East west wherever you meet family and friends is best

We have had a wonderful few weeks, filled with visits with family and friends.

First, Mary Battista and her granddaughter Sara Battista surprised us in Siena. We went to language school together and had lots of fun sharing meals, apperitivi in the beautiful Piazza del Campo, and field trips in Chianti. We spoke Italian together and compared notes on the finer points of Italian grammar. We got to know Sara very well. What a lovely young woman with a big heart and a positive attitude about everything! What a pleasure to spend time with Mary and Sara.

Next, we had a fantastic two weeks with Ed and Lena and Lena’s extended family in Germany. It was so much fun to share extended time with such a welcoming family. We hiked and laughed and shared big meals and partied and constantly stayed on the go. The family energy is amazing. Lena’s grandpa Dieter ran circles around us out on the trail and Lena’s grandmothers Gunna and Marlena were right out there on the trail with us. The 40th birthday party of Lena’s Aunt Heimi was cause for everyone in the family to gather from all corners of Germany and California and Virginia for a days-long celebration. How many families do you know who can pull that off for a birthday party? Then the whole family turned out for a professional ice hockey gamewhich was played an hour’s train ride from Munich because Lena’s cousin plays on the team, and the family ethic is to show up and support anyone in the family who is playing a sport or singing or playing an instrument in a performance. What a fantastic family! With the added bonus of attending the Octoberfest parade and going to an Octoberfest beer hall,it was a special visit for us indeed.

Once back in Siena, we had the pleasure of hosting Cousin Angela Munro, who is the daughter of Leslie’s Cousin Mary Louise (aka Wease). Angela happened to be in Florence for a weddingand although we had not talked in ages, she thought to text Leslie to find out if Leslie and Karl happened to be in Italy. We are so glad she did! We met Angela upon her arrival at the Siena train station, after the Florence wedding, and treated her to a trip on the seven amazing escalators that run from the station up to the old city center where we live. Angela did some sightseeing while we were in school the next morning with a local guide (Paolo) we found (who asked Angela to call him Uncle Paul 🙂) Angela was a quick study. She told us things we did not know about Siena monuments that she had learned on her guided tour. Angela also got right into the spirit of things by spending time with us at Bar Manganelli on the magnificent Piazza del Campo and dining with us at La Taverna San Giuseppe. It was so nice to be with Angela.Last but not least, we spent a great two weeks catching up with Karl’s sister Jane and our brother-in-law Jim from Alaska.We overlapped our time at school by two weeks, and spent 6 days of that in class together. The four of us even managed to do a very creditable job speaking Italian together. We laughed at ourselves and apologized for being grammar nerdsas we drifted into discussing the finer points of Italian grammar while we were at our apartment or having drinks at Bar Manganelli with Angela. Leslie had never had a chance to spend so much quality personal time with Jane and Jim, and it was wonderful to get to know each other even better than before.

Now we are back on the hiking road. It is great for the two of us to be out here again, seeing and experiencing new things and having new adventures. But we treasure the time we have spent with family and friends this year in Italy and Germany.