It has been four weeks since my last post and a lot has happened in that time.  We closed out our first 90 days in the Schengen Treaty zone (most of the continental EU) and needed to leave for 90 days.  We still needed to come back to the US to apply for our Elective Residency visa for Italy.  We took a side trip through Ireland (they are not part of the Schengen zone and that will be the next post).  We are now back in Seattle getting ready to appear in person before the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco on September 7th.  Holly and I both need to appear and have put together nearly 100 pages  each (including FBI background checks) to meet the required documentation for those applications.  If all goes well and we are approved for the visas, we will return to Lecce on October 1st.

However, before I completely move on from our adventures in Italy, I want to pass along a couple of more stories and pictures.

Firenza (Florence)

During our stay in Lucca, we were only about an hour train ride from Firenza and how could we be that close and not take at least one day trip there.  One of Jamie’s college friends, Christine Walker (also from the Seattle and by now a friend of ours, too),  and her boyfriend, Paul Cianciolo were touring Italy and we arranged to meet in Firenza for lunch.  We were going to meet them at a specific restaurant in the early afternoon.  For those of you who have never been to this place, it is one of the most beautiful cities on earth and hence one of the busiest tourist destinations, the streets are packed with people.  After our arrival, we walked to the piazza in front of the cathedral that was filled with throngs people from all over the world and who should we run into?  You guessed it, Paul and Christine were right in front of us.  The first thing we learned is that they had just become engaged, so congratulations to this lovely couple.  Our lunch and conversation with friends from home were a welcome interlude.

With all of the hype it gets and the number of you who have probably visited here, I will not over-burden all of you with pictures of Firenze and its many artistic masterpieces , but thought I would include a couple of my favorites.

Ghibeti’s doors, dubbed “The Gates of Paradise” by Michelangelo, took 27 years to complete and are some of the most beautiful man-made objects on earth.

In the public square outside the Palazzo della Signoria where Michelangelo’s David once stood (a replica still does) there is another statue I have always loved.  It depicts Perseus standing over the slain Medusa with her still bleeding head in his hands.

The cathedral in Firenze, Santa Maria del Fiore, is one of my favorite buildings on earth.  It is also one of the most photographed.  It is so large in this renaissance city of buildings usually not over four stories tall that it looms like a colossus at the end of all the streets leading to it.  I am not sure my skills as a photographer allow me to capture the awesome nature of these views, but here is my humble attempt.

A fond farewell to Lucca and Italy for now

We loved our time in Lucca.  It is a beautiful city with something to do whenever the mood struck us: from wonderful concerts in 15th century churches to good restaurants everywhere.  As we prepared to leave we asked our hostess, Connie, who managed the place we were staying if we could take her and her partner, Martin, out to dinner.  They said yes, but wanted to pick us up and drive us to one of their favorite restaurants in the hills outside of the city.  Being always up for adventure and not having a car to get to places off the beaten path, we had a deal.  The restaurant, the view and the evening were another perfect experience in what has become an overriding theme of our trip so far.  Our sincere thanks to Connie and Martin for this wonderful night.

The view back to Lucca

As we got ready to leave Lucca, I woke up to this view from our apartment of the first rays of sun catching two of the many towers here and it seemed a fitting close to this chapter of our “Big Adventure”.

Next up, Ireland