Superga

Ok...allora tutti gia' conociate ci sono tanti chiesi impressivi (so all of you already know there are some really impressive churches)...but "Superga" is at the top of a really big hill looking over the city of Torino. I will post a couple of pictures so you can see some of the views. The river you see below is called "the Po" and along the Po at Piazza Vittoro Ventro are many many dance bars and clubs. You will also see the "Mole Antonelliana". It is a museo del cinema now and the most famous building in the city. It is actually on the 2 Euro coin...if you wanted that piece of information?!? Please enjoy the pics... Ciao tutti!

A rose by any other name...

Our second Thursday night with the "School Group" was at a Brazilian restaurant. This picture is of Erika Nodin. She is from Sweden and loves Michigan and chocolate chip cookies. More later!!!

Gelato...

Gelato translates as ice cream but if you have ever been to Italy you know it is Not ice cream. It is Gelato and really can only be made in Italy. If you had it you know what you're missing and if not than you need to find out!!!

Yea we partying!!!

Yea, we partying!!! Thursday night has become...like home...our group night out on the town! You can see my friend Catarina and I are having fun. She is at the school but from San Paolo, Brazil...

Italian Class...

Here is one of many pictures from last Thursday's outing with the Italian School. I am the only American at the school. I have made new friends in many other countries at the school and it looks like I will be traveling again to other countries to visit them once I am back home!!! Much more later...

Gabriele Cipriani

I wanted to write a quick message about Gabriele Cipriani. We met through his wife, Grazia, at the first Christmas dinner with "Il Circolo Italiano". Il Circolo Italiano is a local group of people in Kalamazoo who meet once a month and speak Italian together. Most of the people have lived in Italy for school or work at some point of their lives. Grazia was in the group and during our annual Christmas party everyone brings their husbands and wives. I found out they were both from Verona, Italy and we talked about the city, Italy and of course, Valpolicella wines. To make a long story short, Gabriele and Grazia officially moved to Kalamazoo in 1999 and he has been working in the printing business ever since.

He travels back to Italy for work about 2 times a year and I was lucky enough to be in Italy the same time he was coming. Where the story really gets interesting is 'VinItaly' was that same weekend. His friend Pierluca is in the wine business and helped open a lot of doors for me over there with his many contacts. Anyway, in closing, I want to say Thanks to Gabriele for all his help. As I said before, going to Verona was an incredible experience I will not forget! Ciao tutti!

Verona, Italy

This past weekend was my first visit to Verona, Italy and I can honestly say it is one of my favorite cities in the world. I have so many pictures but I will only post this one picture on this post. I took this picture from the "arena" in the center. The arena in Verona is over two thousand years old and is a smaller version of the Colosseo a Roma!!! I can not describe the beauty and history of this wonderful city.

The weekend I was in Verona (April 4-6) was the "VinItaly" event. VinItaly is the biggest annual wine event in all of Europe and so you can't just walk in. To get in to the event you have to be in the wine business, somehow, or know someone. I am not in the wine business yet but I did have the fortune of knowing someone.

His name is Gabriele Cipriani and I had an incredible opportunity to see Verona and all the surrounding area with him. Gabrielle was born in Verona and for the past 9 years has been in Kalamazoo. I will post more information on Gabriele at a later time with all the details of how I met him, etc. I will say this...if you are planning a trip to Northern Italy try and find at least an overnight stay in Verona. You will be glad you did!!!