Life Is Good

Just finished visiting with my new granddaughter, Ellinor Olive, on the computer.  Well, and we visited with her mom and dad too.  Since they live so far away, I am very thankful for the technology that allows us to see and hear them.  It is not as good as getting to hold Elli in my arms, but at least I get to see her and hear the sounds she makes.  I love getting to see Scott and Elizabeth learning how to take care of their daughter.  It gives me a warm feeling inside.

And this is not all that makes life good.  Of course, Isaac and Caroline help make life good.  Any day when I have the privilege of seeing them is a good day.  And seeing their parents too.  Isaac is growing up so fast.  Being in fourth grade means that he has a different teacher for each subject.  It seems like only yesterday when he and I made cookies together for the first time.  He was only 2 years old at the time.  And darling Caroline.  In a little over 4 months she has changed each time we see her.  She is about to get the sitting up thing managed.

It is not only family that makes life good.  I have a job that is challenging , but very rewarding.  I truly love interacting with teenagers and having an impact (I hope) on their lives.  When I watch the news and see people who have lost their jobs and aren't sure how they are going to pay bills, it makes me very thankful for the job I have.  And most days I love it.

 I still enjoy spending time with my husband and having evenings together.  We will get to go meet Elli in person in a couple of weeks and our entire family will be together for a few days.

So life is good.

Back to School

It's been a while since I have posted anything.  Since getting back from vacation I just haven't seemed to have anything to write.  I've done fun things, like keep grandson Isaac for a week and babysit with granddaughter Caroline a couple of times.  For some reason, I just haven't felt like posting.  Probably because I was on the down people feel after getting home from a big vacation.  Well, here I am again, ready to share.

Today was the second day of school for this year.  For the most part it has been pretty smooth.  Each year when school starts, I am excited to meet my new students and get into a routine of helping them to learn new things.  This year hasn't been any different.  I have a few former students in a new class and a lot of new students in first year chemistry.  I look forward to getting to know these young people and challenging them to learn as much as possible.  So for now, looking forward to the year ahead and thinking of all the possibilities.

New York, New York

It's taken me a while, but here are some pictures of our quick trip to New York City.  Mike and I have decided that we need to go back some day and stay longer.  It was a short trip.  We rode the Amtrak train from Alexandria, Virginia to Penn Station in New York on July 4.  We walked around a little, ate a tasty lunch at Bryant Park, then went and checked in at our hotel.

Mike, Beth, and Scott enjoying lunch.

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn at Times Square.  It was really nice.  We got a room on the 12th floor because we didn't want to be too close to the street noise.  A good thing since the hotel is next door to a fire station.  In fact, it is the fire station that President Obama visited after Osama bin Ladin was killed.

Times Square

After settling in at the hotel we went for a walk through Central Park.  It really is a nice park in the middle of a huge city.  It was more crowded than usual because of the holiday.

Beth and Scott in Central Park

Mike and Mary in Central Park

Before going back to the hotel we stopped in at a local pub for a couple of beers.  They tasted really good because it was really hot out.  After resting at the hotel for a bit we went to eat at John's Pizzeria on Times Square.  As good a pizza as a person can get.  And the restaurant is really unique also.  We went back to Times Square to see the lights at night then headed back to the hotel.  We watched the fireworks on TV while listening to them outside the hotel.

Times Square

Times Square at night

 The next day we took a bus tour of downtown NYC.  It was very interesting and gave us a feel for the layout of that part of the city.  After lunch we headed back to Penn Station to catch the train back to Alexandria.  It was fast, but a lot of fun. We'll have to visit again someday..

Ceramics made by school children who saw the Twin Towers fall

Empire State Building

Back in the USA

After over 24 hours in airports and airplanes, we finally made it back to the good old USA.  Needless to say we were exhausted, so I am just now finishing my Italy blog.

Arezzo piazza where we drove in old town.

We left Cortona on Thursday, June 30 and returned our rental car to Arezzo.  The hail storm the night before had really dinged the car up, but since it wasn't our fault we didn't have to pay.   Getting the car back to the rental agency turned into quite an ordeal.  Mike took a wrong turn and in our efforts to get back where we needed to be we ended up in the old part of town at the piazza of the duomo.  I don't think we were supposed to be driving there, but once you get on the one way streets, you just have to keep going in that general direction.  The good news about ending up in that piazza was that we knew where we were and how to get back where we needed to be.

After returning the car, we caught the train to Rome.  We had decided to spend one night at Fiumicino in a hotel at the Mediterranean so that it would be easier to get to the airport on Friday to catch our flight home.  On the train ride we saw many of the places we had visited in Tuscany and Umbria and got a final view of Cortona up on the hill.

Final view of Cortona from the train

 We hired a taxi at the train station in Rome to take us to our hotel.  We thought that would be easiest, and it was but it was also very expensive.  Lesson learned.  The ride was quite an experience though.  Fast driving on crowded roads with motorcycles driving between the lanes of traffic.  Motorcycle drivers in Italy have no fear.

We stayed at the Hotel Del Mare by the beach.  It wasn't a fancy hotel, but was clean, had a decent breakfast, and was right on the sea.  This was our only chance to view the sea while on our trip.  It was worth it .  We ate at an excellent seafood restaurant, waded in the Mediterranean, and saw a beautiful sunset.

Sunset on the Mediterrean

Mary by the Sea

Mike by the sea

As it turned out, we made the right choice staying close to the airport.  We took a shuttle to the airport 3 hours before our flight was scheduled to take off.  He let us off at the correct terminal, then we waited in different lines for over 2 1/2 hours.  If we hadn't gotten to the airport so early we would have missed our flight.

So after a day back in the USA, some final thoughts about our trip to Italy.  Our choice to not do any type of tour was absolutely the correct one as well as our choice of where to stay.  I am sure we missed some of the typical tourist places to visit, but we really didn't care about that.  We didn't so much tour Tuscany and Umbria as learn about the people and culture of these places.  We so enjoyed being able to set our own schedule and decide daily what we wanted to do.  And Cortona is the best town we visited.  It is a stop on tours, but most tourists stay in only the lower part of town.  Plus the town still has a small town feel.  The residents sit out on their doorsteps of an evening visiting with their neighbors.  We loved the local shops with goods made in the region.


To those who have been reading about our adventures, I hope you have enjoyed my daily posts.  I have enjoyed sharing with you.  If you ever have the opportunity to visit Italy, be sure to take time to stay a while  in Cortona.  Until next time, arrivederci.

Final Day in Cortona

Sorry that I had no blog about yesterday.  We have not had internet for the past two days.  Now I am sitting here listening to the thunder in the distance.  About an hour ago we had a really big hail storm.  We were so glad that we were inside.  The street was covered with hail, some quarter sized. Mike went up to the garden above the apartment and many of the flowers were ruined and the trees had a lot of damage.  So sad.  It's about 6:20 pm and we are going down to town for supper in about an hour, if it doesn't start storming again.

 Yesterday we went to the town of Siena.  Many people had told us that we really needed to see it before we go.  So, we found directions, located them on the map and headed out.  Getting to Siena and finding parking was very simple.  Probably because we have finally gotten used to how things are.  Siena itself was crazy.

Today is the first day of activities leading up to the Palio which is held in Siena twice a year.  This is a horse race around the Campo Piazza.  The first race is Saturday.  Lots of people were arriving in town just for the race and vendors were stocking up with supplies for the week.  The Campo Piazza was interesting to see with the dirt packed race track around the outside of the piazza.  I wondered just how many loads of dirt it took to make the track.

Bleachers around the dirt track.

Restaurants had their tables set up temporarily on the track 

Some streets had their flags and decorations out.

 We went to the duomo of town.  It was very interesting with paintings and statues on the outside and frescoes on the walls and ceilings inside.  This was one of the few churches which allowed pictures inside.  This style is typical of the fanciest.  Our favorite is the San Francesca church in Cortona.  It has some simple frescoes, but has wood beam ceilings and a simple altar area.

View inside duomo

Outside view of duomo

We then just roamed around and found a couple of interesting courtyards to visit.

Ceiling frescoes in entry to a courtyard.

Well in the same courtyard

A pigeon drinking from the water flowing into a fountain.

We had our first real Italian pizza from a place that is obviously family owned and run.  They were making lots of fresh pizza and other lunch items while we were in there.  The pizza was good.  We left town about 12:30.  We'd had enough of the craziness.  After returning to Cortona we rested, you know Italian siesta, then we walked back down into town.

We spent today washing clothes, packing, and generally getting ready to leave in the morning.  We did walk through town one more time.  I will blog more about today's events in a couple of days.

 We have come to really love the town of Cortona.  It has the old Italian flavor and is quiet and serene.  If we ever have another chance to return to Italy we will definitely return to this town.  I can understand why a person would spend three months every year living here.

We are heading to Fiumicino just outside of Rome tomorrow.  We will spend one night at a hotel on the beach then Friday catch a plane to DC.  I won't have internet when we leave here, so until I have a chance to blog later, this is it.  I'm ready to head back to the states, but am a little sad to be leaving. This has truly been a dream vacation.

I will add a blog about the sea and will have final thoughts about Italy in a blog when we have returned to the United States. Until then, Arrivederci!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011; 9:50 pm

Italian Siesta

In our time in Italy, one thing that we have discovered is that Italians take their siesta time seriously.  In any town that we have visited, at 1:00 pm sharp shops close down, Italians clear the streets, and everything becomes quieter (except for the tourists).  When we visited Orvieto the police even gathered together between 1:00 and 4:00 and took a rest from driving through the town.  When we arrived in Arezzo yesterday a man was begging for money on the steps of the church.  At 2:00 when we left town he was gone.  We decided that even the beggars take siesta time seriously.  On the days when we have visited Lago Trasimeno we have seen that the parents make their children get out of the water and take a rest during this time.  About the only places that we have found that are always open at this time are most sidewalk bars (Italians call cafes "bars").  Mike and I have gotten into the routine of resting sometime during this hot time of the day.  We will usually leave to do our touring early to middle of the morning.  We walk around a town until about 1:00 when we will buy a sandwich for our lunch.  By the time we have finished eating it is usually around 2:00 and we are ready to head back to our apartment.  We rest until supper time then head out again until after dark.  That is the best time of the day.  We either walk down to the piazza republica or sit out front of our apartment and watch the sun go down.

Today, Mike and I followed that routine.  We left the apartment about 10:00 am and went back to Lago Trasimeno.  We knew this would be our last chance to go there and we love the quiet and nature of the lake. On our way there we found a large field of sunflowers blooming.  This is a scene present on many posters and post cards of Tuscany.

Sunflowers in Tuscany

Sunflower

View of Lago Trasimino

We ate our lunch under the shade then went to a sidewalk cafe by the lakeshore and had a gelato.  Not much action, but very enjoyable.

Tomorrow we head to Sienna.  Several people have told us that we can't miss seeing that town.  Until then, Buonasera.

Monday, June 27, 2011; 9:10 pm

There Are Nice People in Italy

When we were planning our trip to Italy, Mike and I got mixed reviews about how the people would treat us.  Some people we spoke to said Italians can be rude, but not as rude as the French.  Others said Italians could be fairly friendly.  For the most part, we have found that the Italians in this region are very friendly.  By this region I mean southern Tuscany and northern Umbria.  Cortona is on the border of these two regions just barely in Tuscany.

Yesterday when we went to Arezzo, we discovered just how nice people in Italy can be.  Arezzo is a medium sized town about 45 minutes north of Cortona.  We rented our car in this town almost two weeks ago, but hadn't yet explored the old town area.  A book we have access to had a walking tour of the old part of town that sounded fun, so we decided to follow that.  In the book it said to park in a lot to the left of the train station.  We knew where that was because the car rental place is across the street from the train station.  When we pulled into the lot we noticed that we could only park for two hours at a time.  We asked a lady that pulled in if there were another lot close to the train station and she told us "no".  She tried to explain how to get to a free lot on the other side of the old town area, then went into the station.  This woman lives in Italy, but is originally from France and spoke French and a little English.  When she came out of the station about two minutes later we were looking at our map to be sure we knew how to get to the lot she told us about.  You have to be careful driving in the old towns in Italy because tourists for the most part are not allowed to drive through the historic areas because the streets are so narrow and to limit the amount of traffic.  That means you have to drive around the cities.  Anyway, this nice, nice lady noticed us and offered to let us follow her to the parking lot.  We thought she was headed there by the way she was talking, so we said yes.  We followed her making several turns.  When we got to the lot she pulled over, told us that was it, then just headed on her way.  Turns out, she went out of her way to be sure we got to the right place.  How nice.

The historic part of Arezzo was a pretty and quiet place.  May have been partly due to fact that it was Sunday.  The first thing we saw when we got into the town proper was the main church.  Like many others it was stunning on the outside.  This one was different because they let you take pictures inside.  They also didn't seem to mind having tourists there while mass was going on.  There were no services when we stepped inside, but about 15 minutes later a mass started even though there were tourists and even tour groups.  Kind of strange.  The frescoes and paintings were beautiful.

View inside cathedral of the church

Frescoes

From the church we went to the grand piazza.  This piazza was different than any other we have seen.  They have it decorated with community colors for an event that will occur in a couple of months.  While at the piazza I found a little store that said "Terra Cotta and Souvenirs".  I had been having trouble finding something to take home for people I wanted to get gifts for.  I expected a regular souvenir store but found something entirely different.  This store had some standard souvenir stuff, but primarily had tiles and crafts made in the store itself.  I found several things for myself and others and then discovered the second nice person in Italy.  The shop is run by a man and woman.  The woman only spoke very limited English, but was able to help me pick things out and understood what was for me and what would be a gift.  All purchases that were for gifts, she wrapped up to take home safely then as a present.  Very lovely.  I know it is her business to do this, but she was nicer than the normal store owner.  If it wasn't so far from Cortona, I might go back and buy more.   The shop is under the brown awning in the first picture below.

Building on piazza

Mike standing in the middle of the piazza

I'm next to an old well in the piazza.

Park where we ate lunch

Interesting trees

When we left town, we realized that we didn't know the way out of town toward Cortona.  We asked the girl in the tourist information center and she said to follow the signs to Cortona.  Only problem is there are no signs for Cortona until you get out of town.  So we took off in what we thought was the generally correct direction.  In towns in this area many streets are one way so you can't just go back the way you came.  We were proud of ourselves, because we were able to take the roads and get to the correct edge of Arezzo to head back.  We really liked the town of Arezzo.

I couldn't write about nice people without mentioning the women that we are renting our apartment from.  I know that being nice is how they make money, but we often rent from people that just give you the key to the place and keep you supplied with clean linens.  Not Luccia and Patrizia.  They have done so much more that the regulars.  They invited us to an Italian festival, have eaten with us, and have given us produce from their garden.  I am so glad that we choose this place as our base for two weeks in Italy.

Until next time, Buon Giorno!

Monday, June 27, 2011; 10:23 am