that room was with our eyes shut. No, I did not take a picture.

The biggest thrill for me was seeing Michelangelo's "Pieta" in St. Peter's Basilica.  Sadly, these days it's behind glass (sorry for the blurry picture) because of vandalism a few years ago.  I do not understand a desire to deface anything so beautiful.

A quick view of our faithful bus.  We had an excellent driver which is a really good thing.  Italian traffic is astonishing, but more about that in a later blog.

Exterior view of St. Peter's Basilica, where the Pope greets the faithful.  We got there early and didn't have to stand in line too long.  The line was much, much longer by the time we left.  So many people.  Thankfully Tuscany wasn't so crowded.