ALWAYS PROUD PARENTS

It won't be the first or last time we say loud and clear how proud we are of our 4 children. Our daughter, Christina, celebrated her 30th birthday by running the Missoula Marathon yesterday in beautiful Missoula, Montana. Not only did she finish, but she shaved 47 minutes off her previous marathon time, coming under 5 hours. Her husband, Steve, paced her during several portions of the race. What a team! We were there to provide support, encouragement, and cheer for her at the finish line. Great weekend! JIR

ITALIA #5 TUSCANY #4

FLORENCE, or Firenze in Italian, is the art capital of Italy. We walked it's streets, and enjoyed the sights during a warm day. Florence was also a wealthy city, and one of Europe's leading cultural, financial and banking centers.The famous and powerful Medici family ruled Florence for many years beginning in 1432.

 The Arno river runs through the city

 Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) across the river Arno

We visited the Galleria dell Academia, best known for housing the world's most famous naked man, Michelangelo's original David. No pictures allowed inside, though. So, I posed in front of one of many "David's" at the Plazza di Santa Cecilia.

 Ponte Vecchio, as seen from the top floor of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence's most famous art gallery. Originally   built as a government office (uffizi) building in the 1500's, the Uffizi Gallery now houses the enormous art collection of the Medici family

 Palazzo Vecchio,  or old palace, located next to the Uffizi Gallery

 The Duomo, or cathedral, can be seen through the rooftops of this narrow street

 After a grueling but satisfying day, it was time for a "bierre" at the Uffizi's rooftop cafe/bar

Back in Castelnuovo-Berardenga, the town closest to our villa, we stopped for dinner. Like in other places, we managed to communicate with a waitress who spoke no English. JIR

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE NATIONAL TRAIL HIKE

I'm pausing from blogging about Italy to post a few pictures from our 14 mile hike on a very small, but gorgeous portion the Continental Divide National Trail. Organized by the Montana Wilderness Association, we started out by breaking up into 2 groups. One group took 2 vehicles to the south end of the trail, and the other took 2 vehicles to the north end. The 2 groups, hiking in opposite directions, met in the middle and exchanged car keys, which we used at the end of hike to drive back to our initial meeting point in town.

 Bear Grass was healthy and prevalent all through the hike

 Our fearless leader Wayne

 We started at about 6,900 feet of elevation, climbed to about 7,200 and stayed between 7-8,000 feet of elevation. The views were stunning, including being able to identify mountain ranges all around our area.

 Hiking the ridge

 Continental Divide Trail #440

 Beautiful wildflowers of every kind punctuated practically the entire trail

 Nevada Mountain (right) and Black Mountain (left) at about 8,300 feet elevation, were the sentinels during our hike

 Not a bad place to take a lunch break

  A tired but happy bunch. JIR

ITALIA #4- TUSCANY #3

A cooking class with Mama Nona and a search for wine tasting mark this post.

 Katerina, Nona's assistant poses with Mike and Jorge

 Nona taught us to make homemade pasta and gnocchi by hand.

 Tuscany sunsets

 Nona's kitchen and the graduating class with Nona standing behind Jorge

 Tuscany turns on its splendor as we travel through the hills, finding the Casalvento winery

 A beautiful flower barrel lends itself to playing with the camera settings

 On the way back to Montalto we stop at the quaint little town of Radda

 Rows of grapevines adorn this great landscape photograph

Back at Montalto after another wonderful day in Tuscany. JIR