roma.2

a shout out to my asian friends

gelato at the pantheon :)

santi ambrogio e carlo al corso
100% painted (not even the marble is real)
spanish steps
swiss guards at the vatican
a great way to relax after a day of walking! (apparently, though, in fancy hotel pools in italy they make you wear swim caps... isn't that attractive!)

roma

holiday, part one

we spent a few lovely days in what i (and, of course, the italians) like to call roma.

a city full of history and story, we had a nice long list of things we wanted to see... over the next few days, we visited just about every cool thing in the city- and must have walked a hundred miles. maybe not, but definitely a lot.

some of our nice memories of roma...
...the wonderful hotel we stayed at (rome cavalieri);
.....GELATO! we love love love gelato and ate it at least once a day the entire holiday
........walking where so many throughout history have walked (bizarre!)
...........the view from our hotel room (the entire city!)
..............watching fireworks go off over the city from our balcony, with monuments lit up and live jazz being sung by the beautiful lit pool below our room
..................breakfast
.....................st peters. we were in awe

'mission planning'
breakfast
vatican

headline

our local news always has an interesting take on the ocean and storms, but this was too much...

background: hurricane bill is 900 miles off the coast and supposed to produce big swells (waves) this weekend. this is the time of year when local surfers (hugh included) look forward to, because you can actually pull out the shortboard and have some fun. storm=surf.

well according to our local news station,
surfers should not go into the water this weekend and surf because (seriously, i'm quoting this) "the waves are going to be big" and it's not safe to surf in big waves.

imagine that- waiting until the waves actually get big enough to surf!
(and we're still in florida, folks, so "too big" actually only means 6-8 feet)

one quick photo in the meantime...

holiday

yikes, it's been a while.

we took a little hiatus (lovely holiday!) and went to italy for a couple of weeks... wonderful.

we saw all the cool, historical things in all the big cities, but by far our favorite thing about the trip is that we rented a car and were able to see SO MUCH else! all of the small towns dotted throughout the countryside, on hilltops, surrounded by centuries-old walls, full of gelatto (!) ... i feel like we got a great taste of the country.

of course, tons of photos were taken (i blame the digital camera: "oh, just take as many as you can, you can always delete later"), but i'll spare you from having to go through all of them :)

instead, i'll just give you a taste of our trip, day by day. we hope you enjoy it (if not, you just don't have to read it!)

:)

birthday dinner shared with 2 friends = fun

memorial

hugh and i were able to be a part of a cool tribute to a friend's father today.




paddle outs are a traditional way of remembering loved ones out here (and hawaii and california). friends and family get together at the beach, talk a little, and then paddle out on surfboards and form a big circle...

father's day on the boat

fun times on a HOT day!

our lawn aeration system...

these little guys are out of control. when they go at it, look out.

...

and then this evening!

this morning...

a week of birthday

happy birthday hugh!

hugh's 30th is later this week but we've been celebrating since this past weekend...

memorial day

some others from our week in tejas

a champagne toast, of course!
(you should see the series of pictures on this one- it'd make a hilarious flip-book)

"playing" mom's organ

these two love margaritas!


and i love la madeleine!
(if any of you have connections... tell them to open one near us! i've asked, but i don't seem to hold much clout and they haven't listened)

dr. mom

we have SO many beautiful photos from this wonderful weekend of festivities. i've tried to choose some of the favorites.

rice university has such a beautiful campus. i could have taken pictures there forever (though hugh would probably say i did). the courtyard where they held graduation felt like we were at an old european university, with its turrets and brightly colored banners and marble... quite breathtaking.

(where hugh decided to stand during graduation)



congratulations mom!!

(quick note on the amazing job rice did with graduation festivities... ceremonies, special concerts with champagne toasts, reception, dinners, an impressive fireworks show, and enough bottled water and snacks at every event to make sure everyone was cool and happy! good job)

Congratulations Dr. Mom!!

this morning, my mom graduated with her Doctorate in Organ Performance from Rice University... and we are so proud of her!




(pictures, etc to follow...)

derby fever

i love the kentucky derby.

we lived in louisville for a number of years when i was a kid and ever since i have been in love with (just about) everything derby. the fanfare and festivity surrounding the event are full of excitement and fun and i love it.

this year i decided that despite the fact that i didn't feel like organizing a derby party, i'd do something that would still allow me to celebrate.

so i made derby pie (a chocolate pecan pie) and we watched the 135th annual running of the roses. faith suggested a 10c wager, so we made our bets anxious for the 30-cent pot :) we all did terrible, with hugh's winning pick coming in 10th. good thing we're not betting people.

in honor of the hat parade, i donned my (easily accessible) beach hat


mmmmm


delicious!
quite possibly the best pie ever made