MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS - - As always, we love sharing our year with you. We wish you a beautiful, loving, Christmas and a healthy, peaceful, joyous New Year!! Keep us on your 'To Do' list and come for a visit. PLEASE, scroll (or use side bar) to go to the bottom and scroll UPWARD........then you'll be going from the first part of the year to now. Oh, and we have a new grandson as of Nov. 29, born to Mike and Tracey, and Kaili. His name is Gavin Benson Halder. Love to you all, Marilyn & Bob To let us hear from you, the email address is FoxyCV@aol.com

THE VENDEMIA--- GRAPE PICKING

Oooops.... forgot another thing. We got to pick grapes this year with Tony Mastroianni.... our friend that lives out on a hillside town called Castel Di Sasso. What fun that was. Won't get to drink the wine til January.... phooey!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - FLORENCE & HOME

Monte Cassino Arno River in Florence
Florence

Medici Palace


At this point I forget which comes where in order so..... ...We walked the market in Florence for the most part of 2 days, went to the Academia to see the 'David', then to the Ponte Vecchio. No, didn't buy anything there. Went by the very interesting and beautiful Medici Palace. Then up to the piazza Michelangelo for an overview and pictures. Oh..... forgot to mention a spontaneous stop. When we were on the way home, we looked up the mountain in a perfect sunsettin sun over Monte Cassino. So we decided to go up there and show Bill & Kris a fantastic part of history and the beautiful restoration.

FRIENDS--- THE HALSEYS ARRIVE

Amalfi Coast................................. Lucca, below.



A couple days after returning from San Diego, Kris & Bill Halsey came. Bill and Bob had gone to medical school together 40 years ago. This is the first time since then they have been able to spend some quality time together. And, of course, Kris & I put a kink in the economy of Italy, all the way from Vietri and the Amalfi coast, the north to Lucca and to Firenze (Florence). Kris was a 'terrible' influence in my shopping. The long awaited Dittricks will be here on Dec 13 for a few days to be with us. Jack, Carolyn, and daughter, Jill, lived here in the 80's when we did. We have a lot of our favorite places to visit and people to see.

THE SMITHS ARRIVE, AS I LEAVE

Our Bonsall place made into a film set.
My brother, Gene, on his way to Paris.
Rolland & Ann
Rolland and Bob went to high school together in Oneida, NY. It was fun having them here, even if only a couple days. I had one day to visit. Something that had been in the talking stages for a few weeks when suddenly the opportunity came for me to be in a film, a documentary, about women in auto racing. I was on a plane to San Diego, and Bonsall. Porsche North America was sponsoring this film. They brought everything and filmed at our little place in Bonsall. I had a fabulous time. I was there 4 days and the next day back on the plane to Italy. All you Porsche owners, or wanna-be's, go get that DVD. It's going out as a PR thing first. Put the DVD in, click on "Trophy Girls".... yes, I said Trophy Girls.... and see what happens. And at the same time, my brother, Gene, had planned his trip to Paris for his birthday. He loved it and had wonderful time.

VERONA - PACK 'N HEAD HOME

Road lined Umbrelli trees.......
Verona

Are we there yet??? Almost. One last outing before we pack the car to the brim and head home to Formia. Verona is a beautiful city and not as advertised as some other larger cities. It's got got the famous amphitheater where many well know artists perform. And being in the northern area for industry, many of the building materials that are exported, come from here.

MODENA & FERRARI FACTORY

The next day we headed to Modena to meet a few people who had arranged the Ferrari factory tour. Notice the red font in honor of the Ferrari. Before heading to the factory we had a special tour through the Italian Military Academy. You won't see any photos of the cars or the assembly line since no photo taking is allowed...... phooey!

LAKE COMO -- VILLA FLORA

We spent one night here at Villa Flora, a wonderful little find just 5 kilometers north of Como (the city). Bellagio, the real one, not the hotel in Las Vegas, is just 20 kilometers north of Torno, where we stayed. We spent the afternoon wandering in Bellagio.

CERAMICS

Since I have shown you the worker and the 'how to' of the factory, thought I'd better show you a couple of the real finished thing. Here are a couple things I bought, plus some Christmas gifts, and a page from their history catalog.

MAROSTICA AND NOVE (Ceramic City)

Nove - Ancora Ceramic Factory

Marostica >>>>
Giovanni >>>Nove - Ancora Ceramics
Back to Vicenza for a day then on to Marostica. Not well known in the tourist list, I don't think, but this is the little city that has the live Chess Game in the square of a walled castle. The wall climbs the hill and down again. Every other year, the even numbered ones, the piazza is painted like a chess board and the pieces are live and in costume. On to Nove, the Ceramic City of the north. We HAD to stop there. I've known this factory for about 22 years. Beautiful choices and a very worthwhile trip. This is the work in progress.

JUST ONE MORE - THEN TO NOVE------

Shirley and I did our share of shopping.......me? not much. Shirley?..... she got her Christmas shopping done, and then some extras. More on that later. Oh, almost forgot to mention...... this scene in the bedroom.... no, not all of us slept in one room. D & S had some 'points' at the Marriott chain and used them for a night in Venice. We lived it up.....

AND......JUST A FEW MORE OF VENICE....

We really had such fun. Can't resist sharing these pictures with you. ..............

AND .....MORE PICTURES

And more of Venice.............

A NORTHERN ITALIAN TRIP

Before heading north in September, we stayed around home for the busy and hot month of August. Watched the British Open via our SkyTV. That's terrific for all over the world. Then started the process of buying property for our home....... nope, no pictures yet. It's just a mere shell at this point. Will be seeing the drawing from the architect soon. I might pass that on to you. Don and Shirley arrived in Rome where we picked them up and kept heading north. Our base, in Vicenza, was a great place to stay and do all the side trips from there. Venice was a 'first' for Don & Shirley and they couldn't get over that sight of all the water....... pictures just don't do it justice...........