Rome is a magical place to visit.  Having stayed there for about twenty-four hours prior to our cruise we were excited to return for an additional five days.  This was also somewhat unusual and adventurous for us in that we up until that time had returned home directly after a cruise.  So we were back at the Hotel Montecarlo and Claude.  We decided by majority vote of three, sadly Aaron had to return to the United States due to work commitments, that we would perform much of our tour of Roma by the walking method.  Since then I have discovered that every time we are in Europe walking is our primary means of transportation.  We set our for the Fontana di Trevi or the Trevi Fountain.  The magnificent fountain was designed by Nicola Salvi and built in 1762.  It is considered the most famous fountain in the world.  The fountain has appeared in several movies due to its popularity.  It is a breathtaking feast for the eyes.  

As we pushed through the very large crowds of people I noticed a young woman who was setting on a small wooden push cart and who was obviously handicapped.  Although many passed her smiling face by as if she was not present…a young priest stopped and spoke with her and gave her some coin.  By the smiles on both of their faces I saw the christian principle at work.

We discovered a wonderful trattoria near the fontana and enjoyed a great meal…in fact it was so delicious that we returned again during our stay in Roma.  Later that afternoon we returned to the Montecarlo for a short nap only to be awakened by the telephone and Aaron calling from a hotel near the Leonardo da Vinci airport.  He told us that his plane back to the United States had not shown up and subsequently was just a few miles away from us until a new flight could arrive the next day.  He was exhausted from waiting in long lines at the airport for hours before they secured him a room for the night.

We planned on dining at our favorite trattoria that was a block or so away from our hotel…but decided first to enjoy a drink at the hotel bar.  When we arrived at the bar we discovered that Claude was not only the front desk attendant but also the bartender and mixologist.  He provided us with some tasty drinks and we sat with some very friendly folks from England.  The gentleman told us that he had been robbed the night before and  that we must be careful if we boarded any of the trains because that is where his pocket was picked.  He went on to exclaim that if it were not for his lady friend he would be in a penniless circumstance as all of his credit card were stolen as well. I thought during our animated conversation that we had found friends for the stay at the hotel…but when I greeted the colorful englishman the next morning he barely replied hello…and did not seem to recall our revelries of the evening before.

In any event we returned to our super nice bald headed slightly crossed eyed waiter at the trattoria just down the street, that we had visited the evening before we embarked on the cruise, and he was ecstatic to see us.  He cooked his speciality for us and it was even better than before the cruise…if that is possible.  After the meal I inquired if he had any grappa?  Now, I must confess at this point that I did not know what grappa was but I had heard it ordered on one of my two all time favorite television shows, The Sopranos, and so I wanted to experience it.  The man beamed at the request and responded that he not only had grappa…but for me he would open the best grappa.  I replied with equal enthusiasm.  Grappa is a grape based brandy made from discarded grape seeds, stems, and stalks.  It was very strong, smooth, and good.  As the dinner concluded we had been educated during the cruise that the proper tip in most European countries was only a few Euros…if the service was good…and not the twenty percent that we americans were accustomed to.  Thus we left the culturally correct gratuity…and our wonderful waiter did not follow us into the street.

We began the next morning with the Montecarlo’s’ extravagant breakfast.  Chocolate is the theme with chocolate pastries and Nutella abounding and also some wonderful Genoa salami and diverse antipasto.  This is complimented with exquisite cappuccino.  Then, we were off to find the perfect suitcase for Mary Jane.  She was desiring a small hard case that would fit in the overhead compartments on the airplanes.  We walked several miles in this pursuit.  Finally we found just the right one…a small fire engine red Samsonite case and we quickly purchased it from the well dressed Italian lady who mostly smiled at us when we asked her questions.  Speaking of well dressed.  We noticed that almost all men and women we encountered were immaculate in their attire and thin.  Women wearing high heels and men in suit and tie…even when driving their Vespers.

The ancient ruins of Rome and the Colosseum were our next stop.  These sites are so imagination stirring.  

During our five days in Rome we took a twelve hour bus tour to Assisi and Orvieto.  This began with some excitement just after Bob’s Limo Service picked us up at our hotel and drove us to the bus tour.  A lady immediately came out and instructed us to follow her to a different bus line that would be taking us due to her company not having enough tourists partaking of the twelve hour journey.  When we arrived the tour guide said that he did not have our names on his manifest to which I replied that we had purchased our tickets and were planning on joining his tour…he simply waved his hand for us to board.  As we began the ride I was impressed that our guide began to tell us what we were going to see when we stopped as well as many of the areas that were passing by the bus windows…and he did this in three languages.  However when we stopped at Orvieto the bus parked at the foot of a gigantic hill that we then took a lift up part of the climb and completed it wearily on foot.  This process took over twenty minutes.  When we finally arrived at the top our guide who had spoken to us in three languages told us that, “There is the church…I will be under the tree…meet me under the tree in one hour”.  This was the modus operandi for the remainder of the day.  In fact there was a woman from South Africa that constantly berated him throughout the day for his lack of tour guide skills.  She told him that she had been a governmental official overseeing tourism in South Africa at one time and that she knew what she was talking about.  His response throughout the day was, “Madame…madame”.

A lunch was provided during the day at a local trattoria.  We were so happy to be reunited with our new friends from Barcelona, Dan and Michelle, and we sat next to them for lunch.  As I was attempting to make my order of the approved foods that the Tour had already paid for, the language gap got the best of both me and the waitress.  When Dan attempted to help by telling the young woman what I was requesting and I chimed in…she instructed me that she was talking to Dan.  I thought enough said.

St. Francis home of Assisi is fascinating.  St. Francis was born into a well to do family in 1181-1182. While Francis was going to war in 1204 he had a vision and returned to Assisi.  He then took a pilgrimage to Rome and joined the poor in begging in St. Peter’s Basilica.  He was then persuaded to live in poverty.  He is one of the most venerated saints of the Catholic Church. I think that his name sake the current Pope is an extraordinary leader.  We again had the opportunity to have a drink and snack with Michelle and Dan as well as Mary Jane discovering a wonderful hanging mask that she had been looking for.  

As the long tour wound to its’ conclusion and we got off the bus Mary Jane handed our trilingual guide ten euro.  Now ten euro is a good tip for a good guide…but our guide was just out of gas, so to speak, yet she handed him the reward smilingly and he responded, “You are to kind madame”.

As we departed Rome I was sure of one thing…we must return someday.  There are simply to many sights and sounds and smells to take in even is six days…but God knows we tried.

One of the most intriguing ports we disembarked on during our Mediterranean cruise was Palermo, Sicily.  We boarded a bus for our guided tour and the first thing we noticed was the terrible traffic.  The streets where chaotic…even more so than Rome…if that is possible.  Our first stop was the Plazzo Steri also known as the Chiaramonte.  From 1600 through 1782 the Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition made its’ home here.  This building functioned as the jail of the Inquisition.  As our guide described the torture that transpired in the buildings we could not help but wonder if the spirits of those who had suffered as heretics might still be lingering?

The creepiness of the Plazzo Steri palled in comparison to our next stop which was the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo.  This was like nothing I had ever witnessed.  Although we had visited the catacombs in Rome…there were no remains in the wall niches that we walked by.  Not so in the catacombs of Palermo as not long after descending the many stairs to the bottom we began to pass…within arms length… the embalmed and mummified remains of not only the Capuchin Monks but also all manner of deceased including nobility, merchants, women, and children.  Some women were in wedding dresses while many were dressed in their finest clothes of the day and monks included the ropes that they had used as penance rituals during their life.  One body had been in life a casanova and thus had requested to be buried with glass eyes so that he could admire lovely women in his death.  His appearance was more than a little disquieting.  

An infant, Rosalia Lombardo, was preserved in such pristine condition that she appeared to be sleeping.  She died in 1920.    

After visiting the catacombs I could not help but reflect on the fleeting nature of this life and the perishable nature of our bodies.  

During our excursion in Palermo we were given a couple of hours to explore the merchants district with many fine upscale shops.  However they were for the most part closed for a customary two hour lunch and rest period making it difficult to explore more than the interesting facades and frontage of the businesses.  

We stopped for lunch and were greeted by a friendly waiter who spoke virtually no english and we spoke no italian.  He called for his manager to come out…who did speak a little english.  He was smoking a cigar and after some trial and error told me to try his pasta with sardines.  I later discovered that Palermo is noted for its’ sardines.  Although this combination sounded strange to my american ears it was the most delicious dish I had during the cruise and ranked next to our special dish in Rome.  

During the bus tour we were told by our guide that the mafia is still so strong in Palermo that when members of their family our being tried in court that they must be transported by a system of underground tunnels for fear that the police will be attacked and the prisoner released.  About this time we passed the opera house that had a prominent role in the movie Godfather III.

Palermo is a beautiful city.  It has posses an old world quality that is fascinating.  

As we left Nice we were sad at the limited time we had to visit with our friend Margo.  We determined that we must come back to Europe and visit with her and Jeff at a future date.  Cruise ships in general and the Holland America line in particular are noted for their beautiful interiors and lovely art.  In fact every cruise we have taken has had an art auction at some point during the “at sea” portion of the adventure.  On our first cruise to Alaska, and our first cruise ever, we were enamored with the beautiful art on display that was later to be sold at auction.  Setting in on the first day of the auction we noticed that the friendly ships’ crew were not only offering us free champagne but were very quick to refill our flutes.  What generosity!  What an artistic spirit of benevolence!  As the auction progressed…and the free champagne flowed…I could not help but notice the freedom of purchase that many in the happy audience were engaging in.  We saw one of the happy art purchasers at dinner a night or two after and commented on the several pieces that they had purchased.  They replied that they had better like them because they certainly cost a lot of money.  The moral of this story would be that if you attend an at sea art auction…do not drink the free champagne.

Barcelona, Spain is simply a beautiful city.  During our shore excursion we partook in a great guided tour that stopped in two different Tapas restaurants.  Tapas are a snack or an appetizer in Barcelona that can be consumed as a main course.  The idea of Tapas is that you can eat delicious food and still be able to concentrate on good fellowship of others, at your table, and engage in conversation.  These are small finger foods or horderves that can be either hot or cold, spicy or mild, and composed of almost anything.  We sat at table with a simply delightful couple.  They were on the cruise with us and Dan was from the East coast while Michelle was from Florida.  She had been a member of the Mossad in Israel.  He had retired twice…the first time for a period of five years until his wife told him that there was not enough money…and thus he said,” I went back to work for ten additional years”.  We not only had lunch with Dan and Michelle but later after the cruise we were united with them again on a seven hour bus tour of Italy and lunch at Assisi.

During our tour we marveled at the Sagrada Familia basilica who’s architect was the renowned Antoni Gaudi.  This is a basilica like none I have ever seen.  

We also saw Gaudi’s Casa Batllo which is one of his most unusual works.  

There was a liveliness and excitement in Barcelona that was immediately felt.  It is a very busy city with friendly people and many children…who watched us with purpose and question as we walked around their city.

The next day we docked at Tunis, Tunisia.  Tunis is the capital of Tunisia and is located in north Africa.  We were one of the first cruise liners to begin docking in Tunis about four months after the Arab Spring uprising had freed them from the dictatorship of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who had been removed and his government overthrown.  In fact the Arab Spring began in Tunisia.  Tunisia is a Muslim country with 98% being Sunni Muslims.  Our tour guide was an interesting animated fellow.  He began to recount his gratefulness to the United States for standing with Tunisia during its’ recent struggle for independence and his appreciation for Holland America for having the courage to be one of the first cruise lines to begin docking at Tunis.  His comments were heartfelt and like nothing that I have experienced on a tour.  As we drove through the city it was like being in the pages of National Geographic.  The ancient buildings and the locals setting in front of them having coffee and smoking and talking was a surreal experience.  We were in another culture and another world.  Not a bad world…on the contrary it was fascinating and by the quizzical looks we received as we drove by I think the Tunisians were thinking the same things as we were.

We stopped at the ancient ruins of Carthage.   This was something to behold.  The City dates back to the first millennium BC when it was a Phoenician colony.  

We visited the military cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia where thousands of fallen american veterans have their final resting place.  When we saw the immaculate keeping of the grounds and heard the Battle Hymn of the Republic being played on the belles from the cemeteries chapel we could not help but tear up at the thought of all of the young men who had given their lives in Europe and many during the North African Campaigns of World War II.  

One of the most colorful stops during the tour was at a rug manufacturing shop.  We first were given a demonstration of how the rugs were made by hand stitching that was extremely intricate and producing a beautiful product.  Then we were ushered into a long narrow room that had benches aligning the walls.  A sweet Tunisian dessert was offered to each of us and some small cups of delicious tea.  Now for the sales pitch.  Exquisite rug after exquisite rug was brought to the middle of the room for our inspection and purchase.  The beginning prices on each were exorbitant.  Some of our group simply purchased their rug at the first price offered and seemed extremely proud of their consumer acumen.  While others waited until the third, fourth, and even fifth price was quoted before making the contract.

As we began to board the bus after the rug show our tour guide stood in the middle of an extremely busy street and stopped the traffic as any police officer would do…however he was a tour guide..and a brave man.

I think one of the primary problems between Christians and Muslims is that they have never taken the time to get to know each other.  The people we encountered in Tunis were very friendly…other than the one old man who made an obscene gesture with his hand at us…and are facing much of the same struggles that christians do on a daily basis.  I must reiterate that our tour guide was touching in his sincerity of appreciation for Americans and for their support.  As we were in a gift shop that was attached to the rug factory…he insisted on introducing me to his boss who seemed honored to meet me.  I was honored to meet him as well.

As we boarded our Holland America cruise liner at Civtavecchia and began to set sail I straight away noticed the relaxed care free feeling that customarily comes over me when I am on a cruise.  From the epicurean dinners to the fine wine and cocktails to the beautiful public spaces and comfortable accommodations, cruising is an almost worry free way to see the world.  Not to mention that the entertainment is often Broadway quality.  We were diverted from our first port of call and docked in Genoa, Italy.

Genoa has a population of over six hundred thousand inhabitants, according to Wikipedia.    My only memory of Genoa’s history was that Christopher Columbus was born there…but even that is of historical question.

In any case our first stop was little more than our standing on the dock and walking to a nearby merchant area…where they watched us with a skeptical eye.

The next day we went ashore at Cannes, France.  We boarded a bus for a guided tour of Cannes, Eze, and Nice.  These towns line the historic French Riviera.  Cannes was very interesting in that the Cannes Film Festival was transpiring while we were driving through.  We looked intently for famous movie stars but sadly the guide told us it was a bit to early for them as they usually came out mid-afternoon.  We did see the famous red carpet.  The population is roughly seventy-three thousand people.  The famous film festival began in September, 1946.

Eze was where we took a walking tour of this small town in the mountains.  Eze has a population of just under three thousand people.  Eze is sometimes referred to as the “eagles nest” due to its’ height of 1,401 feet above sea level.  We virtually toured the entire town and visited many of the small quaint shops…first by walking up the steep incline and then down to return to the bus.  We stood in front of the Fragonard Perfume store for some time but did not go in.  Three years later in Grasse we did go in and stayed for some time.

Nice was an exciting destination for us as we were to have lunch with our friend of many years Margo.  We were to meet by the old opera house.  Thus we asked the tour guide to let us depart from the bus and tour…and inquired when and where we should meet again for the return trip to the ship.  As we looked for Margo I noticed the extreme beauty of the old city.  The buildings were unique in their architectural structure and close proximity.  

The picture of Nice above was taken June 2014 and not the time of this blog which was May, 2011.

We had a lovely lunch and then perused an outdoor antique market.  I noticed both at lunch and during our walk through the market that many of the residents had their dog or dogs with them.  We learned that the french take their dogs virtually everywhere with them and it is culturally acceptable.  Nice is one of the oldest human settlements in Europe and has three hundred days of sunshine annually.

I think everyone but me indulged in some gelato just before we departed from Margo to board our bus.  Watching them eat…I wished that I had joined them.  We decided that someday we would like to return to Nice for a few days rather than being bound by a cruise line minimal land schedule.

January 1,2011 I retired from a job that I loved at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois.  Mary Jane then retired from Her favorite position at SIU at the end of February 2011.  Having worked all of our lives, to that point, we wanted to take a holiday like we had never experienced before.  Thus we decided to embark on a Mediterranean cruise in May 2011, with an extended stay in Rome after the cruise concluded.  Aaron and Jonathon were both able to join us and the excitement was electric.

We landed at Leonardo da Vinci airport in Rome.  After we retrieved our baggage we waited for Bob’s Limo Service, who would be our chauffeur both during the day that we were in Rome prior to the cruise and the week after.  The driver for Bob was a delightful fellow.  He greeted us with broken english and proceeded to drive like a bat out of hell, as my mother was fond of saying.  I have driven in Manhattan… and was grateful to have finished without a major accident.  As Jonathon remarked at the conclusion of our great east coast adventure, ” We had a lot of close calls.”  Nevertheless I have never seen traffic or driving as I witnessed in Rome.  There are thousands of small scooters interweaving in and out of cars and trucks and other scooters.  Apparently there are no rules of the road as drivers cut in front of their peers with abandon.  We were told by our chauffeur that the rule of driving in Roma was to not make eye contact with a person that is attempting to cut in front of you as that is body language for giving them permission to do so.  After more than a little heart palpitations we arrived at our destination, the Hotel Montecarlo.

The Montecarlo was a lovely Hotel with an old world ambiance.  As we checked in with Claude the desk clerk, and bartender as I later discovered, we noticed that he had only rudimentary english skills and we had no Italian language skills.  Remember this was our first exposure to Europe.  We were ushered to our rooms and Aaron and I collapsed on twin beds while Mary Jane and Jonathon overcame their exhaustion and sought lunch.  As they departed the lights and air conditioner ceased to function.  The electricity was off.  Being so unbelievably tired we perspired through until their return.  Later I inquired of Claude and discovered that if your key was not inserted into the socket provided for it by the inside of the  door of the room your electricity immediately was turned off.  We were awoken from our hot slumber by Mary Jane announcing that it was time to catch Bob’s Limo Service to the Catacomb tour.  Jonathon and I protested that we would rather sleep…but the fact that I was in Rome and might never be so again won out and we left with Bob.

There are forty or more catacombs under Rome.  They started in the second century AD.  The empty underground burial niches in the stone and earth under Rome were extremely interesting.  However they palled in comparison to the Sicilian catacombs that we visited later in the trip.

Now, no matter how tired we were we were ready to eat.  Just a block from the Montecarlo was a trattoria that Jonathon and Mary Jane had visited for lunch.  We decided that sounded good to our weary minds and bodies.  At this point I must mention that our hotel was located more or less on embassy row.  There were uniformed armed guards along the path to the trattoria and the surrounding blocks.  As we entered the trattoria I noticed the liveliness of the establishment.  Much talking, laughing, and movement were all around us.  Our waiter was colorful as he was extremely busy with slightly crossed eyes and a balding pate.  When I inquired what was best on the menu he responded that, “What was best was not on the menu…but that he would fix his off menu speciality for us if we desired”.  We responded that we desired very much.  When he brought the off menu special to us we began to eat what was the best pasta dish that we have ever partaken of in Europe…and we have now been there three times.  It was exquisite.  At the conclusion of the outstanding meal I left my customary tip of 20% and we proceeded to exit the building.  Our waiter followed us into the street and exclaimed, ” Please come back again…we are closed tomorrow…but we will be open every day after that!”  I responded that we were going on a weeks’ cruise but after that we would be returning to the Montecarlo for an additional week and that we would definitely be patrons again.  He seemed very happy.

The next morning was embarkation day for the cruise…but first was the private tour of the Vatican.  Bob sent a Mercedes to pick us up at the Montecarlo and deposit us at the Vatican.  Our guide Sergio met us within five minutes of our arrival and we began.  This young man, from the instant we met him, was the consummate professional.  He took us in a side door and commenced to best guided tour that we have ever had.  

By the time he had completed our three hour tour we were inundated with both ancient and modern knowledge of the Vatican.

At the conclusion of our tour we said goodbye to Sergio and returned by taxi, not Bob, to the Montecarlo and then by bus to Civitavecchia of our embarkation on the ship that would take us to many interesting points around the Mediterranean.  We had only just begun.

One of the definitions of  faith, according to Dictionary.com, is, “belief that is not based on proof”.  Another definition would be,” belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the pilgrims.”  

I have often reflected on the meaning of faith…why do people attend synagogue, church, or mosque.  Is it the hope of an afterlife, a rapture, rewards in heaven that seem somewhat earthly in their descriptions?  

Is religious affiliation much like a club to many people?  You pay your dues and show up for the main events…and you have got your bases covered with the big man upstairs?

The popular author Tom Perrotta has written a compelling book titled, the leftovers,  which has been made into a series on HBO.  The basic premise is that a rapture like event has occurred taking one hundred and forty-thousand people away from the earth and their families and friends to somewhere yet to be determined.  One of the most interesting components of this yarn is that that people were apparently from all walks of life, faithful and faithless,…moral and immoral.  After this unexplained departure it appears that a slow chaos is building among the leftovers…including an appreciable decline in church attendance.  Nihilism is taking over the town in which the story is set.  

Many people are members of a belief system by virtue of their birth.  Judaism, Muslim, Catholic, or Protestant, while many more are members of a denomination by the same random circumstance, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran and others.  

I had a good friend disclose to me many years ago that the only reason he attended church was to avoid a burning hell.

As Mary Jane and I have traveled throughout Europe we have toured many exquisite cathedrals.  I must tell you that I find them inspiring.  The people that built these magnificent edifices had to be inspired.  Did they come up in the same faith system that I have?  No, I think not as the catholic church would be the primary religious influence throughout Europe.  Nevertheless the physical manifestation of their belief in the unknown is palpable.  

When I was working at university I was acquainted with many wonderful students from all over the world.  Their backgrounds and belief or faith systems were as the old testament patriarch Josephs’ coat of many colors.  One of these, an African American young man, worked in the office with me for some time and was a muslim.  He was a delightful person and caring person and dedicated to his faith.  

I have several friends who are Jewish by birth and Christian by faith.

Many voices in the United States, and some with appreciable political influence, would have our government follow their narrow interpretation of the Bible and their belief system.  You see that’s the  rub as we used to say.  Prayer is powerful…but do I have to recite your… or the politically correct prayer?  

Having begun my faith walk in a non-denominational church forty-five years ago and now having been a member of First Presbyterian Church for the past sixteen years I have experienced quite a view of my protestant faith.  Faith is extremely personal and many times private.  

One manifestation that I enjoy seeing in the Presbyterian Church is people living their faith with practical actions of helping others and the less fortunate.  

 In the new testament (NIV) Jesus said in John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

We packed so much into our month in Europe that it is impossible to mention everything that we did.  But it occurred to me that I must highlight some of the lovely people, places, events, and impressions that I have thus far not mentioned in the past A Month in Europe blogs.

We were privileged to meet two of Margo and Jeff’s good friends Ron and Barbara.  These were simply delightful people.  Ron is retired from several meaningful positions including rocket scientist while Barbara has her own insurance consulting business and still is working part time.  They are from New York but have the most interesting  annual living plan of residing in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France for part of the spring and summer, then home to New York, New York until the first chilly winds blow, and then to Florida.  They met us at a stop on the train from Nice to Ventimiglia, Italy where we were all going to the famous Friday outdoor market.  The market is located in the towns’ center and has over five hundred stalls that have everything from cheese and salami to italian coffee pots.  This Market is a microcosm of humanity.  Beautiful silks, cashmere sweaters, and leather goods along with toys and trinkets, and purses being sold by African folks who were very interesting to watch.  These gentleman would take some time in laying out their wares of primarily purses on a blanket on the ground only to subsequently gather the blanket by the four corners and run, as if for their life, when word traveled that the italian police were in the area.  I asked Jeff what was happening and he told me that they were probably in the country illegally and were thus not wanting to be apprehended by the police.  The theatre did not happen once while we at the market but many times.  Not long after the fleeing the Carabinieri who walked slowly and deliberately down the narrow paths of the market…they soon returned to the same location that they had fled a few minutes earlier and again went through the painstaking process of setting up their wares.  Ron purchased a great italian coffee pot…that if I had seen them I would have purchased one as well.

Jeff told me early in our stay in Nice that their was a Jazz club very near their apartment and that we would go there for some Jazz appreciation during the week that we were in Nice.  I thought how nice this would be as Jazz is my favorite form of music.  I even considered that perhaps we would attend two or three performances due to the close proximity of the club.  The week went by very quickly and one of the last nights we were there as we were walking back to the apartment Jeff remarked that he and I should stop in to the Jazz club that was right in front of us.  I responded that we must wait for the girls…as I was certain that they wanted to join us.  We never made it to the Jazz club…and I can still hear the music.

The times I spent with Jeff at the Mediterranean Sea coast…reflecting on our all to quickly passed youth…and the unthought of miracle that we had renewed our friendships so many years later in Europe were very special and memorable moments in life that is such a profound mystery.  The Mediterranean is alluring and sublime in its’ beauty.  If you just visited Nice and sat each day by the Sea…you would be fulfilled and happy.

Margo is an inspiration to me.  Having dreamed of writing for many years, and having done some…but not enough, her dedication to the craft and success at it has been exciting!  I enjoyed so much seeing her office and her desk, of which she stands at much of the time, and the throughly enjoyable evening we spent with her and Jeff at Patricia Sands Forum caused me to realize that if I wanted to write…it was time.  Mary Jane and I both remarked that being in Nice and seeing the various sites that Margo had written about in previous articles caused the scenes to come alive for us in a special way that would not have happened had we not been privileged to read the pieces.

Venice was like entering a beautiful story.  It had a surreal quality to it that at first I thought must be only temporary…but indeed it lasted the five days that we were there.  Jeff was ill from beginning to end of our stay and this made us sad.  Margo watched over him for the duration and thus we were orphans in an unknown world.  The strangeness of the geographical location is compelling.  Venice seems to be a tight-knit community.  Yet watching the tourists and locals for many hours I was struck with the cosmopolitan nature of the group.  Venice is a relatively small city with a worldwide reputation.  During our first guided tour of Venice, of which we could not hear the guide most of the time, we had also received the information that we were eligible for a free tour to the island of Murano where the famous glass is produced.  Murano is famous for its’ exquisite blown glass that is sold worldwide.  Mary Jane was searching for just the right piece of Murano glass.  And so we went on the free tour.  The water taxi took almost thirty minutes to arrive at our destination.  When we disembarked we were kept in a tight group and escorted immediately to a glass blowing factory for a demonstration that was mildly enjoyable.  Then we were shown another walkway that led directly into the glass factory store.  Here we were shadowed by a sales person who began by quoting us phenomenal prices for Murano artwork that we seemed to be interested in.  He then mentioned to me that he would not insult me by suggesting that price was an issue for me but that he could be flexible on some of the quoted costs if we were interested.  I was perplexed at the sales techniques of one of the apparent managers of the sales force when he brushed off a woman who seemed extremely interested in a relatively expensive piece and his admonishing her to go to the basement where there were cheaper pieces specifically for tourist souvenirs while subsequently following us as what he perceived “big fish” clients.  We left without any glass.

Margo returned from a solo journey in Venice one afternoon to announce to us that we must see a bookstore that she had discovered.  She explained that books that had apparently been water damaged had been constructed into stairs and platforms that customers could stand upon.  We had to see it.

Venice Bookstore II

Venice Bookstore III

Venice Bookstore IV

You may notice that the beginning of the Venice Video that is contained within my A Month in Europe – Venice blog begins with the proprietor of the colorful bookstore.

Mary Jane has always been beautiful.  I have admired her beauty for over forty years.  Yet she has a special glow in Europe which is one of her favorite destinations.  Mary Jane I

Margo and Mary Jane have been friends for over forty years.  I reflected often during our month adventure with them that the years simply roll away when I look at them together.  Mary Jane and Margo I

We departed Venice with two pieces of Murano glass…one beloved and one hidden.  We also purchased a painting for each of our wonderful sons, who did not accompany us on this trip, but have on two trips to Europe prior to this one.  I thought, as I have on almost every European location that I have visited, that I could spend a year and only scratch the surface of the rich culture and heritage of Nice and Venice.

As we drove down the one lane mountain turnpike the last time I reflected on what an interesting experience our five night stay in the ancient farm house had been.  Another world…and one I was so glad to have experienced in this short span we call life.

Florence is the capital of Tuscany.  It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance.  The prime patrons of he Renaissance were the Medici family.

Shortly after we arrived at our apartment, that was on a very narrow street, Margo and Jeff took us  on a tour of the surrounding area.  The Piazza della Signoria was breathtaking in its’ architectural Renaissance splendor and sculptures.  The Loggia dei Lanzi functions as an open air sculpture gallery and holds many of these fabulous pieces.  When I first saw all of the indescribably beautiful architecture and sculpture I found it a bit dizzying.  Florence

Florence II

Florence III

Our first lunch was at a trattoria that featured a large grill that you could see from the seating area.  Jeff pointed out to me what appeared to be a very large flank of meat behind Mary Jane and I and just in the sight line of he and Margo.  The appearance of it was pristine and I thought it must be fake.  However when our waiter arrived we found that the speciality of the house was their grilled steaks and that the cook would cut off the steak a patron had ordered and grill it.  I had a savory meat dish from the flank and in one of our two return visits to the trattoria Jeff had a steak that covered his plate…and he consumed it with joy and precision.

The next morning we were off to the Galleria degli Uffizi.  The Uffizi is one of the oldest art museums in Europe.  It was built in 1560 for Cosimo I de’ Medici as an office building for Florence’s magistrates.  Uffizi is translated offices.  Mary Jane mentioned that perhaps we should leave early to get a good spot in line…should there be one.  I suggested that it probably was the first tour of the day and I did not think that we would have a problem.  Was I ever wrong.  We stood for about forty-five minutes before gaining access but in the busiest times it is not unusual to wait five hours in line. The sculptures and paintings are indescribable in their ancient beauty.  

Dante Alighieri was born in Florence in 1265.  He is the author of the Divine Comedy.  Much of our stay in Florence was in search of Dante.  We visited his church.  We saw the door to his home.  And his death mask.  Dante’s church

Dante’s House

Dante’s Death Mask

We even took a wonderful tour in search of Dante but found that when it began the tour’s primary focus was regarding the most recent Dan Brown book, Inferno, of which much is set in Florence thus determining the sites the tour guide focused on.  The guide was an extremely engaging speaker and the tour took us to several historic buildings that we would not have seen the inside of had we not been on it.  One of these buildings was the Baptistry.  The Baptistry was built between 1059 and 1128.  Dante Alighieri was baptized here.  Baptistry ceiling

Florence Baptistry

During our search for the perfect trattoria Mary Jane and I happened upon one that had a delightful waiter who knew how to make a dirty martini.  Now you may think that this skill would be easy to find…but you would be wrong.  Having visited Europe three times this fine gentleman would be the first that has ever been able to produce  a martini and secondly a good dirty martini.  I must correct my last statement as there was a waiter in Paris, on our first night of our three day visit to the city of lights two years ago, that made a great dry martini.  However we did not return…we did however return to our favorite trattoria in Florence three times…great food by the way.

Ever since our visit to Collodi we also were in search of a perfect Pinocchio marionette.  You see my friend Steve had a collection of marionettes when I lived in Chicago.  I was under five years old, as we moved when I was five, and when Steve would bring the stringed puppets over I thought that they were like nothing that I had ever seen.  One day Mary Jane discovered the Pinocchio store.  The rest is history.

When I visit an exotic historic location that is rich with art and culture…I am often surprised regarding the simple things that create some of the warmest memories.  For instance we joined Margo and Jeff for a showing of the recently released movie Jersey Boys at the Odeon theatre.  The theatre was a majestic movie palace of old.  The movie was shown in english with italian subtitles.  Not only was the movie great…but the idea of being there with our lifelong friends had a unique sweetness to it.

If there is one thing that you discover when you leave the United States it would be that it is not all about us.  Other countries are doing just fine with a rich history and culture that it would take a life time to absorb.  Each country that Mary Jane and I have been privileged to visit we have found friendly people who are very fond of americans.  The diversity of this small planet that we all call home is what makes it so beautiful.