Buona Pasqua!

For Easter, several families got together for a picnic and Easter egg hunt. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful, and we had a great time!

Emily and her friend Grace all dolled up for Easter.

The guys enjoying beer and fellowship.

The hunt is on!

Watching the hunt.

Checking out the loot.

After the hunt.

In Italy, rather than put out Easter baskets for the Easter Bunny, the children are given large, hollow chocolate eggs with prizes and toys inside. They range from about 6-9 inches high, to really enormous ones 3-4 feet high! The eggs are usually wrapped in fancy paper, and I have seen some wrapped in clear cellophane with writing in icing on the outside.

Emily with her Italian Easter egg. I neglected to take a picture of it before she unwrapped it, but it was a Disney Princess egg, and had a Belle comb inside. The eggs are very similar to the Kinder eggs that Emily enjoys all year round. Kinder eggs are hollow chocolate eggs about 3 inches high with little toys inside. Emily has a very large collection of Kinder egg toys.

Ancorra Venezia

On Thursday, April 9, Daddy, Jeff, Emily, and I took the train to Venice. Venice was also crowded with Spring tourists. The funny thing about Venice is, if you move 1 or 2 streets off the main tourist thoroughfares, there are almost no tourists at all. If you are lost, just look for the throngs of people - they will be on the main route between San Marco and the Rialto Bridge! Of course, we hit both of those spots. We did the tour of San Marco and the Treasures of San Marco, but did not go up in the belltower or on the upper walkway outside the Basilica itself.

The Basilica di San Marco.

The Basilica from the side, in front of the Doges' Palace.


The view from our hotel room. That is San Marco, just over those buildings.

The view from the hotel room, looking down.

Thursday evening, Daddy took Emily to see some Opera selections that were being performed at a local theatre by artists in 18th century Venetian costumes. They had a great time. Jeff and I had a date night, exploring Venezia on our own and enjoying a nice dinner. We, too, had a wonderful time.

On Friday, we attempted to go see the Jewish Museum, but it was closed because of Passover. We did find a museum of decorative arts and costume that was very interesting, and toured the Accademia Galleries as well.

This was just a building that I saw while we were waiting for the water bus, and particularly liked.

Jeff, Emily, and I took the train back to Ferrara Friday evening, and Daddy flew back to Atlanta from Venice on Saturday morning. We had a very nice visit, but, of course, it was too short!

Firenze in April

On Monday, April 6, Daddy and I went to Florence. We had a little trouble getting there, as the train we had planned to take was full. So, we took a regional train to Bologna and caught another Eurostar to Firenze. It delayed us about an hour, but not too bad. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and warm.

Monday afternoon we went over to the cathedral of Santa Croce to look around.

The front of Santa Croce. Note the abundance of tourists. Tourist season has definitely started now. There were many American high school and college kids on Spring Break.


The wooden ceiling inside Santa Croce.

The ceiling outside in the cloisters of Santa Croce.

We took a nice, leisurely tour, so it took most of the afternoon, and we didn't see much else on Monday. Tuesday morning, we walked over to the Duomo, but were deterred from going inside by the throngs of people in line. The Duomo is closed on Mondays, so apparently everyone tries to hit it first thing Tuesday morning.


The front of the Duomo and the masses of people milling around in the Piazza.

The back of the Duomo. They are in process of cleaning the outside of the building. Compare this picture with the one above. The front has been cleaned, and the back has not.

The Neptune fountain and other buildings on the Piazza della Signoria.

After our walk around the Duomo, Daddy went to tour the Galleria Accademia and see the David, and I went to the Duomo museum to see Michelangelo's unfinished Pieta and other works that have been removed from the Duomo itself. Daddy had booked the same tours that we took in February to see the David and the Uffizi Galleries. I met him for lunch and took the train back to Ferrara Tuesday afternoon. He took the tour of the Uffizi that evening, and went to an exhibit on Galileo at the Strozzi Palace on Wednesday before heading back to Ferrara.

To be continued...

A day at the beach

On April 2, my dad came for a visit. I picked him up at the airport and we just hung out that day because he was very tired. On Friday we walked around Ferrara, checked out the market, the Duomo, and the Castello Estense. Saturday was a rainy, dreary day, so we didn't do much, though that night we went out to one of our favorite local restaurants, Via Vai. After dinner, I took Emily home, and Daddy and Jeff went to have a glass of wine at Al Brindisi, a local wine bar, which is supposed to be the oldest wine bar in the world. It was apparently well known by the 15th century.

On Sunday, the weather was finally nice, and we went over to Porto Garibaldi to enjoy the beach. It was warm and sunny, and not too crowded, so we had a lovely walk and enjoyed picking up shells.

Emily showing Grandpa her shells.


Amy, Jeff, and Emily.

Amy and Jeff


One of several crabs we found and observed.

A visit with friends

In the middle of March, some friends of ours came down for a visit from their home in Germany. Monica had always wanted to go to San Marino, so we drove over one day while they were here. San Marino is an independent republic, completely surrounded by Italy. It is high up on a mountain, and only about 20 minutes from the beach. It is a very ancient republic, with documentation of its founding in 301 A.D. It is in an ideal location for defense, since it commands a wide view of the terrain on all sides. There are 3 fortresses on three separate peaks in San Marino. We went up into one of them.

The view down to the valley below.

Don and Monica in front of the municipal building. There were guards with very interesting uniforms, but they were mobbed with schoolchildren, so we couldn't get their picture.

Monica and Amy inside the fortress.

The fortress tower.

Looking across to the fortress on the next peak.

Of course, Jeff had to have his picture taken with the cannons inside the fortress.

During Don and Monica's visit, there were long conversations and much good wine drunk (not by me, of course). Jeff, Don, and Monica also drove down to Montalcino, in Tuscany, where Jeff's favorite wine, Brunello, is made. They bought lots of Brunello and learned even more about the best vintages.

It was a very nice visit, and we hope to get together with them again soon, either here or in Germany.

Belly Bulletin

I'm sure you all have been wondering, but yes, the Bean is beginning to make its presence more obvious. This is me at 14 weeks.

And don't worry, I have many pictures to post very soon from recent trips and events. Just need the time to do it!