There is a small cafe that we go to often which I love because it is the closest thing we have to a backyard here. There are very few "green" spaces in Florence but this small cafe - hidden well enough from many tourists - feels lush compared to all the stone and mortar that has built up the city center. There are sparrows and pigeons and grass, like at home, but instead of squirrels we see lizards and instead of our neighbors' backyard we see the Arno river. There is no vegetable garden but the espresso bar is easily within reach. There are many things that we couldn't bring with us to Italy just as there are many things here that we will never be able to replicate at home when we return. The list of things we would want to take back home to Illinois is much longer but the friends we miss from home bear much more weight. I struggle with the thought of going home but not so much for the things that I will miss but for all of the time that we have invested in figuring out how to live here and make it home. It is akin to working with students at the college and watching seniors whom you've spent time getting to know go off to grad school and other jobs knowing that you will likely never see them again. But still, both faculty (that's Nick) and staff (that's me) will get to know more students year after year because there is still joy to be found even in the doors that are only open for a short while.

We have had a long list of company since January including my grandma from Galesburg and, most recently, Nick's sister Gina and her two girls, Sebastiana and Giuliana and also Gina's colleague Connie who we were very glad to meet and spend time with. We went with my grandma to Pisa. Nick and I had never been there before so it was new for all of us. The cathedral and the tower in Pisa are stunning regardless of the fact that the tower is leaning. There are four buildings on the site (cathedral, tower, baptistry and a cemetery) which are all of white marble which against the blue sky and green grass below look radiant and haunting. The circular baptistry has incredible acoustics. While we were inside, one of the guards at the door came inside and sang four single notes each of which reverberated for what seemed like an eternity so that after he stopped singing, a perfect chord was still humming in the air above and lingered on even after he had left the building.

When Gina was here we went again to see the Regiacorte side of the family in Vasto. Every time I go there I feel more and more at home and, as the family there becomes more and more familiar to me, each time it is harder and harder to leave. We had so much fun introducing Gina's girls to the family and taking them to the beach to collect seashells. Vasto is a smaller town so, unlike Florence, you can't get around very well without a vehicle. Gina rented a cute little Fiat (great car by the way!) which the six of us crammed ourselves into somewhat comfortably. Fortunatley, most of our rides were less than ten minutes. And again, we were loved to death with food and hospitality after which I could do nothing but digest and be thankful.

My visits to Vasto are one of the few times where I am surrounded by the the Italian language for most of the day. The more that I am there the more comfortable I get with speaking and I always feel more confident with my language when I return to Florence.

LONDON

During Nick's spring break we went for a four nights stay in London. I was not looking forward to spending our getaway in another busy, noisey, touristed city but I knew that once I got there I would love it. We stayed in student housing which meant sleeping in bunk beds but this factor was redeemed by the fact that it was amazingly quiet inside the building and also by the beautiful English garden that was in the backyard. We had intended to cook a bit while we were there but the myriad of wonderful restaurants in London won us over and we ended up eating Moroccan, Thai, Indian, some good old fashioned English pub food and, my absolute favorite "fish 'n chips" at a place called the Golden Hind - they also had fabulous "mushy peas" believe it or not. Aside from eating everything we could find that wasn't Italian we also went to every art museum we could fit in. I think, in four days time we made it to five different art museums. I was happy to have counted nine Van Gogh paintings that week along with a Picasso exhibit at the National Gallery. After lving in the heart of renaissance art for seven months seeing 19th and 20th century art was like refreshing the mental palate with a crisp salad after several bowls full of heavy pasta. Of London I will remember art (including the architecture), food, double deckers, Hyde Park, crab apple blossoms and the great network of the "Tube" which makes up the heart of London's underground transportation system. It was so easy to get around (though expensive) and was one of the most amazing cities I've ever seen. Oh! I almost forgot one of my favorite highlights was having a beer in "Ye Old Cheshire Cheese" one of the oldest bars in the world where Charles Dickens and many other famous Londoners were known to frequent. That's the bar that Nick is standing in front of in the above photo.

Okay, that's enough for now. Ciao and Cheers!

Fish, Chips and "Mushy Peas".........Mmmmmmm, goood........