Dad

Okay. I swear this won’t be a blog about my dad in Italy, but he’s just so darn funny and cool! For example, we were eating gelato in the piazza in Stresa and he took a little walk, came back and wanted to sit across from mom and me on the benches. He didn’t know that he wouldn’t fit in the very small spot between the two old ladies and the man forcing them to scoot over… or that he would get yelled at by the old ladies and then giggled at by his daughter again and again and again (it really was funny – sorry Dad).

And then today he made his first friend!! Dad makes friends REALLY easily. It is one of his great gifts. But I think the mangling of the language has put him at a slight disadvantage since our arrival. Until today!

In Venice on the vaporetto, he struck up a conversation with a nice man. They had a great time for our 10 minute jaunt to the Rialto. They talked about the Canal, the architecture, and how Venice is sinking. AND the nice man even helped us find our hotel… quite a feat for first-timers like us.

Grazie nice man. Grazie new friend!

Arrivederci e Boungiorno!

So long LA… Hello Italy! Mom, Dad and I arrived all in one piece AND figured out how to get to Stresa without much trouble. Stresa is on Lake Maggiore and was a wonderful/leisurely way to start the trip. The town is a little touristy, but it’s quiet (except for the church bells outside our hotel window). Honestly, every time I laid my head on the pillow just for a quick rest - BONG BONG bong BONG... it was a whole song that went on for, like, EVER!

We visited the beautiful, Baroque palace and gardens on Isola Bella. Really gorgeous. Jet lag set in while we were wandering the island, but we soldiered on. We stopped for gelato back in Stresa and called it a day soon after.

Lovely.

Here are some pics from Isola Bella...

Prep, Pack, Plan, Potter

You've all been there... the last days before you leave town for two weeks are K-Razieee. I've reached a state of pure overload. Personal life, professional life and travel life have converged and exploded, as life always does.

See Exhibit A...

I'm SURE that I will forget to do something of vital importance, so I'm going to escape to see 'Arry Potter the first chance I get... it will be a pleasure to make myself more crazed by irresponsibly watching a movie rather than confirming my flight reservation.

Here's a preview of what you can expect when I leave my worldly responsibilities behind and attempt to blog from the great beyond.

Italian Adventure:
July 19 - fly to Atlanta (pick up mom and dad) and keep flying to Milan
*Make all friends jealous for leaving them behind

July 20 - arrive Milan, take train to Stresa on Lake Maggiore
*Visit gardens on Isole Bella

July 21 - train from Stresa to Venice
*Make effort to NOT fall into canals

July 23 - train from Venice to Florence (meet up with john and maryelaine)
*See art, eat food, climb Duomo, take side trip to Siena

July 27 - drive to Lucca
*Ride bikes, frolic amongst olive trees

July 29 - drive to Cinque Terre
*Melt into beauty, avoid hiking too much

July 30 - drive to Milan
*See "Last Supper," eat last supper

July 31 - fly to Atlanta (drop off mom and dad, possibly see laura) then reluctantly return to LA
*Cry

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday Alexa!

Guess what I got you?
That's RIGHT!!

A TRIP TO LA!

Well, sort of. It's a (digital) picture of you in my apartment. So technically, you're not really in LA, I'm just projecting.

Hope you had a wonderful day!
Love you. xoxo

4th of July

With Monro at the vet, we didn't want to mope around, so a small gathering to celebrate our forefathers was just the ticket. The desserts (sadly, not pictured) were something special, as were the, ah-hum, "active" doggies (thankfully, not pictured). How lucky were we that the neighbors decided to put on a private fireworks show... just for us?! Happy Birthday America, and Happy Birthday Hunter.

Listless

It was a tough weekend for young mister monro. Trips to the vet. A kitty sonogram. Pancreatitis. Poor thing was just not well. He is on the mend now, but it wore us out. Being a godmother is hard work.