Finally . . .

We are back in the states now, land of fast internet and bad cheese. I had many things that I wanted to post overseas but for want of a fast connection made the blogging quite a challenge. We had a wonderful summer and I would like to post of few of the highlights here. The girls came home having learned lots of Italian and having a summer full of adventures. One of my outings in June took me to my sister's graduation in Florence. I had forgotten what a magical city it can be. The reception was at a beautiful old palazzo in the old city. The contessa who owned it allows the students to use it for their graduation ceremony. At the reception I sort of started just wandering around taking photos of the place. I finally wandered into a room where a couple with a baby had gathered some food from the buffet and were eating. As I had Ronia with me and they were the only other people with a small child, we inevitably struck up a conversation. It turns out that they had no association with the school but were the Contessa's son and wife and grandson. Ronia had a lesson from the little conto for free on the pianoforte. I couldn't even imagine what it must be like to have total strangers have their graduation reception at your house and just grab your dinner from the reception buffet. . . . but I guess they get to live in a palazzo so who could complain?