Italy

The March trip to Italy was great! A couple of days with a friend at Ostia Lido (on the coast south of Rome -- Rome's original port, and a place I hadn't been before), then several days playing tour guide in Rome (Vatican Museums, St. Peter's, Castel San Angelo, Piazza Dei Venezia, the Colosseum & Forum, Piazza Navone, Trevi, Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, and a Papal Audience) and Tuscany (climb up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Florence's Uffizi, and several medieval hilltop fortress villages -- another "new" thing for me, which I loved), staying at a lovely Agriturismo in the Tuscan hills near San Miniato. Too soon, it was time to return to real life -- but it was a great break in the meantime!

Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota. 6pm, and I'm tearing my hair out after hours of waiting at the airport already. Having decided to head back to Michigan for niece Sage's first communion tomorrow, I had trouble getting out of Colorado Springs, due to winter weather that moved in overnight: we all wakened to snow and ice this morning, a stark contrast to the 60's and sunny we've been enjoying all week!

With any luck I'll catch a flight to Grand Rapids in a little more than an hour from now, and will be able to share in the weekend festivities there. We're all relieved that Sage's other grandmother's breast cancer surgery last week seems to have gone well; it'll be good to see her in person tomorrow.

Over and out at MSP.