Just when I thought it couldn't get any better...my last two days in Italy did! I visited with Malcolm and Maureen Barnes (their son, Paul, is a friend of mine from Nike) and their friends on the Eastern side of the Apennine Mountain range basking in the idyllic beauty of the lush tree-covered hills and vineyards dotting the landscape...Malcolm and Maureen (bottom picture) picked me up from the train station and they quickly whisked me away to Assisi - those of you who know your history, this is the city where St. Francis (1182 - 1226) did all his selfless work with the poor and hungry...we visited St. Francis Basilica where his tomb is kept...hard to put into words the atmosphere in the crypt...all you could do was absorb the energy and reflect. Contrast that with the grape picking in a family owned vineyard in the foothills of Apennine Mountains (owners Ronalto and Adrianna are in the top picture)...our task was to pick as many grape bunches as we could before the rains came (and they did come)...this was such a fun experience...not only because it was cool being part of the supply chain of bringing wine to people's wine glasses, but more importantly because of the people I met during the day...the group of grape pickers included two English couples, a Dutch couple, an laborer from Ethiopia, a couple of Italians and a sole American (that's me!)...to show their appreciation for the work our group did, Ronalto and Adrianna made an amazing lunch for all of us and they gave me a couple bottles of their wine to take home (one broke in transit...boo, hoo, sniffle, sniffle).
Look out for many more pics and stories in my kodakgallery photo album (not started yet) and more videos on YouTube.com...Thanks for taking this adventure with me!
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