Palermo

We flew from Venice to Palermo yesterday afternoon, arriving in the evening.  We went out for a delicious dinner just across the street from our B&B.  Our first impression of Palermo was that it is gritty.  We got up early this morning and went for a two hour walk about the old part of the city and our first impression changed to one of old grandeur.  The grit seems to mostly be cleaned up every morning by a crew of street sweepers.

Palermo was colonized by the Phoenicians in the 6th century BC.  It has been ruled by the Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish, Mafia, and Italy since.  Many of the churches and palaces were built in the 1100's.  We walked past and into the Duomo, Palazzo Reale, San Cataldo church, the Quattro Canti, Teatro Massimo, and more.  Beautiful!

Views of Venice

We were up at 6 yesterday morning, to take a circle ferry ride around the island of Murano, the home of many glass blowers that have made Venice famous.  Murano is a scaled down version of Venice, not as formal or fancy, rather workmanlike.  The ferry to Murano and back was filled with workers going to and from their jobs.  We passed the cemetery island along the way.  The whole ride was beautiful in early morning sun.

After a later than usual breakfast, we walked to the Rialto Bridge and looked at the various products at the markets around the bridge... fruits and vegetables, masks, leather, shoes, jewelry, and trinkets.  We had lunch at a trattoria in a small piazza nearby.  In the evening, we walked to San Marco Square, enjoying visits to churches, palazzos, stopping to listen to music, and enjoying a conversation with a couple from NYC in their late 80's (sharp, in good shape, and well traveled).  We stopped for gelato on our way back to our hotel.  Another great day in Venice!

Venice!

Certainly there is no other city in the world like Venice.  We enjoyed it yesterday from sun up until well after sunset.  We bought a 24 hour ferry pass, so we traversed the city over and over.  We went to see exhibits at Biennale Arte at Giardini for a couple of hours in the morning.  We ferried to San Croce and had a late lunch, and by late afternoon, we visited the Iraq exhibit of Biennale Arte 2017, in an amazing palazzo with a two level all wood library and two carved circular stairs.  We were more impressed by the palazzo's library than the Iraq exhibit (and it was good!).  We had a late light dinner, then took the ferry up the Grand Canal to San Marco Square to enjoy the night lights and the music.  We called it a day at 11 pm.  Celebrating Father's Day and my birthday in Venice was unforgettable!

Happy Father's Day!

Our message to son Brian and sons-in-law, Dan, Corey, and David,

Happy Father's Day!  Dad and I are proud of you and proud of your children... our grandchildren.  Thank you for the gift of your children.

Dad turned 71 on the first day of this trip to Italy and I turned 60 today.  We celebrated Dad's birthday in Dallas with Brian and Whitney's families.  We've celebrated my birthday in San Pietro with Audrey, Claire and Whitney's families.  The lesson of time is that family are the most important people in our lives.  No one else even comes close.  Time spent with family make up the stories we tell our children and grandchildren and they will tell their grandchildren.  That lesson was reinforced over and over last week, as the grandchildren would beg us to tell them stories.  Thank you for being family and part of the stories of our lives and your children's lives.  Happy Father's Day!

Love,
Lulu and Papa

In Venice on My Birthday

Papa and I arrived by train in Venice yesterday afternoon.  We have tickets to the La Biennale de Venezia, their 57th International Art Event, so we set off for the Arsenale venue first.  Along the way, we stopped at several palazzos hosting Biennale art events.  The palazzos were more stunning than the art!

We were up early today, to celebrate my 60th birthday!  We walked for an hour to enjoy the early morning light.  After breakfast, we're going to the Biennale Giardini venue for more art.  We celebrated our 25th Anniversary in Venice.  We're happy to be back for another celebration!

Birthdays are always a time of reflection, and I am so grateful for this life I live.  I am so proud of my children and am enjoying the moments spent with grandchildren.  I work at staying healthy and hope to stay strong.  I love to travel and enjoyed reminiscing with our girls over the past week, about trips taken, places experienced over the past 35 years.  I enjoy time and conversations with good friends.  I'm happy to be a giver and cherish those moments of doing for others.  I'm grateful to be married to Papa and to share this amazing journey of life.  All good!

A Day in Valpolicella

Audrey and Dan left the villa this morning, so Papa and I had the day to ourselves.  We went to the Antolini Stone Gallery to see the many choices of marble quarried in the area.  Amazing!  We then drove to Pieve di San Giorgio, a small Romanesque church and cloister, built in the 700's.  It was simple and beautiful and is located on a hill with a magnificent view.  We had lunch at our villa, then set off again to see more of the Valpolicella area.  Audrey and I discovered the Villa Costanza yesterday afternoon on a walk, just a short distance from our villa.  It too is Palladian, along with scores of other nearby homes, built from the 1500's - 1700's, as country homes, by the very wealthy.  Papa and I walked to Villa Costanza again today, after dinner, through the local vineyards.  The Valpolicella area is beautiful, with vineyards as far as the eye can see, mostly terraced, and producing award winning wines.  We couldn't have had a better 10 days.  We've enjoyed every moment and hope to return to the Valpolicella.

Verona and Lake Garda Again!

On Wednesday, we visited Verona again.  We parked near the Basilica of San Zeno and toured from the cloister to the crypt.  San Zeno made an impression on Lauren, Taylor, and Greta, partially because Zeno is an easy name to remember, but also because of his story.  Saint Zeno was born in Africa and was a happy priest.  He started the church in the 300's and it grew so much, a larger church was built in the early 800's.  San Zeno was beautiful, with the interior covered in colorful frescoes and Saint Zeno's remains are preserved in the crypt.

We walked from San Zeno along the river, through the Castelvecchio, and to the Roman Colleseum, where we had lunch at a nearby table.  Some shopped for souveniers at Piazza Erbe and we checked out Juliet's Balcony once more.  We made our way back to San Zeno, stopping for a gelato.  Before going back to the villa, we stopped at Brunelli Winery within a short walking distance for a bit of wine tasting.  Alberto Brunelli served our wine and we learned a bit about the local wine business, which has been going for centuries.  Brunelli just won the 2017 International Award for best Amarone Reserve.  Dan bought several bottles to ship home.

Wednesday evening, we walked to a nearby restaurant for a fancy dinner.  The restaurant is next door to the church up the street and we enjoyed organ music, a nice breeze, and an incredible dinner.  It was our first experience in miscommunicating rather badly and after stuffing ourselves, we somehow ordered eight desserts rather than two.  Yes, we ate the whole thing!  Delicious!

We returned to Lake Garda on Thursday late morning, to the village of Lazise.  The girls found a small carnival next to a playground, so for E6 each, they played until they were tired and had the carnival mostly to themselves.  They loved it!  We had dessert before lunch... gelato.  We had lunch and then Papa and I drove Whitney and Greta to the Verona airport, while Audrey and Dan stayed at Lake Garda awhile longer, so Lauren and Taylor could get in the lake.  We made dinner at the villa.  It was terrific!  We are having a wonderful time!