Europe Trip 2012 cont. Florence Itay

 Florence was really exciting to visit. This is the birthplace of the Renaissance!! This is where Michelangelo and Leonardo De Vinci walked...painted and worked. Our hotel was right around the corner from this 11th century baptistery of John the Baptist. You can not move in this city without seeing history!

 This is a close-up picture of the sculptures on the baptistery. I was in awe... I bumped into so many people and wobbled my ankles on the cobble stones the entire time I was in Florence because I could not stop looking at all the buildings. How do people that live here get used to it? I don't think I would ever tire of looking at all the beauty there.

 I really have no words to express standing at the base of the David. It is truly breathtaking. I literally had tears when I seen him. I was amazed.

The two pictures above are from a beautiful square, I wish I could remember all the names of the squares and building of Florence. This one had the carousel and there was usually a musician playing. I love the way everyone seems to live outdoors. 

 Ponte Vecchio Bridge, and the lower picture is taken from the bridge looking down to the bridge below. When we were on Ponte Vecchio were two guitar player that were wonderful. It was so fun to just sit and listen to them play. At one point a large group of teens joined in the song.

One of the statures at the bridge. So beautiful and yet not even a famous sculpture... Just there. This is how all of Florence is! Beauty and art at every turn.
 We went through the Uffizi museum, it holds the worlds most important collection of Renaissance art. It was so amazing! This is the view of Ponte Vecchio from the Uffizi.

 There was a festival going on while we were in Florence. Part of this festival is a game, but they say it is more like a brawl... the only rule is that you can't bite. This was the green team. I am pretty sure that they one their match that day.

 Part of the parade was these flag throwers... pretty cool :)

 
One square was full of sculptures. I loved the beheading of Medusa. 
 
 One last view overlooking Florence. It was such an amazing city and I hope that one day I can go back, there is so much to see and I just got a small taste of it.

Europe Trip 2012 – Venice Italy

I never thought that Bill and I would be able to go to Europe, but we flew out on Tuesday June 12 for Venice Italy. This was one of those places that I had on my personal bucket list. There is just something very beautiful and magical about Venice whenever I would look at pictures. A few years back Bill had asked me if there was one place I would like to see in the world where would that be? My answer had been Venice Italy. 

Bill and I at one of the many bridges in Venice 

 I must say I was not disappointed! I only wish I had a better vocabulary to express how I felt about it. But so far all I can say was “Magical”. We stayed on the island of Lido a very sweet quite island and Bill and I had a lovely morning run while we were there. Lido has a great beach and I wish we could have spent some time relaxing there. But being on a tour you know that time is a precious commodity and I wanted as much time as I could on the main island of Venice.

 We rode the boat/bus to Venice and all I can say is I had a wonderful time. We were there for about a day and a half. Not nearly enough time, but as I write more about this trip I am sure that will be the running theme. Some of the things I enjoyed about Venice were really quite simple. I love just walking around… getting lost in all her narrow walkways and bridges, seeing all the beautiful flower boxes on the windows and lavishly dreaming about how it would have been to walk those same paths during her prime. One day I know I will have to go back to Venice… of all the places I visited on this trip she is my favorite.

 We rode the boat out to Burano Island, also known as the lace island. This island is small and quaint with its brightly colored houses. I loved walking around and enjoying some gelato mmmm I enjoyed a lot of gelato during this trip! Burano is known for the lace making, but as in so many things this is becoming a lost art. There were a few older ladies in the shops still making lace but for the most part the laces they sell are all manufactured somewhere else. If you do get a piece of their handmade lace it will cost you a pretty Euro. I think this is true to be said for most of the art that used to be produced in any part of the world. We buy cheap mass produced things instead of artist made items.

Burano

Burano

 I was please on a couple of occasions to find gluten free pasta at some restaurants so I didn’t feel too deprived having my dietary restrictions.

The last night there we took a gondola ride through the canals and out to the Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge. I had tears in my eyes and down my cheeks numerous times while in Venice. Bill asked me a few times if I was OK, I just didn’t want to leave…. EVER! Venice was truly magical for me, but I also wanted to see all the other things this trip had to offer, so I dried my eyes and got ready for Florence!

Heart Felt Thoughts

Yesterday while scrolling through Facebook I came across an entry from my daughter-in-laws younger brother. After reading his comment and some of the comments attached to it, I texted my son and daughter-in-law and my fears were confirmed. Evan had lost a friend and member of the band that he played in to suicide. A flood of emotions rolled over me as the confirmation of this sank in… another family will feel the gut punching pain of the loss of someone to suicide. My emotions ran to the surface of my eyes as I remembered the phone call I received almost 8 years ago, my cousin on the other end of the line telling me that Scott, her sister and my cousin’s husband had taken his life. Scott was more than someone married into my family. He had become my husband’s best friend, the person who had inspired me to be a runner, a supporter of my art, a mentor and friend to my children and someone that we all truly loved. Re-reading Evans post it is all the things that I have felt in the wake of Scott’s death. The pleads for “one more” are hard to read and even harder to feel. I still have them, I don’t know if they ever go away when someone leaves you this way. The wanting of “one more” and the questions that you will never be able to answer are the things that we have to live with.

We relive the last conversations that we had with our loved one that is gone. Scott had called me a couple of days before to go running with him and his running friend. I had run with them a few times but was much slower and they were going a longer distance then I really wanted to do. Remembering now how much he tried to get me to come. His pleads that he would take it slow with me, to meet them at a certain location and just run a few miles with him…. I turned him down and three days later he was gone from my life forever. I only have memories of the runs that we did have, and the beautiful conversations on life, children and art. Those are some of the things that I miss.

The transition back to normal life is difficult. I don’t know if you can ever say that life is normal after living through this. You have to make a new normal, a life that is forever changed, sadder and a bit darker. For the longest time I was angry that life had to move on. To me it was not right that things could move on without Scott here. But as the years have gone by I know that we can’t live forever in the pain that we feel. As much as I didn't want to I needed to let the pain go. It’s not healthy. I also started thinking that the person we have lost would not want to see us in pain and suffering. I have often visualized Scott looking down on us and seeing that he was sad, because we were in pain. I thought… I don’t want to see him agonize any more. So now I try my best to choose to remember him in a positive way. I try to celebrate his life, by living mine as best as I can. He was a fearless individual and I have tried (not too successfully yet) to incorporate some of that into my life as a way to remember him. I think we all just need to get through the best way we can.  My thoughts and prayer go out to Evan, his family, friends and the family of the friend that took his life, you are in my prayers.