Sorrento, Capri and Napoli and Now Rome

When we got to Sorrento they wanted 35 cents per minute for internet access. Obviously, I am not going to do that, so we have some catching up do do! One thing is for sure. We are not sitting on our hands.

We took the train from Florence to Naples. When we got to the station we had a driver waiting who took us from the station to our hotel, which was the Bellevue Syrene in Sorrento. The hotel is about 200 feet up off the ocean front. We had a seaside room with a view of the Bay of Sorrento and Mt Vesuvius. The room was really unusual. Very large, with mirrors, painted in purple and white. The view from the room was spectacular. Sorrento is a kind of old seaside resort. The only thing there is fishing and tourism. They are well known for lemon products, like lemoncello, lemon soap, etc. The first day we spent time walking around and getting to know the town.

On day two we had a tour of Capri, which is a 25 minute boat ride from Sorrento. The only way to describe Capri is captivating. This is the land of the rich and famous...kind of like Malibu. Everyone of note has a villa in Capri...and if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it! I have lots of pictures which I will post here. Words really don't do the island justice.

Our tour took the entire day. We saw every part of the island....taking a cable chair to the very top.

After hanging out in Sorrento for a few days we went on to Naples and Pompeii. We did not spend much time in Naples, but it looked like it could be an interesting place to visit were there more time. We did spend two hours touring the ruins of Pompeii. Very impressive. Apparently this is the largest excacation site in Europe and one of the largest in the world, next to Egypt.

We arrived in Rome from Naples yesterday. We spent last night getting familiar with our hotel, The Eden Hotel, and surrounding area. We are 10 minutes from the Spanish Steps and about 15 minutes from Trevi Fountain. Today we did a tour of the Vatican...the ususal, St Peter's Square and Bacillica, the Sisten Chapel, The Vatican Museum, etc. It is overwhelming. I had artwork overload. There is just not enough time to see it all. The best part was seeing the Pieta, which I have only seen copies of heretofore.

From the Vatican we took a cab to the Colleseum and from there walked back to the hotel. We stopped to see a gallery showing of Piccasso, which was very good. We also stoppped to see the Forum. It was about a 2 mile hike back to the hotel, so Yoko and I were both pooped by the time we got back. (We left for the Vatican at 9 AM and did not get back to the hotel till about 5 PM this evening.) We spent the evening enjoying the view from the Terrace Bar on the top of this hotel that looks out over the city of Rome. After that we went out and had dinner on Via Veneto, where we found a place that had a great piano player. It was a nice way to end the day. Yoko did not like the food, but the piano player made her cry, so all in all it was a success.

She is sitting next to me and wishes you all well. It is hard to believe that this trip is nearly over!

Last Day in Florence

Today was our last day in Florence. We started out the day as we normally do with breakfast in the hotel. We had a 10 AM appointment to visit the Uffizi Gallery, where we could see the progression of art from The Bysantine Period to the 17th century. There are over 50 rooms in the Uffizi. We had an audio guide that explained what we were seeing in each gallery. It is a great way to tour an art gallery. We saw all the great masters of the Rennaisance in this meseum. We were there for nearly three hours and saw just about every room.

We took a rest at a cafe in the gallery before heading on to lunch. We stopped for lunch at a place where they make Turkish wraps. Not the best choice. Yoko and I are both kind of sick of Italian every day and decided to eat at something NOT Italian last night. iI asked the concierge at the hotel if there was a French restaurant we could try and he unequivially said "there are no French restaurants in Florence". When I asked what he could suggest that was not Italian, he offered us Chinese! So last night we had Chinese at a place a few minutes from the hotel. Yoko had dunplings and a noodle soup; I had wanton soup and a beef and green pepper dish. For desert we had amindofu...yum. It was actually pretty good, though somewhat lacking in atmosphere.

Anyway, this afternoon, after lunch, we went to the Academia Gallery to see Michaelangelo's David. Very impressive. I had no idea that is was so big. They had a lot of sculpture in this gallery as well as a special display on Giotto, who was called the father of the Rennaisance. The gallery was not that large and we were in and out in an hour.

The rest of the afternoon we spent walking around the city. I bought a book called the Story of Art, that is a best selling art history book from the 1950's. Yoko bought some street art from people plying there wares in the Plazza. We listened to a suprano sing opera in one plaza, in another we listened to a guitarist. He was so good I bought two of his CDs! Anyway, it was a beautiful day...blue skys and 70 degrees, and a pgreat way to spend a Sunday.

E went to the Catherdral to hear mass, stopping at the Savoy for coffee and a lemonchillo. There was some special event going on...Bishop Guisepi was saying mass. The massive Duomo was filled to the brim with people. There was so many people, in fact, that they set up a large screen TV in the Piazza in front of the church, so the overflow crowed could watch.

Tonight we are going out for dinner at an upscale restaurant called Alle Murata, reccommended by the hotel. I am hoping it will be good.

tomorrow we head for Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast.

The Undoing of the Medici

The Medici Family were the dominent family in Florence for centuries. Today we visited the Ptti Palace whiich was the Medici residence in Florence. The Pitti Palace is very much like the Versailles Palace in France. The extravagance was remarkable. When you consider how poor the average person was, the kind of conspicous consumption is a bit overwhelming. We saw many of the great artists...including Ruebens, Van yke, Raphael, Titian, etc. Every room was gigantic and adorned with lavish murals, paintings, frescos, etc. All of it was acquired by the Medici family over hundreds of years. It made me wonder....whatever happened to the Medici Family? Are they still around today?

Our guide was a man named Pasquale. He explained that the last Medici was a woman, who was the last of the family line. Since there were no male heirs, she ended up making the city of Florence her benefactor. But the splendor of the palace and the unbelieable wealth, in the end, had no real value. In the end, the owners and the family died. No one remembers all the people whose portraits hang in the hallways. But they DO remember the painters! It is not what you are or who you are that is important, it is what you have done. I doubt that at the time the artisits realized that they would be more recognized by future generations than the patrons who paid them!

We are amazed and awe struck by the patience and talent of these past generations. What all this should really do is inspire us to do better. I was struck by the idea that young people should have the chance to be inspired by the past and learn from the mistakes as well as the accomplishments of our forebearers.

Firenze Frenzy

We moved from Balogna to Firenze (Florence) by train yesterday. That was unexciting, except to mention that we made it a point to get to the station early and be ready to board. When we got to the platform, I asked the conductor where our coach (coach 1) would be. He said it would be the last car, at the end of the platform. The only problem is that he pointed to the wrong end of the platform. When the train finally arrived, we were stuck racing down the platform 16 cars, getting on board just as the doors were about to close.

Our hotel is the Helvitia and Bristol, one of the top hotels in Florence. In each of the cities we have stayed thus far we have had luxurious accomodations. When I get back to the US I will post a few pictures. Suffice it to say, the rooms have been great, even though we are not getting a lot of use. Yoko and I just walked around the historic district yesterday, came back to the hotel, cleaned up and went to an 8 PM dinner at a place recommend by the hotel called Tratorria Trebbio, only a few minutes walk away. Yoko had minestrone soup and pasta pomodoro; I had bruchetta and grilled chicken. The food was delicious and relatively inexpensive. We made it back to the hotel by 11 PM.

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel and were then met by our driver/guide. This was an all day excursion out of the city of Florence and into the Tuscan countryside. The first place we stopped was the Masini terra cotta factory, where we were given a guided tour of this family run business in Inpruneta. Here they make giaint sisterns, decorated flower pots, cherubs, and other decorative items, sold all over the world. After the factory tour we went to a small town called Greve, where we could stroll around and have lunch. There were lots of little shops to see, backeries and deli's. Everywhere there is the dried hams hanging, wine and cheeze. These places do not smell as good as I remember the Italian deli's smelling when I was a kid. There are some pretty stong cheezes in these places that would just take your breath away. They are nonetheless fun to visit. The vegetable stores sell vegetables I don't recognize, but the ingregients look so fresh. It is no wonder the food tastes good.

After lunch we went to a small handbag factory, where they make prototype bags for all the big lables. We watched them cut and sew bags for Guchi and observed them measring custs of alligator hide. I remarked that we were from Florida and would be happy to become a supplier. She then showed us how they tag the skins to avoid purchasing poached hides. (Anyway, could make a nice side business and now we have an Italian connection!) After the tour we went to the showroom, where I insisted Yoko purchase a bag -- our ssecond souvenier of the trip. She found something in alligator!

The last stop of the day was the best. We went to a private castle at the top of a hill, where we were greeted by the German daughter-in-law of the owners. This place was called Castello Della Paneretta. The castle has been in existance since the 13th century and has a long and intersting history. It is surrounded by 11 acres of vineyard and 120 acres of woodland. They produce a true Chianti -- meaningthe grapes are only Sangiovese grapes or up to 10% Canaiolo, depending on the wine being produced. Apparently, there are many chanti's that mis international grapes (Merlot, Cabernet, etc.) and therefore are not true Chiantis. I asked about the Chanti in the straw-wrapped bottle. I only got a scoff. Apparently the most valuable part of that wine is the bottle.

Anyway, our guide (Patricia Eckert) is "partnered" with the son of Fabio Albesetti, the owner. She was telling us her story, which was quite interesting. She was working for a bank and was married to her first hiusband, who was a wine maker (which is a profession you study for, which I did not know.) She got divorced and met her current partner when in Italy doing something related to wine making. Anyway she moved to the family home about 6 months ago. Nice life, to say the least.

After giving us a tour of the winery, we went to a room where they had prepared lunch meats and cheeze. There were several bottle of wine and a desert wine to sample. We probably stayed over an hour sampling wine and chatting. Of course, we ended up buying a case to be shipped home. It was well worth the price and will be someplace we can continue to buy direct in the future.

After the wine tasting we drove to the city of Siena, where we went to see the plazza where they have the running of the horses each year. I forget the name ...da Plamo, or something. We had seen a discovery channel special about this not long ago. It is really something to see. Siena is on top of the mountain and quite difficult to get to, even by car. The streets are very very narrow and regular cars are not allowed in the historic district. Anyway, we were able to go through the city by car. I think if I was planning a future truip I would want to spend some time in Siena.

We did not get back to the hotel until 7 PM. We took a two hour nap and awoke to get something to eat. We decided on room service instead of going out. Tomorrow we are going on a guided tour of Florence, they day after we are free to tour the city ourselves. Today marks our first week in Italy. My, time does fly!

Bologna -- The Gastronomic Capital of Italy

We took the train from Venice to Balogna yesterday. Nothing to report, other than we were the only people getting off in Balogna. Everyone else was continuing on to Florence. Balogna is kind of an overlooked attraction. It does not get the tourists that other cities do, but that is not to say that there is not plenty to see here.

We had a walking tour of the city center with a guide yesterday. This is a city of students. The oldest university in Europe is the University of Balogna, dating back to around 1000 Ad. It is also home to some of the earliest churches in Europe. We visited the library, some churches, the first ampitheater for anatomy study, etc. The most interesting thing we heard on this tour is that the main church here is the target of Islamic terroists. The reason is that there is a fresco by Dante that shows hell. In this hell are non-believers, including the Mohammed. Apparently the fresco was painted in 1,400....but now Islamic terroist are targeting the church because of this. The world is insane.

The food markets here are something to see. They say that Balogna is the gastronomic capital of Italy and I can see why. Last night we went to Pappalago's, which is apparently one of the city's most famous restaraunts. I had salmon and peppers for an appetizer; Yoko had eggplant. Then she had sea bass and I had a pasta dish. Very good, indeed. For desert we had ice cream with hot blueberries and expresso with ameretto. Motto Bene!

Today we are leaving for Florence, where we will spend the next three or four days. I am looking forward to seeing this city. Hopefully, if there is a business center at the next hotel I can share a bit more of the traveloge.

Motto Bene, Venice

We made it to Venice from Milan with out a problem. The night before we left we had dinner at a place called da Bice, which is suppose to be a trendy restaurant in Milan. It was recommended by our guide. Yoko had ossobucco; I had veal cutlet Milanese style. The food was good...but Yoko's veal is MUCH better.

We took a train from Milano Station from 12:55 and arrived in Venice around 3:30 PM. The only incident to report about the train ride was the difficulty in finding our reserved seats. We were in First Class, Coach 1, seats 13 and 15. When we got onboard, there was no seat 13 and 15. The first number I saw started at 21... Well after searching around, we finally found someone who could show us the seat. For some reason, our seats were right before 21...but not in order!

When we got to Venice we had someone greet us and take us by private launch to the Gritti Palace Hotel, which is right on the Grand Canal. We have really enjoyed the city. The first night Yoko and I went exploring and tried to get lost in the narrow streets. Everywhere you turn is a picture. We had a nice dinner that night at a place we found. I had penne arabiata, Yoko had a pizza.

On the first full day in town we had a guided tour of Murano and Burano islands. Murano is where they make Venetian glass; Burano is famous for it fisheries and lace making. The glass blowing was fun to watch but then we were captured customers. They took us on a private tour of the showroom, with the salesman following us around. It was hard to not buy something! We broke down and purchased a glass sculpture, which we are having shipped home. I am sure we paid way too much, but one thing I have learned about the Italians is, if there is a way to make money, they are going to take it!

When we got got back from the tour we went to the Peggy Gugenheim museum of modern art. That was a very interesting collectioin. They had lots of artists that were living at the turn of the century. Turns out that Gugenheim was determined to use her inherited wealth to support living artists. These included Jackson Pollack, Picasso, Miro, etc. She moved to Venice, purchased a "palace" that she rennovated into a residence and museam and for the next 30 years lived here supporting the arts. Nice life, eh?

By far the best thing we have done so far is to attend an evening concert in a church next to San Marco Piazza. This was a once hour concert with a chamber orchestra featuring a saprano and tenor. The concert featured the most famous Italian arias from Vivaldi and Puccini. The music and the setting was so beautiful. All I could think was how happy my father would have been to be there to hear this. I was overcome with emotion and just lost it. Yoko and I both thought that this had been a highlight of the trip so far. Afterward (around 9 PM) we had dinner and ended the evening at a piano bar.

The next day we had a guided tour of the back streets of Venice. She took us to the Palazz0 Deucele, which was really quite large and lavishly decorated. Our guide explained the history of Venice, how the city was made, the government, the arts, etc. I thought to myself while listening to all of this that it would really be good to have all American high school students come to Europe and spend a week or two learning about European history. When I was in school it was hard to understand...but coming here helps to bring clarity.

After the morning tour, we found a Japanese restaurant, where would could have sushi and miso for lunch. (Not the best Japanese I have ever had.) The rest of the afternoon we spent exploring. In San Marco square they had a small orchestra playing, so we spent time in the cafe there listening to the music. I discovered something called the hot shot, which is galleano, expresso and cream, in three layers in a clear class. The galleano is yellow and sits on the bottom, the expresso is on top and the cream sit on top. Delicious.

Arrivederci Florida, Bueon Giorno Italia!

Yoko and I left Florida on my birthday, October 16th, to mark the one year survival since being diagnosed with lung cancer. Our flight from Florida (Delta Airlines) was uneventful. The only part of this trip that is not first class was the flights. (I could not see paying three times as much money to arrive on the same plane!) They did NOT, however, have to seat us for the 9 hour flight next to the lavatories. Besides the steady stream of traffic, we had no good view of a movie screen and, over time, every opening of the bathroom doors released an oder no decent human being would claim. The plane was also cold and I was affraid I was going to land in Milan with psnumonia. I was happy when we landed, to say the least!

Yoko and I passed through passport control and customs in less than an an hour and were greeted by a our driver sporting a sign with our name. Our black Mercedes was waiting for us at curbside and we were wisked away to our hotel. The airport is a bit of a ways from cental Milan and it took a while to navigate our way into town. As it turned out there was a transportation strike and demonstration happening on Friday morning, round the time we were trying to get to our hotel. Everytime we got close to our destination a Cabeneri would waive us away in the opposite direction. If it was not for the fact that I was hungy and tried and had to pee, I wouldn't have minded because we saw a lot of the city by private car!

The hotel we are staying at it is the Carlton Baglioni Hotel on Via Sento. You can check it out at ww.baglionihotels.com. The hotel is very convenient in the heart of central Milan near the shopping. After arriving we took a shower (our room is a suite with a great overhead pour down shower) and then slept for a few hours. In the early evening we got up and went for a short stroll around the hotel. The weather was perfect and the area immediately behind the hotel (Via della Spiza) is a pedestrian only street that goes for maybe half a mile with shops (Armani, Prada, Tiffany) on both sides of the street. After returning to the hotel we went to the bar for a drink and loitered there in the outside terrace for an hour or so. We made reservations for dinner for 9 PM and returned to the room....but at 8 PM we were both too tired to eat. We ended up canceling our dinner reservation and sleeping for the rest of the night.

Yoko woke up around 2 AM and could not sleep, so she woke me as well! We watched TV until we both fell asleep again at 3 AM. We were up at 6:30 AM to prepare for our first tour of the trip. We had breakfast (complimentary) at the hotel and were then greeted by Ms Sara Santa, a Japanese speaking Italian tour guide. Her Japanese and English were excellent. We hopped a cab to to the Santa Maria delle Grazie church. Next to the church is the convent which houses Leonardo de Vinci's Last Supper. The painting is huge, covering an entire wall which was the convent's cafeteria. You need tickets and reservations and only 1000 people a day are allowed in to see the painting...so very few people will ever see it in their lifetime. Also, the painting is fading over time and will not be something people will be able to see in a few more hundred years, despite the Italians best efforts to preserve it.

One thing I did learn, which was surprising, was that the Allied bombing of Milan in WWII destroyed the convent. The room where the Last Supper was painted was destroyed as well, but the painting itself was not. They say it is another miracle related to the painting.

After seeing the Last Supper, we went for a stroll through downtown Milan. First we went to Castello Sforzecs, which lies on the northern end of the cental city. After that we went to see the Duomo, which is an all marble cathedral that took more than 600 years to build. Our walking tour ended in front of La Scalla. From there Yoko and I went to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, where we had tea and coffee at the famous Sivino's. From there we walked back to our hotel to rest.

In the afternoon we had a quick bite to eat at a local place where they served Italian sandwiches and the like. I had gnoci al la pomodero...not my favorite. Yoko had roasted vegetables. After that we returned to the room. Yoko had a bubble bath and I went for a relaxing massage.

Tonight we are going out to diner at a place called da Bice, which our guide had recommended as the one place to go in town if you have only one night to go somewhere. We have 8 PM dinner reservations.

So far everything is going smoothly. I am looking forward to leaving for Venice tomorrow. Arrivederci y'all.

No More Treatments!

It has been a while since I have added to the blog. I've been busy.

This Friday, October 10th, was the last day of the main part of the clinical trial. I got through the entire eight weeks without any significant problems. Throughout the trial I have I had "flu like symptoms" but nothing too debilitating. Each week has been something different. Sore throat, ear aches, headaches, fatigue and joint pain have all come and gone in different weeks. The worst part has been driving up and back the clinic each week (2 hours each way). Now that the main part of the trial is over, I only have to go back every six weeks for booster shots. Next week I have go back for a blood test, see the doctor, and take a "quality of life" survey. That will be the last visit until November 21st, when I get my first booster. Sometime in November I also have to have a PET and CT Scans to check on whether there is any progression of the disease.

What are my current symptoms? I have some pain in the nasal passages in my forehead...feels like a black and blue just above my eyebrows. I can not open my mouth fully. I have what feels like lock-jaw when I try to take a big bite of something. I have peripheral neuropathy, which I feel mostly in my toes and feet. My fingers are also a bit affected. My feet feel numb and so do my fingers a little. I have costcocondritis, which only hurts if I am stationary too long. It bothers me if I sit for two hours in a chair, say watching football. If I get up and stretch, it goes away. I have noticed that I do not get through the night without having to get up to pee at least once. I guess my kidneys are not what they were. I have a cough and I wheeze a bit, probably a result of the radiation. My hair has not yet grown back, but it appears to be making some "headway"! All of this probably paints an image of me coming apart piece by piece, but in fact I look and feel pretty healthy, all things considered.

The next stage of my recovery has got to be working on my mental state and trying to stay positive. The severe drop in the stock market these last few weeks has been very wearing. First I get diagnosed with cancer....and just when we are getting over this disaster, we experience the worst week in the market since the great depression! Give me a break!

I have been thinking for years that a dark cloud has been following me around, since my days at Arthur Andersen. I guess life was just too good back then and now we are paying the price! (In Japanese, Bachi ga attaru.) Think about the disasters we have weathered in the last 10 years: loss of my business and most of our savings in 1997, the stock market collapse starting in 2000 right after joining Smith Barney, the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001; the death of Yoko's Dad in 2001, my Dad in 2002 and Yoko's Mom in 2004, the loss of our house in hurricane Charley in 2004 and living in temporary housing in 2005; the shut down of Smith Barney's office in 2007 and then my diagnosis of cancer last October. This year has been about the market meltdown, which has turned the financial services industry upside down. Somehow, we have gotten through it all. That's life, I guess.

Next week Yoko and I are leaving for a two week tour of Italy. I am going to try to just forget all our worries for the next few weeks and enjoy. Right now I am feeling a little guilty about leaving when there is such market turmoil, but we've been planning this trip for the last six months. I don't know when I would again be in a position to travel like this, so we are going. I would feel better about leaving if the market begins to come back next week! Let's hope for sunshine and fair weather!