travel...light on blogging but chock full of other goodies!

do you remember why you left...do you know where you are going...or would you rather follow the path of surprises & delights unknown...follow the crowd...or fly solo...will you stop & smell the flowers...do you believe that love conquers all...can you feel the rush of time...as you tread over the ancient ruins...are you willing to bloom where you are planted...or must your wings unfold...

do you seek the shade of refreshment, enjoying every cool drop...do you remember to look up...to look ahead, to look behind...& yet to stand in the present...do you delight in the season's offering, no matter how mundane...do you embrace the day, arms wide open with joy...do you light the candle in the darkness...do you see the window of opportunity...do you shoulder the burden for one in need...do you stop to help one who is lost...do you stand in the awe & let it fill you...travel on, you who journey...tell your story of a life well-lived, in love & joy!we are home, safe & sound...all the richer for having gone.

when in roma...

...eat gelato!!!!! y'all know me too well ;-) because of course that was our first stop!now as for the flavor...Little Man eats solo limone! but his mamma tries many more gusti...almost always one of which involves cioccolato! we are currently exploring every gelaterie in roma & will let you know after the viaggio how we ranked them. & now...it is off to---you guessed it--- eat more gelato!!! ci vediamo...

guessing games & travel updates...

first a little game...who can guess the very first stop the 3 of us made upon our arrival in roma (not counting our apartment to drop the bags)? no hints will be given & D. is definitely not eligible to play...;-) leave your guess in the comments...

our weekend has been fabulous. friday we took the train to firenze& spent the weekend showing Mrs. T. all the awesome sights.

mr. meteorologist, Little Man, is on break from both weather (although at the moment he is scouting his radar websites in the internet point while i am typing this) & his italian classes (we left the books in roma...shhhhhh, don't tell our instructor ;-)later today we hop the train back to roma & tomorrow it is back to class! a presto!!

the view from our room...

in roma...& a few more views...(the pantheon inside & out)to see a daily update (or as often as we can), you can also go to snap 366! a domani...

& we're off!!!

see y'all on the other side of the 'pond'! D., keep the homefires burning...ci vediamo, mio amore!

girlfriend, i've got your back(pack)!

Mrs. T., our intrepid transcontinental travel companion & crazy southern soul sister, will be joining Little Man & i on our roman language holiday '08, scheduled for a monday departure! one of our family travel philosophies has been that if we cannot carry it on our backs, it does not come with us. we were introduced to that concept a number of years ago through my old friend (in reading only, not in person!) rick steves & we have not checked a bag since! i very much like the idea of carrying all i need & at the same time being hands-free. of course, this does mean that i cannot pack my entire closet, but really, in the days of before my backpack adventures, i found that i rarely wore more than a quarter of the things i had thought 'essential' for my travels. i promised Mrs. T., a backpack newbie, a tutorial on the whole packing experience...& here ya go!...


my trusty backpack of 5 yearsempty...items waiting to be packed part I...& part II...items securely packed!
my rick steves' awesome money belt is not in the backpack...it contains the cash, cards, & passports. & now it's off to catch some weekend R & R with D. & the children...

life at the speed of summer...

...traveling no faster than a slow boatto the independence day fireworks (fuochi d'artificio!)...with a heartful of gratitude for all those who keep us free.after reading over my post for july 4th of last year, i am especially grateful that all who were overseas at that time (& a few who left afterwards) are now home safe & sound~~thank you all for your sacrifices! happy independence day!!!