Up early and off to Pisa to visit with our daughter and son-in-law and his parents … and of course to see the grandchildren. A warm and beautiful day to travel. Caught a taxi out of the central station in Pisa and stopped at the impromptu Flower Market on the main bridge in Pisa to pick up an orchid for Laura and Sergio. What a joy to see them both and to share Laura’s terrific cakes over a cup of tea. They are doing well, and Laura had her 5 year appointment today to acknowledge that she is cancer-free! What a celebration. The house, as Laura put it, was “chaos” with all the kids, but she and Sergio love it. The twins are at a wonderful age where they are curious about everything and love talking ... read more

Rome: Slept in as we had train reservations for 11:20. Casual breakfast and a wander through the Pantheon with only a few tourists (we attempted to get in the other day and were repulsed by thousands of people forcing their way into the sanctuary). What a structure! The oculus is beautiful and it is amazing that it has rained into this temple/church for almost 2000 years and it is still exquisite with marble all around. We visited the tomb of Raffael and Vitorrio Emanuel, “founder of Italy” as the tomb proclaims. Peggy went back to the hotel to finish packing while John took a walk through Piazza Navonna. Despite the cold, the streets were beautiful. Florence: Caught the fast train to Florence arriving at around 1PM. Settled into our hotel, Hermitage, right off the Ponte Vecchio, ... read more

Up and at ‘em with the idea of getting into the Pantheon before the crowds … disappointed because it is a holiday for the church and Rome (Pasquette – day after Easter) and they had church services starting at 10:30. Cold outside with a wind so we bundled up and made our way up the Capitoline Hill to meet a friend of Rosella’s, Arianna Natasi, who has agreed to take us on a tour of the Palatine. She is completing her PhD with a dissertation on the early church and its farming and other properties. Very competent and very knowledgeable. The perfect person to talk about the development of the Palatine over the years, from Romulus and Remus to Caesar and the Roman emperors. What a gift to listen to her as we wandered the hillside ... read more

We are beginning to fit in: up until after 11:00 last night and up early today. The last two days have been clear skies and warm weather but today it is overcast and tomorrow, Easter, bodes well for rain. Breakfast on the roof was fabulous as usual, with eggs, sausage, bacon, five fresh juices, many different fruits, and every conceivable pastry you can imagine. We have been good, but not too much, saving ourselves mostly for the restaurants we have chosen. After a taxi ride into the gardens we walked the last few yards to the Galleria Borghese, the most incredible museum of statuary in Rome. Many Bernini statues (David, Apollo and Daphne, Rape of Prosperine, and Truth) as well as numerous others that overwhelm the senses. Canova’s statue of Pauline Bonaparte as Venus makes you ... read more

Wednesday 1: Our ride picked us up at 5:30 in the morning. Very early after a somewhat restless night (excitement about the trip we can assume ... or was it the Thai food)! We had our first opportunity to use our Global Entry identification at TSA. We signed up for it a few months ago and, after an extensive review of our travel history and security clearance (including an interview), we were passed and got these cards that will help us through US airports and entering back into the country. All did not go well as we went through TSA as we ordinarily would … slowly! Seems that United has to be informed before it is useful on the way out of the country (US Customs didn’t tell us that). Thank heaven a reservationist was willing ... read more