xmascard 10: credits, comments, ani and bob news for
2010
- Notes:
Ani studied Italian a second month at bob's language school
DiLit.com in Rome in June while we spent a delightful
2.5 months living in Rome in the same apartment as last year, thanks Maria!
bob's stomach wall was not in a cooperative mood, putting a damper on the
daily access to great cappuccino and cheap wine along with our tasty local
food for him, though not for ani. Through great Italian friendships we were
able to spend a terrific family weekend with Fede in Abruzzo, a few days on
the island of Ischia (Forio) just north of Naples with Laura and Bianca, and
another few days of family time at the beach town of Rosamarina in Puglia
near Ostuni, as well as a week for academic work on the coast where Italy
meets France, with a weekend trip into the nearby mountains with Remo and
Jacopo and friends.
The economic climate in the US continues to deteriorate from the point of
view of those at the bottom, while as usual those at the top always figure
out a way to hold onto their loot. With the unemployment benefits held
hostage in Congress for extending tax breaks for the rich in early December,
the season's annual theme seemed clear. Sadly there seems to be little hope
for the future. America is an empire in sharp decline with a hollow economy
that is beginning to collapse from within, pressed down by the weight of
excessive military spending.
There were some last minute realizations of errors: Albero Bello mispelled (Alberobello
is correct, see our
prickly pear gelato recipe). The greeting was translated into Italian in two different ways
on the first and second pages. There was just no time for calm proofreading,
after fighting so long with Microsoft Frontpage and Internet Explorer and
Adobe PDF output all of which disagreed on crucial spacing.
- Sketches:
In Italy one still sees comic books in daily news stands with characters
like Donald Duck and his
Uncle Scrooge,
symbolic of the super rich.
- Photos:
Our first page smiling
photo was snapped during our visit with Laura to Bianca's family hotel
in Forio, Ischia.
Padre Maffeo kindly took us on a tour of the new Vatican Observatory grounds
at the opposite end of the Vatican
Gardens from the Papal Palace in Castel Gandolfo where they had been
originally and then showed us around the gardens. A quiet moment before
pizza with Laura on the beach in Ischia
port. Two photos [1,
2] in the Abruzzo hills near
Torre di Passeri visiting Fede's family. Ani in the doorway of the
trullo of love in Alberobello where
Gianpaolo and Chiara took us in a tour of towns in Puglia. Finally after
decades we take the metro from Rome out to
Ostia Antica. It was a beautiful July day.
- Bonus photos:
On a park bench in Puglia with Chiara.
Lunch at the Bini's.
Lunch out in Sabaudia.
Zucchini pesto dinner at home in Rome.
Le Brigue France town medal ceremony. Math
dept Christmas brunch photo
by Joyce.
For photos of our summers 2009 and 2010 in Italy (and France), check out our
collection of
Facebook uploaded photos.
- Remembrances:
Our friend
Piero lost his battle with colon
cancer. We all miss him.
Etc.:
- The color of the paper this year was lime green. This annual enterprise was sent
out to about 480 recipients all over the world.
- Postscript:
This is for later maybe...
Congratulations! No one ever reads our news and you made it to the very end.