Here We Come

We are back in the States and headed for Austin. We haven't been in Austin since we left on January 9.We should be there in a couple days. We will stay at an extended stay hotel till the 25th when we will begin moving in to our new apartment. Yep! We've rented a place in North Austin and will be settling  down, a little bit. We still plan to do a lot of traveling but maybe not for long periods of time like we've been doing. We have enjoyed our travels but have missed the kids.

This last leg of trip was amazing. Lots of beach time, some beautiful places and three weeks spent in Italy with a side of Paris. But I'm tired and want my own place to sleep, shower and hang out. Also hungry for some Cafe Java and Texas Honey Ham.

But I'm sure I'll get restless soon and be ready to go somewhere else. Well actually I know we will be going again soon...a graduation in Iowa, LW'S  bowling tournament in Vegas, and a cruise with the kids to celebrate our 30th anniversary.

Hope to see all you Austin people soon.

Rome Round 2

We flew back to Rome on Tuesday and went to the Colosseum.

Wednesday we had tickets to the Papal Audience. Pope Francis  holds an audience every Wednesday morning. It is in St Peter's Square. The Pope comes out on his Popemobile and makes 2 laps before going up on stage. There was a reading by a Cardinal in Italian and the Pope did a benediction in Italian. Then 5 other Cardinals translated into English, Spanish, German, French and I think Latin. It was so cool to be a part of it

After lunch we visited the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica. Unfortunately you can't take pictures in the Sistine Chapel.

 The Basilica  in the evening.

Thursday we fly back to Philadelphia.

Je t'aime Paris

Here are the highlights from our 4 days in Paris.

Arc de Triomphe

 The Louvre

 Venus de Milo

 Mona Lisa

 The Eiffel Tower

 View from the top of the Eiffel Tower

 Another picture of the Eiffel Tower...why not...

 Notre Dame

 Paris Wheel, we rode it at night to see the city all lit up.

 Eiffel Tower at night.

The flame of Liberty,  replica of the one the statue of Liberty holds. Also it is located above the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed in a car crash  so people have made it a small memorial.

Now we go back to Rome for 2 days before flying back to Philadelphia where we left our car and belongings. Then we will be heading towards Austin, arriving sometime before Easter. More to come....

Milan

We only spent two days in Milan. I'm glad we went there but I think it has been my least favorite place. But we did see a couple of cool things. We went to the Comics Museum but were disappointed it was all Italian comic writers and illustrators and everything was in Italian so we just quickly looked at the first floor which was free. Here I met my new friend Charlie Brown. Not sure why he was here since I don't think Charles Schulz is Italian but I could be wrong.

This is the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle I I, high end shopping-first Prada store was here.

The entrance to the Galleria.

This is the Duomo in Milan, either the 3rd or 4th largest cathedral in the world.

Inside the Duomo

These stained glass windows are the oldest in the Duomo and tell the life of Jesus beginning in the far bottom left corner and going across and up.

This is Mary. The church is dedicated to her. This is a replica of the one on top of the church.

This is called La Scala, the upper house. It's where the operas and ballets occur.

This is Leonardo da Vinci.

Here is where Leonardo da Vinci lived most of his adult life upon coming to Milan when he was about 25.

And finally...The Last Supper painting by da Vinchi.

Most of his original work is going due to neglect and humidity.Restorers have worked to keep it in place but it was still amazing to see.

Off to Paris...