Snow in West Linn, Oregon

We had a few inches of snow yeaterday.....enough for a snow angel.....beautiful!

Rosa - Barack

I just have to share......

Florence

Last month, Hub and I took a trip to Italy. We began with a few days in Florence, then bicycled through Tuscany, ending with a few days in Rome. We both felt we had the perfect mixture of city and country. We walked, walked and walked, some more, stopping occasionally to eat gelato or have coffee in a Piazza and people watched.
We both agree it was a fabulous vacation!
(If you'd like to see a picture a little larger, just click on it.)

This magnificent gothic cathedral was covered with pink, green & white Tuscan marble.
We climbed the 463 steps to the top of the dome and were treated to a wonderful view of Florence.

Here we are, on top of the dome.......................................

From inside the dome....


The Piazza Della Signoria is loaded with history, sculptures and people. Hub's favorite piece is the one on the right below...the Rape of Sabien. The copy of 'David' is also located here.

Just down the street, in front of the Uffizi Gallery is my favorite 'live' sculpture. As you can see, he came alive for a moment.

The Ponte Vecchio (the old bridge) which spans the Arno River was spared by the Nazi's in WWII. It used to house butchers, but now houses gold and silver stores. The nighttime view was breathtaking.

I think the Photo below is a typical Florence site.

We spent hours people watching.

Bicycling through Tuscany....

The middle portion of our trip was a fabulous ride through beautiful Tuscany. We traveled through pine forests, saw cork trees, stayed at a winery, visited an olive-oil mill, visited beaches, swam in the Tyrrhenian Sea and rode with 2 trip leaders and 15 fellow bikers.

(Again....click on any photo to enlarge it)

Our fearless leaders....Franco and Andrea. What would we have done without them???

Our group....

The 60ish ladies - and -

the whoe group!

Rode through pine forests....

...and through many beautiful Tuscan towns.

The view from two of our rooms.

Rome

We ended our trip with a few days in Rome. We saw the Roman Forum, (the birthplace of Ancient Rome),

the Pantheon (the most preserved church),

the Colosseum (where gladiators fought),

the Trevi fountain (where we threw a coin to ensure our return to Rome),

the people gathering place...the Spanish Steps....very romantic at night!

St. Peter's Square and Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.

Michelangelo's Pieta

We always seemed to end the afternoon in our favorite spot....The Piazza Novona to drink coffee and people watch.

Summer visit w/family....

........we all met in Petaluma, CA to spend a few days together. We toured San Francisco, Muir Woods, Stinson Beach, Charles Schultz's museum, fed goats, ate s'mores, rode merry-go-rounds and enjoyed each other's company. I think everyone would agree it was good to spend time ALL together.

Charlie Brown gets a wet willy! Kennedy loved feeding the goats.