To read this blog from the beginning of our trip, scroll to the bottom and read the entries from the bottom up! Thanks.

We are getting pretty good at navigating around Milan. This Roman washing area is right in the middle of a residential area near Eleanor's apartment. You can see the slanted boards they probably washed on, and the racks to dry.
The apartment is on a street that is along a canal. In the evening the cars are gone and tables from the restaurants are set up all along the street. We ate right near her house one evening.
We are staying in Eleonora's three bedroom apartment while in Milan. We really like it. She has decorated it more simply than the family home, with bright colors in all of the rooms. It is on the third floor of a 4 story building. All of the windows and doors look into an interior court yard. Like almost all buildings, there are green shutters on the windows and doors of the yellowish stucco building.
Milan is a busy working city known for its textile industry. This modern sculpture is of a thread and needle. All of the buildings here, and in the other parts of Italy that we have seen, are centuries old, but have been renovated. Even new buildings such as apartments, are built in the old style, so most of the architecture is similar.

Bruce and I took the train back to Milan. We are really enjoying the adventure, the relaxation, and the excitement of the train. We can doze to the sound of incomprehensible Italian, look at the landscape, or just talk. We really like it.
The churches are all so... Catholic!
Every town seems to have a "Duomo," a church with a dome.

Don't forget to scroll down to the last entry that you have read, then scroll UP as you read the entries in chronological order. Hope you are enjoying the Italy Blog!


While the inside of the classrooms have little distraction, the outside view could carry you into an all morning daydream.
"Bruce, can you build me one of these platforms for my classroom?"
The walls of the rooms are very plain, no computers or eithernet (except the two small computer labs) and hardly an electrical outlet.Nick explains that the school day is from 8-1:00. The teachers of the various subjects rotate, but the students stay in the same room the entire time unless they are granted permission to use the restrooms between periods. Nicolo is in the department of math and sciences, while Sabastiano is in the arts and literature.
The hallways are newly painted with no graffiti. Sabastiano and Nicolo show us their classrooms.
The stairwells at the school have beautiful murals inside.

We walked around town, got a granite (slushy ice drink served with a spoon and a straw that gives you a killer headache if you slurp it too fast), and saw the sights of the town.
We got to meet a group of Nicolo's friends while there. They all seemed like nice kids, much like out own kids in the U.S.
Nicolo and Sabastiano's school is right in the pretty little town of Como, right on the edge of the beautiful lake.

We did find this one informative poster, however!
The walls are clear of notices or posters... mostly painted artwork of a religious nature.

This is a statue in the main court yard as you enter the school.
Interesting and modern overhead covering is attached to the side of old building to allow passing from one building to the next without getting wet.

This is the beautiful student chapel at his school. It reminded us of ours at Marin Catholic.

This is the entry to Nick's school in Como. Very different than Chico High.
We rode with Nick in his new car to his school. Gas was expensive and you have to pay toll on the roads.
We left Verona and headed to Como where we would meet Nicolo and his brother. Bruce wanted his picture taken with this symbol as it is the symbol of the yearbook.

Two times Bruce and I counted all of the actors on stage, and we both got around 300... and that does not include the ballet dancers of which there were about 30!

A photo doesn't really show the drama of thousands of tiny lights as the sky got dark and the moon rose.

In back of us was an old wall of arches that was dramatically lit. In front of us was a huge crowd with their little candles lit.
Everyone was given little candles to symbolize the only source of illumination in the 1800's when Aida was first performed in Verona's Arena Amphitheatre.
We went to get tickets to see Aida in the afternoon, and found ourselves among a crowd of 1500 that night!

No internet with the ability to upload photos, so I will write a bit. Robert is in Venice. Next chance I get, I will put on the photos of the ancient outdoor arena amphitheatre of Verona. We saw Aida, and it was fantastic.

We went to Como and Nick and his brother gave us a tour of his school. It was fun to see where he goes and compare it to Chico High. Very different.

We left Verona on the train the folling day and arrived in Milan in the early evening. Eleonora met us and she followed our cab on her scooter to her house. We showered and went out to dinner to celebrate her new job. We ate at one of the many outdoor cafes along the canel near her apartment.The sky was over cast and it was humid and muggy. The thunder in the distance only hinted at rain. We slept with two fans on us!

The next day we wandered around Milan, taking the subway to various destinations. The highlights were the church where they restored Da Vinci's "Last Supper". We rented a little headphone and it told all about the painter and the painting, both from an historic as well as artistic point of view. We really liked it. Then we went into the heart of the city where we stood in the middle of the oldest indoor mall. We were surrounded by expensive stores like Prada and Louis Vitton. I didn't buy anything, but Bruce took my picture.

Today we are off to a little town on the north shore of Lake Como. It is in Switzerland! We will have lunch and then meet Nick and his mom for dinner in Como at his house.

To prevent graffiti (which is rampant and out of hand in all of Italy), they encourage you to leave a love note in the entry way to the courtyard of Juliet's house...
We visited the spot of the house of Juliet, and saw what was supposedly the original balcony. It was packed with tourists, speaking all languages.
Verona is a quiet town, because of little traffic and narrow streets, but it is full of tourists and history.
We took the train to Verona. After a few minutes, we noticed we were the only ones in the car. We stretched out and read and dozed as the countryside passed by. Soon it was like being in a bathroom with the hot water running and no windows opened. It only took us an hour or so to figure out the reason we were the only ones there... walking to another car, we found a much better cooler, yet crowded environment. We packed up our gear and moved seats!

We try the tortilini at a hidden little restaurant. It was incredible. Our bill was more than a one night stay at the villa in Prato.
Bologna is quieter than any of the other cities we have been to so far. We really like the unhurried feeling here. We can walk down little side streets and not see a soul. We can hear crickets in the trees or people talking softly on the many benches. This is an interesting mailbox.
Every day since we returned from the island of Ponza, there have been thunderheads and a feeling of rain in the afternoon. Today it barely sprinkled. Bologna is known for its many covered walkways, many of which have carvings, tile, or murals overhead.
We have walked so much, Bruce has worn out his Tevas. We went to a Camper shoe store and bought him a replacement.

I think Bologna should be famous for this crazy statue. There is a woman on each of the four sides. Bella!
Bruce enjoys the air conditioning and the room's red and yellow decor. He is reading to me about the origins of Bologna and discovers it is famous for its meats and tortilini. He is telling me how some of the meats are made. Wow! I am in the bathroom checking out the many free ammenities, including slippers!
Our hotel is fantastic! It is the Hotel Orologio, and it has a wonderful view of the plaza and the quiet street below.It also has free, good internet access.
We were sad to leave the villa... but they recommended and booked a great bed and breakfast hotel in the heart of Bologna. The geese watched over our bags as we waited for the taxi.

Window shopping in Florence is fun and exciting. It is better than San Francisco because it is quieter, with no hills to walk up. There are no cars, only pedestrians on the side streets.The shops are little, so you don't have to walk as far to get to the next shop. There are also lots of nice steps and doorways for Bruce to sit on...

...and shopping! What do you think I did the most?
...bargaining with the street vendors...
...eating lunch in the Piazza where there was a little breeze and lots of people to watch...
The next morning we took a taxi down into Prato, and took the train to Florence where we spent the day looking in museums...

There were street painters doing huge reproductions of famous Italian paintings.



Robert has left us today to spend the night in Florence and then he wants to head north to a mountain town and perhaps a village where his aunt was born. We have chosen to stay two more nights in the villa. Today we wanted to just relax. We read and rested and swam in the cold pool. We watched the children of the owners, and talked a bit with Frank and Francesca, who are somehow related to Eleanora. Our room is cool in the afternoon for a nap, and I enjoy tea and cookies in the evening. In the evening we will take the train to Florence and join Robert for dinner at his favorite place near his hotel. The streets in Florence at night are filled with people and entertainers of all kinds. It will be fun.