Italy

  • Venice!

    Venice!

    As promised, today we take Tommy over to Venice!  Sarah and I really like Venice, and I have been annoyed that the last time I visited, I was unable to go into St. Mark’s Basilica where the Gabrieli boys worked and the Venetian Polychoral Style developed.  I also want to…

  • Padova: Medieval to Renaissance

    Padova: Medieval to Renaissance

    One of the cool but scary things about this trip is that we did not come over with everything already in place.  We mostly knew about the musical performances and military base visits, but we also knew there were time spans without anything booked.  This has allowed us some flexibility…

  • Pisa: They Have a Tower?

    Pisa: They Have a Tower?

    Today we took a train over to Pisa.  I did not know much about the little city, but they say there is a tower that a lot of tourists visit.  Turns out the tower is also attached to a giant cathedral complex that is also pretty cool! Before traveling over…

  • Cat’s: What We Have NOT Had

    Cat’s: What We Have NOT Had

    A short, but fun post. In our travels we have obviously missed our crazy cats (although our house-sitter has spoiled them, so I suspect they have not missed us).  One of the ways we have dealt with this cat-loneliness has been to take lots of pictures of cats in each…

  • Florence: Cradle of the Renaissance

    Florence: Cradle of the Renaissance

    Wow! We are in the city often considered to be the cradle of the Renaissance.  The city with the cathedral dome that graces half of the advertisements for European travel.  And in yet another demonstration of her genius at organizing our world tour, Sarah has rented us an apartment where…

  • Rome: The Vatican

    Rome: The Vatican

    Please note that this post is longer, and more opinionated and personal, than the others. I encourage you to skip the first two paragraphs or try not to judge me! One of the things that Sarah and I have encountered from this trip around four continents, has been the unexpected…

  • Rome (all but the Vatican)

    Rome (all but the Vatican)

    Given this very tiny monument to Vittorio Emanuele, I can see why he also would need the space formerly honoring the Holy Spirit in the Pantheon…

  • Time to Confess!

    Time to Confess!

    Hey Everyone!  I hope you are enjoying this narrative on our little adventure.  You are probably thinking that it has been unusually stress free for such a major undertaking.   And thanks to Sarah, you would be correct.  But now that it is resolved I have decided to create a post…

  • Time Travel: National Archaeological Museum, Pompeii, and Mt. Vesuvius

    Time Travel: National Archaeological Museum, Pompeii, and Mt. Vesuvius

    For many of us (as long as you were born before about 2005) the best day of the school week was when the Weekly Reader was given out. From 1928 to 2012 Weekly Reader was a way for elementary kids to learn about the world and recent events. For me,…

  • We’ve Moved to Naples, Italy!

    We’ve Moved to Naples, Italy!

    We have left Turkey for Italy. We have moved into a quintessential European apartment in Naples just off from Piazza Garibaldi. Arriving after dark it was a bit unnerving, but the next morning we realized it was truly a great spot. The entrance, inner courtyard, and balcony are just what…