House pictures

Dining area

Entry and dining area

Bedroom

View from the sala

Prague pictures

Rachel in Old Town Square

Stormy Prague Castle

Old Jewish Cemetery

Prague Architecture - wow!

Guess who?

More architecture

Stained glass panel at St. Vitas cathedral

St. Charles Bridge

Arrivederci Italia!

We arrived home this morning after a long, 24-hour day of airplane travel. We left Milano for Roma at 6:30 AM on Tuesday, which meant an early start of 4AM from the hotel. After a short layover in Roma, the long-haul flight took us from Roma to Los Angeles, where Lidia happily returned home to her kids and grandkids. Rachel, Greg, and I continued on to San Francisco, where we spent the night because we were just too darn tired and jet-lagged to drive home. We arrived home today to a balloon bouquet and flowers from our incredible neighbors, the McManus family; a huge stack of mail to sort; and the wonderful sight of figs on the "bonanza" tree. It's back to the office for me tomorrow (sigh), while Greg is off until next Monday, and Rachel has another month before resuming school. Our last week in Berzo was uneventful, except for the cousin's pizza dinner which was really fun. It was the first time that our cousins on both sides had such an event, which we hope will now become more of a family tradition. I counted 22 cousins, with at least another 6 stopping by to say hello. Great fun (and a lot of laughs and storytelling) was had by all. Our rascal cousins pre-planned to pay the bill, so despite some vehement arguing on our part, we finally conceded to their gracious offer. As the saying went, we were guests, and guests don't pay for dinner while in Berzo. Our plan is to pay them back next year, but don't tell them! I can't think of anywhere I would rather have been this summer then in Berzo with our family and new home. Lidia and I are already planning a return trip next year to see the all the changes to the house that will be happening this winter - that's exciting! Our hope is that rustic downstairs will be transformed into a functional living space, with a full kitchen, soggiorno (a day room, or family room), a bedroom for Lidia, and a bathroom. Before we left, we spent time with our cousin Giorgio who will be designing the layout of the new areas and our cousin Claudio, who will be doing much of the work. We're super excited, so hold good wishes for the dollar to remain strong against the euro - we're gonna need a lot of good wishes to pull it all off. I didn't get much of opportunity to post pictures of our last few weeks in Europe, so the next few blogs will have some of those. Thanks to all who followed our blog and came along with us on our summer vacation. We hope someday that we'll be able to share our Berzo home with you so that you too can write a blog about a wonderful summer spent in Bella Italia.

Praha (Prague)

We had a wonderful trip to the beautiful city of Prague, despite my getting really sick with a nasty, nasty cold, the effects of which I'm still feeling 9 days later. Armed with a strange bottle of Czech cold medicine, we weathered the often rainy days and spent time visiting the city highlights. We had to exchange our euros for Czech koronas, which made for some strange calculations when paying for things. Our first evening was spent in Old Town Square, where we enjoyed a local concert while taking in the gorgeous architecture and the various booths of street vendors who were selling an array of Czech food products. The following morning we started our day in the Jewish quarter, where we visited synagogues and the old Jewish cemetery. We read that the cemetery was "not to miss" and it was certanly true. The cemetery is crammed with thousands of gravestones in a area of less than 1/2 acre, and it is estimated that over 100,000 people were buried in the small area. In a neighboring museum, we saw firsthand the effect of World War II on the Jewish population of Prague and surrounding communities. The walls of the museum listed the names of the 80,000 Jewish people who were deported to concentration camps and never returned. It was quite a profound experience to read their names and birthdates and death dates. It really brought to life this horrific period of world history. The museum also had an exhibit of artwork prepared by children in the camps. It too told a powerful tale, as all the pictures of the camp were drawn in very dark colors, while others that showed the hope of returning home were in bright, spring colors. Dark and light - the universal symbol of evil and good.We spent the afternoon walking around the Old Town area, seeing the famous town hall astronomical clock (15th century) and Charles Bridge (14th century), which crosses the Vltava River that bisects the city. The bridge is adorned with Baroque statues of various saints. Although it now pedestrianed, at one time it could take four carriages abreast. The bridge led us to the Mala Strana (Little Quarter) district, which sits just below Prague Castle. It was a lively area with shops and cafes, and where we enjoyed a really nice lunch. This area also housed the Church of Our Lady Triumphant, where we visited the miraculous Infant of Praque statue. On our final day in Prague, we toured the Castle District, which is quite monumental, both in size and architectural marvel. The history of Prague begins with the castle, founded in the 9th century. Its commanding position high above the Vltava River soon made it the center of all the neighboring lands. Despite periodic fires and multiple invasions (and WWII), the castle has retained its churches, chapels, and towers from every period of its history. St. Vitas Cathedral, built in the 14th century, was incredibly beautiful, full of gorgeous stained glass windows whose artistry and technique we hadn't seen before. The palace has been home to the various Bohemian kings since the 11th century. Much of it was closed to visitors but we did get to see a small, older section. Overall, we highly recommend adding Prague to your European travel list. It is truly gorgeous. Its our last few days in Berzo, as we leave Italia on Tuesday, heading back to "normal life". Sigh. We have many family activities planned, including a Saturday night pizza dinner at the local sports bar with all the cousins. Its rumored that there will up upwards of 25 cousins! That will be a great send-off for a wonderful summer in Berzo.

Carcassonne and Lourdes

We arrived back in Berzo on Sunday evening after a long but good trip to Spain and France. After we visited Barcelona, we drove about 3 hours northeast to the UNESCO city of Carcassonne, where we spent a rainy afternoon walking around the medieval city. The hilltop on which the city lies was first occupied by a proto-hill fort in 600 BC overlooking the valley of the Aude and the ancient routes linking the Atlantic with the Mediterranean and the Iberian peninsula with the rest of Europe. It then became an early Roman settlement (Carcino, 100 BC) and was held by the Romans until the Visgoths conquered the area in the 5th century, followed by the Arabs in the 7th century. It was also deeply affected by the 13th century black plague and then land swaps by the Spanish, French, and Papal courts. It was during the medieval period that a second wall was added by Louis XIV outside the Roman walled city, making it an almost impregnable fortress of towers, bastions, and a large moat. The city was jammed with tourists who were arriving by the bus-loads. I visited here back in 1972 with my Mom while on a bus trip to Lourdes and I had such fond memories of it that I really wanted to return. This time, however, it was so crowded that it was almost not enjoyable until evening set in and many tourists left, leaving a partially deserted city. We were spending the night at the Best Western (only one of two hotels within the city walls), so we ended up with some "quality time" walking around. We had dinner at a small, quaint restaurant where they grilled some meat dishes in an fireplace right behind our table - that was cool! Greg and I had a "Cassoulet", which is a local speciality, and a type of casserole made with beans and a meat (duck for Greg, pork sausage for me). It was one of the tastier meals we had on the trip. We drove to Lourdes the following day in our very cramped little (key word little) Skoda Fabia sedan. Lidia and Rachel were squashed in the back seat along with Greg's duffle bag, which they affectionately termed "Bubba". He became a third passenger, as they had to strap "him" in to keep "him" from falling over on them. I don't think any of us will ever forget our long, ardous, 9 hour drive back to Barcelona from Lourdes! Lourdes - we arrived early afternoon and after settling into the hotel, Lidia and I visited the grotto. Surprisingly, it wasn't very crowded, even for a Friday afternoon. First, we circled the grotto area, then we lit candles for our friends and families and in thanksgiving for all our many blessings. We also visited the basilica and filled up several bottles with Lourdes water to bring back to both Italy and the U.S. Tomorrow, my bedroom set will finally arrive at the house, and next week Lidia's mattress will be delivered. After that, we'll do some final strategizing on what work to have done on the lower level of the house over the winter so when we return next year, it'll be ready (or darn close) for us to live in. That's exciting! We are here in Berzo through tomorrow, then Greg, Rachel, and I leave for our final road trip - to Prague - while Lidia stays behind to spend time with our cousins.

Carcassonne and Lourdes pictures

Photos of the medieval castle of Carcassonne, Rachel and Greg, the gargoyles of the Carcassonne basilica, and a picture of Lidia at Lourdes. More text later.

Ole!

Wow, we just got in from seeing an intensely seductive flamenco show here in Barcelona and I can't even begun to think of how to describe it. In this case, words cannot do justice to the rhythm of the shoes, the fluidity of the dancers, and their intense expression and interpretation of the music. It was as if each dancer was transported to another realm and their body possessed with the spirit and essence of the music and song. The live band also was incredibly good too, particularly the singers who so reminded me of the Gipsy Kings. The whole experience brought back Rachel's Irish step dancing years, and she was even practicing a few of her old hard shoe steps when she got back to the hotel. I guess once you have dancing in your veins, it never leaves. Earlier today we visited the incredible Sagrada Familia, what has been termed Europe's most unconventional church. Started in 1883, it became the lifework of Antoni Gaudi who truly crafted one of the most unique churches I've ever seen. He spent 14 years as a recluse on the site during its early construction years. Although it remains unfinished, work is progressing even today using various new technologies to achieve Gaudi's vision. It currently has 12 spires, facades that recount the Passion and Nativity, bell towers topped with Venetian mosaics, an internal spiral staircase of 400 steps, and even the body of Gaudi who is buried in a crypt. We leave Barcelona tomorrow for the walled medieval city of Carcassonne, France and then to Lourdes on Friday.

Espana - into the lion's den

Hello from Barcelona, or as I refer to it, the lion's den, after Italia's tragic loss to Spain in the European soccer championship game. We watched the game in Berzo on Sunday and flew here Monday where we saw a festive Spain celebrating their trifecta on television. We are very proud that the Azzurri made it to the finals as they were not expected to get that far. It was practice for the World Cup in two years is my perspective. Forza Azzurri 2014!!! Barcelona is a beautiful city and we've enjoyed our first day of sightseeing. Today we visited the Gothic cathedral, a stunning church begun in 1298 on the foundations of a Roman temple and Moorish mosque. It was finally finished in the early 20th century. The facade is gorgeous and the exterior spires are home to perched gargoyles that truly make you feel as if you are in medieval Europe. We also visited the lively Las Ramblas district, which is a principal street that leads through the center of the city to the sea, encompassing the lifeblood of Barcelona and its Catelonian culture. Thousands of tourists lined its tree-canopied route, which was marked by gorgeous florist and souvenir shops. We toured the incredible La Bouqeria food market where hundred of vendors were selling an imagination full of tempting fruits, breads, and a full menagerie of meats and fish. For the squeamish meat eater like me, it was quite the eye-rolling experience seeing dead creatures staring at me with glassed over eyes and intact bodies (and no I'm not talking about fish only, more like rabbits, goats, large fowl). Despite my roller-coaster stomach, I managed to eat paella at lunch although it was rather bland, which might have been good after the creature episode. This afternoon we visited the subterranean Roman city of Barcino founded between 15 and 10 BC during the reign of Augustus Caesar. It was absolutely incredible! Its a labyrinth of rooms that includes a typical Roman home (with mosaic floor), forum, public baths, aqueducts, roads, a winemaking area, temple, and laundry facilities. The place is a must see when you visit Barcelona! Tomorrow we are visiting the Sagrada Familia cathedral which is an architectural marvel. Now that I figured out that there is a blogger app on the iPhone I'll start uploading pictures!