Monthly Archives: June 2007

These Tuscan towns are just swarming with swallows. We even have a group of 7 or 8 that live near our villa. I’ve never managed to get a photo of them as they swoop down to the pool to get … Continue reading →

Here we are! We finally made it to Florence, capital of Tuscany and center of art and culture for all of Western civilization! This is us at the top of the world-reknowned Duomo of Florence: We could even see the … Continue reading →

What a gorgeous land Tuscany is. The rolling hills… the vineyards… the sunny afternoons. It’s almost idyllic. A couple days ago we visited the Fattoria dei Barbi vineyard in quest of a good Brunello di Montalcino. Just look at their … Continue reading →

The house we’re renting in Tuscany sits high on a hillside above the road to Seggiano. It’s either a recently built or recently renovated structure of solid timber and stone. Even though the days are warm, the house is always … Continue reading →

[I'm going to post a series of posts from the first internet cafe I've found in Tuscany. These were written over the past several days] We finally made it to Tuscany, where we’ll spend three weeks in a lovely villa … Continue reading →

I was trying to come up with a theme for our recent Roman ramblings, but had no luck. So here are a few nice pictures we took in Rome, with some commentary. The whole family tried to take pictures of … Continue reading →

Jim and Nora have both become obsessed with taking self-portraits on this trip. They’ve done some really creative work in this genre. Here are some of their best. Jim at Notre Dame: Nora at the zero mile marker for France … Continue reading →

We arrived in Rome, exhausted again. This time it wasn’t about the jet-lag, or a long flight. It’s just that we had to get up at 4:30 a.m. in order to catch our flight. Jim’s our tour guide here, and … Continue reading →

As I write this, I’m wedged into my EasyJet seat, flying high over the French countryside. We’ve had a great week in Paris and are wondering what will come next. But I’m also still digesting our Paris experience, both literally … Continue reading →

I’ve been a real slacker in the photo department the last couple days. I’ve mostly taken pictures of other people taking pictures. Two days ago we visited Notre Dame, and Nora wanted to climb up the stairs in the tower. … Continue reading →

Today I was fortunate enough to be escorted up M. Gustav Eiffel’s famed tower. It has most deservedly attracted the attention of engineers world-wide, as it is indeed the tallest man-made structure in the world, more than doubling the height … Continue reading →

We’ve finally arrived, exhausted, in Paris. The packing experiment (all carry-on, all the time) seems to be working, but Greta and I both seem to have made the same mistake with our bags — too much weight too far away … Continue reading →

We leave for Europe in about 4 hours. Currently I weigh 217 pounds — 7 more than when I ran the half marathon last December. I’ll post my weight again when I get back. If I can return from Europe … Continue reading →