****WELCOME TO MY BLOG ON OUR TRIP TO ITALY - OCTOBER, 2007****
BUT ALAS, OUR TRIP LASTED BUT A SHORT 3 WEEKS! (And DON'T BE SURPRISED IF IT TAKES YOUR COMPUTER THAT LONG TO FULLY LOAD THIS HUGE BLOG! LOL - JUST KIDDING, IT WILL PROBABLY ONLY TAKE A FEW MINUTES. )
I know something about Italy, because I lived in Rome for 3 years in the early 1970's after 2 months spent in England, and have traveled and visited from top to bottom this beautiful country called ITALIA. I found the Italian people in general to be very friendly, warm, passionate and generous people. After marrying Settimio, my native-Italian husband in Rome, we've also made several other trips together back to Italy in the following years ----including one with our daughter and my mother in 1984. But THIS was the first time in the past 23 years, (for various reasons) that we have returned to his homeland. And it seems like for nearly ALL those years, Sonia has been begging us to fulfill her dream of visiting Italy together as a family again, which now in 2007 means all 4 of us, our son-in-law Claudio included!! So this trip, being very special to us, I thought I would commemorate it on my Blog in the form of a Journal with photos. You may want to click on some of the photos in order to blow them up. Then, it's ALMOST LIKE BEING THERE!
Further down (past the FIRST 50 pictures or so which introduce Italy, in general) you will find personal background information on my family and me, plus my comments about why and how I created this Journal, a few technical glitches that impeded it (almost ALL corrected now), as well as some tips on USING this Blog. For the faint of heart (OR EYESIGHT) you should know that I've written NEARLY A BOOK here (without meaning to - really!)...it is MASSIVE, (so I DO apologize for any repetitions!!) AFTER the "Introduction to Rome" and personal background info, etc. there are TONS more photos of Italy, (over 200 in total), most of them taken by either Settimio or myself. ALL the commentary you see was written by me. However, much credit goes to our daughter Sonia for supplying the FIRST 50 wonderful photos here, though late, AFTER this Italian Journal was already completed, which necessitated my re-working things quite a lot, and adding many more captions, in order to include them.
This Journal/Travelogue covers ROME, NETTUNO, VENICE & ANZIO, in that order....But that is quite a ways down yet!! Please be aware that I'm very 'opinionated' about everything I write here, ....about Italy, Italians, Italian food, our experiences, etc. so I sincerely apologize if anyone reading is ever possibly offended, for that was not my intention at all. I certainly welcome any comments about Italy or my Blog that you may wish to post here. So without any further "ado", (as they say), I'd like to introduce you to US, who made this trip from Wisconsin, USA, and also to a few members of our Italian family in ITALY. (You can skip this if you want, since we are all introduced later too!) FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
SILVIA, our niece, ...SONIA, our daughter (in back), ...ROMANA, sister of my husband, ...MAURIZIO, our nephew (in back), ....SETTIMIO, my husband....IRENE, another sister of my husband, and JOANN - ME, on the far right.
9 comments:
Hello Joann!
I'm starting this very minute what will be, I'm sure, a beautiful 'journey' through your eyes and your family's, to beautiful Italy. Since you say it will take a long period of time to view it all, I probably won't finish it in the hour I have left to spend here. But never mind, as soon as I complete the visit, today or tomorrow I hope, I will post a comment especially for you, giving also, of course, my humble opinion on your 'arduous work' together with your camera, in that unique country.
See you in a little while...
Maria
HELLO BACK TO YOU, MARIA! I just saw your first post, as I am here doing yet MORE editing to this Journal this fine morning after Christmas. You are right about how much work it is, even the EDITING ALONE is quite a job! My main concern is that it is way too over-whelming for anyone to read even in a MONTH! LOL But people can skip around to what interests them most. THANKS SO MUCH for visiting my Blog, Maria, that is so nice of you, and I look forward to any and all comments from you! (or anyone!) Joann
Dear Joann, as I said it was impossible to read it all yesterday. After the first part beautifully detailed, I decided to take your suggestion and see just the wonderful photos, that because I simply hadn't enough time then but I shall do it later because I loved your descriptions about the Italian people, their habits and customs. I thought I was too particular in my writings but look at your well detailed descriptions? They make us feel as being there too, honestly they do. But this is only natural given you are a good observer, write in your own language and do it pretty well.
Also you are slimmer than in your summer's photos shown here before, again I think you do look very young, even younger now than then and mind you I'm not kidding. You well pass as your daughter's sister, do look lovely, slim and petite. Your family seem very nice people, in fact we just have to look at their faces to see that they are.
You wrote a lot about Italians - the common street people, their habits, their restaurant rules, the fruit and vegetable markets' seller's ways, their very seasoned but tasty and in my opinion excellent food, their preference for fish rather than meat or equally eating both if I understood well, their exuberant (and in my opinion somehow attractive) temperament, also how not so good citizens, surely young uneducated people with no manners whatsoever, unpardonably stain and spoil monuments - imagine fabulous roman monuments, absolutely unique and splendorous being half destroyed in such horrible way, how awful that is, those people should be detained by the police - houses too, with detestable, criminal graffiti, etc. - overall in my modest opinion a very good description of your sight-seeing. And you know what? Our both peoples are very much alike, in fact in many things we seem the same people, but that I already knew. Nevertheless the Italians are a great people, I love them but then I have to, I suppose, since I descend in part from Italians. Curiously enough in temperament and in many other details we are more like them than like the Spanish people, having with this country our only boundary, besides and in spite of having been occupied for 60 years by the Spanish, from the year 1580 till the year 1640, they only left here but a few marks about the same as the Arabs did, although this people stayed in our country for a much longer period of time. The Romans however ruled here for a long period of time, much longer and long before the Spanish but lesser than the Arabs, which occupied our territory after the Romans and stayed for hundreds of years up to the time of our independence which happened with our first elected king in the year of 1143. In spite of all these occupations the Romans were, for various good reasons, the people who left in our mentality, country, habits, customs, language and even laws - most of our today's laws are based upon the Romans' as in most western countries in fact - being these much advanced for those ancient times and yet all civilized, equilibrated and healthy, suffice to say they still last so many hundreds of years later. For our people's and other western countries' benefit, it must be said.
Well Joann, I suppose this comment is more than enough for today and for quite a while too. But since you also say that your writings take months to read, not many I hope, later when all read I shall post again.
Congratulations on your Blog, especially on your beautifully taken photos. A big kiss to you.
Maria
Dear Maria, I have now read your absolutely splendid and certainly overly kind compliments and comments to me and my family, and I thank you so very much for them! Even though I don't know you beyond a certain public music forum I used to post on, you have always been such a sweetheart to me there too. I can tell you have a heart of gold!! I'm glad you liked my Blog so much! I did my best, and hopefully I didn't offend TOO many readers with a few of my strong opinions and observations. I truly LOVE Italy, its people and all it's beauty and charms, but it's also likely that outsiders(i.e. tourists in ANY country) see some things slightly differently from Italian natives who are accustomed to living there for decades. At least I had the benefit of several prior trips there and also LIVING in Italy myself (but only for 3 years long ago), prior to this trip.
Thanks also for that history on your own beautiful country, Portugal, and how the Romans had influenced and left their mark on so much there. I would LOVE to visit Portugal someday, and even on this trip, our daughter came so close! Sonia and Claudio stopped in Madrid & Granada, Spain for 6 days to visit her cousin Manuela and had a wonderful time! As I mentioned Claudio, being from Brazil originally, speaks Portuguese perfectly, and they both understand and speak Spanish (to some extent). They wanted to see Portugal too, being so nearby, ahhh well, maybe next trip! Thanks again, Maria, and the very best wishes to you for the New Year, and for much happiness and good health always!!
Dear Joann,
What an impressive blog….especially the trip to Italy. I can’t believe you wrote so much and took so many photos (by the way about five of them are missing, so you might want to fix that). I could hardly read so much, but I enjoyed scanning down the very lovely photos. Glad you put so many family photos in with the scenic ones. Everyone looked so nice and happy. It was neat knowing Sonia saw her cousin Sara again after thirteen years had passed, what a great reunion.
I also visited the Festa page and saw you mentioned ME in regard to hearing Julius La Rosa. That was neat.
As you know, I must be brief, so I will close by saying congratulations on such fine work and keep it up!!
] best always,
Sam
You've managed to write about every aspect of visiting and enjoying beautiful Italia! You've surely inspired many to explore more of our world and learn from this rich culture, where they may not have otherwise. Most importantly, you've put an honest, straightforward account of the complete experience and for this the traveling community thanks you! Now, we all have a place to be more informed of what to expect on our next trip to Italy. I can't wait to read what your next adventure will be about? Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be great! Thanks Joann! A loyal reader.
Hey Mom,
Fabulous job on this blog! You've brought our trip to life all over again. This is soooooooooooooooooo much more than a simple journal entry, this has become an online e-book we all can enjoy looking back on in years to come. Your insight was thoughtful and detailed to the point that I could smell the food and hear the market sounds all over again. I truly love Italy, (Ok,I'm a bit biased), but you've reminded me of all the reasons why. I'm very happy to have shared that journey with you and hope we have many more in the future! Cheers to a job well done,and keep up your passion for writing, it's a special gift you have, and thanks for sharing it with all of us! Luv, Sonia
Dear Joann, I decided to give a quick look here just in case you wrote something to me, as in fact you did, so this is not yet to comment some more on that Italy's beautiful description of yours, which reading is not yet completed. This is especially to wish you and your lovely family - unpardonably much too delayed, I'm sorry - a wonderful year of 2008 full of health and wealth, as we also wish over here.
Hope everything is fine with you. As comments here do not state dates I want to believe this answer of mine is not too much distant from yours last to me, which I take this opportunity to thank you very much as well as your good wishes for this year we are already in.
Joann, not wanting to be too indiscreet may I ask you what was it that made you to decide not to write anymore in L.L. Forum? If you prefer not to answer that will be perfectly all right with me. In reality that is a matter which does not concern me at all. This question of mine is not even formulated out of curiosity but, to put it in any way, simply out of justice that's all. You also know me a little bit by now to foresee that neither do I like to interfere in other's personal matters nor am I even a curious person. Actually, as my children and husband say, I must probably be the least curious person in the world - to sometimes their absolute astonishment, especially my husband's who is my complete opposite in this point.
That's it by now, Joann. A big hug to you, God bless you and your dear ones. See you within sometime.
Maria
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the Aluguel de Computadores, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://aluguel-de-computadores.blogspot.com. A hug.
Post a Comment