I Portici Bologna

... decided to not be present for my arrival. I have found an internet cafe and decided to write. I also was able to post a few more pictures but on Facebook so I'll send you links and hope they work!

http://www.facebook.com/al bum.php?aid=110883&id=514314153& ;l=2e1a71a8f0

http://www.faceboo k.com/album.php?aid=114357&id=51431 4153&l=719f9180c6

Give it a try!
Love to all!
Benita

... from rocking out of tight situations.

Ferrara Highlights
9200 meters of city walls commissioned by Duke Ercole d'Este and built between 1493 and 1505 with walking paths on top.

Castello Estense de Ferrara--a defensive structure from the early middle ages that dominates the old city surrounded by moat. The Castello Estense was menacing from the outside and lavishly decorated on the inside. You could feel the history and understand the ...

Short train ride from Florence after a hair raising trip trying to return the rental car in confusing, congested and traffic restrictied Florence (don't rent a car downtown go to the airport). Bologna is an university town (even Johns Hopkin has a campus). Very historical town with a great plaza area like most towns and a great antique market.

... br>Saves us from multiple train stations that have NO ESCALTORS OR ELEVATORS!!!

Will write again soon...




Just wanted to let you know tomorrow is Parker's sunshine day. Send an email
to my address if you want to send him a note of congrats or a note...

For those of you who do not know what this means, it is the day his adoption was finalized, so we celebrate it like a birthday!!

He has been reminding us for a week....

... I was a bit disappointed, since we got there late I had to sit away from Mario and Marco, consequently my dinner conversation wasn't quite as lively. As we went to leave the Doves three American's walked in all decked out in Doves gear. Two played for Cal, a running back and a fullback. The latter, Chris Manderino got a look or two in the NFL. He has lost a lot of wait since then. He also has a blog, but naturally it is vastly inferior to mine in both word ...

... to you all. In addition, we have made many new friends on this journey. The mad hatter Australian Everard, the elegant and always straightforward and truthful Paola Jarrach, the positive thinking and uplifting Maria Teresa and Tommaso Bernascone (we will get to Greece soon) and Ricardo & Maria Carla Cipriani. Simonetta & Giorgio Sent have a special place in our journey. We have done so much together in Cortina on bikes, on skis and in Venice you both outdid yourselves ...

... I think texting is fairly cheap so feel free to send me a text any time!! (and when I say any time I mean any time before 5:30 Eastern Standard time thanks). Anyway, that's really all for now. I've also managed to get a scorcher of a sunburn from lounging on the beach all Sunday back here in Ravenna! Sigh, the challenges of relaxing! :P Catch you all later!

We're at the third stop of our top to bottom tour of Italy and exactly half way through our trip. We've spent three nights in beautiful Venezia, on Lido island, where we had to catch a ferry to the mainland and back every day. We had our gondola ride (after a bit of haggling), thus fulfilling one of Abby's little life-long quests. We were in Padova for two ...

... area, and how the duration spent in each section was driven more by how long we were interested in staying rather than a pre-determined timetable. The only rule was that we weren’t to touch anything. I’m sure the workers hate it though, with these nosey visitors having so much freedom to get in their way while they’re trying to work.

With the Research and Development and Formula One sections strictly off-limits, the first stop after a ...

... for dinner. It’s a beautiful spa town and smells good! I took a long walk through the park and had a Gran Marnier on the patio. Peggy had Amaretto which pleased the bartender/host. He didn’t like my ordering a French liqueur! The hotel was one of the nicest on our tour.

We left our window open and it was actually cold when we got up!