Roma!

The forum. Bellisima!

Circus Max, where chariot racing was done.
Jim contemplates ruling the known world from the seat of the caesars.

More forum.
and again...
Inside the Coliseum.

Trevi fountain at night.


The Old Appian way.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appian_Way
(Thanks wikipedia!)

An early Christian symbol from the catacombs.

Venice

We felt that this guy merited his own post.

Yeah for accordion!

A nice Villa in Vicenza

We just liked this photo

London--October, 06

Enjoy a view of the London tube...

...and the wild animals that rome the streets.

Picking out a teapot in an antiques shop.

Bonus point to the person who can name this bridge. (Hint: it is not the London Bridge.)

 

We saw Chicago on stage and hung out for an afternoon in the theatre district. While there, Amanda landed a role in the Monty Python musical, Spamalot.

 

These are some shots of cool London scenery

We bought our teapot (pictured in another photo) at this antique shop on Portabello Road. Bedknobs and broomsticks, anyone?

We try to eat Asain food any time we are out of Italy. We spent a lot of time in London's China town.

Thought this was an appropriate photo. (Sidenote--in this store we found a pair of underwear for 200 pounds--roughly $400! We tried not to touch anything.)

VHS Pep Rally!

Last month I had the honor of being asked to be 'the Cougar' for a Vicenza High School pep rally. Only a few teachers knew of my identity, so it was fun - but very strange - having total anonymity. More than once, I gave a student a slap on the back, and was returned with a look of "Who are you?!"
When my identity was revealed, the students all stood and clapped, so it was great to be so warmly recieved. It was a great experience, and I'm glad I got the chance to do it.
Those suits are hot! When I took of the suit to change back into my street clothes, eveything I was wearing was completely soaked in sweat. I have never sweat so much in my entire life!

 

Piazza dei Sapori

Is there anything better than when local food vendors from all over Italy convene in one place to celebrate and sell you their wares?
It's possible, but you'd have to work hard to convince us.

 

Piran, Slovenia

Last Saturday we day-tripped to the Slovenian coast to catch some sun, warmth, and water before the last few days of summer slipped into fall. The water of Piran was so clear and blue, and we had a great time swimming around while looking at views of the magnificent city in the distance.

 

Ferie di Zocco

The Ferie di Zocco is like a county fair. They had all sorts of things, ranging from rides to food to plants to hot tubs. But our favorite was the tractors. They had the coolest collection of old tractors.

Our neighbors took us Friday night to sample one of their favorite foods: octopus. Unfortunately, my weak equilibrium and I (Jim) made the grand mistake of riding the tilt-o-wheel prior to sampling the bottom-living cephalopod.

Needless to say, I probably won't be eating octopus ever again.

Lamborghini. Niiice.

These two gentlemen were fun to watch, chatting it up Italian style. Notice the old John Deere in the background.

cute kid.

An old Ford tractor.

A day of reckoning

Well, it finally happened. I (Jim) turned 30. Along with turning 30, 12 years of inactivity finally caught up with me in the form of 30 pounds over the last 6 years of my life. While I won't argue with the many people who have told me "30 pounds! You probably needed to gain 20 anyway!", it's the last 10 that I have an issue with. They have taken the form of a small bulge around my waistline.
Yes, I now have a spare tire.
So, the day after my 30th birthday, I decided to take up running, in an effort to shave down the tire. The first day was awful. Two minutes into my jog, I felt like I had a large sandbag tied to each foot, and a sack of bricks on my chest!
At this point I have been running for about a month, and it is much easier, although I still can't match my speed from high school.
Ahh, the folly of youth, eh?
A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.