Dear
Family and Friends,
This
year’s epic travel adventure involved visits to France and Italy. Huong and I
took Brandon and Emily to Paris for what was for the most part a “family and
friends” visit. We attended a wedding in a town on the main commuter rail line
south of the city; the officiant was the town’s Mayor, a woman rather casually
dressed save for her tricolor sash of office. Returning to Paris, the reception
took place on a boat that took us up and down the Seine in the heart of the
city. I was unable to survive long enough to see the reported 3:00 AM end of
the dance party. The following day we travelled even farther away for a
surprise 70th birthday celebration for the bride’s Mother. Meanwhile
we were still able to squeeze in a bit of tourism. Huong and I took Emily and
her cousin Mena to the obscure Musée des Arts Décoratifs (right around the
corner from the Louvre) to see the vintage haute couture and design artifacts.
The highlight was a special exhibit of historic ladies’ undergarments (bustles,
pannier and the like). There was a room in which it was possible for visitors
to try on modern reproductions of such; I did not participate, but Emily looked
rather fetching in a crinoline.
From
Paris we continued on to Florence, where the rest of our party awaited us to
begin the really serious tourism. This being our first experience of the place,
we visited all the required spots. I was somewhat surprised that I was able to
get close enough to “David”, defensively barricaded though he was, to prod him
with my cane (I didn’t try it). But our family being what it is, we found the
local food culture at least as interesting as the works of art. A fairly
comprehensive survey of the city’s gelato dispensaries was conducted. The big
indoor farmer’s market was an easy walk from our apartment, and we visited it
daily to obtain the ingredients of most of our meals. Some members of our party
were never quite able to get over the fresh homemade pasta.
In
Rome our apartment turned out to be a block from the previously unknown (to me)
gem of the Basilica Maria Maggiore, a sliver of the Vatican on the wrong side
of the Tiber, its grounds patrolled by the Pope’s security agents, rather than
by Roman police. Again the expected tourist spots were duly inspected. I was
able to persuade some of our party to accompany me to the Pantheon, one of my
personal favorites, resulting in very positive reactions. Huong and I finally
got into the papal tombs lying beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, which we somehow
missed on our only previous visit. Pope Francis was in Brazil at the time, so
we were unable to touch base with him. Brandon's birthday happened to occur during our visit, thus furnishing us with further excuses, as if any were required, to sample the productions of the local pastry chefs.
We
ended our visit in Venice, where we happily rode the vaporetti (water buses)
everywhere. I found the mosaics of St. Mark’s to be more refined and life-like
than those of the Hagia Sofia; but the Bridge of Sighs and the New Jail were
too stuffy and claustrophobic to be enjoyable. On the island of Murano, Huong
nearly succumbed to the allure of an elaborate chandelier, but settled for a
few glass trinkets in the end. Walking the alleyways late at night, I noted
with great satisfaction the deep silence afforded by a complete absence of
vehicular road noise, something very difficult to achieve anywhere near home.
The water taxi ride to the airport at dawn on the final day was downright
awesome.
Brandon
(age 12) is in the 7th grade, and has graduated to U13 soccer, which
has his team playing longer games and, for the first time, on a full-sized
pitch. He is also participating in an after-school fitness program called
“Teens in Training”.
Emily
(age 10) is in the 5th grade, the last year of elementary school. In addition
to continuing with gymnastics, she is studying yoga, and is taking a class at
the local arts center.
That’s all for this year.
We extend our best wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2014 to you all.
