The Boston's Travels

Sunday in Rio

2009-08-23T19:18:00.003-05:00

We had another amazing day in Rio...church service was wonderful. Their choir learned "O Happy Day" in English and sounded better than we did singing our "English" hymn! Our daily journal and pictures are at the Westwood site. Page, our professional writer is doing an outstanding job of writing our daily journal! Tomorrow our clinic starts. The church has great facilities and we are praying for a large crowd tomorrow and good weather.

Saturday at the Leprosy Colony

2009-08-22T15:31:00.004-05:00

What an emotional day we had today. The trip to the leprosy colony was life changing. We met a lady who has been there for 67 years. She was a nurse. She was 22 when she was diagnosed with leprosy. She brought her 6 month old baby girl with her, but they took her child away, but was later reunited with her. She has cared for the people at the colony during this time. She has never been out of this area in those 67 years.

She said that she didn't have a bank account, money, or a home. She had Jesus and He was the joy of her life. She prayed blessings upon us and said that we were treats that only God could have sent. What an inspiration she was to all of us. We sang "Great is thy Faithfulness" with her before we left. She told us that was her favorite hymn. She thanked God daily for the life He had given her!

Another lady we met had a display of clay pots she had painted. Many of us purchased one. They are beautifully painted and the touching part is she had no hands or feet!

We are so blessed, and we need to share Christ with everyone we meet. Keep praying for the week is just starting & God has big things in store!

shopping and rio

2009-08-20T18:40:00.003-05:00

Had a fun, long day shopping in and around Rio. We had a driver, Max who was wonderful, even when we showed up 1 hour later than we said(after mall shopping)! We went to a stone factory, the largest mall in SA and then to the Harley Davidson shop, grocery store, and a porcelain shop. We left at 9 am and got back at 7 pm. It was a rainy day and a perfect day for shopping. Our team is ready to leave Atlanta tonight. We are praying for safe flights and ease through customs!

Rio "The Marvelous City"

2009-08-19T14:14:00.004-05:00

Sharon, Debbie Mc. B. and I arrived safe and sound this morning. Only 1 hr. late considering we left Atlanta 2 hours late. It is always a beautiful city to return to and exciting to be here. Going to the Hippie Feta (street market) tonight and turning in early after flying all night last night. Here are some pictures from my bedroom window! The team will be here Friday morning!

Blog and Facebook!

2009-08-17T23:51:00.002-05:00

Yes, I've given up blogging for Facebook! My girls are to blame...they signed me up and yes it's addicting. You get to connect for so many old friends. It's very interesting to see what's going on with new and old acquaintances! I'm posting the link for our mission trip for those who are interested. The team leaves Thursday August 20th and we return on August 29th. Daily updates will be posted at Westwood Baptist Church's website. Page Hughes writes our daily journal with all the expertise of a pro! Coincidentally she IS a published author and a professional speaker! Thank you all for praying for our trip! God Bless!

Allison's Birthday!

2009-05-06T11:43:00.003-05:00

Twenty Eight years ago, our baby girl was born today! Now she has her own baby boy! My how times flies! We love you Allison and are very proud of you! Here are some of her many looks!

More of Florida and the boys

2009-04-04T20:55:00.006-05:00

What a full day we've had....painting on the sidewalk, playing with the water hose, picnicking, hiking, bath, nap, another walk and ended the day with s'mores!

I've tried SO hard to get a picture of all three of the boys together. Do you know how hard that is with a 5 1/2 yr. old whose really dislikes having his picture made and a 2 3/4 yr old who would rather show you his backside than his face? Camden who is 8 mo. old is actually the best of the bunch and smiles all the time!

"all three...not good!"

"all three..somewhat better"

"happy camden"

"warren painting on my sidewalk"

We went to DeSoto National Monument and had our hike and picnic. Camden loved being strolled everywhere and entertained by the boys running all over the place. Oh to have their energy!

"nannie and camden"

"boys will be boys"

"nannie and her 3 great-grandboys"

"over looking where the Manatee river flows between Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico"

"s'mores"

"sunset looking out my back door"

Florida and my 3 Boys

2009-04-02T14:43:00.009-05:00

Nannie (my mom) and I flew to Florida yesterday. We had a picnic today, after Ben got out of school, at a local playground. Camden loved swinging. Warren flew in the swing "fast, fast, fast" like Buzz Lightyear! Ben just loves it all! We hope Mamaw (Greg's mom) gets out of the hospital and feels better real soon!

"warren wants to help"

"camden"

"warren saying cheese"

"ben and his cici"

"camden loving the swing"

"camden and warren 'flying like buzz' "

"camden loving a banana treat"

Ben's Lego Creations

2009-03-13T16:00:00.003-05:00

Ben came to Tennessee

2009-03-13T15:16:00.003-05:00

Ben and his dad came to Tennessee for the week-end. Ben is just getting into Legos. I told him his Aunt Allison loved legos, so we began to dig them out! We found just a few and as you can tell Ben is ready to get started building!

Greg's Surprise Birthday Dinner

2009-03-09T14:14:00.008-05:00

david and joyce

chad and kim

nancy, me and lynn

jerry and greg

I surprised Greg with a few of our close friends on Saturday evening at Margot Cafe, our favorite restaurant in Nashville. Thank you all for coming! It was great fun! If you live in Nashville and are looking for a great restaurant check out Margot's. The menu changes daily and we love the bistro type food!

Long Time....no posts!

2009-03-02T11:50:00.002-06:00

Yes, I've slacked big time....but it's easy to let things slide when you get busy! We had a great holiday season and enjoyed good family times together. The next four posts will be of some of our adventures since the first of 2009.

Greg's (aka Poppie) 60th Birthday!

2009-03-02T11:49:00.003-06:00

This is the "big" year of birthdays for us! Greg is 60 today! ( I'm waiting until May for my biggie!) Unfortunately he has to work today, but were did celebrate this week-end in Florida with friends and family. We flew to FL on Thursday the 26th. We were met by Ashley and the boys and went to one of our favorite casual restaurants in St. Pete, Red Mesa.

"ben, poppie and warren"

"in front of red mesa"

Friday, Greg went fishing with Tyler and some other friends on the Manatee River. It was great fun! Friday night we went to another favorite restaurant in Tampa, Roy's. We spent a delightful dinner with friends, Randy and Amy Buckspan. (we met in Rio on a mission trip!)

Saturday we took the boys and went to Desoto National Memorial in Bradenton. It was not only beautiful but educational.

"ben being a typical boy"

"warren the little poser"

"warren and the Spaniard hat"

"ben and the Spaniard hat"

"beautiful grounds"

On Sunday, Allison, David and Camden came over from Orlando for a visit and dinner. It was a fun time with everyone here! Greg flew back Sunday evening to Sparta. :( and I am staying here until Thursday!

"ashley, warren and camden"

"warren REALLY loving camden"

"ready to take off"

"what a cutie"

Greenbrier February 2009

2009-03-02T11:48:00.002-06:00

The Greenbrier is such a special place. I attended cooking school here for 14 years. It was fun and educational. Those experiences fostered my love of cooking! Greg and I spent Saturday February 7th there with our friends Joyce and David. It was a relaxing time and wonderful food to eat! As with everything in the economy at this time, it was sad to see it so empty. A interesting historical fact about the Greenbrier is about Project Greek Island. The bunker for the Legislative Branch of the Government was built there by Dwight Eisenhower. It was a fascinating time in our American History.

"a happy pair"

"david and joyce"

"main lobby"

"trellis lobby"

"celebrity corridor looking into cameo ballroom"

" another view of the main lobby"

Greg's Parents Storm Damage

2009-03-02T11:47:00.000-06:00

We had strong winds with a storm come through our area February 11th and many areas around us had severe wind damage. Greg's parents were one of the unfortunate one in Crossville, TN. Although they had severe damage to the house, they were blessed that no one was injured. It is almost built back completely now!

"the tree hit the storage house first...that helped save the end of the house somewhat!"
"the pine tree that fell after cleanup had begun"

January 2009

2009-03-02T11:45:00.000-06:00

Camden came for his first alone visit to Sparta. We had so much fun having him all to ourselves. I flew to Orlando and picked him up on Wednesday the 21st and we returned to Florida on Monday the 26th. I returned home on February the 5th with Warren in tow. Ashley dislocated her kneecap on Sunday before I was leaving. She was not able to take care of both children so Warren came to TN for a week. We really had fun having him all to ourselves for that time. Grandchildren are truly grand! Here are a few pics from those "grand times!"

"ben on playground"

"warren"

"camden"

Florida and the boys

2008-11-15T12:57:00.000-06:00

All 3 in CiCi's small Volvo going from Ashley's house to our house!

Yes..they were all buckled up!

Ready for bed

Aren't they adorable?

Ben holding Camden...I don't think Camden is too sure of Ben!

Happy baby Camden

Yes...I've been slacking big time...but I haven't really had a whole lot of downtime. I came to Florida on Monday November 3rd. Warren had a virus and Ben stayed with his CiCi. I had company (my college roomate's son and his girlfriend) on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Good luck Todd on your interviews for residency! It was fun having Todd and Adina because I always enjoy cooking and I don't do it that much for just myself. I of course do it for the boys but they are not real gourmet eaters. On Thursday I drove to Orlando and picked up Camden. He came and stayed for 4 days. Ben and Warren enjoyed being with their baby cousin. (Yes...Warren was well by then...at least we thought he was)! Greg flew in Friday night and we had all 3 spending the night! We had our friends Randy and Amy (great to see them!) for dinner on Saturday night and kept only Camden. We drove to Orlando on Sunday and spent time with Allison. Sorry we missed you David (he had to work)! Greg flew back to Tennessee on Monday morning and I returned to Parrish. Warren started getting sick again (high fever) on Monday evening. Ashley took him to the doctor on Tuesday and they gave him antibiotics for sinus infection, but really aren't sure that's the problem, so it still could be viral. His teachers at school say Type A Influenza is going around, so I guess we just hope he gets well soon! I was glad I was in Florida, because I've been able to keep Ben and take him to school for Ashley. Ben and I have felt fine so we've stayed away from the sick ones. I do have a few pictures to post from the few good times when everyone felt okay! I came home to Tennessee Thursday afternoon. Ashley said Warren fever finally broke last night. Rough night for her and him but hopefully he will be getting well now.
In the midst of all of this Tyler had to fly to the Cayman Islands on Saturday November 8. Paloma was devastating when it hit last week. They had a lot of damage to the hotel and surrounding properties on Cayman Brac. With Tyler gone I was thankful to be there for Ashley. He returned home on Friday November 14.
Busy times for us now that we are having our Thanksgiving and Christmas combined. All the kids will be here. They will start coming in next Thursday, yes one week before Thanksgiving. We are thankful and excited to all be able to be together. God has truly blessed us. I hope as we begin this holiday season you will thank God for the ways He has blessed you.

Pics of the Grandkids

2008-10-14T07:11:00.005-05:00

.Warren

Benjamin

Camden in his Sunday outfit!

"So cute it's scary! "

Laughing for his CiCi!

I returned from Florida last Monday. I've included 2 pictures of Ben and Warren from our last playground day while I was babysitting. We had so much fun!
On Wednesday the 8th, Allison made a return visit to Tennessee with Camden. We've managed to get a few pictures of him. Most of the time we are just busy feeding or playing with him. He really laughed for his CiCi while his mom was taking the pictures. Allison returns to teaching next week so no more trips for a while. We appreciate David for sharing them with us. I know he has missed them!

Another fun day in Florida

2008-10-04T20:20:00.008-05:00

Our day started early...with no pacifier for Warren last night he woke up at 5:45 am and there was no going back to sleep. This morning the boys painted with the new finger paints...I don't recommend it...way to messy and doesn't dry well. The washable sidewalk paint was great, but we ran out of it on the last visit and I couldn't find anymore so I decided to try this. Not a good choice on my part!!!! After Warren's attempted nap this afternoon I gave in and gave back the paci...I guess grandmothers are not supposed to be tough anyway!
This afternoon we went to the movies. I think they like the popcorn best...yes even more than the movie! We saw Beverly Hills Chihuahua. It was cute and enjoyable for the boys and even likable for adults.
Warren looked so handsome with his hair combed after his bath, I just couldn't resist getting his picture. Then the boys got ready for story time in CiCi and Poppie's bed. Another fun day and Warren was happy to go to bed tonight with his paci and Ben was happy too because he's sleeping with CiCi tonight!

The finger paints before the messy part!

Warren loved to squirt it out!

Fresh from the bath!

A handsome little fella!

Two boys ready for story time!

In Florida with my boys

2008-10-03T21:13:00.005-05:00

I came to Florida with Ashley, Tyler and the boys on Tuesday the 30th. Ashley left on Thursday for a MOPS convention in Dallas. The boys and I have been having fun while mom is away! Today Allison, David and Camden came to visit. The boys had fun playing with Camden, not so sure Camden had as much fun being manhandled though! We went out and feed the birds which is a favorite activity of the boys.
When Camden got ready to leave we had a gift exchange today! When Camden was born, Ashley told Warren he was going to have to give his pacis to Camden, because they are for babies. By the way, Warren is VERY attached to his pacis. So I got the job of doing this tonight as they were leaving. Camden gave Warren a present for the pacis and that helped until bedtime. Warren really does love his new snake, but he would like his pacis too. CiCi has been tough so far and it's been a long hard evening for Warren fighting sleep with no pacis. It's now 10:30pm and I think he has finally gone to sleep.

The boys ready to get their hands on Camden

Ben loved holding him

Warren wanted his turn too!

He was pretending to feed him...just missed his mouth a little!

Ben is so sweet!

Camden came to see the birds too!

Allison, boys and birds!

Warren and his new snake!

He really loves it!

Grandkids x3

2008-09-26T11:24:00.013-05:00

Being a grandparent is truly grand...and these past 2 weeks has been wonderful for the grandparents and the great grandparents. Greg and I know we are blessed to have our parents still alive and well enough to enjoy the kids. We had Camden and his mommy last week and they went home on Monday. On Tuesday, Tyler, Ashley and the boys came. We've had great weather and they have enjoyed being outside most every day! They had a ball playing in Grandad's freshly tilled garden. One day we went for a picnic at our local city park area by the Calfkiller River. Just too much fun! I will continue my fun with the boys as I go back to Florida with them on Tuesday. I will be babysitting the week-end for them and then back to Tennessee on Monday morning! I am so thankful for retirement right now to enjoy these times! God is so good!

Warren in Grandad's garden...he loved the feel of the dirt...all boy!

Ben found a shovel (just his size) to dig with!

More fun in the dirt!

Warren at the playground

Ben on the fun slide

Warren and Poppa walking!

Poppie with Camden last Sunday!

CiCi having a talk with Camden

Allison and Camden Home!

2008-09-19T07:10:00.013-05:00

Mamaw and Camden's first meeting

Nannie and Camden having a chat!

Grandad's first time to hold Camden

Aunt Dianne

Poppa's first time to hold Camden

Mamaw was so excited to see her "red-headed baby"

He is happy to be in Tennessee!

Aunt Susie and Camden

Allison's new haircut!

Allison and Camden came home from Florida Wednesday morning. David had to stay home for work and dog care! This was the first time for most of the great grandparents to meet Camden and obviously they were very excited.
Allison was also very excited to get her hair colored and cut....it was very long and in fact she had so much cut she was able to donate her hair to make wigs for cancer patients. She looks like a different person!
Tomorrow will be another fun day for Dad and Allison as they travel to Knoxville to go to the UT/FL Game. Allison was just hoping CiCi would babysit so she could go and enjoy the game as she used to!

Home Sweet Home!

2008-09-14T09:03:00.031-05:00

As always so good to be home. Yesterday was a difficult travel day to say the least. We left our hotel at 8 am and our flight left Milan at 10:35 am. All was well with that flight, but our flight out of JFK was delayed to Chicago and we BARELY made the connection to Nashville, but we did and were thankful! We were on the road, plane or bus approximately 24 hours, before laying our heads down in our own beds last night!
Thanks again to Phil and Deanna for being great tour guides. Thanks for the many, many laughs and the "making of memories!"

P.S. I am now downloading the rest of the pictures that I've talked about!

Happy to be heading home!

Another happy pair!

View of Lake Garda

View of the lake as we drove down the east side

Another fabulous Italian meal!

One of the many confusing roundabout signs!

One of the many signs in Italian and German

A cute pair in Sirmione

Castle in Sirmione

Street Market in Bolzano..beautiful flowers everywhere!

Fruits at the market...so appealing!

Thursday and Friday 11-12

2008-09-12T14:54:00.005-05:00

I've tried to load pictures from these 2 days and our connection is just not fast enough...sorry...will try when I get home! Thanks for checking in on our travels.

Our home away from the hotels

Thursday
Another interesting day in Italy. Earlier in the trip we had thought about writing about our bathroom adventures but then decided against it, but after tonight we decided we had to share our experiences with all. First of all the bathrooms outside of the US are nothing like what we are used to. We’ve had buttons to push for number one and number two business on the wall and the top of the toilet. We’ve had knobs to turn, chains to pull and even a hole with foot indentions to straddle over. Tonight was the ultimate experience. This was at a restaurant in Riva del Garda. The seat had to be lowered to sit on it and then it immediately raised after use and a sanitizing mist automatically sprayed the seat! Never have had that experience. Also you might be interested to know they are called WC’s here (water closets) or Toilettes. Most of the time there is one door and behind that 2 stalls, one for men and one for women and a common hand washing area. We are just not used to that in the US. We drove from Caldero to Rovereto, with a side trip to Bolzano today. We went to the Archeological Museum there and saw the “Ice Man.” He was discovered in 1991 and they have determined him to be 5,300 yrs. old. It was fascinating to see what they learned about him as far as what he ate, his tools and his clothing. They could even determine how he died and approximate age. Bolzano was a charming little town with an unbelievable city market right on the street. Great little shopping area! Tonight was drove to the lake area. Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. We walked around the town, ate some fabulous pasta and had our memorable WC visit. Afterwards walked around the lake back to the car. Our room tonight might be a little warm…we are not in the mountains and have no air conditioning. Again we had a hard time finding a room…lots and lots of tourists! We left a wake-up call when we came in from dinner last night and then noticed we had no phone when we returned to the room….of course we assumed they would knock on our door…guess what ? NO wake up notice of any kind…luckily we woke up early from all the road noise. We then discovered the ONE person there was serving breakfast and anything else that needed to be done!

Friday September 12
Finally we are at our aeroporto hotel…again with our driving skills it was not an easy task! We’ve lost count of all the wrong turns. For your information US towns are mostly laid out on a grid pattern. Our streets run parallel and cross each other. These towns run on a spoke pattern and the small towns may have 5 or 6 different spokes and lots and lots of one-way streets. Lets face facts the initial placement of many buildings here is from the medieval time period. You can get in a town one way, but cannot exit it the same way! Today we had a beautiful drive as we came down the eastern side of Lake Garda. We then stopped at a town called Sirmione. It had a beautiful castle and old town directly on the lake. There we had our cappuccino and bought cheese on the street for our lunch. We then journeyed on to Milan to find the hotel and then to return the rental car. Just finding the hotel was a challenge but we did. Hopefully getting to the airport will be easy tomorrow because someone else will be taking us. This has been a wonderful trip and we’ve seen an unbelievable amount of Italy. Phil and Deanna did an excellent job of planning and preparation for the trip. To them we are forever grateful. This has been such an enjoyable trip! Anyone wanting to come to Italy be forewarned; it is a captivating country, wonderful food and nice people. Come once and you will want to come back! Tomorrow we start our 18 hour trip back home...milan to jfk to chicago to nashville! Long travel day!

Past Pictures Ravenna and Venice and Journey to Cortina d'Ampezzo Sept 10

2008-09-11T09:00:00.020-05:00

Vineyards on hill

Apple Orchards

View of hairpin curves

Pinocchio a picture for the boys

On our journey to Castelrotto

Alpine Suis

One more beautiful view

View from le Tofane

View from Cortina

St. Mark's Square

Side Canal in Venice

Grand Canal in Venice

Beach Chairs on Adriatic Sea

Another church

Fiat in Mosaics

Ravenna Mosaics

Tuesday day and night was spent in Cortina. A striking town to say the least! The only thing Greg and I can compare these vistas to are the Canadian Rockies, yet these mountains are bigger. We are actually in the Italian Alps and the mountain peak we rode up to today was over 10,000 ft. That is what we think with us refiguring meters to feet (3244m). The 1956 winter Olympics were held here and the ski slopes, bobsled track, ski jump, and hockey rink are still here and in use during the winter season. Our trip to the top of le Tofane was on a gondola which we had to change 3 times before reaching the top…with Phil and Greg slightly afraid of heights that made the trip even more fun! It is cold here also…when we went to buy gondola tickets the girl indicated we MAY want more clothes on. We quickly returned to our hotel and pulled out long pants and jackets. At the top it was cold enough to see our breath. Tonight is actually very chilly. We forgot to ask for heat in our room so we have none. We are sitting around with our jackets on! This area of Italy has a great German influence; in fact most of the towns have the German spelling and the Italian spelling to their town names. Many Alpine type buildings decorated with beautiful flower boxes filled with trailing geraniums. It is just a scenic little town.

*********************

Wednesday – "A Step Back in Time"
Today has certainly been that! We left our "apartment with 2 bedrooms" and headed out of town on the wrong road again! We did discover after only 4 kilometers we were wrong. We headed through the Dolomite mountains and on into the Alpine Suis. This is Europe’s largest high-alpine meadow. We stopped at a little town called Castelrotto (Italian) or Kastelruth (German). It was a scenic small town of 2000 just nestled in the mountains. We then journeyed on to Bolzano. We drove the scenic route that had no less than 57 hairpin turns, no center line, and many turns had mirrors to see what was coming from the other direction. Fun driving for daredevils and racecar drivers! We met many tour buses that took both lanes on the curves just assuming you would wait for them! All of this and seldom getting in 3rd gear in our 5-speed car. We have not had reservations for the last 3 nights of our trip, because we were not sure where we would end up. Phil and Deanna have not been to this part of Italy so we’ve just picked out places on the map to go. Tonight we thought we would not have any trouble finding a place, but we were wrong. We are in a SMALL town called Caldaro (Italian) or Kaltern (German). No one speaks English and most speak German. Just when we had learned to read Italian menus, tonight’s menu was all German. Go figure…but we are making memories and and enjoying every minute. After checking 5 different places for "zimmers" (rooms) we settled for an older hotel. Interesting to say the least! Although it looks like everything here is old! They do not have an Internet café or anyplace to get internet! The last place didn’t have Internet either. We haven’t quite figured out what the attraction is here for there to be no rooms, although we are surrounded by grape vineyards and apple orchards. It may be the Napa Valley of Italy, but it is definitely not like 2008 here!

2nd Day in Venice

2008-09-08T15:13:00.003-05:00

Today our trip started out with a boat ride to the island of Murano, that was after our train ride to get to Venice! The glass is unbelievably beautiful and expensive. We did lots of window shopping and got to see pieces that were in the 10,000 euro price range. It was extremely interesting. We then came back to Venice and shopped around some there. We went to a church called Frari. It was interesting and so different than all the others. The book described it as "interesting to see the art work in the setting it was designed for." Beautiful old paintings, marble sculptures and wood carvings by such masters of the Renaissance, Bellini and Donatello. Tonight we went for Italian just down the street from our hotel. Enjoyable as always. We have found the small family owed Italian restaurants are the very best! Tomorrow we leave for the Dolomite area of Italy. Our next 3 nights will be there and then Friday night will be in Milan, before flying home on Saturday the 13th. I am not sure about what internet will be available for the rest of the trip...so if no updates you will know why!

Sunday in Venice

2008-09-07T13:34:00.005-05:00

Before our travel began today Greg and I walked a few minutes to the beach from our hotel on the Adriatic Ocean. It was so interesting to see rows and rows of beach chairs with individual umbrellas. The rows went back from the water's edge to the establishment that was renting them. It was interesting to see so many rows of beach chairs lined up behind each other. It was hard to imagine that many people would be willing to go to the beach and just see the back of other people's chairs! Then we traveled to Venice and much to our amazement it was a direct trip....no wrong turns and Greg didn't even kill the engine on our VW Passat straight shift! (killed it 3X his last driving day!) Venice was unbelievably crowded because it was Sunday and they had a Historic Regatta today and it's a yearly event that even the Italians attend. We did get into St. Mark's Basilica easily thanks to Rick Steve's travel hints and then walked around many back streets of Venice. This trip has definitely not been for the "faint of heart", because we have WALKED and WALKED many miles every day! Europe definitely is not handicapped friendly! We had a light sprinkle of rain today and it was very welcome because it has been HOT! Tonight we discovered we are in the Asian part of Mestre (which is right outside of Venice next to the train station) so we had "Cinese" food and it was delicious! Tomorrow we will take a boat to Murano and looking forward to that! Have I mentioned Italy is not cheap? Greg paid $9.50 for a McDonald's Big Mac meal today! All the bathrooms or WC's or Toilette's as they say, charge $1.50 to use! Greg said he stayed a few minutes longer than he needed just to get his money's worth! It has been fun though and we are all well and still having a great time! Cannot download pictures from this hotel! Sorry!

Saturday 7th day

2008-09-06T16:18:00.003-05:00

Before we left our little town of Colle val d Elsa we toured the old city...yes it was beautiful as everything has been in Tuscany. We thought we had a direct route on the "autostrata" to our night's stay in Ravenna. All we needed to do was go to Bologna and then down to Ravenna on the east coast. Only 1 problem, Italian road signs that make no sense to Americans. We actually went to Modena and that was just about 25 miles out of the way, so we turned around and came back, after our lunch which was very amusing. We are in the country and go in and order 2 panini's (sandwiches). You pick your meat and cheese and it's heated and served. Of course, they speak no English and we speak very little Italian...so we order the sandwiches with Proscuitto, pecorino cheese, mozarella cheese, tomato and arugula. We get 2 sandwiches and one has tomato, arugula and mozarella....the other one has proscuitto and pecorino! We were obviously "lost in translation" because they had no idea we wanted all that on each sandwich...we had a good laugh about that before journeying on! We finally made it to our destination and toured the Byzantine town of Ravenna. The churches were filled with mosiacs depicting Biblical events. The artistry of these structures are amazing from 540 AD. We had a wonderful seafood dinner and tomorrow we leave for 2 days in Venice.

Tuscany Pictures from Day 6

2008-09-06T15:56:00.007-05:00

Pecorino Cheese in Pienza

Montalcino

Mozart "sangiovese" grapes

(see day 6 explanation)

Vatican Pictures

2008-09-06T00:59:00.014-05:00

St. Peter's Square

Michelangelo's Pieta

St. Peter's Tomb in the Basilica

6th day in Italy

2008-09-05T13:20:00.004-05:00

Driving has been a challenge for our 2 excellent drivers. Today was NO different. The road signs are so complicated to read. We've just had to laugh as we've driven many miles out of our way, but we have seen beautiful sites along the way!
We visited Montalcino and Pienza...after getting slightly lost we found our way to Castellina in Chiati. It was a charming small town...we walked around and shopped just a little. We are back in Colle d val elsa for dinner. We stopped at 1 winery where they played Mozart music on bose speakers for their grapes to grow by. Interesting!

Pictures from Wednesday

2008-09-05T01:20:00.008-05:00

Tuscan Hillside

Street of San Gimignamo

Town of Volterra
a 2000 year old Etruscan town
note the TV dishes

5th day in italy

2008-09-05T00:59:00.006-05:00

view of manarola from the "via de amore" pathway

view of riomaggoire

we love staying in our non touristy town of Colle d val elsa. we walk to eat at night and get lots of exercise walking up 44 steps to our upstairs room with a balcony overlooking the old town. real estate is expensive so buildings are tall and narrow!
At literally the crack of dawn we left our sleeping town and headed for Cinque Terre. It took 3 hours to get to these mountainous towns built directly on the coastline of the ligurian sea. their are 5 towns in the tourist area, but we only made it to the first two of them. we walked a pathway along the coast from riomaggiore to manarola, breathtaking scernery. tough sightseeing when the town streets literally were straight up and down. the drive back was challenging...the road signs are difficult to read and we made it without TOO many wrong turns.

4th day in Italy

2008-09-03T13:40:00.003-05:00

no time to post pictures here...so sorry...but we are in the heart of Tuscany and it is so beautiful...we visited Volterra today and then Casole de Elsa then onto San Gingiamano. So beautiful...can't wait to show the pictures. We are going to Cinque Terra tomorrow which is on the Italian Riviera. We know it will be beautiful there as everything has been. The small towns are just how they are pictured in movies. We've picniced for lunch and then had some wonderful evening meals. The food is delicioso!

3rd Day in Rome

2008-09-03T01:23:00.002-05:00

We visited the Vatican and the beauty and opulence was amazing. no internet at our b amd b. in small town of colle val d elsa. charming little town...at internet cafe...italian keyboard so excuse mistakes...hope to add more this evening!

2nd day in Roma

2008-09-01T10:02:00.007-05:00

Piazza Navona

One of the many quaint streets we walked!

"Alfredo's"

The Trevi Fountain

Another great day here..hot again, but we survived. The many city fountains are amazing! Every few blocks you can fill your water bottle. The fountains constantly flow and it's spring water. We went to Rome's most famous fountain, the Trevi. We ate gelato, walked the shopping district and strickly window shopped! We walked many back streets in the better part of Rome. We have not felt unsafe at anytime, but have been careful to not be easy targets. Lunch was a treat today at the "original" Alfredo restaurant. Another fantastic site was the Piazza Navona which we walked through after visiting the Pantheon. Tomorrow is the Vatican Tour and then onto the hill country!

Roma-The Eternal City

2008-08-31T15:32:00.014-05:00

We had a good flight over and essentially hit the ground running. We couldn't check into our rooms so we changed at the hotel and walked somewhere between 3-6 blocks just to catch the bus to take our "City Tour". It was interesting and a great overview of the area. Very hot here today though! We ultimately got off at Colosseum and did that tour along with the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum area. This area is credited with being the birthplace of modern civiliation..so amazing how old this city is! After our LONG trek back we returned about 5:30 to the hotel...cleaned up and then went down the street for a local Italian dinner. It was delicious! Everyone is asleep as I sit up and do this update. Here is a few pictures of the day! By the way we have had very little sleep since leaving Nashville yesterday! Greg was the winner for sleeping...Phil, Deanna and I had less than 2 hrs. sleep on the plane! You will also see a picture of Greg refilling a water bottle. The water is safe from any fountain and cold. Amazing! Internet is slow, but will try to update tomorrow also!

Italia-Here we come!

2008-08-29T21:49:00.005-05:00

We leave home at 7:30 in the morning. We fly from Nashville to Chicago and from there it's direct to Rome. When we arrive it will be about 1 am CDT and in Rome it will be 8 am. Sunday will be our day to tour the city by bus! We will be spending 2 nights in Rome and then on to a small town, Castellina which is south of Florence. We will be there 4 nights and travel that region during those days. The 7th night in Italy will be on the east coast in Ravenna and then the following 2 days will be spent touring Venice and that area. After that we are hoping to go into the Dolomite area. We have 3 nights with no reservations so we can be flexible in travel. The last night September 12th will be in Milan. We fly out from there on Saturday the 13th. Our thanks to Phil and Deanna, our traveling buddies, for planning this wonderful trip!

Basil and Peppers

2008-08-26T09:17:00.007-05:00

I got home on Saturday night, after we ate at our favorite restaurant in Nashville. We've really been dry here until last night. Finally "Faye" decided to bring some rain our way! Thanks to my Mom, Dad and Greg my plants on the deck did stay watered. The produce in the EarthBoxes has abounded. When I left I had 6 basil plants in one box that were no more than 4" tall. Now after the rain they are falling over! I plan to harvest soon. I learned a easy convenient way to store it from my many years of attending cooking school.

Take the clean dry basil leaves and put in a food processor. Add just enough olive oil to moisten. Pulse until finely chopped. I put about 2 T. in a snack bag and seal. Then I store my many snack bags in a quart bag and label. The basil will remain that bright green color in the freezer and you can just add a bag or two to sauces, pasta salad or even salad dressings. You can use it to make pesto later on also!

I also decided to grow jalapeno peppers this year. They have gotten so tall even after staking that they have also fallen over. Many have turned red also. I will be pickling peppers and doing basil very soon!

Joys of Being a Grandmother!

2008-08-23T16:02:00.004-05:00

Benjamin, Warren and I had a picnic today. Tropical storm Faye decided to finally dump some rain in our area today so our planned outdoor picnic became an indoor picnic in Warren's bedroom! It tasted as good as if we were outside! Yesterday I got to travel to Orlando and officially babysit Camden. He was good as usual for his CiCi. He is a precious baby! The night before, Ben spent the night with me and we had "burgers and broccoli". We had his favorite dessert...POPCORN as we watched his favorite movie, "The Polar Express". It doesn't matter to him that it's a Christmas movie. He loves it any time of the year! It's been fun for CiCi to spend time with all in Florida!

Special Treat

2008-08-22T15:12:00.005-05:00

I had lunch yesterday with my dear friend Amy Buckspan. We met in Rio de Janeiro in 2004. Her husband Randy is a Plastic Surgeon and they had gone from their church (FBC St. Petersburg, FL) with Calvary Baptist out of Tuscaloosa, AL. We immediately became friends in this foreign country and have continued to visit when we are in the area. After meeting and discussing places and things in St. Pete we discovered that we had similar tastes in food and shopping places! Our favorite restaurant is Red Mesa, so it is a real treat to get to go there when in town! Thanks to Randy and Amy for being great friends!

Old Friends and New

2008-08-19T18:16:00.005-05:00

One of the greatest joys of our trips to Rio have been shared with some of our oldest and dearest friends. Jimmy and Cheri Price who we met in 1971 in Memphis have had the opportunity to go to Rio with us for 2 years. This year we had a special treat by having Dennis and Carolyn Schmitt go with us. We met them in 1975 when we moved to Sparta, TN. What a blessing to go "on mission" with such special friends! Half of our team hails from Alabama and Greg and I've been going on trips with some of them for the past eights years. It's been so neat to see how God has put all these special people in our lives!

Rio "The Marvelous City"

2008-08-19T17:28:00.008-05:00

This is Rio's nickname and so appropriate. The landscape is so majestic although there are "favelas" (slums) almost in every view.
I am reminded of a phrase from the song, "Shout to the Lord" when I am in Rio de Janeiro. The words that describe this landscape are as follows...

"the mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of His Name! I sing for joy at the work of Your hands forever I'll love You for ever I'll stand nothing compares to the promise I have in You!"

This is the view of "Sugarloaf" (Pão de Açúcar) from the "Christ the Redeemer" (Cristo Redentor) which stands on Corcovado Mountain. The Christ Statue stands 125 ft. tall and to walk up to it you have to travel 220 steps!
The heading on my page is a view from the top of our hotel looking towards Copacabana Beach. The first picture is a view of a favela looking from the roof just behind the hotel! Such a contrast of landscapes and lifestyles! Praise God He came to save the rich and the poor!
If you missed our updates from Rio you can get a good idea of how blessed our trip was by reading our daily journal updates which were written by our fabulous writer Page Hughes.

Sunset at Parrish

2008-08-19T15:22:00.007-05:00

Just wanted to share the beautiful scenery from our backporch here in Florida. These pictures were taken the middle of July! God's masterpiece!

Still in Florida-Brazil was awesome!

2008-08-19T14:24:00.009-05:00

I left TN on July 24 and I hope to return soon! Allison's baby came 3 weeks early so after our Mission Trip to Brazil I flew straight from Atlanta to Orlando. After getting over the respiratory illness (I apparently brought back from Brazil), I have thoroughly enjoyed taking care of Allison, David and baby Camden! He is such a good baby! To see more pictures of all the grandsons be sure and check out Ashley's and Allison's blogs.