Tower of Strength

Over half a year since I knew something was wrong with my body, and here I am with the apparent strength of Samson, holding up the Tower of Pisa. I was here in March of '78 and climbed to the top. Nowadays that's pretty expensive. The first time Jackie saw the tower she refused to walk on the "falling" side of it - thought it would come down on top of her for sure!

Bernice and I are here with Tim and Jackie, and it's been beautiful weather - even dipped our toes in the green waters of the Mediterranean. We've rented a lovely apartment in an ancient stone house in the country, and from there we drive each day to places like Siena, Florence, Volterra, and San Gimignano. Beautiful towns in a place that reminds me of the Holy Land. Maybe because the renaissance painters from this area painted so many Holy Land scenes, and always set them in this kind of landscape?

San Gimignano is a town which was a stop on the pilgrim route from northern Europe to Rome. It became quite rich as a result, and to this day has about 20 tall stone towers built by competing families to show off their wealth! You can see the town from many miles away, as it sits on the top of a hill, and then the towers rise from there.

Italy is the most interesting of all the European nations, and though I've been here often, it still seems like a dream too good to be real.

Our Bentley

No - this isn't our Bentley ... but it WOULD be nice! Each March we drive down to Geneva with friends for the Auto Show! Canada may have its Chevy's, and Fords, and such, but here we see the Maybachs, Lamborghinis, and Ferraris of the world, along with the VW's and Škodas and Volvos, of course.

This Bentley would be one of my choices if I could have three or four cars - maybe with its powerful engine it would make a good camping car - you know, for pulling the trailer! The boys have had a great day at the show today - and it is always fun to drive along the Autobahn later with all the other auto-show'rs. Of course, our car is always the beater of the day - we usually have a contest to see if anyone can find a car worth less than ours. Once Chris saw one, he thought. But hey, what can we expect - this is Switzerland!