Travel Eve

Tomorrow morning we'll take the 11:30 ferry to Black's Harbour - the first leg of our journey to Italy. In the afternoon we'll spend some time with our grandson, who will turn 11 while we are away, then go on to stay with some old friends for the night. Our plane leaves Saint John, NB, at 11:20 am, which is a relief to know we don't have to get up too, too early. Today we spent most of the day constructing a "tree cage" for the new Stewartia pseudocamellia that our son gave us on the weekend. We DARE the deer to attack it again!

I'm not sure I will be able to post to this blog while we are in Italy, as we are not taking our own computer. I will try, though, if there is not too much call for time on our tour leader's machine.

Buon viaggio and happy 40th anniversary to us!

Past NZ trip, and Italy details

Because this is a travel blog, we would like to whet your appetite for travel with a few photos of our trip to New Zealand in February 2007. We went with another couple, colleagues from our days in China, and spent 3 weeks on both the north and south islands. Not nearly enough time to see everything! Double that time, and you might have enough.

Best spots in NZ: the ferry ride between north and south islands, the trip across the south island from Greymouth to Christchurch, glacier viewing on the south island, and the Coromandel Peninsula, just east of Auckland, north island. Here are some photos of those sites.



Just a few details today about our up-coming trip to Italy. (We fly out on May 20.) For the past four years we have been invited to join this tour, and because of family situations, have been unable to. However, we are now really looking forward to getting back to Europe (our last trip was in 2004) and seeing a part of Italy with which we are unfamiliar. The tour focuses on natural fibers - alpaca (we will be staying on an alpaca farm in Umbria), cashmere, linen, etc., and the dyeing and manufacture of these textiles. As well we will be visiting olive orchards, vineyards, and craft studios, as well as eating truffles, and maybe hunting for them as well! All our meals are included, and should be spectacular. Our first 2-3 days will be spent on our own in Florence. We will return home in early June.

Off to the races

Our first post to our new travel blog. We'll be heading to Umbria and Tuscany on May 20. Please join us on our Italian adventure! We'll be posting pictures and text while traveling.