........AN ILLUMINATED TREE IN THE FRONT OF THE BELLEVIEW BILTMORE HOTEL

THERE WAS EVEN A "BELLEVIEW BILTMORE" COTTAGE FOR SALE!



PALM TREES ARE EVERYWHERE IN FLORIDA - AT THE BEACH AND IN THE CITIES, AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN. WHAT I LOVE ABOUT FLORIDA THE MOST IS IT'S GORGEOUS AND LUSH FOLIAGE AND COLORFUL FLOWERS -- ALL YEAR ROUND!!

...........There is a quaint and classy place named "Winter Park" not too far from Orlando which dresses up their dogs in fancy costumes and walks them around town, culminating in several competitions where they award prizes and ribbons to the dogs with the best costumes. This takes place at the end of October (Halloween) each year, so being the huge animal lovers that we are, we had to be there and take lots of pictures! This one was my favorite....Awwww, this bride and groom already has a new baby!!

Here are 2 more of these dogs. The white one reminds me of AMICO, Sonia's beloved dog (he looked the same, being a Bichon-Frise, except his ears were shorter. He died just days after his 4th birthday, unfortunately in early February, from an intestinal blockage caused by a "Greenie" dog treat. They still miss him a lot, but I remember Amico had a great time sniffing out all these "glamor" dogs!!

Here's a "close-up" of one of the most glamorous dogs we had the pleasure to meet!

And this is the BIGGEST BUMBLE BEE I ever saw!! Looks like Manuela is afraid he might bite, er, STING her!!

The owners all proudly held up their dogs for us to see, and the dogs all took it in stride. Even this little guy is so mellow and relaxed that he's curled up his little foot on her hand as if to say, "I'm not going anywhere!"

.................... CLOSE-UP OF THE BRIDE!

........ Settimio, or as his friends & family in Italy call him, "Mimmo", gets all pooped out walking thru the Parks for hours, a lot more than I do. I'm usually the one who wants to see everything and do everything (especially at THESE prices!) . Hot weather is the only thing that bothers me. We've seen all the Disney Parks, Universal Studios and Sea World, for 2 years now, so next year we'll do other Florida attractions. We might take a cruise for a few days to the Carribean (sp?).

............ DID YOU EVER SEE EGGPLANT THIS BIG BEFORE ???

This was another cool place we saw - I forgot which Theme Park it was, maybe Epcot, but they gave us a ride thru a HUGE greenhouse "of the future" where right now as you see they are growing plants and vegetables in a really innovative way. Huge eggplants and pumpkins grow up in the air, but they do have to support the pumpkins, being so heavy. Whatever new system they are using here, it sure seems to be working!!

These Wilderness Beasts are made entirely out of NAILS! I just had to get this picture from Downtown Disney. This was the last day of our trip (November 11, 2006) and it was also the HOTTEST, temperature-wise ---but still a whole lot cooler than last year when we came in September-October. I just can't understand how people survive in those crowded Theme Parks in the sweltering humid days of SUMMER!

........ This dragon is in the Lego-Land area of "Downtown Disney", and might be made out of Legos too. But either way I'm glad he was so happy to pose for his picture, with Settimio and Sonia watching on.

Downtown Disney was host that day to many "starving" artists who showed off their paintings, sculptures, drawings and whatever else, where ever they happened to want to put it! I hate to see what's going to happen to these CHALK drawings, though, when then next rain comes, and it does rain, briefly, most days!

Settimio was scowling again, because I wanted this picture, and he didn't! I think it's really nice, and there are more life-size animals on the other side.

Fulton's Crab House....Hmmm, the idea of a building being shaped like a ferry boat is a great idea and very pretty, but you couldn't get me near one of those crabs! (Since I eat with my "eyes", more than my stomach, crab, lobster, shrimp, squid and the like don't appeal to me - They all look suspiciously to me like scorpions, insects and other creepy-crawly things!

....... I was lucky to catch these 3 dolphins just as they were jumping out of the water. They really are magnificent animals!

.... And they are SO adorable and friendly too! IF ONLY ALL PEOPLE could be SO gentle, so happy-go-lucky and such people-pleasers!!

:

.....Goodbye from all of us, and Goodbye to all this great food and eating out EVERY DAY, like this wonderful little Greek restaurant! But we'll never forget our COOL 2006 Florida vacation! (Even if the weather wasn't exactly cool!!) Our family in the U.S. is small, but it was great spending this time together, including our niece, at least one person from Settimio's BIG family in Italy!

........PORTOFINO !!! ----AH, BUT THIS ISN'T "THE" PORTOFINO THAT IS IN ITALY!
YOU FIND THIS ONE IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA, AND WE ALL VISITED THIS VERSION OF THE ITALIAN FABLED CITY AT LEAST TWICE. SONIA & CLAUDIO TOOK ALL OF THESE PHOTOS THOUGH, ON THEIR VISIT HERE WITHOUT US AT CHRISTMAS 2006. IT IS AMAZING HOW WELL THEY BUILT THIS REPLICA "CITY" - AND HOW EXTENSIVE IT IS TOO, WHEN YOU GO POKING AROUND INSIDE AND OUT. WE HEARD A COUPLE TENORS & ONE SOPRANO SING FROM THE BALCONIES OVERLOOKING THE HUGE COURTYARD. BUT WHEN I HEARD THAT VITTORIO GRIGOLO (ONE OF MY FAVORITE TENORS) HAD SUNG THERE IN EARLY SPRING, AND WE MISSED HIM, I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED!! EVEN SONIA SAID SHE WOULD HAVE GONE TO SEE/HEAR HIM (EVEN THOUGH SHE CLAIMS HE SINGS LIKE A WOMAN AND ALMOST LOOKS LIKE ONE TOO! LOL!) ISN'T THERE A SONG ABOUT PORTOFINO?? I THINK I KNOW A CERTAIN "FRED" WHO JUST MIGHT KNOW THE TITLE OF THAT SONG!!


THERE WERE MANY LITTLE COURTYARDS INSIDE THIS "CITY", BESIDES THE BIG ONE!

.......THIS FIAT 500 CAR WAS PARKED AT PORTOFINO TO SHOW A COMMON ITALIAN CAR. IT WAS NOSTALGIC FOR SETTIMIO TO SEE THIS, BECAUSE THAT WAS *HIS* CAR IN ROME, THE ONE THAT HE DROVE ME AROUND IN ALL OVER ITALY, WHEN I LIVED THERE FOR 3 YEARS IN THE EARLY 1970'S. NOW LOOKING INSIDE THIS ONE, I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW SMALL IT IS INSIDE!!! A NORMAL PERSON'S HEAD WOULD TOUCH THE ROOF AND HIS/HER KNEES WOULD BE RIGHT UP AGAINST THE DASHBOARD. IN FACT, I REMEMBER MINE WERE!! IT'S LIKE BEING IN A SARDINE CAN, AND NOT AT ALL SAFE IN AN ACCIDENT! (AND THERE WERE SOME CLOSE CALLS IN THOSE 3 YEARS TOO!!) BUT IT'S A CUTE LITTLE "BUG" CAR, ISN'T IT??


OK, THESE ARE GETTING REPETITIOUS I KNOW, BUT WHILE I'M HERE I MIGHT AS WELL UPLOAD AS MANY AS POSSIBLE, SO I WON'T HAVE TO PUT THEM IN ANOTHER ALBUM!

*******FESTA ITALIANA, 2006, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY ON THE CONCERTS & TENORS WE SAW AND MET:


Here we are at Festa Italiana in Milwakee on Saturday, July 22, 2006. I wanted to make sure to take a couple pictures of this Statue of David. We just got a digital camera for the first time last year, but we don't take many photos at Festa Italiana because we're always rushing around trying not to miss the beginning of all the many concerts and singers we want to see, and this year there were several great ones! With 10 stages of continuous entertainment, not to mention so many more off-stage attractions, there really is enough to keep everyone busy and happy. We also had beautiful weather in the 70's, with just one period of sudden thunderstorm threats, but while it was sunny, I wish we had taken a photo of Lake Michigan's lakefront (where Festa Italiana is located), because it really is very nice. When it is sunny, the water is even blue! We also couldn't take any photos of the amazing fireworks, of course, but we've never seen any locally as good as the Italians put on each night here!

......... Settimio has a strange way of smiling sometimes.....unless this was around the time he was looking for a Men's Room! LOL!

Considering the excellent weather earlier in the day, there seemed to be fewer people this time as we headed over to see Frank Tenaglia and Aaron Caruso ---the main attractions for us this year. They both performed on the Miller Lite Oasis stage which you can see in the background. As I said, there is music going on 10 stages all at the same time ---singers of Italian and American pop and classical music, comedians, impressionists, cooking shows, an Italian street or village, an Opera Tent, dancing (we usually skip the folk dancing), many bands, and "Italian Idol", etc. Another new young singer we saw was MATT MORGAN with WE THREE, who had a powerful pop tenor voice, has performed quite a few opera roles, and at the end of his show sang "Nessun Dorma" and "Vesti la Giubba". He was impressive enough for the crowd, but Settimio and I thought his voice didn't sound refined or pretty. It was very rough around the edges and seemed to be shouting more than singing......So off we go to see more and better tenors!

.........But first, here I am again with that Statue of David. Last year he was wearing shorts in the pattern and colors of the American flag!All previous years Festa photos are not uploadable yet, but if I can make a picture CD from the film negatives, I'll show you what they did to him! lol -- There was also an enormously tall and huge statue of the Madonna last year (they wisely didn't dress Her up). We try to attend Festa every year, as there is always something and someone new. We wanted to attend Sunday also, of this 4-day festival, but we already had tickets to an excellent production of the "Student Prince" at William Bay, Wisconsin, on beautful Lake Geneva on July 23.

....... We couldn't miss FRANK TENAGLIA'S show this year at the Festa. Last year we missed it because of the extreme heat - nearly 100 degrees! I don't know how anyone can perform in that heat, but thank goodness this year was a lot cooler! I don't do well in extremely hot weather, as you can see by our Florida photos. We were lucky also, as was Frank, that just as he FINISHED his show, it started to rain with dark clouds all around, and an announcement over the loud speaker to take cover as a "fast-approaching severe thunderstorm" was on its way. Well, it just got real windy, but didn't rain much so we stayed outdoors, though the photo we took with Frank was a bit dark and didn't turn out well in other ways, so that one's not here. The BEST part was our enjoyable and VERY interesting long chat with Frank. Frank is the nicest guy, and talked to us as if he'd known us forever. Both Settimio and I were thrilled to hear his views on various singers, singing, and his own life and career! It was a great pleasure meeting Frank finally, and we plan on seeing him again next year when I'm sure he'll be back at our Milwaukee Italian festa. This was his 6th or 7th year performing here, and the audience loves him!

.....I can't forget to mention that FRANK TENAGLIA presented to us a copy of his new CD, as a gift, with 10 beautiful songs on it!! That was SO nice and generous of him, and we love all the songs already! He has such a beautiful, powerful voice, at both full and mezza-voce, and really should be an opera star! "M'appari and "Una Furtiva Lagrima" were especially fantastic on the CD, and on #10 he even sings an English pop song called, "Take My Hand" - quite a departure from what he normally sings. He sang a couple songs from this CD as well as others not on it at this concert, and had a 5-piece band with him. We felt his voice really deserved to be heard with a much larger band or orchestra. He spoke about and praised Mario Lanza before singing songs like "Be My Love", and "Because". In addition to his singing, we really enjoyed his many jokes and funny stories ---and told him he could be a comedian too! This added to the success of his very personable and entertaining show.

.......AARON CARUSO was a big hit with the ladies, especially, and they lined up to buy copies of his CD at Festa Italiana in Milwaukee. We purchased one too, of course!!


.....The CDs were going fast....Settimio took these photos - I wouldn't have the nerve to!

........ Performing is AARON CARUSO, for the very first time at FESTA ITALIANA. We really enjoyed his show, even more so because we already had been aware of this young, handsome singer and his talent thru his website and some posts on the LanzaLegend forum. In fact, in his show he remarked, "I have been picked to portray Mario Lanza on Broadway", and we were excited for him, so asked him about this when we met him after the show. He then said that he hoped this would become reality,
so we wished him Good Luck and I said of all the singers considered for this role, he looked the most like Mario Lanza (a very young Mario). He was very gracious to us and asked us to wait because he wanted to speak to us after he was finished greeting other fans who wanted their CDs signed. ( He remembered me from a Lanza forum.) We had a short, interesting conversation; he was a really nice guy too, gave me 2 hugs, and Settimio and Aaron even had a nice exchange in Italian. We then went merrily on our way, WHAT AN EXCITING DAY this has been, hearing and meeting all these great singers!!






Sorry some of these photos are out of order....During his show, Aaron Caruso sang a variety of songs, including "Mala Femmina," "Mamma", "Til", and a Tom Jones song I can't recall right now, plus many more. We heard so many songs that day, I can't remember who sang what
anymore! His style and stage presence were fantastic, and his voice was beautiful, with plenty of powerful pop singing. He didn't sing any operatic arias or high C's, but what he sang was very enjoyable, and he also pleased the crowd by walking into the audience, shaking hands at one point. This young man is certainly full of talent, and we are enjoying his CD also.

My favorites on Aaron's CD are: "Dio Come Ti Amo", "Romanza", "Spanish Eyes", "Autumn Leaves" and "Chiove". I think he sang one of these at his concert, and also "O Sole Mio" and Torna a Surriento".

.......This is an Italian pop singer named MORENO FRUZZETTI. He hails from the same city in Italy where my husband was born - PISA. We wanted to meet him too but didn't have time, as we had much more to see and hear yet! But Moreno has a very good voice and his speciality seems to be the old, classic Italian pop songs from the 50's and 60's, which we remember so well. He always gets a big, enthusiastic crowd.

....... PLEASE NOTE: When I decided to finally learn how to create a website, I intended this blog to be only for family photos, as most are, below. But since the cats are such a big part of our lives and a hobby for me, and they INSISTED on sharing this space as they share our lives, I couldn't say "No" to them. So here are a few pictures of some of my kittens for now, most recently gone to new homes, so anyone interested can also see what distinguishes "Pet Quality" from "Show Quality" as regards their faces, at least. These kittens loved to play in this basket, even though it's not soft like their wicker basket bed. I encountered plenty of glitches in the process of uploading these photos, and had to re-place some of them, just to get them in the right sequence, so please excuse any repetition in my comments anywhere on this Blog. The posting dates also do not match the photo dates, because I have to back-date posts/pics in order to get them in the right order. (Otherwise all photos always land up on top of this Blog). This has been quite an adventure (and headache at times) , but I think I'm finally getting the hang of it now! :-)

........This is an 8 week old extreme face black-Smoke kitten, as you can tell by the high placement of his nose, which fits completely between his eyes. This look appeals to some, but not all people. To me, they are all lovely to look at and fun to be with.

........2 BLACK-SMOKE KITTENS, ON THE RIGHT, ABOUT 7 WEEKS OLD, BROWN TABBY ON LEFT, BUT COLOR OF PHOTOGRAPH IS OFF, NOT QUITE RIGHT. ALSO THEY WILL ALL HAVE COPPER EYES AT AGE 6 MONTHS. FLASH TURNED THEIR EYES WHITE - I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO FIX THE *RED EYE* IN PICTURES YET, MUCH LESS WHITE-EYE!!