Home!

We praise God for the wonderful trip we enjoyed!!!  We arrived home last night to this wonderful arrangement of flowers and welcome home banners from the grandkids.  Our house is immaculate thanks to Jon and Erin and the girls house sitting for us.

It took  us 24 hours start to finish to get home.  The Lindblooms were at the airport to pick us up....  Our luggage was all there!  

We had traveled in our leased Peugeot 3000 miles.  No scratches or dents which is amazing considering all the tight spots we maneuvered in.  When we arrived home we actually had euros left over!  We didn't charge anything, so we don't have to dread the credit card bill coming next month!  We  had our trip of a lifetime and we have memories that we will always cherish!  It was a very special gift from God that we were able to complete the trip we started last year!  

James 1:17

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow"

The Vatican

Today, our last day in Europe, we had a tour of the Vatican.  We saw so much that it's hard to summarize it!  The museum was full of lots of treasures...  And was very ornate in itself.  We only saw selected objects.  The Sistine Chapel was beautiful...  We cannot imagine Michelangelo's ability to create it!  Amazing!  The St Peters Basilica was huge and gorgeous!  So much.....  Wow!!!

Anyway, see you all soon ( or at least most of you!). We have to leave for the airport at 7:30 am... We have a 10 1/2 hour flight to Washington DC, and then a 2 hour layover.

We fly to Sacramento in around 5 1/2 hours....  Long, long day tomorrow!  (We are already packed, have ordered a wake-up call and a taxi!)

This trip was SO worth it!  We thank you for your prayers and good wishes...  God protected us so many times! We have not been sick, and I didn't  ever fall!  Jim made me hang on to him, use my stick, and wear my glasses!  We thank God for this most amazing experience...  We will cherish our memories always!

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Ancient Rome

Today we had a great private tour by an English fellow, Thomas,  of Ancient Rome.  It was very comprehensive... I hope we can remember the many things he told us.  We saw the forum, the senate, Palatine Hill, the vestal virgins home, etc......  To me, the most remarkable thing I learned was the utter brutality of the colliseum ... as well as the many aspects of the Roman social order.  Learned lots about Julius Caesar ... Did you know he was considered very tall and brave, but he was only 5'6"!  I will include a photo of his burial site.

We also did return to Trevi Fountain which was much less crowded today.  All in all, a wonderful day... One more to go and then we head home!

Rome

We made it!  We had good connections and made it here by noon.  We were expecting to take the hop on hop off bus, but they are having a huge demonstration against the government... To the tune of 100,000 people!  

So we decided to walk the sites.  There are thousands and thousands of people walking everywhere!  

Anyway, Jim decided to hire our own Roman chariot (I mean carriage:):)!

So we saw the sites with the narration of our driver.  It was quite a kick. We were able to hop on and off at the various sites.  The sites are so numerous that I feel a bit overwhelmed...  We saw the Trevi Fountain... And several other fountains, many churches, some palaces, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps...  Tomorrow we have a tour scheduled of the ancient sites and on Monday we have a tour of the Vatican and Saint Peters....

We are plum tuckered out!

A Slice of Heaven!

We really love this area and particularly appreciate the place we are staying...  Very much like the Napa area.  Our place is overlooking Orvieto... And is quite nice.  The cathedral in Orvieto has the prettiest facade we have seen.  We went to a nightlife spot in the village and watched the whole village pass by!  All generations...  Met an old toy maker...  Jim snapped a photo of him... His inventions were incredible.  Love it here!

Lucca and Florence

Yesterday we visited the walled city of Lucca.  It withstood centuries of attacks..and never fell until Napoleon.  The city is still walled... And has stayed really authentic and untouristy.  We liked that.  We were there  when the kids got out of school. It was fun to see all the families walking home together.  Seemed like Italy at its purest.

We got stuck in a HUGE traffic jam yesterday.  I counted 13 lanes converging into 3!  We saw crashes, and the drivers just kept on driving.  We saw men getting out to pee along side the road...  It was quite an experience!

Today we had a fun day in Florence visiting the Accadamia, the Uffizii, and the Piti Palace.  Seeing Michelangelo's statue of David was a real highlight.  We weren't allowed to take photos, but I snuck one of Jim in front of David!  Florence is a very picturesque place...

Tomorrow we head for one night inUmbria (Orvieto) and then to Rome for our last 3 days.  Everyday we pinch ourselves...  We can't believe we are really here!!!

400 BC

Today we saw ruins from the Etruscans.... (Tuscany was named after them).  They inhabited this area and left a few structures behind.  I will include a photo of Jim in front of an ancient Etruscan bridge.  

We visited two hill towns today... Volterra and San Gimigiano.  Volterra was my favorite.  The views of the countryside were spectacular.  Both these towns suffered many sieges from barbarians, as well as losing up to 3/4 of their population to the Black Plague.  They built huge towers to withstand attacks.  

Yesterday I mentioned that most folks live in multistoried apartments, so today I shot a few photos of them while driving by.  We have so much to be thankful for in America!!!

Florence

We had a wonderful tour of the main sites in Florence by our apartment's owner.  She is a tour guide for the big cruise lines.  There are thousands of tourists here from all over the world..... and this isn't even high season!  We learned a lot about the Renaissance and also about life in Italy. Both were extremely interesting!  We learned how rich the Medici family was in the Middle Ages, and how they made it very possible for young  artists to develop creations of incredible beauty!  The big dome over the cathedral, the bridge over the Arno,  the many famous statues.... were things we had heard about all our lives, but seeing them in person was spectacular.  That said, we are returning there on Thursday to visit the museums that were closed today.

After we left our guide, we managed to get lost!  We also have been eating authentic Tuscan dishes, most of which we have not really enjoyed.  Jim does like the wild boar, though!  Took the Metro home.  Very easy to commute here.

People here feel very overwhelmed by the high cost of living.  Gas is over $9 a gallon.  Lots of people seem very poor.  They live in multistoried apartments... Their laundry hanging out the windows.  They are very afraid of Russian and Chinese and Italian mafia!  Interesting!  

That said, we are going back to the hill towns tomorrow.  They are definitely our favorite!  

Siena... Beautiful!

Loved the cathedral, the wall, the plaza where the Palio horse race takes lace, our lunch....

Very, very beautiful city.

I am also attaching photos of our current bedroom, bath, night time view of Florence from our bedroom window.  It really is nice, just not over the top... I will also add photo pf Venice bedroom and bath!  I think this place is very nice, and the location is wonderful!