Cucina

We took a cooking "class" on Thursday evening. It was more of a demo followed by a nice meal. There was some participation, as shown below...Class was offered by the same group that I studied language with. Met some fun folks, and enjoyed the food.

Ciao Italia

Now sitting in Roma airport, filled with 9 weeks' worth of memories. We fly to Lisbon, then to JFK, following a 3-hour layover. Not quite enough time to pop into the city for a snack...Sleeping in JFK airport hotel tonight, then train to Rensselaer tomorrow a.m.

We're crusty and flabby...looking forward to resuming healthy eating and regular exercise! (Well, one of us is looking forward to that...)

Below is photo of Rialto Bridge from the Grand Canal. We treated ourselves to this ride on Friday, our last day in Venezia. Otherwise, we walked everywhere. We were lucky with great weather! It rained yesterday for our walk to the train station.

Sunset

Walked a different 'hood yesterday. Parks...trees...felt like a different city.

We were treated to this view:

Che Cosa È?

Any guesses???

It's my watercolor mop-up rag! It started at the beginning of our trip, 1 September, as an unused Southwest Airlines napkin. Looks as though it will weather the rest of the trip!

Get Outta Town

That's what we decided to do today. Padova (spelled Padua by silly Americans) is a 30-minute train ride from here (Venezia). Busy, beautiful (and old, of course) university town. Nice to escape the tourist crush for a few hours. Saw cars for the first time in 1 1/2 weeks...

There's a Germanic influence here...

Surprise Bonus in France

Our Provence portion of this trip would not have been possible without the generosity of Janis and Ken, who generously offered a lovely place to stay. Not only that, we now count them among our friends! What wonderful people! THANKS Janis and Ken!!!

More Provence

Can't begin to encapsulate our experience in southern France with a couple of posts. Will manage to give only a tiny view...

These guys came out after the rain!

Alas, their kin wound up here: aioli Provençal!

Ubiquitous olive trees, gorgeous countryside, famous artists, and a record of our daily coffee ritual!

Holiday

Today is a Christian holiday throughout Europe, hence Venezia has been mobbed all weekend. (Have I already said that?) Just learned schools in Vienna have the entire week off, so maybe the crowds will continue. Below is a photo of the main drag that's a 30-second walk from our flat. Out of focus, but you get the idea...

That was yesterday. Even though Halloween is a US thing, it's reached Italia. Fun to see the kiddos dressed up...and wound up! Today, Strada Nova was empty @ 8 when we struck out for our cappuccini.

Here's John, using the grocery cart that's in our flat. Wouldn't you mistake him for a local?