German Thanksgiving

We got to spend Thanksgiving in Germany this year, which was a CHILLY treat. Our friends Angie and Andrew live there, as Andrew is stationed there for the Army. They are expecting a baby any day now, so we were very excited to get to see them. (And cuddle their pup, Autumn....we miss Pips!)

We had Thanksgiving day with a bunch of their friends, and got to cuddle a bunch of cute, fat babies. All of my friends with babies live too far away!

The Christmas Market was gorgeous and snowy, but we drank some mulled wine to keep the chill out!

Truffle Festival

Went to a Truffle Festival today in San Miniato! And we got a little overexcited. By that I mean we accidentally sort of bought the following:

- truffle cheese

- A truffle salami

- 3 different truffle sauces

- 2 types of truffle pasta

- truffle salt

- truffle

Time to Read, Pt 2

And the reading continues! We love our local Paperback Exchange (which actually buys them back at a reasonable rate) so we keep going back for more.

Currently on Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth (thanks, Aunt Suzi!).

Also bought The Glass Palace by Amitav Gosh.

Looking forward to more reading (AND a rugby game this weekend!).

Fall Foliage in Florence

This weekend we stayed in Florence! Our first weekend at home. We got to see the David at the Galleria dell'Academia, and amazingly there was no line. Such good luck. In addition, Doug's law school pass (and my partner pass) got us in for free. The David is incredible in person - huge and fascinating. We plan to go again before we leave.

We also did a 13km (8 mile) hike through the hills of Florence with some friends from the European University Institute. The weather was drizzly, but the leaves were beautiful and the vine yards delightful. We saw several families out harvesting the last of the olives, and quite a few duck hunters in full gear.

Roman Holiday

Went to Rome this weekend - for touring and the Marine Corps Birthday Ball (our first one!).

Amazing. I really couldn't get enough of St. Peter's at night. Such a gorgeous view.

We got to see the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Coliseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, the Cupola of St. Peter's, the Villa Borghese and many gorgeous churches. This, my friends, makes for a busy weekend.

The Marine Corps Birthday Ball was delightful. Only Marines from the US Embassy or retirees were there, but there were also lots of interesting foreign dignitaries. The ambassador to the Holy See! It was hosted at a gorgeous villa - with a terrific view of the city at night.

The Sistine Chapel and Raphael's were amazing, but packed with people! Even standing in line in the rain for two hours could not deter them nor us.

Loved the view from the Cupola (good tip, Gpa!). We found a B&B just around the corner from the Vatican, which was incredible. Such a wonderful hostess and great place to stay.

Glad to be home - no big trips planned until Paris! But lots to see still in Florence.

Sicily

Beautiful salt flats and wind mills in northwestern Sicily! It is one of the most intriguing things about Sicily - this crazy culture mesh happening everywhere.

Hiked around the Greek ruins - some are really well preserved. It reminded me of Turkey, and the wonderful journey I got to take with Gma and Gpa!

Found this cute Italian dude, so I brought him home. Don't tell Dougbee.

Gorgeous Norman church in Monreale - full of gold mosaics just like Florence's Baptistry!

Too cold to swim, but we will HAVE to come back sometime when it is warm. The beaches are gorgeous!

We had such a wonderful time on this trip! We lucked out and found an amazing place to stay (Sunrise B & B in Marsala). Our host, Daniele (a man, confusing!) made us a delicious breakfast every day, and put us up in the "family room" of his apartments. Read - huge, luxurious space for the weekend. He greeted us with delicious Marsala wine, gave terrific advice, charged us 55 euro / night and offered us the last night free! Too bad we were headed to Palermo and couldn't stay another night. He has offered to take us through the famous tuna fishing runs if we come back in the spring. Such a wonderful host.