Top Italy Moments

Most historical: Exploring the Roman Colosseum and wandering through the remains of the Forum... (funny thing happened...)

Honorary sibling: Oo, oo! The waiter in Rome who (without any provocation—we promise!) mocked Mom in English all evening! Of course then he mocked Katrina in German (which was frustrating because he spoke it as well as he spoke Italian). How come waitstaff in other countries know their third languages better than most educated Americans know their second?

Most spontaneous: Random acts of singing at various cathedrals, chapels, outside restaurants, inside restaurants and even in front of the Pieta at the Vatican (although, we wouldn’t suggest trying the latter if you actually want to see the rest of St. Peter’s).

Mountaintop Moment: Fighting to the top of Montelpulciano in a wind storm sans wheelchair victoriously arriving to churchbells heralding your success (at approximately 12 noon) while helping Jenny keep her dress within an appropriate distance from her legs.

Most picturesque: Enjoying the sunset in Pienza surrounded by family and friends with black truffles, cream sauce, homemade pasta and unending bottles of red accompanied by the soft click of cameras in the background...and knowing there were two more perfect sunsets to come.

Most spiritual: Attending Vespers at a Tuscan monastery which consisted of 15 minutes of responsive chanting in Montelcino followed by participation in the morning Mass ... which was held in Latin! Oh, and did we mention the entire chapel is constructed out of travertine—it was “marble-ous”!

Most musical: Performing our concert at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, featuring the lovely and talented soloist Elizabeth Bauerlein, who sang Vivaldi’s aria with her usual grace and seemingly effortless ease. (Direction under the "internationally recognized Maestro John Scott Marrone.®")


Most humbling: Multiplying everything by 1.57 to discern how much you were spending in “real money.” To add insult to injury, realizing that the € 0.79 (roughly $1.30) box wine is better than most $10 bottles in the States (and without the screw top, it was only € 0.59!)

Most ubiquitous: Delighting in some stracciatella, amarena, baccio, panna cotta, malaga and, of course tiramisu. Gelatto, gelatto...how we miss thee... (but not the additional pounds we gained while consuming thee...)

Most raucous: At Il Latini, we not only consumed an inordinate amount of food & spirits, but afterward, we sang the most raucous version of Va Pensiero (playing now)... and that was before the after-dinner limoncello. (Thankfully, we had a private room!) Upon departing the restaurant, we continued our revelry on the late-night streets of Florence...with the three tenors stealing the show!


Most artistic: Being alternately jealous of Elizabeth’s beautiful sketches of quaint Tuscan alleys and the expert photography of Erica & Drew. Maybe Elizabeth could post one of her sketches here?

Most touristy: Although some may argue it is kitsch, we agree our gondola ride along the Grand Canal and through the back alleys in Venice is one of the only ways to really see the front doors, terraces and facades as they were intended. And we managed to finish our ride just prior to the only rain we experienced while in Italy—bonus!

Most explosive: Experiencing the 45-minute Feast of the Redeemer fireworks in Venice among 100,000 Italians and visitors packed onto Piazza San Marco; the perfect finale to our musical tour.
*************************************************************************************

So, Katrina did the above update for me. Except for the phots, which I added. And there will be further posts coming. But I wanted to let everyone know that I have made a decision regarding my treatment. I will be having another round of VIPER at Westchester, but then I will be heading to Boston in September to have my stem cell transplant. It's called a mini transplant and I won't be in the hospital as long, but I will need to remain in Boston for a month or so.

I'll be doing my next VIPER starting next week. So, send me some positive thoughts, and don't forget to comment.

-Elizabeth