AdrianaIna

Our last few days in Venice were lovely. The mornings started out bright and warm; a treat, as we had not had sun for more than two weeks. This lovely weather came with something else, though: the acqua alta, or high water. Frequent in the fall and spring, this acqua alta brings water into Venice's streets and squares and houses and shops. Piazza San Marco floods routinely, but in Dorsoduro, where we lived, not so often. But our last week in Venice, starting at midnight, we heard the alarms sound. If you are unprepared, the alarms are, um, alarming. They sound like air raid sirens. There are different alarms that sound in different areas of the city and they sound a code: how high the water is and when it is coming. We awoke one ... read more

Italians love children. This was presented as undisputed fact before we came here, and in general it seems true, particularly where it concerns babies. I present, as example, an experience on the vaporetto (water bus) the other day. Ari and I were sitting behind a thirty-something couple. The woman cradled a baby, completely swaddled in a pink crocheted blanket. They were approached by a friend who proceeded to peek beneath the blanket and coo softly. The three adults did that sort of silly slobbering that is done with a baby: making funny faces, grabbing little fingers and toes and commenting to one another over the preciousness of the little bundle of love. The friend disembarked first, and on his way out, turned and waved to the baby, making one of those stupid miniature "bye-byes" up ... read more

I didn't particularly want to go to Paris this fall, on this trip. I've been to Paris, seen it in fall and in summer and I was craving new locales, countries, venues. But when Dean and I asked the kids what they might want to do while in Europe, the only consistent answers we got were "climb the Eiffel Tower" and "see the Mona Lisa," and so to Paris we went. Travel being travel, our plane was delayed, we got in to Paris in the dark, our cell phone wouldn't work the kids were cranky and we didn't know if we would connect with my nephew, Will, who was spending the weekend with us. But when we stepped out of the metro station we were transformed--it was Paris out there!! We stumbled down the (very ... read more

We left Croatia for at the beginning of October, and drove north toward Slovenia. Our first stop in Slovenia was The Skocjan Caves. These caves are a Unesco World Heritage Site and boast the world's largest subterranean canyon, replete with a rushing river (seen from hundreds of feet above) and waterfalls, and filled with stalagmites and stalagtites of strange and wonderous shapes and sizes. These caves are beautiful, spectacular, and breathtaking. I hated every moment I was in them. The first section was the worst. A tunnel. I hate tunnels. Knowing that I have terrible claustrophobia, Ari very nicely held my hand for this part--we were assured that the first tunnel was the only truly enclosed section--but I was still in tears by the time I reached the end. This was right up there with ... read more

We spent this past weekend in Rome. Rome was not the golden, rosy town I recalled from my honeymoon. It is noisy, dirty, polluted and traffic-infested. It was not lovely or romantic. I was not drifting down streets gently washed by rain, or standing alone in the shaft of light shining through the roof of the Pantheon, or gazing at a lovely sunset as I lounge alongside the Tiber, or standing, practically alone, on the Spanish steps. That was, of course, my honeymoon. Our first day was a bit difficult for the kids in some ways--lots of sightseeing, lots of time trying to find our way around. It was redeemed by my nephew, Will, who is spending his semester abroad here in Rome--he spent his entire weekend hanging out with us. We cruised by the Colosseum, ... read more