More of Venice

huge display of seafood outside a restaurant down one of the very narrow alleyways



the street at the water end of St. Mark's Square - full of people and most weren't waiting for a vaporetto (water bus)
me at the bridge (to the left and we didn't realize it at first is a new family that just moved to Italy and James works with the man, Dave.)
beautiful old clock

a rare sight during Carnevale - quiet, empty piazza
a display of a violin and violin making tools - very old shop
cool little hand blown glass fish

amazing architecture

gondolas, we didn't take a ride today but I think we will next time we come

one of the myriad of canal streets

cool doorknocker - kind of scary looking

the door knocker's door

Venice during Carnevale

Venice during Carnevale is CRAZY! People everywhere (and we went on an off day)! Our train was super crowded - shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, eye to eye - that close. Good thing I was with James - he's the only person I should be that close to. There were loads of fascinating costumes. Many people posing so we could photograph them while others just walked on and as if they were dressed normally. There were little stands everywhere so you could get your face painted (which we declined) though we did see some amazing artwork on the faces of passersby. Carnevale starts two weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends Fat Tuesday (Shrove Tuesday which is the day before Ash Wednesday. It is marked by elaborate masks and costumes. Some of the costumes were just breathtaking.

Venice Alleyways & Waterways

On President's Day, James and I rode the train to Venice and just walked around for the afternoon. Here are some of the interesting shots of waterways and alleyways we took. That Monday was the day before Fat Tuesday, the last day of Carnivale.

Lunch at Aelioli

One day in January, James took me and my friend Ann to lunch at Aelioli's. This place is supposed to be where Galileo hid out when he was being persecuted by the Catholic Church.

Great interior, amazing wine cellar that is actually tunnels that run for miles into the cool mountains, tasty food and fabulous ambiance.

Yes, I know I am posting these a bit late. I am so far behind in my blog updates. Hopefully, I can make up for that in the next few days.

Enjoy the photos...

WHAT??? I'm old enough to have a 14 year old?

Caleb & Madi at the bowling alley
Caleb, Madi & Stephen eating cake
Caleb, Jared & Madi at the bowling alley





Caleb turned 14 yesterday. It amazes me when I think of me having a child that old. But no, I am the mother of a teenager and a pre-teen (Jared). Caleb is growing to be a wonderful young man. We are so incredibly proud of him.

He is a funny, young man. He is not interested in many of the things that charm young people most. He is not interested in cell phones or texting, dressing in the style of the day, having a girlfriend, etc. He is more interested right now in doing well in school, playing video games, reading and listening to techo music on his ipod.

For his birthday Caleb wanted to go bowling with friends. Only one of the kids he invited was able to make it to bowling and that was Madison. However, Caleb did have two friends who bowled right after school and he went with them. So he was able to bowl two separate times on Friday. After bowling, we headed back to the house with Madi and her mom so they could play video games. Another friend of Caleb's, Stephen, lives just a block away from us and he joined Madi & Caleb for Wii games. After we had cake, Madi and her mom had to leave but Stephen was able to stay the night.

This last picture is just to show how tall Caleb is getting. We did the official measurement this morning and he has gained over 2 inches since the end of June. Jared has also grown over 2 inches since we moved into this house.