More Wedding Photos

Andrea & Vincent drive away in a 1957 Pink Cadillac


Jessica and Andrea


Andrea & her father Andreas doing a Traditional Hungarian Wedding dance


Rosemary & Andreas spinning around


Bob says "See, I do dance!"

Wedding at Basilika Sk. Aposteln in Koln

Waiting for Andrea to Arrive


Leaving the Altar

Rose Petals Shower

The Beautiful Bride

Vincent and Andrea

Aachen, Germany

Puppet Fountain in Aachen with movable joints


A street in Aachen


Pfalz, detail over the entrance to the Cathedral


Pfalz, a complex of buildings belonging to Charlemagne's former palace including the Cathedral


Another interesting detail on the cathedral in Aachen

Our two daughters.

Still friends after sixteen years.

The Banai and Arnaud families are united.

After cutting out the heart they stepped through the opening as husband and wife.

They are using tiny scissors to cut out the heart shape.

The civil ceremony with Vincent's sister Emelie and Andrea's cousin Fenec as their witnesses.

Andrea and Vincent

The New Mr. & Mrs.

A Wedding in Köln 7.5 and 7.7.06

On Wednesday, the 5th of July Andrea and Vincent were officially married in the eyes of the German government. They did this at a civil ceremony at the Rathaus, the town hall, which dates from the 1300s, near the Dom Cathedral in the center of Köln.

A small group of friends and family gathered outside the town hall awaiting the bride's arrival, along with Vincent looking so sweet holding her bouquet and looking around expectantly. Stepping out of her father's car, Andrea looked gorgeous in a crisp, deep red, silk blouse with her cream-colored full skirt embroidered with designs that matched the color of the blouse. With her dark hair and light complexion, she was stunning! We were then all asked to proceed into the chambers where the ceremony would take place.

The large room was set up with a desk in front, 4 chairs for Andrea and Vincent and their two witnesses - Andrea's cousin Fenec and Vincent's sister Emilie. On the other side of the desk was the person officiating the ceremony and asking all the "do you Andrea, etc" questions and giving what sounded like a very lovely and poetic talk about marriage and relationships. We did not understand a word besides their names and "liebe" (love) and "leben" (life) but did understand that this seemed to be the more official wedding, the first, that said that they were now married in the eyes of the law, husband and wife. It lasted about half and hour after which everyone hugged and kissed and we all proceeded outside where their friends had prepared a small white sheet by drawing on it the outline of a heart which the newly married couple had to cut out with tiny scissors, each starting from the opposite side and ending up in the middle, removing the heart and stepping through it to the cheers of the onlookers. A musician was playing a jazz saxophone and joy was in the air! The day was sunny and hot and after taking a bunch of photos we were asked to walk across the square, in front of the Dom and into the Dom Hotel for lunch. I know that everything was delicious and maybe it's the fault of the wine we drank but neither of us can remember what we ate! I know that we enjoyed it, that everyone was friendly to us, that Andrea and Vincent said thank you to all the people there in a special way (and in their particular language) and made each and every one of us feel special and appreciated.

Later that night we all met at a place called the Beach Club, on the other side of the Rhine River having taken a taxi there. The view across the river to Cologne was magical as the sun set behind the Dom and the bridges and the river reflected all the colors of the sky.

Friday, the 7th of July, was the day of the church wedding. The ceremony, at the 12th century Basilica St. Aposteln, was to begin at 11am and no one was surprised that Andrea did not arrive at 11! Vincent looked amused, friends and family, unfazed; only the priest kept looking at his watch! Finally, after around 20 minutes even Vincent started to look a bit concerned but before 11:30 the gorgeous bride and her beaming father were walking down the aisle. Later she told everyone there had been a little problem with the hoop for the dress, something about not being able to find the little hole to thread it through but we all knew that really, it didn't matter. She was there, she was stunning, she radiated joy and happiness and we were thrilled to share this day with her and her family, both old and new and proud to be considered a part of it.

When Andrea was 16 years old she came to Arizona and stayed with us for a month.
She loved the U.S.A. and rock and roll in particular. She wanted to go to every Hard Rock Café everywhere she found one. So it did not surprise us when a big pink 1957 Cadillac convertible pulled up in front of the church blaring rock and roll music and Andrea and Vincent climbed in, her veils and train, dripping with rose petals, flowing behind her, kissing and laughing and waving as a few raindrops fell unnoticed around them. A true Andrea moment! A perfect ending!

The ceremony over, the guests, who had put an overnight bag in a bus outside the church, were then taken on a ride to the city of Bonn, not far away for the reception. The bride and groom had arranged for their guests to stay at the 4 star Hotel Bristol in the heart of the city so that we could party until late in the night and not have to drive back to Cologne. The reception was held at the mansion "La Redoute," built in the 1700s. It is surrounded by a beautiful garden with lush lawns and stately old trees. Beethoven was said to have played here. The atmosphere was pure elegance. The food was a mixture of Hungarian dishes (Andrea's parents were born in Hungary and still have family there) and French cuisine. The speeches were multi-lingual, the guests international. With each course came a different kind of wine. We tasted them all.

When the many courses of dinner were over and the cake eaten and after dinner liquors served, the dancing began. Andrea changed into a scarlet red dress and danced traditional Hungarian wedding dances with her father, her mother, Vincent, Bob, Vincent's father. Each of those men danced with other women in the room and the band, a Hungarian folk band played on. Andreas, her father, insisted I go out on the dance floor with him and we spun around so fast I felt that the room was spinning and I would soon be on the floor! It was so much fun! We danced until 3, until our feet hurt and we couldn't dance anymore. We left Jessica and Nick and went up to our bed to sleep it off. I didn't think I was all that tired until I laid down. Bob says I fell asleep in mid-sentence. I believe it. It was a night we will remember for a long time to come.

The next morning there was a brunch at the hotel. Guests wandered in from 11am to 2pm all looking sleepy but happy. Jessica suggested we take the boat back to Cologne from Bonn, about a 1-1/2 hour ride. Andrea and Vincent and a few of their friends said they would like to join us. With a few hours to kill before it left Bonn, we toured the city, visiting Beethoven's house and the Bonn Cathedral, walking around the center. Before the re-unification of Germany, before Berlin became the capital, Bonn had been Germany's capital city so there are many fine buildings and stately mansions. It's a beautiful old city. The ride back to Cologne was relaxing and peaceful and gave us a chance to talk with our friends a bit more.

We then walked through Cologne with them, stopping for ice cream, watching Jessica and Andrea, walking arm in arm like two sisters, heads close together, sharing thoughts I suppose, like they did sixteen years ago. A nice moment.

That night, we met Andrea and Vincent and a group of her friends at a little bar. This was the night that Germany beat Portugal for third place. A funny thing happened! We were about 20 people and the man, the owner, refused to make any food for us because he hadn't expected such a large crowd! He would serve drinks but we would have to get food somewhere else - we could bring it back there, yes, no problem but he had planned to watch the game too and did not want to be in the kitchen cooking food for all of us! I suppose he didn't have enough food to feed so many people but I think mostly he just wanted to watch the game! Too funny!

Jessica and Nick went home early Sunday morning. We hope they had a good time and made happy memories and new friends.

Andrea and Vincent left on Monday for a week in the south of France, followed by two weeks in Hungary, with celebrations in both places waiting for them. Surely they will be exhausted at the end of it all but they should feel very proud of the beautiful event they planned so perfectly.

We wish them a lifetime of love and happiness.

Rosemary & Bob

(more on Germany: visiting friends in Germany)

Views of Koln (Cologne) Germany

View of Koln from the Beach Club across the river




The famous Kolner Dom (Cologne Cathedral)

German soccer fan. They don't all look like this but they are serious about soccer.

The centro of Lindburg looked like many buildings would fall down.

Scenes of Dinkelsbuhl

Jessica & Nick in Germany 7.2.06

Early Sunday morning, the 2nd of July we left Verona, packed to the gills with our stuff and Jessica & Nick's luggage, to spend our week in Cologne at our friend's wedding. Poor kids, they were crammed in the back seat with the things that didn't fit in the trunk while I sat with bags of stuff under my feet in the front seat. We own a small car, a Toyota Yaris and I do mean small. On purpose really, we did not want or need anything larger but it is a challenge when our guests and their luggage must be transported from one place to another. And especially so, when we also must bring some things for a few days on the road. The wedding made this even more complicated because we also had to bring the sorts of things we don't normally travel with like fancy dresses and suit jackets! We managed well enough and stopped several times along the route just to get out and stretch our legs. Nick, at around 6'3" had the hardest time I'm sure and did not complain about being folded up like a pretzel, although it was obvious he enjoyed the breaks.

Our plan was to spend the night along the Romantic Road in Bavaria that we remembered from our last visit to Germany, in a charming little town called Dinkelsbuhl. It was along the way to Köln, a little past the mid-point so it seemed a good place to pause for the night. Along the way we made a stop in Dacchau for Nick to see the former concentration camp and museum there, not exactly a cheerful way to introduce Germany but one of historic importance and significance. They have expanded the museum since we were there 12 years ago and there is much to read and listen to about this tragic and horrific time period and it makes quite an impression to see the photos and read the stories of the people who died there.

We all enjoyed Dinkelsbuhl and Jessica said she kept expecting to see the seven dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty's house any minute; it was all so cute and perfectly charming. The bed and breakfast we stayed in was great, affordable, very comfortable and right in the heart of town. It was called the Hotel Palmengarten Garni and we had found it on the Internet. Their breakfast was great, plentiful with fruit, yoghurt, cereal, an assortment of breads, cakes and rolls, meats and cheeses - Bob and I even had soft-boiled eggs - unheard of in an Italian B&B!

After walking around the town in the morning light, we continued on and stopped for a few hours in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, another charming, medieval, slightly larger walled city in Bavaria. Lovely, lovely, it was busier than we remembered but this is July and we were there in May, shoulder season in those days and less crowded. Still it retains its charm with all the gothic cathedrals and gabled houses, flowers and gardens blooming in profusion everywhere and spotlessly clean.

It had been our plan to drive along the Romantic Road (the Romantische Strasse) as I remembered how idyllic the views were on this charming stretch of road. It has either changed through the years, with more businesses and less bucolic countryside than I remembered or the better part of this road is further south, which I suspect to be partly the case.

Changes are everywhere noticeable throughout Europe I suspect and we noticed more and bigger supermarkets, more shopping malls, more commercialism than we remembered. But, there are still many lovely country roads in Germany where, I suspect, billboards and advertising are not allowed and farms large and small dominate the landscape, dotted now and then with country houses and little towns.

With the excitement of the World Cup, the German flag was flying everywhere and we heard and read in news reports that it once again seems OK for the German people to feel nationalistic pride without having to apologize for it. I found this to be the case also with some of the young Germans we spoke with who had no problem criticizing what the United States is doing and to condemn us for our behavior. Most were kind and friendly and we shared with them our distress at the direction our government is taking our country. We talked with a young couple, the husband German, the wife Iranian and heard the story of how humiliated she felt having to be fingerprinted when entering the United States and we apologized, despising the fact that our government is making our friends feel like criminals. Others said they loved America and enjoyed their visits to our cities. Another told me she could not come to America now because of George Bush and the activities of our government and that the people we elected must, she felt, reflect the American people. I defended the 50 or more percent of us who tried as hard as we could NOT to see this man re-elected for naught. I had to bite my tongue to not respond by reminding her of the not so glowing history of her own country but that seemed ancient history now while these are the events of today, shockingly and embarrassing so.

It was very thrilling to be in Germany with all the excitement of the World Cup. Everywhere people were wrapped in the flags of their countries - Italians were there as well and the French and Portuguese, as this was the last week of the games and there was a fever in the air that was palpable. Everywhere there were giant screen TVs, every bar and restaurant had one or more. The weather was warm, everyone was sitting at outdoor cafes until late in the night watching the games, drinking beer (the beer glasses are giant in Germany!) and cheering their teams.

We toured many of the beautiful old churches in Köln, including of course the famous Dom Cathedral, whose foundation stone was laid in the year 1248. It was then built and changed and added to throughout the next few hundred years and finally completed in the 1800s, according to the original gothic designs. It's a masterpiece of elaborately decorated pinnacles with buttresses, gothic figures and gargoyles and its stained glass windows and floor mosaics are among the most spectacular as we have seen anywhere. We climbed the over 500 steps to the top of the bell tower for a terrific bird's eye view of Köln, the Rhine River and its bridges.

We particularly enjoyed the church of St. Gereon, with sections of it that date from Roman times. The oldest part of it is oval in shape and was built in the 4th century over the graves of early martyrs, and legend has it that it was founded by St. Helen. It was close to our hotel and we had a perfect view of it from our 4th floor skylight windows and we found it to be impressively handsome. I read that its dome is one of the largest in the world. As with so many of these German churches, it was bombed and had to be rebuilt. They stayed meticulously close to the original designs with the exception of the stained glass windows and the contrast of the ancient stones and marble patterns to the more modern art adaptations of the windows, some quite abstract, is stunning and remarkable.

Köln (Cologne) has Roman origins and there are Roman ruins scattered throughout the city. The name of the emperor Charlemagne is attached to its history and they are proud to say that they have 12 Romanesque churches. From the year 1388 there has been a university here. Not wanting to "church-out" Nick we visited a few of the more ancient ones, most of which suffered damage during WWII and had to be rebuilt and restored after the war. There is still restoration work going in many places we visited in Germany, so it is not only Italy that is undergoing repair of its old buildings.

We also visited the city of Aachen by train from Cologne, and learned that when Charlemagne was crowned emperor in the year 800, Aachen became the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. It is here that his bones rest, in the center of the old town, in a complex of building called "Pfalz", some of which belonged to his former palace here, in a lavish shrine on display in the presbytery. The architecture and design of this cathedral is stunning. We especially enjoyed seeing the massive copper candelabra, a gift from Emperor Frederick I, the bronze doors, the marble details, stained glass windows and the pulpit made of gold-plated copper inlaid with precious stones, a gift of Heinrich II in the year 1014!

We found the old center (zentrum in German) of Aachen charming and we ate lunch at one of the outdoor cafés, just steps away from the cathedral and wandered around. Since we had taken the train, this also gave Bob a chance to take a break from his driving and relax during the ride back to Köln.

We met Vincent, Andrea's fiancé, for the first time when we arrived in Köln on Monday evening and he and Andrea turned over the key to our hotel rooms. More like an apartment, the Statt Hotel in Cologne is an interesting, narrow old building that has been recently restored as a hotel. One apartment wide, it unfortunately was a walk up the 4 (5?) flights of stairs (not to mention the spiral staircase from the bedroom and bathroom, where Jess & Nick slept, up to the living room where Bob and I slept on the sofa bed) and the kitchen. But the views were worth the climb and we had a pretty good although partially obstructed view of the Dom Cathedral out the huge gothic window and small balcony. It was a very convenient spot from which to explore Cologne, being right in the center and it was surrounded by many bars and cafes. We even found a little place that made bagels when Bob and I slipped out early one morning while Jess & Nick slept in. We haven't eaten a bagel in over a year and it was wonderful. As were all the baked goods everywhere we went in Germany. We ate breads and rolls and pretzels that made our mouths water just looking at them! (I'm sorry to say that so far we have not found really great bread in Verona but we will keep trying.) Fortunately (or unfortunately!) I was trying not to over do it so I would still fit in my dress come the wedding day on Friday!

It was quite a shock to arrive in Germany and realize that most Germans do not, contrary to what our Italian friends think, speak English fluently! Many do not speak any English at all. It was always an adventure going into a restaurant in some places (not so much in Cologne, as there were dual languages on the menus) and not understand a word and not know at all what to order!

The strangest experience was stopping in Limburg for dinner, just before we arrived in Cologne. We were getting tired and didn't want to wait until Cologne to eat and simply exited at the next city we came to. Bob described Limburg as a sort of Bavarian Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, because of the haphazard feeling of many of the original half-timbered houses that date from the end of the 13th century and look as if they might collapse on themselves at any minute. The narrow, zigzag layout of the streets added to the feeling of confusion but we wanted to see the cathedral, which dominates the city's skyline from the highway. It was closed when we arrived unfortunately and we went in search of a place to eat. We found a tiny restaurant with a small outdoor terrace that looked charming and cool, under a leafy canopy and decided to give it a try. The bad part of it was there seemed to be only 4 things on the menu, no one spoke English to help in translating and we had no idea what to order! It's our own fault, not theirs that we do not speak German. We felt bad about that. About not even studying some basic language beyond Guten Tag and counting to 3 but with our emphasis on learning Italian we just couldn't get our brains around German! And as much as the Italians have talked about how the Germans and other Europeans study English from an early age we just expected there would be more spoken which did not turn out to be our experience. Except for our friends, who speak several languages (Andrea speaks German, Hungarian, French, English, Italian and Spanish! Vincent, to my knowledge, speaks at least German and English besides his native French.)

At any rate, we decided to order one of each of the things on the menu and just sample what we expected to be some authentic German cooking. We would just pass the dishes around and sample a little of this and a little of that. How fun! The first dish that came out was a roasted Bratwurst with sauerkraut. Not so unusual. The bratwurst was very tasty even though I don't much like sauerkraut. Next came a meat dish, like Weiner schnitzel, not a weiner at all but a cutlet with some potatoes, also tasty. What came next surprised us all. It appeared to be some sort of mystery meat, pieces of it suspended in a sort of gelatin and served cold with pickled something or other on the side. No one wanted to eat this one! The last dish was some sort of fish, completely drowning in a white sauce with bits of other stuff thrown in for good measure! We were 2 for 2 we decided and Bob managed to eat the white dish while the rest of us settled for nibbling at the bratwurst and schnitzel. We left hungry, you can be sure and decided next time we had better ask if there is an English language menu before taking our seats!

The two wedding days were wonderful (I'm writing about those now), it was terrific seeing our friends and spending time with them, as difficult as it must have been for them with all the guests they had to entertain. We loved Vincent! He seems a perfect match for our "German daughter" and we immediately fell in love with him too. He is sweet, warm, friendly and intelligent. We had the opportunity to meet also his charming parents, his sister Emily and her partner David, who is from Ecuador and their friends who were traveling with them. A very international family! They live in the countryside in the south of France, and invited us to come visit some time which we hope to be able to do before we leave Verona, if possible.

(to be continued: A wedding in Köln)

later,
R&B

A Drive in the Dolomiti

Lago di Garda (Garda Lake) with Jess & Nick

A View of the Lake from the Sirmione Castle


Lakeside village of Riva di Garda


Streets of the village of Lazise on Lake Garda

A Day in Venezia with Jessica & Nick

Inside the Church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari


Detail from the "Frari" church


View from the Bridge of Sighs


St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco)


View of San Marco

Feste Vigiliane, Trento

Soccer (Calcio) Fans celebrating the the streets of Trento during the World Cup Semifinals

Woman in Medieval dress eating an apple

Masquerade of Ciusi and Gobj - tug of war

Streets of Trento

Verona

The Scaligeri Ruler Cangrade the 1st, aka The Smiling Knight


Aida

One of the many beautiful streets in Verona's center


Teatro Romano 1st Century B.C.

Jessica and Nick (our daughter and her husband) enjoying Aida at the Arena in Verona

Jessica & Nick's week in Verona 6.25.06

On Sunday, the 25th of June, we drove to Milano to pick up our daughter Jessica and her husband Nick. The plan was to spend a week here in Verona with us and then together we would drive to Germany, spending the night in Dinkelsbuhl before arriving in Cologne (Köln) for Andrea and Vincent's wedding.

Their flight was right on time, arriving around 11am and we drove home to Verona, they got settled in and we took them on a little tour around the city, showing them some of the places we had visited, just a taste of what Verona has to offer.

On Monday Bob took them back into the city while I waited at home for Andrea's gift to arrive. When we there in Perugia, on the way here, we stopped at Giuditta Brozzetti's, (www.brozzetti.com) where the lovely Marta continues her family's tradition of making beautiful hand woven textiles on ancient looms in the most scrumptious designs of historic origin in the setting of an ex-chiesa (a former church). We have written about this place before as one of our favorites in Perugia and thought it would make the perfect gift for Andrea. With Marta's help we selected the exact colors and patterns for an original one-of-a-kind gift for our one-of-a-kind friend, the exquisite Andrea! Marta promised to ship it so that it would arrive before we left for Germany and we had both hoped it would come on Saturday before Jessica and Nick got here but it did not and I had to remain behind, biting my nails, waiting for the post! By noon I was calling Marta, who tracked it down, called me back and assured me it was to arrive this day. Not 10 minutes after we spoke, the doorbell rang and there was the package! Gorgeous! I was thrilled with what she had made, called her back to tell her I got it and thanked her, tanto, tanto, grazie! for her beautiful work and help in making this gift for us.

On to Trento then, with a stop in the north side of Lago di Garda, the pretty city of Riva del Garda, so picturesque with its lively waterfront filled with cafes and brightly colored houses, flowers everywhere, the lake shimmering with reflections in the afternoon sun.

They enjoyed Trento but were disappointed to learn that the Buonconsiglio Castle was closed on Mondays! The evening's event was the "Masquerade of Ciusi and Gobj" which recalls a medieval fight between the people of Trento and those of nearby Feltre during the time of a great famine. Two competing teams, one wearing costumes of grey with black and white, the other reds and yellows, both with masks covering their faces, created a sort of play in which each team fights for the conquest of a big pot of polenta that had been cooked in a giant pot in the center of the main square, by a group of women also in medieval dress, at the start of the event. Flags were handed out to the crowd to cheer for each side and a kind of tug-of-war ensued with one team breaking through the ring formed by the other to protect the polenta from intruders! It was all good fun and interesting to watch and it was followed up by a terrific fireworks display along the river and a sleepy drive home.

With just one week to spend here, there was no time to lose, so Tuesday we had planned to combine a trip to Sirmione, on Lago di Garda to tour the 13th century castle and then a drive through the Valpolicella wine district and wine tasting. We had picked up a list of wineries in Lazise, another cute small town on the lake and armed with our Tom-Tom GPS system we were able to find the addresses of several scattered in the hills between the lake and Verona. This area is famous for its light red wine, Bardolino and I think the favorite place was the Zeni winery, a large operation where you can fill your glass from the many bottles. It was cool the way they had this set up - the various bottles of wine for tasting were upside down and you dispensed it by pushing your glass up and taking some. The more expensive wines could be tasted for a small fee and Jess and Nick took advantage of this. We all bought a few bottles to take home and continued on our way to visit a few other cantinas before they closed for the day. One of our other favorites was a very small operation that was also a bed and breakfast and the woman who greeted us was warm and friendly, the wine good and very inexpensive - we were startled to learn the one we tasted and liked cost 2.50 euros a bottle and of course, we bought some to take home!

Wednesday was our Venice day. Jess & Nick had spent time there on their honeymoon almost 6 years ago and, wanting to give them time to wander on their own, Bob and I visited the Doge's Palace that we had not seen before and we met later for lunch. We stopped at what appeared to be a simple local place and ended up being way too expensive for what we ate (100 euros for 4 simple pasta dishes and some drinks - yikes!) We complained too much afterwards and hope we didn't make the kids feel too uncomfortable. We know that for them, this was a vacation, while we are still trying to "live cheap" - two totally different concepts! After lunch they went off again on their own, bought some souvenirs and some things for themselves and in the early evening we headed home.

Hungry for dinner we stopped in Vicenza on the way home to try to find a place for dinner and not knowing this city, had trouble finding one! At first we input addresses of restaurants listed in our guidebook into the GPS, but when the addresses didn't work, we resorted to letting the GPS suggest one. Jessica thought this was the most hysterical thing, that your phone could recommend a restaurant and that you would actually go where it told you to go! We stopped at one place recommended in the guidebook and were told that if we wanted to eat there we would have to order an antipasto, a primi and a secondo - all three courses! We have never encountered this in any other restaurant except when you order from the "tourist menu" which for one price includes a 3-course meal with a set menu. We found this utterly ridiculous and of course did not stay. We finally found a small local place where the owners were delighted to have us and the food was not great but pretty good. They were watching a silly TV show where scantily clad young women demonstrated their talents, like roller skating, dancing or playing the recorder (mostly badly) for a prize. It was really astounding how bad they were, but they were shapely, cute and sexy and it seemed, the one who showed more "talents" won. Hilarious!

But the funniest part of the trip home from Vicenza was that we kept seeing hookers on the side of the road! Now I know that some of the styles young women are wearing these days can be pretty skimpy but there was no mistaking that these gals were "ladies of the night." In one place a policeman had one of the girls pulled aside by a patrol car while another stood nearby. All along the road we saw them and wondered about this city and why there were so many in this one place when we had never really seen them before, except for outside of Perugia south of the train station. We decided there must be an army base (US or Italian) nearby. Nick got the biggest kick out of it and thought no one back home in Milwaukee would believe that he had seen so many hookers, one after the other. Jessica snapped a quick photo and received a firm "hand gesture" from the lady in question. It became a joke whenever we saw a woman by herself on the street "do you think she is a hooker?" Especially funny when it was clear that they were obviously not, clothing styles notwithstanding.

Thursday we had tickets for the opera "Aida" at Verona's Roman Arena so it made sense to spend the day in Verona. We followed the tour in our book and when it started to rain we took shelter in a nice little restaurant with a courtyard in the back, near the Duomo, the 8th century Santa Maria Matricolare. The tables were sheltered under big umbrellas and we enjoyed simple sandwiches and sodas and stayed dry. By the time we finished eating the rain had pretty much stopped.

We returned home to rest and freshen up for the evening and ate dinner at home. I had prepared and frozen some of my meat sauce the week before that was easy to thaw and we served it with two different kinds of ravioli - ricotta with spinach and another filled with pumpkin that was very yummy. The opera was spectacular, the music, the sets, the staging, the lighting and costumes I believe Jessica appreciated very much. I must admit that none of us are avid fans of opera but simply had to take advantage of seeing a performance in the ancient Roman Area. I enjoyed it very much and would love to see another later in the summer even if I have to go myself (I don't think I can talk Bob into going again!).

Friday we took a beautiful drive through the Dolomites. This truly is a spectacular area and the scenery simply breathtaking. The strangest thing that happened was that we stopped for lunch in what looked more like a German village than an Italian one - sort of common for this area and in the restaurant everyone - including the owners and customers - were speaking German! I was so confused, I asked if they spoke Italian! Not if they spoke English, which is a more common thing for me to ask, but Italian, as I wasn't sure. They assured us they did and the simple sandwiches they made were good and we continued on our way, feeling a bit disoriented, as if we had crossed an imaginary border and weren't sure how or where. A bit "Twilight Zone-ish"!

Saturday was a drive to Padova to explore the city of St. Anthony. As usual, Jessica had done her homework and knew of a few places we hadn't yet seen and it was a full day of sightseeing. We made sure to get home relatively early because the next day we were off to Germany and the wedding and, for Bob, a lot more driving!

(to be continued: Germany with Jess & Nick)

R.

We're still here 7.17.06

I just wanted to let you know we are alive and well. We have received a few concerned emails from friends who have checked the blog and not found any new posts for a while and we wanted to assure you that there is more coming. Our daughter Jessica and her husband Nick arrived on the 25th of June and they spent a week with us here in Verona, then it was off to Germany together for Andrea's wedding and visits with old friends there. We only just returned on Wednesday last week and have been resting up and recuperating! I spent all day yesterday writing and today Bob will be working on pulling some photos together to go with the writings. So check back again soon for the latest editions. We have so much to tell you!

Thanks for caring,
Rosemary & Bob