Reflections

So my Mountaineer's engine is dead, which didn't get me down until yesterday when the rear tire came off my bike a mile from home and the lawn mower choked and coughed it's last breath...

Fortunately I have photos of Italy on my wall - they can brighten the darkest day.

Bethany, Kerrin, and I went to Italy in April 2004. We traveled south to north. Karlene also went, she traveled north to south. At one point we left a hotel in Florence before lunch and Karlene checked in after lunch. She and I called each other, exchanged journey stories, and racked up a fabulous phone bill. Worth every penny.

We left poor Ryan back at BU, he was in class minoring in Italian!

I took over 1,000 digital photos. Here's just a couple. First off, what the heck is with this hair? Kerrin laughed herself silly when I told her that I was going to post this - why not laugh at myself??

Me, in the subway in Rome - notice my reflection behind me.

What's not to love about the Ponte Vecchio? I got hypoglycemic after crossing it and required some gelato. Tough, I know.

Now this one is a personal favorite. Here is Bethany with her younger sister Kerrin. Guess what? Kerrin is taller than Bethany now!!

You never can go wrong with a couple of gondolas. When I was a child we always ate at a local Italian restaurant - I can still see the red gondola printed on the take-out pizza box lid. I dreamed of traveling down the Grand Canal. ...it was better than I dreamt.

We were told that this was one of the holding cells for Christians - umm, waiting to meet the lions - in the Colosseum.

Oh No! Androcles, watch out!!

phew!! Androcles gets freed!!

illustrations by Shennen Bersani © McGraw-Hill 2002

Okay, so I got a little silly there - those were from Androcles and the Lion; a flash from my illustrating past. Here's what the interior of the Colosseum really looks like:

Let's leave Italy on a cheerful note!

flowers in Milan