March 14, 2023 A very rainy day. I have no pictures for today. We spent it running errands and getting wet. We drove to the next little town for the cash machine, another bakery, and grocery shopping. We came home, changed our wet clothes, and stayed in for the rest of the day. We were talking with an Italian college student, Anna, who has great English and she said this is an unusual amount of rain that they haven't seen since 2019. We have seen in the news that Florence is experiencing some flooding. That night, we watched Kubo and the Two Strings.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
 March 11, 2025  The city of San Gimignano stands on the site of a small Etruscan settlement dating from the Hellenistic period 3rd-2nd century B.C.  It's history begins around the 10th century.  We started in the center plaza. This is another walled city and our first major attraction was the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta consecrated in 1148.  The main altar. I will tell you who is under the "table cloth" in front later in this post. The amazing thing about this church was the amount of frescos! Remember, this is 1148 and the population is essentially illiterate. If you followed the flow of frescos it was salvation history from Genesis to the Resurrection of Christ and His Ascension into heaven. There are three layers of frescos. Here's how the timeline works.  First, you follow the top pictures around the church, then the second row, and finally the third row. Here are three examples. Top: The Annunciation, Middle: Palm Sunday, Bottom: Judas receiving 3...
Read more
Image
 May 29, 2025   Goodbye Europe! Time to go home. Our last day in Europe was met with mixed feelings from all of us. It's the kind of experience that at the same time felt long and over too quickly. It's similar to the "post Christmas blues". You look forward to something for a long time, put in the work to make it happen, the event goes quickly, and you feel a little depressed when it's all done. Rod and I recognize the blessing of time with our children, those still at home, those already on their own, and those somewhere in-between.  Looking back on the trip as a whole, it was everything we hoped for. There were no medical emergencies. The was no lost luggage. There were no delayed or canceled flights. There were no car accidents or breakdowns of any kind. All the goals we had at the beginning of the trip were fulfilled. 1. Get a break from the responsibilities of life back home. 2. See stuff you can't see in America. 3. Strengthen family bonds through new e...
Read more
Image
 March 18, 2025  Siena, Italy Our last Tuscan town was Siena, and like other Tuscan hill towns, was first settled in the time of the Etruscans (c. 900–400 BC) when it was inhabited by a tribe called the Saina.  The first known document of the Sienese community dates back to 70 AD: the Roman Senator Manlio Patruito reported to Rome that he had been ridiculed with a fake funeral during his official visit to Saena Iulia, a small military colony in Tuscia. The Roman Senate decided to punish the main culprits and to severely call the Sienese to greater respect for Roman authority. (It sounds like the people of Siena had a great sense of humor!) We went to Siena especially to visit St. Catherine of Siena's hometown. Catherine of Siena was a Dominican tertiary (layperson), philosopher and theologian. Born in the 14th century, she began having visions of Christ at the age of five or six. At seven, she had decided to devote her life to God. She resisted marriage as a young ...
Read more