Knee High by the Fourth of July!

We've been sitting around watching the corn grow, and grow, and grow! "Knee high by the 4th of July" used to be the farmer's goal. But this year, with hybrid varieties and bountiful rain every three or four days, it will likely by changed to "chest high" by July 4th.

These photos were taken on Father's Day. Beth's daughter and husband Rick invited us to a barbecue at their house. The corn was planted by their farmer landlord, who also raises goats and rabbits. The kids had squirt guns, and it was hard to get them close enough to each other to take a photo. Hope everyone's Father's Day was as fun as ours!

Fort Meigs

A magician thrusts a sword thru a volunteer's neck.


A German mercenary in 1500's attire.


Civil War unit target practice.

On Saturday, we drove up to Toledo to Ft. Meigs, a military camp built to defend the country during the War of 1812. Reenactors recreated settings from conflicts through the ages, from Roman soldiers to current times. We saw archers from England, German mercenary fighters, cowboys, trappers, SS soldiers, Russians and, it seemed like, every military uniform worn by U.S. militia. It was quite a history lesson and a relaxing and fun day.

Summer in Ohio

Beth and granddaughter Catherine planting tomatoes.


Gene and great grandson Alex.


John setting up a target.

We're happy to be lingering here at Gene's son's house with the RV parked out by the barn. John had surgery in late April and is, thankfully, cancer free. Alex, John's grandson, spent about five days with us, and the boys have enjoyed target practicing and fishing together. Jessica, John's daughter, drove up yesterday to pick up Alex, and she had her other sons, Mason and Nick with her.

We've planted tomatoes, played Yahtzee, taken in a movie and lolled away the afternoons in the shade on the big side porch enjoying cool breezes and watching the clouds drift by. Yesterday, I drove the truck, while Beth pulled the stakes and rolled up the electric fence so the farmer who cuts the hay could do his job.

John is getting stronger every day, the hay has been mowed and is drying in the warm sun, and the horses are behaving themselves in the barn. We are blessed to be able to spend this time with Gene's family. Life is good!

A Few Hiccups . . . But We Made It

The police used a fire department ladder to try to get the protestor down.




Dinner in Naples with "John Travolta and Humphrey Bogart"



When life gives you lemons . . . make lemonade! Our flight from Naples that seemed like a sure thing---wasn't. The plane had mechanical problems, so we rented a car (after turning in our first rental) and drove into the center of Naples. Gene was very brave, dodging other cars, pedestrians and motor scooters. Traffic is awful, made even worse by a protestor who was sitting atop the statue in Garibaldi Plaza, the location of our hotel. He had a big sign that read "No More Violence".

Since Naples can be dangerous after dark, we stuck close to our hotel that has a nice sidewalk restaurant right outside its front door. The waiters all wear vests and black bow ties, and one I thought looked alot like John Travolta with the same beautiful blue eyes. So I asked him for his autogr... er photo.

We did catch a C-5 flight on Wednesday. Got to Rota late in the day. There were no flights to Dover until Saturday, so we hopped on a C-5 headed to Stewart Air Force Base just north of New York City. More lemons. Our car was in Dover. So we rented a car (the only thing they had was a new Cadillac ... Gene was happy). Drove to Dover, picked up our car and drove back to Stewart. Stewart is only a few hours from New England and SEAFOOD and the sub base where Gene went to school 50 years ago. We've had our fill of lobster, steamers, mussels and shrimp. Toured the Nautilus today and the sub museum. Tomorrow we'll head toward Ohio via Pennsylvania. Plan to stop in the Appalachians overnight.

On our way home!

View of Bellagio from across Lake Como.


Lake Como from the Cervelli patio.


Baby swans trailing mom.


Up in the Alpine meadow of Alpe de Suisi.



We are now in Naples, Italy. A flight leaves tonight for Rota, Spain, and we will most likely be on it! I've added a few more favorite photos from our trip.

Civita . . . Italy's Walpi

Doesn't this photo remind you of the Hopi village of Walpi in northern Arizona? It looks amost exactly like the painting on my dining room wall in Phoenix.

A long walk up, up, up leads across a ravine to the entry archway of this medieval town. Only a few people still live here, one being Maria who is in her 90's. She has a beautiful garden at the edge of a cliff overlooking the countryside. No wonder she has lived so long in this peaceful setting. Few tourists make the effort to come here. I walked up the long path, through the church and explored the caves below the city.

Tuscany

View from Volterra . . . it was windy and cloudy that day.


Our canopy bed at Romantica Pucci.


Our country inn in Tuscany.

Our dillema . . . spening time in Rome and missing the hilltop towns of Tuscany or vise versa. We opted for Tuscany. Rome will have to be another trip.

We chose Volterra for our first stop. This walled city sits high above rich farmland and is famous for its alabaster. The city saved its ancient entry gate from Nazi bombing by filling it in with stones that paved its main street. We had a delicious lunch before heading on to . . .

Asiano where we found a country inn, the Loggia di Sopra, a farm house B&B that rents five of its rooms. Asiano is off the beaten path and also a walled city (there seems to be one around each curve). Card playing locals fill the tables on the main walking street. We bought cheese, NA beer, wine, bread and olives and headed back to our inn for an early evening picnic to watch the sun set.

Our final night was spent in a small hotel called Romantica Pucci in Bagnoregio. We had a lovely Sunday drive through winding, hilly roads to get there . . . though I enjoyed it more than Gene who was doing all the driving! After a dinner of homemade ravioli, truffles and potatoes with cheese, and rabbit stuffed with olives and potatoes, Gene took a nap and I headed out to Civita, a deserted jewel perched on an adjoining hill.

Florence, Italy . . . Michelangelo and Maplethorpe

View of the Duomo from Piazzale Michelangelo


Ponte Vechio with rowers on the Arno.



Our room at Camp Darby was just an hour outside of Florence, so we drove in and parked at Piazzale Michelangelo, a plaza overlooking the city. From there it was a short cab ride to the Uffizi with Michelangelo's only framed canvas, a roomful of Botticelli's, plus the art of Leonardo di Vinci, Titian, Rubens, Raphael, etc. Wow! I walked around with a smile on my face and my Ipod plugged in listening to Rick Steves explain the progression of art from medieval times thru the Renaissance. There is a great view of the Ponte Vechio over the Arno from the second floor of the Uffizi. Scullers happened to be going under the bridge as we watched.

The greatest thrill came next . . . the Accademia museum and Michelangelo's David and the Prisoners. On display at the same time were photos by Robert Maplethorpe. Remember the controversy when a Maplethorpe showing came to the Phoenix Art museum? The Accademia handled the display beautifully. They positioned a black and white Maplethorpe in front of and to one side of each Michelangelo sculpture. The juxtaposition of the naked, muscular David in white marble with a male, black, nude athlete photographed by Maplethorpe made a clear and powerful statement. Nudity is art, not obscenity (and has been for eons) . . . end of argument.

Portovenere, Italy

After a very relaxing stay with Joan and Gene Cervelli at their Lake Como villa, we drove south. Our destination was Camp Darby, a U.S. Army base near Pisa. To get a taste of the Cinqueterra, we headed to the peninsula city of Portovenere. Narrow, pastel painted houses loom upward from the port just below a castle ruin and a black and white marble church out on the point. A doorway above the crashing waves leads to the "Grotto Byron" where it is said Lord Byron dove into the sea and swam to the isle of Lerici.

Chess anyone? A life size game of chess in black and white marble was set up on the asphalt path leading to the point. It wouldn't fit in our suitcase!

The Walled City of Glurns

Walkway under the arches in Glurns, Italy.


Farmer on his way to a bar after parking his hay cutter at the square.


The narrow lane leading to our hotel.


View of the sheep below our balcony.

The last stop before our arrival at Lake Como was the tiny, walled city of Glurns, Italy. Established in 1307, today's population is still only 800-900. The narrow streets are lined with two story houses, some of which have archways over their doorways. I walked down one and almost had to duck. The ceiling was only an inch or two over my head.

As we ate dinner in the square that night, a farmer pulled his hay cutter into the square, jumped down from the seat and headed for a bar across the street. This is still very much "rural" Italy. It is hay cutting time, and entire families are in the field raking and turning the hay.

Our second story room in a small residential B&B overlooked a pasture with sheep, fruit orchards, and in the distant, the snow-capped Dolomites. The owners of the inn were busy tending their vegetable garden when we arrived.

Lake Como and Dinner in Switzerland

An appetizer of lardo.


Gene and Sandrini in the cantina.


Polenta on the fire.


Our view of Lake Como from the balcony.

We are roughing it in Tremezzo on Lake Como. As guests of Joan and Gene Cervelli, we have the downstairs suite, just off the pool. The home they are renting for the next eight weeks sits high in the hills above the water . . . and yesterday we hiked all the way down (and back up!). You can see snow on the distant peaks, eagles soaring above the lake and boats scurrying back and forth. What a pleasant spot!

Last night we drove into Switzerland, just a few miles away, to have dinner at Grotto Bundi owned by Stefano and Sandrini Romelli. Stefano's cousin Don was on the boat with us in Croatia and Don told us all about this restaurant. The restaurant is built into the side of a mountain, and the "cantina" is a storage room with vents dug into the rock. Cold air pours out of the holes and keeps the cantina cold. This is where they store their wine, sausages, cornmeal to make the polenta, and other perishables.

Polenta is their specialty, and they make it twice a day on an open fire on the second floor of the restaurant. We ate outside, under huge trees, along side the street. We had called ahead and told them we were coming and were looking forward to a dinner of oso buco (their Tuesday special). When we arrived, they were out of oso buco. As a consolation, they served us a "typical" meal of deboned quail, rabbit, beef, white beans and mortadella (a type of sausage), and a mushroom dish, all in wonderful sauces. An appetizer of lardo, a finely sliced bacon-type dish, preceded the dinner. Three desserts were presented, including raspberry sorbet with raisins soaked in grappa (wine). What a treat!

Don's cousin, Stefano, is every bit as entertaining as Don himself. They send their love to Don and Marilyn.

Castelrotto, Italy

This community high in the Dolomites has the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen. Each grave is surrounded by a small, wrought iron fence, has an iron crucifix and small pot of water with pine bough laying in the water. Many have glass lanterns with candles inside.

The day I visited, church volunteers were planting flowers, pulling weeds, watering and caring for each gravesite. Family members stopped by, too, dipped water from the vessel and blessed their loved one's grave. It was very touching.

The cemetery is located behind the church with the Dolomites as a backdrop. An alcove at the rear of the cemetery is dedicated to the men who died in WWI and WWII and has a mural of a soldier and family members mourning those who died in those wars. This part of Italy belonged to Austria but was ceded to Italy at the end of WWI. The people here still speak German and educate their children in that language. All signs are in Italian and German.