OUR TRIP TO ITALY JUNE 15-JULY 3, 1992

Before I start this journal I must answer the often asked question "Why Italy?" Last September a friend of ours told us that a colleague, Rod Liner was taking a group to Italy and they were thinking of going, why didn't we? (They ended up not going!) The idea appealed to me as I was aware of the great art works in Italy but I was afraid to travel "alone" in Italy. So I asked David and he said if I could find the money we'd go. Well of course I found the money and we went. As I started all the recommended reading in January I became even more excited and learned how much history and riches awaited us in Italy. So with much discussion, excitement, and planning we left for Italy on June 15, 1992.

MONDAY JUNE 15: We were driven to the airport by Zoe Allison accompanied by her mother Nancy. We met the group at 2:00 PM at US Air and flew to Los Angeles. After a 3 hour wait there we boarded Alitalia and at about 7:00 PM we left for Rome, arriving on Tuesday June 16 (after a 40 minute layover in Milano). We arrived in Rome about 4:00 PM Tuesday, some 13 hours after we left LAX. It was an ok flight except Penelope couldn't sleep but David did. A bus took us to our Hotel Columbus, 400 years old and right across from St.Peters. After a good dinner in the hotel we took a wonderful evening stroll to St. Peter's Square and had a lovely look at the outside of St. Peters and the Vatican in the moonlight. The light was on in the Pope's room. Oh I can't believe we are here- half way around the world, it is so overwhelming.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 17: Buffet breakfast in the hotel - bread and cheese (the start of 19 such breakfasts -ugh). Our hotel room is interesting. We can look out our window and see St. Peter's. We have four single beds and the shower is all a part of the toilet - like a ship's shower but it works fine. We walked to the Vatican museum after breakfast for a tour led by Isabella, a wonderful guide. We walked four or five miles through the museum and saw many art works but only a fraction of what they have, you could spend years there. Italy has some 60% of the worlds art treasures, a big responsibility but they are doing well in preserving and sharing them. I found that the age of all we saw and the glory of it all very emotional. The Sistine chapel is beyond description so I won't even try. I thank God that I got to see it, I just can't imagine how Michelangelo did it. Then we went to St. Peter's Church, the largest church in the world. It has marks on the floor to show the comparison of other churches. The most moving thing there was Michelangelo's Pieta. Pieta means Pity and all statues of Mary with a dead Jesus are called Pieta but there is no comparison with this one. Mary holds the suffering of all Mother's in her face and reminds us so clearly of Jesus' humanity and His suffering. Downstairs is where Peter is buried along with many popes. There is a statue of Peter made of bronze that has the foot worn down and it is shiny because pilgrims rub it for a blessing. Even though I am not Catholic I found all of this very emotional because much of Christian history since Christ is here. Peter was martyred in the middle of the square where the obelisk is standing. Again I cannot describe all we saw and I felt. David and I took the elevator and then climbed some 321 stairs for a wonderful view of Rome- a horrible climb but well worth it. After being on my feet 5 hours I was ready for a sit down lunch so we ate next door and went upstairs to our room. After a brief rest 7 of us went for a walk through the heart of Rome, it was raining so some didn't come. Rod gave us some of the history as we walked across the Tiber on the Ponte Sant 'Angela which has angels designed by Bernini each bearing a symbol of the passion of Christ. We saw the Castle Sant 'Angela which was built by Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself. We walked through downtown Rome and saw lots of wonderful old buildings and the outside of the Pantheon. In the Piazza Navaona they used to hold jousting tournaments from AD 90 to the middle ages. The Fountain of the Four Rivers celebrates the worlds great Rivers, Rio de la Plate, Danube, Ganges, and Nile. We also saw Vittorio Emanuele Monument. We walked for 2 hours - it was great. Most of us went out to dinner to Ettore Fieramosca in the Trastevere district which was fun. We had a wild taxi drive and then celebrated Lu's birthday with wine and singing musicians. The restaurant across the way had musicians and two men in nightgowns yelling from windows at them just like a Moliere play. It was so funny, especially when they dumped the chamber pot on them. It was a good dinner and a fun night in Rome.

THURSDAY JUNE 18: We had a bus tour of Rome with Isabella. She told us a lot of history which I won't repeat because it is in the travel guides. We drove from the Vatican to the hill Giano (Juno - God of War) for a wonderful view of the city. This was not one of the seven hills- they are in the old part. We drove on Via Giabaldi. We drove through the Trastevere district which is like a village. Rome has 2 million people. There are some really nice homes, all like large apartments. All buildings in Rome are in a brownish/reddish/greenish tinge and that is required by law. Nothing can be torn down all buildings must be restored rather than demolished. Tiboli Island, a small Island on the Tiber has 2 bridges leading to it which are 2000 years old and still being used by cars. Rome was build on top of old ruins so some new buildings have old foundations. You see left over pieces of statues everywhere. Then we went to the Roman Forum - it looks just like I imagined it would look. We went into the cell where Peter and Paul were held prisoners. What a powerful feeling that was, so much of Paul's writings were from there or from his experiences there. The Colosseum was also exciting to see and enter. From there we went to the Spanish Steps - hot and crowded and we ate at McDonalds! It was huge and very busy. We walked back to Villa Borgeshese where we met our bus when then drove us along the Appian Way to the Callisto Catacombs. The Appian Way was from 312 BC and it was along that road that Peter got his vision to turn back to Rome and face his martyrdom. Most roads in Rome are old and therefore narrow. The drivers live up to their reputation and I can see why so many drive scooters instead of cars. Anyway up to the third century AD all popes were buried in this catacomb and St. Ceclia was also buried here. There are 15 miles of catacombs here. They dug down so the top ones are the older, it was a very interesting experience.

FRIDAY JUNE 19 Since we were both up early this morning we walked up to St. Peter's. This was one of those special moments. The church was a living house of worship instead of a museum. I stood in front of the Pieta all alone and felt the power of Christ. In one of the side rooms a mass was being said including the singing and it was beautiful. Then as we walked towards the main altar I turned back and looked up. The sun was streaming through the 3 high windows down to the floor below. The outside statue of Christ was framed in the window and it was powerful. My highlight of Rome was the catacombs and this morning in the church. David's highlight was the gelato cone Rod treated him to. We left Rome about 10:30 and headed to Tivoli and visited the Villa d' Este. What a wonderful garden. I did manage to see a few birds. We wandered around the garden for a while and then had lunch with Joe, Al, and Pat - good pizza. Then we walked around the old town, such small alleys and no sidewalks. We peeked into a few courtyards and front halls - very pretty gardens and modern inside homes. Up the hill was Hadrian's Villa (he was emperor from 117AD to 138AD) so these ruins date from then. David ate his 3rd gelato cone - he is headed for a record! We had a lovely 2-3 hour bus ride to Assisi. The country side was so pretty with many interesting farms of mixed olive/grape/corn/sunflower fields. The cows were very white with long odd shaped horns. Every building looked ancient, lots of brick and stone. After a climb, in the bus, up a steep hill we arrived in Assisi. Since the town is built into a hill side we parked the bus and then walked up to the hotel with Rod leading. Then what happened should have been recorded on Lu's video. We got to a three way corner - Pat had gone on ahead. Rod said - with his arms pointing- "I think it is either straight ahead or to the right" so he asked the policeman who pointed to the left - the sequencing was perfect. (This was the start of many adventures with various men leading us astray and it was not Rod's first wrong direction either!) Anyway our hotel, Giotto has a beautiful view out over the hills and valley from the balcony on one side and is right next to the street on the other. It is fun to hang out the window like a native and watch the world go by but impossible to sleep - I don't know how the natives do it - I wore ear plugs. David and I walked 1.5 hours up to Rocca Maggiore for a wonderful view of the whole town - you can see the old walls with the entrance arch with the town along the road. Just as we got to the top of the hill the church bells started ringing - it was wonderful. All the houses come right to the road and are brick and stone. There are no sidewalks. Inside many are very modern. Little stores are mixed in with the apartments on top. Many "streets" are stairways and alleys with no cars, directions to your home would be hard to give. Coming back we got "lost" as usual. At a corner I hesitated and David said it didn't matter but it did and finally we had to ask because I wanted to go left (downhill) and he wanted to go right (uphill) and I refused to walk uphill if it was wrong. Yep I was right. Anyway we had a wonderful dinner at the hotel.

SATURDAY JUNE 20: I think the late nights finally caught up with me - it was hard to get up this morning but we did. A guide (Rita) took us on a 2.5 hour walking tour of Assisi. We started at St. Francis's Basilica. She explained that the reason Assisi was built on the hill side was because the lower land was swamp in ancient time. The hillside was forest so up the top gave the best look out against invaders. The Basilica of San Francesco was built to house the remains of St. Francis as there was much competition for relics between the city/states of Assisi and Perugia. The lowest (basement) level of the church houses his remains and the lower church is dark to symbolize his closeness with the earth. The upper level is light to symbolize his resurrection. The frescoes by Giotto are wonderful. We went back in the afternoon to visit again when it was quiet - what a lovely place. By the way a Basilica is a place pilgrims come to make a pilgrimage and a cathedral is primarily a place to worship. Then we walked up to the Basilica of St.Claire (Clare). The church contains the crucifix that "spoke" to St. Francis. The body of Jesus on this cross is straight and powerful, symbolizing Jesus as God. In the other room the body of Christ on the cross is in the shape of an "S" symbolizing Christ's suffering as a human. There is an iron gate behind which are relics of St.Francis and St.Clare. A Poor Clare (cloistered and completely covered in black) explained these relics to us and then through the gate handed us a card with St.Francis' poem on it. What a touching experience. Rita went on to tell us much of the rest of the history of Assisi and then we were on our own. David and I went to get a Gelato (of course) and then went for a rest and cool down at our hotel. I had an yogurt (awful) and wrote 20 more post cards - I'm done. Then we went out again. First we went back for some quiet time at the Basilica of San Francesco and then on UP. We stopped at the Roman Forum museum and walked on the original Roman Road that is below the current level. On top is The Temple of Minerva built from a Roman temple and now a church. The road ran from Rome to the Adriatic Sea. After that we went on up to the Rocca Maggiore again but this time we went inside and could experience a little what it was like to live in a "castle" in the early times - cold and dirty but what a view. From the top tower we could see all of Assisi and the surrounding countryside. As I stood watching, the church bells began ringing on both sides of me and this was truly my highlight of Assisi. David's highlight was the visit to St. Francis' church. We ate Pizza at a wonderful place on a side street recommended by the guide from this morning and then came back to the hotel and are sitting on the balcony deck drinking cappachino and writing this. It will be early to bed tonight as we are tired having covered every street and staircase in the town of Assisi - but oh what fun.

SUNDAY JUNE 21: (Nancy's wedding day!) We left Assisi and had a lovely drive to San Gemignano - a small hill town in the Tuscany region. We, of course, started with a gelato and then walked the town. The frescoes in the church were done by Ghirlandaio (Michelangelo's's teacher) - wonderful. We climbed up the highest tower (170 feet) for a wonderful view of the whole region. There used to be 75 towers but only about 14 are left. We also visited the Etruscan Museum and wonders of wonders - a bird museum! The skins were old - 1910 or so and they didn't have a list but it was fun. In one museum were some wooden statues from 200-300 AD that were beautiful and hard to believe they were that old. In the evening the parish celebrated the Feast of Corpus Cristi - all the members marched in a procession down the street followed by the children - the girls in long white dresses - and a band. This is an important symbol for the Catholics. Dinner at the hotel was on the top floor with a view of the valley. Those who knew Nancy signed a letter wishing her and Don happiness on their wedding day. The highlight of San Gemignano was our assent to the stars---in the tallest tower.

MONDAY JUNE 22: We left San Gemignano in the morning and took a lovely drive to Pisa. It is interesting to see the country side - some of it looks like California's central Valley when it has lots of rain. Grapes and olives are grown in the same fields and they have planted farms of trees for poles for scaffolding and firewood. The plaza of Pisa (the Campo dei Miracoli) was such a surprise, really beautiful and so white. The tower really does lean - 14 degrees off the perpendicular, it is 55 meters tall (170 feet). It was begun 1173 by Bondanno Pisano, continued by Giovainni di Simone and finished by Tommaso Pisano during the last half of the 14th century. David and I have a bet when it will fall - I bet 2001, David 1997. We haven't determined what the winner gets. We went into the Bapistry and walked up for a beautiful view. (Pinocchio's author, Carlo Collodi -1826-1890- was born near Pisa, at Villa Garzoni which is why you see Pinocchio everywhere.) Then we continued on to Florence through some small towns, modern and old and arrived in Florence. My first impression of Florence - dirty, ugly, smelly, and noisy! I was disappointed as I had high expectations of Florence and I thought it was a beautiful city. Hope I see something to change my mind tomorrow. We took a walk to the square where Michelangelo first worked, Santa Marie Novella. Then we went to see the Bapistry and Cathedral, the doors are beautiful. We went to the Duoma museum and saw Michelangelo's last pieta (Deposition from the cross) in which he made himself as Nicodemus. It was wonderful. He died before he finished this and the female figure on the left was added by Tiberio Calcagni and you can tell the difference of a great artist. We also saw a Donatello's Mary Magdalene that was impressive, it really showed her suffering. Then out to dinner and off to bed- very large and lovely room but the bathroom door is only 5 feet six inches tall - ouch!

TUESDAY JUNE 23: Where do I start. First Florence is a dirty, noisy, crowded ugly city but the art here makes it all worth while. We had a marvelous guide, Amy in the morning who took us to the Academia where we saw Michelangelo's "David". What an impressive sculpture. I also really liked his Palestrina Pieta and the Four unfinished Captives. You could really get a feel for the process of carving from a block of marble. We also went to Santa Croce basilica which has the tombs of Michelangelo and his family, Machiavelli, Galileo, Dante, and more. We also saw the leather school behind the church and had a demonstration of how the gold is embossed on the leather. They use egg whites to glue on the gold leaf and use hot stamps to stamp it on. It was very interesting. I was delighted to be able to buy my souvenirs as I had planned to get book marks for everyone as Florence is famous for leather, stationery, lace work, and embroidery. I can't even remember all the things we saw but it was wonderful. Then we went to the straw market and I was able to buy some pretty stationery and some napkins for Nancy. Then we met Bev and went and had a sandwich which we ate on a curb on the square (near where Savonarola was burned). Then we went to the Uffizi Gallery. What an experience to see so many originals of famous artists. I could spend days there. We walked to the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio - a bridge from Roman times. It was here that I had my gypsy encounter and when I pushed her away she hit me. They are awful and aggressive in Florence and several of us had problems with them. The shops on the bridge are filed with gold. Bev stayed here to shop and we went on and wandered back to our room for a rest stopping at the Bapistry again. We tried to go to the Medici Chapel but it was closed, in fact almost everything is only open in the morning so we missed seeing a lot of things in Florence that I would have liked to see. We went out to dinner with Al and Pat and Bev to a place around the corner from our hotel on a small alley. Al had read about it in our travel tips and led us there via the long way - about ten blocks but we had the best dinner since we have been in Italy. It is called Sostanza and on via del Porcellana. The waiter brought us a variety of dishes which we all shared and exchanged. We had several of the dishes listed in the guide books as typical Florence dishes and the waiter was a lot of fun too. We walked after dinner around the train station and then off to bed. A great and overwhelming day.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 24: We left in the morning for a lovely trip to Siena. I like Siena with its warm reds and pinks. This is the town that has the Palio horse race each summer at the Piazza del Campa. It is a Gothic City and was founded by Augustus around the time of Christ. It has the world's oldest bank, the Monte dei Paschi which was founded in the Middle ages. We had a nice lunch there and drove back to Florence - mostly sleeping on the bus. There was a parade in Florence at the Piazza Santa Maria Novella commemorating the town's patron saint - John the Baptist. They were all dressed in medieval costumes with many different colors representing their families. We didn't do much else because all museums are closed in the afternoon so I was a little disappointed that we missed some of Michelangelo's work but I guess I'll have to come back except that I really do not like Florence or see any beauty in the city except when you are above looking down as we were from San Minaltos Church (the place where Michelangelo built walls to fortify the city). David's highlight in Florence was seeing "David", mine was the Pieta (Disposition from the Cross).

FRIDAY JUNE 26: Ah Venice - What can I say to really explain it. First I must mention Thursday June 25 as I have made no entry yet for Thursday. We left Florence Thursday AM and drove for 4 or 5 hours through country side on an auto strasse. There were lots of corn fields (silo) and rice fields, castles on the hills and everything green. The trees are very short, even the fruit trees. We arrived at the Port of Venice and took a Vaporetto to the island. Our luggage was taken by barge. We walked across St. Marks Square to our hotel. What a place - my first impression was of crowds again. And the shops- you never saw so many stores. I just had to buy something so I bought Nancy some napkins for her wedding present. I'd love a cameo but the prices are so varied and I suspect the $300-$400 ones are the only worthwhile ones but they are lovely. A true cameo is carved from a sea shell and the best is done in Italy and is the single most significant souvenir you could get but I'll skip it. I am not a souvenir shopper. We walked many alleys this evening - what a lovely place and very clean. Friday morning early I got up and went out for an hour alone and it was lovely. The square was almost empty and it was fun to watch the commuters get off the boats and walk to work as any business person would. David and I went up the campanile and what a view from there. Then we had a lecture from Rod about Venice and St. Mark's which was very interesting and helpful. Then David and I "did" everything we could. We went to the Accademia for a wonderful collection of painting. We just concentrated on a few pieces in order to not be overwhelmed and I really enjoyed our time there. Then we went to Peggy Gugenheim's home/museum. I didn't enjoy the art that much but the home and gardens were lovely to see. The time we spent sitting on her back porch which is on the grand canal was worth the price of admission. We ate lunch there and watched the world go by on boats of all kinds. She also has a wonderful front yard where she is buried along with her dogs. It was fun walking around the residential areas, many homes have lovely courtyards even including lawns. When you see the laundry hanging out windows over the canals you know this place isn't just a museum. After half an hours rest we went to St. Marks again to see the treasury, the gold altar and the "horses". Those horse are so expressive. I can understand why they have been so valued and stolen back and forth so many times. The mosaics in this church are unreal. They have no frescoes because the moisture would ruin them but what they did with mosaics is wonderful. They have gold in the glass pieces. Then we were off to the Doges Palace - Wow- I just cannot describe it and no amount of post cards and photos will help - So much gold. I am so glad that people have saved treasures like this for posterity. Even if all these treasures were sold to "feed the poor" it would only temporarily help the problems of the world. This would be a sadder world without some of the beauty that art gives us and the history that goes with it. Well David and I walked from 8:30 to 6:00 with only two 30 minutes breaks but at least I don't feel disappointed like I did in Florence. We saw a lot. We both have blisters on our feet - David is using bandages and I'm walking in my rubber thongs. We are off to dinner and then a gondola ride. Later.... We went to a great dinner with Pat and Al at an expensive restaurant the hotel manager recommended. It was good and Pat and Al are good company. Then we went on a gondola ride and it was great - more fun and more romantic than I thought it would be. We had five boats that ran in line with a singer and accordion in the center. (David and I were the end of the line -- more kissing!) On the grand canal we road side by side and it is amazing how well they control those gondolas- we had a concert. I really enjoyed it and will remember it always.

SATURDAY JUNE 27: There was a big military affair in the Plazza this AM. A new group of graduates from the police (military?) academy had just graduated and was being presented to the Commander to receive their diplomas. A band played and it was rather fun. We then left for a boat ride to Burano - a small fishing island about 45 minutes away by boat. The boat that had been ordered for us was busy so we 24 had a boat that easily fits 100. It was a fun ride and David survived. The village also makes lace and they had some lovely things there. I was tempted to get something but with all my grandmother's lace I didn't need any more. All the houses were painted a wide variety of colors that made it look like toy land. It was a memorable trip as the scenery was so lovely. We just walked around the rest of the afternoon in Venice. We discovered some lovely old churches that had wonderful paintings, even one with a Reubens in it. I never tire of churches and museums- some people have already said they are. David's highlight of Venice was the Doge's Palace, mine was the gondola ride.

SUNDAY JUNE 28: (We heard there was an earthquake in LA - how far the US seems to us.) We left Venice in the morning for a beautiful bus trip to Cortina. (I had a touch of food poisoning so I wasn't feeling great- it was the clams.) We arrived in Cortina d' Ampezzo which is like Aspen, mostly a ski resort. The Olympics were here in 1956. It is a charming Austrian Alps town and doesn't feel like the rest of Italy that we have seen. Our room has the most beautiful view you could hope for, I'm happy just sitting here looking out at the dolomites. The rivers here all have a chalky look, probably from the calcium or limestone in the mountains. We took the Funiculus up to the top - What a trip, my stomach got a little queasy but it was a great view.

MONDAY JUNE 29: David and I took a 2.5 hour walk up the hills out our room through fields of wild flowers that were almost unreal, somewhat like the Aspen meadows in Colorado. What a charming place and so peaceful to be away from the crowds of people. I have enjoyed this trip and found it all worth while but it has been hard to put up with the crowds of people and it is finally getting to me. I am also finding it hard to be in such close contact with our own group as compatible as it is. We don't do everything together but we do travel together and we eat dinner together every couple of days and there is always someone to be with. I miss time being alone - totally alone. It was all right for a while but it is getting harder to maintain my friendliness. Later on the group went on the bus up to Misurina Lake and David and I walked around the lake and did some birding- what a beautiful spot. We spent the evening napping and looking at the view. I finally felt recovered from my food poisoning. (I later found out that Pat once got sick from clams in Venice - so don't eat clams in Venice!) We met with Mary and Angela in the PM and finished up the crossword puzzle that I had made and brought alone. The answers are people's names and the clues refer to happenings along the trip.

TUESDAY JUNE 30: We drove for 5 hours through the mountains to Sirmione. It was beautiful scenery, just this side of the mountains from Austria. All the signs are in German and Italian as this area was Austrian before WW I. It very much looks like Austria instead of the rest of Italy. The houses are all brown and white and standard chalets. Sirmione is a small village on a peninsular on Lake Garda. The lake is 143 square miles - I believe it is the largest in Italy. It is a nice setting but it is hot and our hotel room is the worse we have had and with no air conditioning. We've had lovely rooms so far but this one is awful. We visited a Roman Ruins at the end of town and that was fun. It was called Grotte de Catulla (Catullus) and dated from the first century AD and was probably two villas. Then we went swimming in the lake - both before and after dinner. The lake is surprisingly warm and it was pleasant swimming as it is hot and muggy here.

WEDNESDAY JULY 1: We had the best breakfast yet - probably where this hotel gets one of its stars. We have lots from which to choose besides the usual hard rolls and jelly. We had a buffet of cereal, fruit, yogurt, cakes, cheese, sliced meat. It was a lovely breakfast out on the deck overlooking the lake. The room is nasty but the setting is lovely. We drove over to Verona and saw Romeo's house and Juliet's house. We wandered around for a while, you see the scala (ladder) emblem everywhere as this town was controlled by the Della Scala dynasty in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is a mix of periods and must have had war damage as much restoration has been done. Then we came back and napped in preparation for the opera in Verona in the Arena di Verona. The Arena was build by the same family that built the Columseum in Rome and is the best preserved amphitheater anywhere. We also went swimming in the lake and later on the wind came up and it was really stormy. I'm glad it is cooler. I gave out our crossword puzzle and I think some people are having fun with it, Rod couldn't figure out how I did it at first and I think he was a little surprised. In fact everyone on this trip who I've known from school has commented how surprised they were about me. They only see me at school working, not having fun and I have not socialized with any of these people before. We all have different personalities in different situations but I am more extreme than some and I don't take time to socialize at school. The students know me better than most adults.

THURSDAY JULY 2: Last night we went to the opera "Don Carlo" in Verona. It was wonderful. It was in the arena in the open air and what a setting. We sat on the stone steps where the ancient Romans sat to watch the gladiators - it was a beautiful, clear and warm night. The sets were wonderful and the costumes were something else. It started at 9:15 and ended at 2:00 and we sat through the whole performance. Fortunately nothing was planned for today so we slept until 9:30 and then wandered around town. We went into the Rocca Scaligera (castle) which was fun; it was built by the Della Scala Family who were the hereditary rulers of Verona for two centuries until 1402. Then we walked along the shoreline to the end of town. In thinking over the highlites of Italy David says seeing Michelangelo's "David" was his. I have to pick three, seeing Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's alone one morning, the gondola ride in Venice, and the opera in Verona. It has been a good trip and it was fun to spend three weeks in such close quarter with each other. We are good friends.

We had a fun filled farewell dinner at the restaurant run by our hotel. The setting was magnificent, right on the lake and the food was very good, one of the best. We had salmon and fresh vegetables. Rod presented everyone with an award and was very clever about it all. David won the heavy weight division for gelato and I won the smallest suitcase award and a "S.E.T" patch for enthusiasm (reading ahead and making the crossword puzzle). It was a fun evening and now its time to pack and get back to reality.

FRIDAY JULY 3: We left Sirmione about 9:00 and arrived in Milan about 11:00. As though to show us once more about the inefficiencies that are rampart in Italy all our airline seats were messed up. We had to sit in the middle section which gives me claustrophobia- I hate not having a window seat but we survived. At least we didn't have a smoking steward like we did coming over. We went through customs in LA and then arrived in SF some 23 hours after we left our hotel in Italy. Nancy and Don Barnby picked us up and took us home. It is good to be home and recall all the pleasant memories. I look forward to going through my photos. After talking about the highlights we named what we disliked or missed the most. David said he missed our weather, he disliked the humid and hot weather when we had it - although for the most part we were very lucky with the weather. I missed my washing machine, I really got tired of doing laundry in the bidet (that seems to be what most people used them for!). Also as I have already mentioned I did get tired of being with people all the time, even more that I realized. For the past three nights I have had nightmares about being with people and when I wake up I feel like someone is missing and I need to find them. I guess I need to be alone more than I realized. Other than being tired for the first couple of days (and my nightmares) I can't say we are suffering much from jet lag. Rod and Pat did a great job of being tour leaders. Pat was very good at handling all the problems and we didn't even know about most of them. Rod was always full of enthusiasm and full of a lot of information. They are very professional and very accommodating hosts. They never showed how tired they must have been at times and they never made any of us feel as though we were anyone but a favored friend. How they can now go on to lead a group of 60 teenagers is beyond me. I really enjoyed the people we met on our group. The youngest was Rod's 21 year old son and the oldest his 90 year old aunt and those were two of my favorite people on the trip although I really enjoyed the time I spent with everyone. So here endth my journal for Italy.