Roman Soldier

I don't think I would have made a good Roman soldier although I definitely have the body for it :-). Teresa and I had a good trip and it looked like David was having fun too. I got a lot of good pictures, but I find I don't blog very well if I don't make the entries right away. Otherwise, you forget the little personal detail that made it interesting. At least that is the way it is for me.

So why didn't I blog right away? Because there weren't many internet connections along the way thank goodness. Of course that meant I was overwhelmed with work email when I returned.

One of the nice things about a trip like this is I came back thoroughly rested. But it didn't last long. Oh well, I'm caught up again. And how lucky to visit such beautiful places and hear David in concert. Rather than write a lot more I am just going to post some pictures of the trip. Be sure and look behind Yebisu if you are interested...

Firenze

I have just returned from a trip to Firenze, Pisa, Paris, and Doha. I think I have published pictures of the last three before so I thought I'd show you something from Firenze (Florence).

Firenze is a nice small city and of course famous for it's contribution to the Renaissance. It is also famous for wine, food, and fashion - especially leather (think purses Megan). Here are 5 different views of the famous cathedral in Firenze, the Duomo, starting in the upper left and going clockwise.

1 The dome visible over buildings from my hotel window

2 Inside the cathedral looking up at the dome

3 The facade of the cathedral

4 The baptistry with cathedral and dome in back

5 The main entrance

On this trip Ikeda-san bought a $100 bottle of Tuscany wine in a restaurant that I was unable to fully appreciate but thought was very good indeed. Ikeda-san likes wine whereas Hatta-san likes sake. I have decided wine is more likely to give me a headache and I'm leaning towards Hatta-san.

This week my visitors show up and we are going to Kyoto and Nara. There should be more Japanese pictures in the next posting...

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Where is Waldo?

OK, it has been pointed out that I haven't been blogging lately. It is true. I have been doing two things - travel (work related) and work (work related). Guess where Waldo was most recently from the picture. I wasn't actually working here, but on my way to Massa. Massa is the town on the coast just below the place where Michelangelo used to get his marble.

Anyway, this blog space is about Japan and I have recently proved something which I had previously though I had disproved: Socks can disappear during clothes washing in Japan - it is not just an American phenomenon or one related to having kids around. I have recently lost about 4 socks after going nearly two years without losing a single one. I don't know if the gremlin followed me here or if they live here and just hadn't noticed me before now. Very strange.

Anyway, I am now trying to figure out if they are eaten by the washer or the dryer. I always assumed the dryer but that was just an assumption. Hopefully I will find something more exciting to write about soon...

The beach at Massa, Italy