A walk in the woods.

This weekend I visited my girlfriends Janna and Gesine as they both celebrated their birthdays.
Among my 4 day stay I was able to capture some of the beautiful fall foilage along the way:

Fall weather-snow showers!

Just wanted to share a few pics from our first snow showers here in Munich. The leaves on the trees were still trying to hang onto their branches....

Weekend in Florence-home of Dante, Michelangelo and the Medici

Carlo and I took a quick weekend trip to Florence last weekend. I have to say it is the most beautiful city I have ever laid eyes on! WOW!!! The duomo, cathedral Santa Croce, the sculptures, Ponte Vecchio, the Ufizzi... just breathtaking! Carlo had a business conference on a nearby estate which belonged to NYU. It was an old villa with numerous sub-villas for conferences and business meetings. I spent Friday wandering the city and fighting my way through the crowds of many tourists. They came in swarms, just like grasshoppers! If you weren't careful you were caught in the group and swept along. Nevertheless the many crowds, the weather was great and I decided to climb the bell tower of the duomo. All 414 steps! After a grueling stairmaster-like experience I reached the top and was rewarded with a spectacular view all over Florence.
Later I strolled across Ponte Vecchio and pressed my nose against every jewlery shop on the bridge. Amazing craftsmanship they have on display! At the very end of the bridge I spotted the gelato place with the biggest heap of ice cream. I believe I took a picture. Will have to post it.

Carlo and I spent Saturday walking around the city and visiting Boboli Gardens at Palazzo Pitti. It was a nice stroll through a wonderful park with great views of the city.
The highlight of Saturday (and it seems there were many) was the visit of Cathedral Santa Croce. It is a beautiful church with the same green and pink and white marble facade as the duomo. Inside it houses unbelievable treasures as the tombs of Dante, Galileo and Michelangelo. The many frescos on the interior walls are so detailed and beautiful that I was in complete awe.
I could not believe that inside the marble tombs just a few feet in front of my nose laid such famous Florentinians as Dante and Galileo and Michelangelo. It really was quite special to pay hommage to such great men, who have left such a big legacy behind.
Tired from hours of walking, Carlo and I settled into a small wine bar in an even smaller side street. They served an age-old chianti, prosciutto and cheese and we were able to kick up our feet and realx until dinner.

Dinner was at a small artsy Italian food restaurant (what else!) which specialized in recipes and specialties from Florence.
They served porcini mushroom Tagliatelle, wild boar ragu, a lovely tomato soup and the BIGGEST florentinian steak I have ever seen in my entire life! (Even in Texas this steak would have commanded serious attention). It was as big as my head and almost as thick as my arm!

After our dinner we managed to secure a cab and return to Villa La Pietra, where we were going to stay that night.
It was a very special experience to stay in an ancient house filled with many prized pieces of art as old as the United States and older!

The morning brought a glorious view onto the city. Leaving for Munich seemed like a silly idea, but reality has to catch up with all of us sooner than later....

Last days of summer - Sicily

After the fun-filled days of Oktoberfest, Carlo and I escaped the weather, which had turned cold and rainy almost immediately after the weekend, and spend a few days in Sicily. From the 28th to the 3rd of October, we were able to fish, go snorkeling and enjoy some fabulous home-cooked meals by Carlo's mom. Don't know how we will ever lose those pounds!

At this time of the year many fish pass through the straight of Messina on their way to other parts of the Mediterranean. We were able to catch a Mahi-Mahi and a few other Tuna-like cousins. What an experience! We used NO fishing rod, only the bare fishing line with live bait, as the local, traditional fishermen do. We didn't catch as much as all the boats around us, but nonetheless it was great to be able to make a meal out of the days catch at sundown.

Oktoberfest 2007- Prost!

Time has been passing at warp speed and I have not been able to keep up with the blogging...this will be a meager attempt at catching up with what has happened in our lives over the past 4 weeks.

Carlo had invited three of his good friends from Sicily to spend the opening weekend of Oktoberfest with us. My good friend Janna was able to join us as well. For all of us, including Carlo and myself, it was our first "Wiesn" - as the Oktoberfest is called with the locals. The city was so unbelievably full of tourists in various stages of intoxication...that it was literally hard to walk, or ride a bike on the streets!

Oktoberfest really IS the biggest Fair/Volksfest in the world. The tents, where the beer is served, are like massive houses with wooden benches and decks. It took us a while to make our way into one of them and to secure a table, but once there, we stayed put for close to 8 hours!!!

The weather was fantastic and the beer gardens were filled to capacity.
Cheers!