Italy Day One

The internet has been great but the time to report has not. To keep things in order I will start now and finish as time gets plentiful on the cruise. For those of you that have been following on facebook some of this will be a repeat but with more pictures and narratives.

The trip begins with sunrise 20,000 feet over Paris. A stop on our way to Milan where we quickly realize the loss of 6 hours having left North America at 7PM and arrived in Europe at 8AM. Fortunately the sun can quickly fool the body and it seems like the right time. It will be a long day but excitement helps fight fatigue too.

 

We arrive in Milan and Jessica is there to greet us at the airport. We get onto the local tram for a 30 minute ride to her apartment. We drop the suitcases, freshen up and off for a little walking tour of Milano.

It feels great to be active after the long flights. We visit the Duomo but will return tomorrow for a tour.

Across the plaza from the Duomo is the shopping galleria. A very fancy "mall". Lots of brand name stores like Gucchi, Prada, etc. For tourists there is the elaborate tile floor where you are suppose to put  your heel in the bulls balls and circle three times for good luck. You know me I never turn down the opportunity for good luck.

Like many big cities lately there is a city statue contest currently in Milano. There are colorful elephants on corners and in parks everywhere. Here are just a couple.

Aperitivo is the Italian term for happy hour. The local bars and restaurants have expensive prices for a drink but it includes a fairly elaborate buffet. Jessica was anxious to share this experience with us so we ended day one sitting outside enjoying wine and pasta and other italian treats at a Milano aperitivo bar.

Batty Weekend before vacation

Imagine my surprise Saturday morning when I went outside to open the patio table umbrella. A little brown bat had spent the night and was not happy to see me exposing his sleeping spot to sunshine and then adding insult by taking his picture. Of course I called my friend Kathy and she is the reason there is a picture. We had to  identify him and remember he is a good thing for nature. A little shocking for me and being that it is October and Halloween is just around the corner. Well who knows what other thrills will come my way. 
Getting a little frantic on packing for vacation. Me the one who is usually calm and precise about what to bring and what not to. Something about the combination of 10 days in Italy and then 11 days on a cruise ship has my usual calm in a disarray. Add to that the temperature changes we are likely to encounter and you begin to see the problem. Yes, layering is the answer but then there is still the time on the cruise. We will be at sea for 7 of the 11 days. The temperatures in the North Atlantic may range from the 40's to the 70's. And there are still "formal" nights on the ship although I am told country club casual will probably cover even that. Of course the packing problem is why we are seeing an update on the blog. I am procrastinating!!

Back to it now. Have a great week. Next update more on Italy.

Rainy Monday

Time has slipped away again without a post. No exciting news perhaps is part of the reason. Summer winding down and trying to take advantage of all the nice weather is another reason.

So an update. Jessica loves Milan and school. She is picking up the Italian language and we are anxious to see her. We leave for Italy October 12 and I have only started planning the agenda of activities. Everyone we speak with has a favorite city to visit. I think I am reluctant to start planning because I will see that we will run out of time before we run out of things to see and do.

Mike is doing fine in Bowling Green. I am not sure if I have mentioned his involvement with the aKtion Club. The AKtion club is a group associated with the Kiwanis organization, where disabled individuals are able to support their local community doing service projects. Two BG Kiwanis members helped start the BG AKtion club. They meet every other week and have helped out at a pancake breakfast and the recent Black Swamp Festival. It has been a great social community involvement for Mike. Oh he was elected as the president too, but does not like it when we call him Mr. President.

AJ started kindergarten this month and so far seems to like it. He is attending Glendale Feilbach School because they have a full time nurse at the school. Jesi says there have been a few issues with the diabetes but nothing major. Having the insulin pump makes life easier. The school has already sent home the first fundraiser, so AJ was excited to sell me an Entertainment Book. Just what I need but I am sure it is only the first of many things I will buy from him. Anyone else needing a Toledo Entertainment Book let me know.

Monday Morning Update posted Tuesday

A pre script as opposed to a post script (P.S.)
It is Tuesday morning and Jessica is on the final leg of her journey to Milan. Yesterday got a little hectic but everything finished smoothly. Jessica ended up getting a flight from Detroit to Chicago where she caught her overseas flight. Saved Steve and I the trip to Chicago and ended up being cheaper than driving.
More summer pictures will tell the story of the weekend. Jessica arrived from Boston on Thursday night with a car full of her belongings. She has spent the weekend unpacking and repacking for her trip to Italy. She leaves for Milan today. We spent Saturday visiting with friends and relatives. My Mom and Dad came down from Kalamazoo, Mike drove up from BG<, Jesi and AJ spent the day with us, Amanda came over, and Kathy and Enos brought Riley. It was a busy day. It is a week before AJ turns 5 and so we also celebrated his birthday. Jessica and Amanda baked cupcakes and surprised AJ. There were a few presents and now AJ thinks he should get a new present everyday this week to celebrate his birthday "week". Not a bad idea.

Survived the Divorce Open

Just an update that indeed Steve and I survived the husband wife club championship. We actually finished second with a gross score of 85. (par 72) The winners were 11 shots ahead of us but there were plenty of teams with higher scores. Everyone seemed to have a good time this year so maybe the golf gods were kind.

Cooler Temperatures

I love summer! I will not complain about hot days! I will celebrate that today the high is going to be 79, not 90.

Busy weekend with Mike and I competing in the Special Olympics Area golf meet. We did not have our best round and finished third with a bronze metal. Mike was happy with that and since I think we will be able to compete at the State level in September we should be in a good bracket. Then on Sunday Mike and I travelled to Kalamazoo for the family reunion which is always the first Sunday in August. It was good to see the cousins, aunts and uncles, as well as to spend some time with my family. For those that have been following, my dad looks great, although we need to send him something fattening. Not sure what he lost beside a kidney but I felt lots of ribs when hugging him. Mom also looks good. Dad and Mom celebrated their 63th wedding anniversary on Monday. Guess that makes sense, my brother turns 62 this year. Where does the time go.

While Mike and I were out and about this weekend Steve was holding down the fort and playing golf in the Country Club championships. He is playing well and finished 1st net in his age group on Saturday (senior championships) and 2nd net overall for the 2 days of tournament. He has entered us in the husband/wife championship this Sunday. He promises me this is just to support the golf program and we will have fun. This tournament is also dubbed "the divorce open", of which we have in the past experienced. Look for results next week.

I played with AJ Monday and we visited my friend Kathy. We went  to throw the ball with their dog Riley, but Kathy is generous with her gardening expertise and let AJ help with harvesting. He really enjoyed learning about how vegetables grow. Not too interested in eating them but it was fun to see the exchange of information. Thanks Kathy!

Kathy also has a beautiful yard with lots of native plants that attract all kinds of wildlife. The moose is not native.

With the weather a bit cooler I am off for a run outside now. I haven't been logging as many miles this summer because of golf and the heat but I am looking forward to participating in a few more races this fall.

The cicadas singing all day long are said to be telling us there are only 6 more weeks of summer. Get out there and enjoy it.