Fourteen Years

November 27, 1996, Salt Lake City, Utah1997, Provo, Utah1998, Orem, Utah1999 Salt Lake City, Utah2000, Provo, Utah2001, Chicago, Illinois2002, Chicago, Illinois2003, Palmyra, New York2004, Chicago, Illinois 2005, Provo, Utah2006, Chicago, Illinois 2007, Cambridge, Massachusettes2008, Bali, Indonesia2009, Bountiful, Utah

2010, Salt Lake City, Utah

Time is Up

This clock in Venice tells the time of day, the zodiac sign and the moon phase. Our time in Italy was up. We flew from Venice to Rome. The views of the Tuscan farms from the plane were dream like. Kind of like my vacation.

Tom and Alenka

On our last day in Venice, Jim's brother Tom and his wife came to Venice to see us. They live in Slovenia. It was our first time meeting his wife, Alenka. She is kind and gracious and easy to love. We walked through Venice enjoying the vegetable and fish markets. We bought a Venetian mask for Margaret and some pasta for me. Time was running out. At noon we left to catch our plane back to Rome.

A Venetian Sonnet

Before going to Venice, I had this sentimental expectation that Jim and I would find a secluded spot and dance to a band under the moonlight. I mentioned this to Jim and he looked at me like he was going to laugh. "Where's your romance?" I asked feeling a bit disappointed that he didn't share my vision.

After arriving in Venice we took a boat down the main canal to Saint Mark's Cathedral. On the boat there was an elderly Italian man. We talked to each other and he said to me, "I love Venice," and put his hand to his heart. As I looked at Venice for the first time, I could see why he loved this city.
From Saint Mark's Cathedral we strolled through the streets of Venice. We stopped on a small bridge to watch the gondola tour boats lined up like a Disneyland ride. The boats wound around the side canals and under our bridge. The tourists inside were drinking wine and taking photos. One gondola guide was singing opera at the top of his lungs as he stood in the back of the boat wearing a traditional black and white striped shirt pushing his long gondola ore through the water. That was impressive. It made Jim and I smile.
We heard a few bands playing in the distance. One song I heard over and over in Italy was the Frank Sinatra song, "I Did It My Way". Near the end of our walking, we found a lonely piazza near the water. There was a band playing in the distance. I said, "Let's dance". Then I realized how silly the idea was. Neither of us knows how to dance. Instead, Jim read me this poem he wrote,

My Venetian Sonnet
To Kimber my love. Venice September 16, 2010

Some say romance is not my forte
They must be silly is what I say
Romance like life is full of surprises
Sunsets in the evening and morning sunrises
All plants and flowers grow so slow
It’s nearly impossible to really know
My love like flowers began to bloom
When you entered my heart like a room
To me romance was always pish posh
But now I frequently think o my gosh!
What would I do if my kimber were gone?
My heart would fail under weight of 10 ton
You are my life my wind and my wings
You make my winter turn into springs
I love you dear Kimber in Venice or home
In a gondola, the kitchen or Rome
It does not matter where we are
As long as I am with you romance is thar
Romance is a word that still means nothing to me
But Kimber dear Kimber sets my heart free.
Its not romance but Kimber I crave
To be near me and love me long past the grave
Dear Kimber I count each day as the best
As long as I am with you my heart is at rest
So romance can ebb and flow like the tide
I’ll sit here in Venice next to my bride
My heart is content my love pure
And romance yes romance can eat cow manure

Cute. Very cute. It made me smile. Then we took our own picture.
**Our hotel in Venice, Hotel Santa Chiara. Restaurant, Ristorante Da Nino.

Venice

On Thursday we left Florence and headed for Venice. When we got to the train station the tickets were sold out for the train we wanted. That meant we had to wait there for two hours. That was a disappointment. We didn't want to sit in the train station for two hours waiting for a train so we just hopped on the sold out train. We crouched in the back near the luggage for a while. I felt a bit anxious as I wondered what kind of a penalty the Italian government has for foreigners who steal away on their trains. Jim told me to just stay quiet. When the conductor came to us and asked us for our tickets, Jim handed them to him. The conductor said, "You're on the wrong train". I looked at Jim. He looked at the conductor and said, "Oh, so that's why someone is in our seats". The conductor smiled, charged us ten dollars, and that was that. We arrived in Venice at 4 p.m.

Streets of Florence

Smart Cars

The way to go in Italy. Where would I put my six kids?

The Markets of Florence

I wasn't expecting Florence to be a shoppers paradise, but it was. Flower markets, bazaars of Italian leather, silk ties and scarfs, and high end shops of fine Italian designer clothing. Before leaving, we did a little shopping. I got a red leather backpack. Jim got some silk ties.

Angiolino's and Hotel Davanzati

The name of the restaurant we ate at in Florence is Angiolino's and the hotel we stayed at is Hotel Davanzati. I love the plaid tablecloths, so common in Italy. The minestrone soup we ate there had rice instead of noodles. I liked this version and have tried to recreate it:

Saute in pan:

left over pot roast chopped (1 cup)

garlic (1-2 cloves)

onion (small yellow diced)

celery (chopped 1 stalk)

carrots (chopped 1 cup)

add:

broth from crock pot roast (4 cups)

4 cups tomato juice or V8

add a can of stewed tomatos (I puree mine first)

simmer

add:

green beans

white beans

zuccini

1 Cup cooked rice

simmer until veggies are soft.

season to taste with basil, oregano, pepper

Top with fresh parmasean and serve with a bagette of bread with butter! Add a salad and your done.

Tuscany

I have been enamored with Tuscany for a long time- the style, the countryside, the art, the food. Florence, the heart of Tuscany had beautiful food. After visiting the Duomo, Jim and I stopped in a deli, bought olives, pesto and bread. Then we walked the streets of Florence window shopping.

The Duomo

We only had twenty four hours in Florence. First thing in the morning we hiked to the top of the Duomo and looked out over the city. As we walked around the inside of the dome, a small choir of men were singing. Their acapella voices echoed throughout inside of the dome. It was beautiful and enchanting. On the ceiling of the Duomo is a fresco painted by Vasari and Zuccari. It depicts the last judgement. The lower tiles are scenes of hellfire and damnation. The scenes gradually move heavenward to depict glory and honor bestowed upon the righteous. The painting in the very top of the dome was most impressive to me. I loved the warm, deep colors and the remarkable work of depth perception. The figures actually look three dimensional, especially the man with his leg dangling. It looks like he is coming out of the ceiling.

Florence, Italy

On Wednesday, Jim and I took a train to Florence. Wednesday afternoon, we wandered through the streets and went to see Michelangelo's, David. After all that I had seen in Rome, I was afraid that the statue would be disappointing. Seeing it for the first time made me gasp. The statue itself is enormous. Bigger than I ever imagined. What's more, it is absolutely perfect, down to the veins in his arms and legs. It is incredible from every angle. I circled it in awe. Not a single flaw. It looks so real, I had to look closely to see if he could breathe.
*No photos were allowed of Michelangelo's statue, David.
After the museum, we ran up to the Piazza Di Michelangelo. We wanted to catch the view of the sun setting over Florence from the hillside.
Afterwards we enjoyed a quiet Italian dinner at a Florentine restaurant. I'm so sorry I don't remember the name of the Restaurant or the hotel. Funny how those things seem so insignificant until I'm writing it all down.
After dinner we walked back down the Arno River and enjoyed the views of the Ponte Vecchio.

Pinocchio

My good friend from high school went to Italy on a study abroad and then returned as a Mormon missionary. She loves Italy. When I found out that I was going to visit Italy, I asked her for some suggestions. Her helpful and well-thought out recommendations became my guidebook. Thanks to her help I was able to see and appreciate Italy even more.
About fifteen years ago she brought me home a Pinocchio from Italy. On my first day in Rome I saw some Pinocchios for sale. I thought of my friend as a missionary in Italy, thinking of me. I bought one out of nostalgia. Throughout the week I kept running into Pinocchio, a constant reminder of my dear friend.

The Boots

The Streets of Rome

It was so easy to fall in love with Rome. Romantic is defined as imaginary, visionary, idealistic, heroic, adventurous, or mysterious. I agree, that's Rome.

On our last night in Rome, we wandered around the city enjoying our favorite attractions. At the piazza Navona I bought a watercolor from a local artist. We threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain. Legend says that if you toss a coin into the fountain over your shoulder, you will one day return to Rome, (here's to hoping that's true). Near the Trevi Fountain, we decided to look at some shoes in a local shoe store. We tried on a few different pairs. I tried on boots. I was just messing around having fun, I had no intentions of buying. Then, out of nowhere, Jim said, "We'll take the boots". I didn't even know if I liked the boots. That's when I noticed all of the signs that said, "NO RETURNS OR EXCHANGES". I started to argue with Jim, "No, I don't want the boots". Jim then did something he rarely does, he insisted. He insisted on getting the boots! We walked out of the store with this huge boot box. I was so mad. I didn't want to be mad in Rome, so I tried to talk myself out of it over a gelatto.
The Sunday after we got home from Italy, I put on my boots. I was shocked. I loved them! It's a good thing Jim knew.

Trevi Fountain (1762)

A Roman alleyway