Ancient Theaters, Beautiful Beaches, and Volcanoes: Sicily!

Today's post is about the days we spent on the island of Sicily! What a beautiful place! Our ferry landed in the port city of Messina. From there we drove to Naxos by the sea, a beautiful resort town at the foot of Mt. Etna on the Northeast coast of Sicily.

We stayed at the Hotel Sporting Baia, very nice and RIGHT on the beach! From here we went on excursions to Taormina, an ancient Greek city with some of the oldest ruins in Sicily, and also to Mt. Etna, a VERY much still active volcano - which managed to erupt rather impressively again just 7 days after our visit. Lava was flowing and the mountain was steaming while we were there on the island. It is remarkable to me how calmly the people of the region deal with living at the foot of one of the largest active volcanoes in that part of the world! They say the mountain erupts every year, but only in a "big" way every 3-4 years! Looked pretty "big" to me... even with just a little lava oozing out!

Taormina is about 5 miles from Naxos and higher up so it afforded some great views back across the bay toward our hotel. Sicily is definitely a place I hope to return to someday. It's beautiful and the people are very friendly!

A view of Naxos from the city of Taormina. Our hotel is marked in the photo... double click
on the photo to see greater detail!

The view from my hotel window... the beach! Beautiful!

Just one of many gorgeous walkways in the the town of Taormina.

The ancient Greek theater of Taormina. At it's height this theater could seat 9000 spectators, and as you can see it's still in use today! They hold a major film festival here that rivals the one at Cannes in France!

My students climbing one of Mt. Etna's ash cones from the 2001 eruption. They are at the 6,500 ft.

level on a 11.500 ft. volcano.

Mt. Etna by day... steaming both from its cone and from a lava flow some 1/3rd of the way down the
left side of the mountain.

The lava flow glows eerily by night! This is slow moving, oozing sort of lava.. nothing to be concerned about according to the locals. However, 6 days later, Etna erupted again!

Time Out for Swimming!

Rhylah enjoys her first time in the big pool!

Gabriel is our "fish" - give this guy a noodle and a pair of goggles and off he goes!

Taking a break from my recent travelogues to swim with the grandkids. Kate and the kids are here this week while between houses in their move to Michigan. This means that I have 3 wonderful munchkins keeping things lively around here for awhile, and I LOVE it! Add in some prime cousin interaction with Sydney at poolside and it's been tons of fun. The little people LOVE the water... well, all of them except Asher. He can't remember how much he liked it last summer and is being rather typically 2yr old cautious this summer. Anyway, it's been such fun that I had to share some of the photos!

Sydney wins the prize for best swim hat and bikini... mmmm ... tastes good too!

Asher came off the steps to float with his mommy!

Everybody (except Gabe the fish..) is all tuckered out after a busy swimtime!

The Isle of Capri (KAH'-pree)

I provided the pronunciation for today's photo stop because the Italians get a little bit riled if you pronounce this gorgeous island like we here in the States pronounce knee length shorts! They politely tell you that the accent is on the FIRST syllable (thank you very much) and then talk for as long as you let them about the beauty of the place.

The "Arch of Love"- if you kiss (or think about) the one you love while passing under it,
you will stay in love forever. Nifty!

One of the many gorgeous vistas to be seen from the top of the island.

Check out the aquamarine blue of the water!

It's breezy and beautiful up here!

The public beach in the harbor of Capri... again, lovely, clear, and gorgeously blue!

I won't argue that point one bit. Capri was THE most beautiful place we saw in the 15 day trip. It is also inhabited by some of the world's wealthiest (and beautiful) people! We visited the shoreline town of Capri and then rode up the funnicular railway to the town at the top, Annacapri, which literally means "above Capri". I want to teach school HERE someday! Wow! Gorgeous views! We also took a boat ride excursion around the north end of the island and saw the majestic rocks that rise right out of the sea. The guides and locals have named many of the rock formations after various animals that they "see" in the shapes. All in all, a place I would LOVE to return to someday!

When in Pisa.... you gotta Push!

Its' cheesy but it's true! You can't go to Pisa and see the tower without taking at least ONE tower pushing picture! The fun is watching everyone else taking theirs! Thankfully the tower is supposedly stabilized in its new position for the next 300 years or so. (give or take an earthquake or two...) So we went to the tower and had a great time. We also visited the cathedral that goes with the tower... beautiful!

As an experienced tower pusher, I can hold it up with one finger...

while it takes Hanna both hands and a LOT of extra effort!

Okay... I'll post one shot without the silly stuff. See! It's NOT as exciting!

Me and my gang - tired after a busy day exploring but still smiling!

The City of "David"

And no, I don't mean Bethlehem.... it's Florence! Michelangelo made a huge splash of an impact on this town, which has one of my favorite Duomos in all of Italy! Everywhere you look, there is color and beauty. They even have a famous pig! The Porcellino is a sort of Florentine Trevi Fountain... water drips out of his mouth and when you stick a coin in there, if it drops directly into the grate below (money going to charity, of course) it means you will return to this artsy city once more. It worked for me 2 years ago; I hope it does again!

The famous and beautiful Santa Maria del Fiore.... or Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Little Flower. Hands down, one of the most gorgeous cathedrals in Europe!

And here's the famous Pig (Porcellino) of Florence... a wild boar actually. He sits in the middle of an open air market daring all comers to put their hands (with coin) into his mouth.

Now the Photos Begin!

I have been home for a little more than 48 hours and now I can start posting my photos. Our first city was Verona on June 6. However, it rained the entire time we were there and aside from seeing Juliet's balcony, the city was rather unremarkable. In fact, much of northern Italy was rather unremarkable except for Venice. That city is certainly worth seeing and truly a wonder! We spent a full day exploring the city and touring its major sites. Included in that , we saw how the famous Venetian glass and laces were made and we took a gondola ride. Here are just a few of the many photos I took while there!

The view from our "water taxi" as we approached the city.

The Piazza San Marco with the famous St. Mark's Cathedral. (Note the also-famous pigeons)

The gang... a.k.a. the "Staude Seven" The girls (L-R): Rachel, Sammy, Hanna, Katie;
and the guys: Marcus, Greg, and Clayton. We had a blast the entire 15 days!

A scenic shot from my gondola!

A view back towards the Rialto Bridge, one of only 3 bridges that cross the Grand Canal. Note the "hunky" gondolier.... we thought about bringing him home to work on the Missouri River!

Six of the gang in their gondola! Each gondola is worth over $30,000 Euro!

As you can see from just these few starting photos, we saw many beautiful things on the trip. Stay tuned for more as I work on getting my photos all ready for printing!

Our Adventures Continue!

Hello readers!
It has been an exciting 5 days since I was last able to post! I will take you through what we've been doing as fast as my 30 minutes online will allow... (2,50 euro for that!)
June 10 - We arrived in Assisi and we stayed in the ancient town itself. The hotel had a gorgeous view of the modern town below. This was a town that the bus couldn't drive up into so we packed little overnight bags and road up on an escalator! Visited the cathedrals and basillicas dedicated to St. Clare and St. Francis of Assisi. (each of them are buried in their respective churches! - kinda creepy!! St. Clare is encased in wax and out there for everyone to see!)
Tonight's entertainment included taking the kids strolling through the streets after dinner where Sammy, Hanna, and Katie performed impromptu dances to tunes on their iPods while we cheered them on! Fun!
June 11 - A LONG drive today towards Sorrento and the sea! Stayed in what we finally dubbed ''Camp Sorrento''. which were tiny sort of holiday cabins, VERY rustic, but the kids were troopers. Besides, the place had a pool and great air conditioning!!!
June 12 - traveled to the Island of Capri by boat! Gorgeous! Rode the tram up to the top city on the island and strolled with a guide to see all the sights. Also rode smaller boats around the island to see the grottos and rock formations. The aquamarine water is truly as unique as they say!!!
June 13 - Drove to Sicily - the longest drive of the trip! We are here in Naxos at the base of Mt. Etna which is steaming above us. We had a chance to swim in the sea on our arrival last night - it was COLD!
June 14 - Today we toured the ancient city of Taormina and saw the ancient Greek theater there and the medieval city. Very Quaint! We also rode up Mt. Etna and climbed around on the largest active volcano in Europe. It is actually flowing on one side of the mountain which we should be able to see from our room tonight as a red glow on the mountain side. The kids all climbed up a crater formed in 2004. I climbed around on a smaller one formed in 2001. It was very weird - like being on the moon or someplace similar! Tomorrow and Monday are election days in Italy.. so we are interested to see what excitement that generates here in Sicily. We will travel to Palermo tomorrow... and then hop on a ferry for an overnight ride up to Naples.

Now a ''kid report'' - all students are healthy, happy, and not yet out of money! Everyone is a great traveler and I would take them anywhere!!! Everywhere we go, people compliment me on their politeness! You can all be very proud of them!!!!

I will try to post again before we leave Italy.... Ciao everyone! We miss you but are having a great time!

Here We Are!

Hello readers!
For those of you who've been checking, all 8 of the intrepid Italian travelers are having a blast! Sorry not to have reported before this, but we've been ensconced in quaint hotels and seaside spots with VERY limited (meaning NONE) internet access.

But here we are, in Florence today, spending our freetime dodging rain in an internet cafe. Now a progress report. A little something about our shopping adventures. All of you who are loved by one of us are going to be thrilled when we arrive home. The gang of travelers has hit all the best spots.... Murano glass, Leather, lace products, the works!!! We still have many days to go but we are SURE there are more treasures out there waiting to be found.

Today's sightseeing in included the ancient city of Pisa, about an hour and fifteen minutes west of Florence. We saw the tower, the cathedral, and the baptistry. Took the classic "hold up the tower"pics and had a wonderful time.

Yesterday's adventures included the Duomo of Florence and a guided walking tour around the town. We crossed the Ponte Vecchio and saw the Porcellino (that's a big bronze Pig - that you pet, sort of the Trevi Fountain Pig of Florence!)

I wish I could post photos with this entry, but my access will not allow that at this place. We are taking TONS of photos. It will be fun to share them when we get home.

Other things to note: Yes, it has rained everyday... but only a little bit everyday. Just enough to make umbrellas a needed item. We have also eaten gelato EVERYDAY.. sometimes more than once. (hmmm.. maybe there's a connection there.) We have learned that we don't like pidgeons much... especially Hanna... there's a story there we'll let HER tell when she gets back. Everyone has been on time EVERY day no matter when we need to meet. The gang.. now known as the Staude Seven is an AWESOME bunch of travelers!!!! (Parent's should be VERY proud.) Marcus has become known as the best "navigator"in our group. No matter where we are, he knows the way back... most times without a MAP! Impressive in one so young (and male!!!)

We will continue to try to post throughout our journeys... and if possible add a photo or two as we go along. Just know that the kids are having a marvelous time. They have become citizens of the world, talking with people, trying their Italian out on locals, and making new friends. It's hard to believe that just 3 days ago they looked around Milan's airport with such big eyes and today they navigated their way to the heart of Florence without even peeking at the map. Just read the signs and strolled.

Speaking of walking: we are averaging at best guess between 6 and 8 miles per day. So when we get home you'll all have a hard time keeping up with us! Love to all of you back in the states.... Ciao ciao!!!

Let Hockeytown Rejoice!

I love hockey. I grew up in Detroit. The two go hand in hand. Tonight my team won their 11th Stanley Cup... and it was their 4th Stanley win in the last 11 seasons. It was a totally sweet evening. Especially since game 5 slipped away from them in triple overtime. To see them come back and dominate the ice was awesome. Above you see Nick Lidstrom, team captain, skating the Cup around the ice. Each player gets to do this as part of the Stanley tradition. Let the party in the Motor City begin!!!!

A Sydney Photo Story

Okay... there's a story here... and just like most of Sydney's books, it's told in pictures.

The name of the story is "You Want Me to Play THAT?!?"

Here is how it goes:









Can't you just read the thoughts going on in her sweet little head as Papa tries to convince her that being on her tummy and chasing a stuffed peacock is the best thing since sliced bread?
The look on her face at the end says, "Okay, whatever you want, but I'm not convinced this is all that much fun!"

Note: Many of these faces are right out of her mother's baby book as well! The skepticism is present is only missing the classic "raised eyebrow" - but give her a few weeks... she is only 5 months old! :-)

Stay-Cation #1: Beauty Close to Home

With ever increasing gasoline prices, all the news lately has been promoting a concept called "stay-cations". In other words, don't burn gas, see the sights in your own regional backyard instead. Well, Ed and I took one of these last Sunday. We went on a long delayed tour of the Missouri Botanical Gardens. We, of course, had been there before, but it's been a rather long time since we actually walked about and checked out the garden. Mostly we go there on Wednesdays in the summertime for the Whitaker Jazz Fest Concerts. Well, the day was warm, hot actually, so we decided a stroll through gardens would be just the ticket. A large amount of other folks had the same idea. But the park was peaceful and lovely to see. Temp wise we decided the English Woodland Garden was our favorite place to sit and just relax. But the Japanese and English Rose Gardens were simply gorgeous too! Have a look and see if you don't agree.

The English Rose Garden.... a rainbow of blossoms!

The Reflecting Pool in front of the Pavillion... complete with floating Chihuly glass globes.

A totally unretouched shot of the Japanese Garden. The rainbow bridge is my favorite.

The bridge from another angle.... lovely!

So we'd have to say as "stay-cations" go... our first one was a lovely adventure. Stay tuned for more to come!

My techno buddy is BACK!

It was a scary thing that happened about 3 weeks ago... my computer DIED! Not gradually, no advance warning... just died! And I saw myself parting with an old friend and panicking over files I had failed to back up properly. (Note to all my readers: ALWAYS BACK UP your files... you never know when this can happen to YOU!) But today, with great rejoicing and thanks to a good friend... my Mac is back up and running... with a new hard drive and fully recovered files! (Hallelujah!) and NOW everything is backed up! (in two places!) I hadn't realized how much I counted on my home machine (since I do so much on my school laptop) until I didn't have it available! It's good to be reunited!

A Big Day at LHS

For some of my readers this will seem a bit like a trip down nostalgia lane. Yesterday was graduation day at Lutheran High School. All morning the weather looked dismal and it looked like the kids' festivities would be swampy and miserable. However, about 2pm the skies magically cleared and the sun (and thus the humidity) came out. So by 3 pm it was gorgeous and until about 7:30pm it remained that way! All 95 kids had a grand day to celebrate. Parents were proud, teachers were proud, students were FREE! All in all, a good day! Below is a shot of them on their senior retreat last September. They are off to 39 different colleges and garnered over 1.7 million dollars in accepted scholarships. Not a bad way to end a school year! Hats off to you, class of 2008!

Thoughts on the End of a School Year

Tomorrow I will finish my 26th year of teaching school. Sobering thought for late on a Thursday night. It's been a good year and it's taught me things about myself and as well as (hopefully) teaching things to my students. I've worked really hard this year to be as positive as I can be and to not let the "little nagging things" of life get to me. And for the most part, that's helped me a lot! I've done more reading than I have in years past and somewhat more writing (albeit a good deal of it in an online/electronic form). My students were fun and I will miss most of them. (also a good thing to be able to say at the end of a year.) Funny, I have been connected with school and teaching so long that my year always feels like it ends in May and begins again in August regardless of what the calendar says about Jan.1st. And those 2.5 months of bliss in between? Ah.. my friends, those are the Elysium Fields of education; SUMMER! The pool is open, the ice tea is made, and I say, "Bring it on!"

Cousins Get Together

Asher gets to be more fun each day!

Rhylah is into her toys now that she can sit up on her own.

Sydney is still little enough to watch all the goings on and wonder what it's all about.

It's Stroller Time!

Moms and kids head for the park! Roll em, roll em, roll em!

It's been a wonderful week here! Kate arrived on Tuesday for a 5 day visit. Asher and Rhylah came along... Gabriel had to stay home with his dad so he wouldn't miss school. The weather turned more spring-like this week so the when the sun managed to shine it was delightful! Kate watched Sydney for Gretchen on two of the days she was in town. Both moms had fun swapping notes on what the babies were up to and taking the kids out in the strollers. We got to spoil them each night when we got home from work! All in all, it was a wonderful week for being a grandparent!

How Knitting is like Life

As most of you know, I love to knit. I love it for a variety of reasons ranging from the smile I get from a grandchild the first time they try on a pair of new wooly mittens all the way to my inability to snack and knit at the same time (which makes TV watching a safer dietary activity.)
I knit in the car, I knit in the park, and I knit pretty much any place I can. All this knitting also allows me time to think and unwind... or unwind and think... whichever is less stressful at the moment.

Knitting is a great deal like life... sometimes the going is smooth and the stitches come out beautifully, and other times the pattern is confusing and you find yourself having to back up and start over. (I must say that do-overs are a bit easier in knitting). Finding your work has flaws can be a painful thing... especially if you've gone several rows PAST the error before realizing you've made it. The colors of the yarns usually relate to the mood you are in... or the special person you are knitting for... so in that area, knitting makes you a bit more sensitive to others. Life is that way too... it doesn't always go smoothly, it finds ways to teach us patience and awareness, and making mistakes is a painful lesson sometimes.

I have this theory that if more people in higher places took up knitting, the world might be a different place. I suspect it might; they might have more time to ruminate on things before acting or making big decisions. Hmmmm... I wonder if Hilary or Barak or John ever picked up a pair of needles?

It's been a VERY good year!

Since there is a little over an hour left of my birthday, I couldn't let it pass by without pausing to talk about what a phenomenal 53rd year of my life it's been. In the last year I've been blessed with two granddaughters, traveled to England, Wales, and Ireland, seen lots of great theater, watched our winery become better known (little by little), found more time to knit, read some really good books, watched my gardens grow, stayed healthy (at least until recently), laughed a lot, cried only a little, and shared it all with good friends (thanks Carol and Doug!), loving family, and my beloved Edmund. Not a bad year at all. My 54th year will have to go some to top all the above.

Today was lovely, sunny, warm, and shared with my family both near (at dinner) and far (via phone) - all in all, a perfect day. God is very good and I am very thankful; 'nuff said.

Spring into a good book!

Spring is officially here as far as the calendar goes, but the weather has been so up and down lately. We even saw a few snow flurries today! ENOUGH WINTER, ALREADY!!!! However, the daffodils are up and bobbing their heads in my backyard which is enough to make you smile just by looking at them.
Speaking of smiles.... our grand-munchkin, Sydney, is getting bigger and more fun each day. She discovered her hands this week in a big way and has been having much more fun with her board books as a result! She likes grabbing for the things on the pages even though it's puzzling to her that they don't come off in her hand.