We went on an ITT (Information, Tickets, and Travel) trip yesterday to Verona, Italy. (ITT is the touring service offered through our base) Verona is the birthplace of Romeo and Juliet, as well as home for lots of theme park-ish entertainment. This trip was scheduled for a tour and historical explanation of the city, four hours of individual sightseeing, and a Medieval Times Dinner that evening. ITT is nice because you don't have to worry about driving, but it sure does make for a long day. By time we got home last night, I had been up for 21 hours straight. Whew...touring is exhausting...but well worth it!
By the way, I don't know why everything is underlined. I tried to fix it with no success...sorry!
Romeo's house in Verona Italy, which is now inhabited by local residents.
Rome says I was doing this while the tour guide was explaining the history of Verona...sad, but true. :)
Juliet's balcony
Statue of Juliet...it is said that touching her breast will bring you good luck.
Local police car...nice!
Verona Colosseum...by far the best part of the tour.
Inside of the Colosseum was very dungeon-like.
Getting ready to go into the Colosseum arena....climbing to the top!
Amazing!!!
Cool Colosseum door
Medieval Times entrance
Seated at our loooooong table...waiting for the fun to begin.
L to R: Jason Casimiro, Jennifer McCall, Me, and Ken McCall.
Still waiting...
Our "beer girl", who without request, topped off our beer throughout dinner. The guys were falling in love!
Medieval entertainment
Our team's knight. Rome and Ken thought he looked like the gigolo from "Deuce Bigalow". Jennifer and I more appropriately referred to him as, "hot sexy guy on a horse".
Since we don't have a scanner, this is a pic of the pic that the Medieval crew took before dinner. Here I am trying to be all serious and Rome is being a clown, as usual! Those of you who know Rome well will appreciate this. :)
My last job in Oklahoma City was with Moore Public Schools. I worked at Sooner Elementary for three years, and I met the BEST group of ladies there. Every day we ate lunch at a round table, and it didn't take long to adopt the name "Girls Of The Round Table". Actually, the name may have been established long before I got there. Either way, we called ourselves that for as long as I can remember. :)
We typically ordered out on Fridays, and one of our favorite spots was a Chinese Restaurant across the street. The restaurant had a calendar with their menu on it, and we kept it for ordering purposes. Shortly after I moved to Italy, I received a package in the mail. It was the Chinese calendar with messages on the back that the girls had written. I laughed my tail off (and admittedly dropped a few tears) when I opened the package, and I tucked the calendar away in the office.
Well, Ramiro and I were cleaning out the office this weekend, and we came across the calendar. Ramiro wanted to throw it away, but I absolutely refused! This silly little calendar, which I'm pretty sure has food stains on it, has too much sentimental value. Every time I look at it, I think of my girls from the round table. So girls (and particularly Dana since I'm pretty sure it was your idea to send the calendar)....this blog post is for you! I miss you girls every single day...love ya!
This picture was taken at my surprise "going away" dinner before leaving OKC. A few of the girls couldn't make it, but this is the majority...Kara, Dana, Sherri, Jennifer, Courtney, and Regina. I keep this pic on a shelf in the office...love it!
Front of the infamous calendar.
Back of the calendar...with their messages. Too funny!
Acclimating to the "Italian" way of life has been a small challenge. I accept the fact that it takes 2-3 hours to do a load of wash...I accept that I have no dishwasher...I accept that I can't turn on my microwave simultaneously with the dryer or we'll lose power...I even accept (but do not like) that our U.S. dollar is only worth .69 (give or take) of a euro. However, the one thing I'm struggling to accept is the lack of adequate A/C. In the picture below, you'll notice a small unit above the door. That unit is supposed to cool our entire three story house...yeah, right! We go as long we can before turning on this unit because supposedly it's very expensive to run. However, A/C is warranted when the temps are 80-90+ with humidity so high that your floors are wet. No wonder the Italians have mold problems! Don't they realize central A/C would cool and circulate the air, which would eliminate the mold? Guess not! It's a hot day...can you tell???
Happy 4th of July Everyone!So today was full of festivities on base to celebrate our independence. Unfortunately, the fireworks were rained out, but it was fun to hang out and be surrounded by "American" traditions. It almost felt like we were back in the states...if it weren't for the Italian Alps behind us. :) Hope all of you have a safe and enjoyable 4th!
Romeo's house in Verona Italy, which is now inhabited by local residents.
Rome says I was doing this while the tour guide was explaining the history of Verona...sad, but true. :)
Juliet's balcony
Statue of Juliet...it is said that touching her breast will bring you good luck.
Local police car...nice!
Verona Colosseum...by far the best part of the tour.
Inside of the Colosseum was very dungeon-like.
Getting ready to go into the Colosseum arena....climbing to the top!
Amazing!!!
Cool Colosseum door
Medieval Times entrance
Seated at our loooooong table...waiting for the fun to begin.
Still waiting...
Our "beer girl", who without request, topped off our beer throughout dinner. The guys were falling in love!
Our team's knight. Rome and Ken thought he looked like the gigolo from "Deuce Bigalow". Jennifer and I more appropriately referred to him as, "hot sexy guy on a horse". 
Since we don't have a scanner, this is a pic of the pic that the Medieval crew took before dinner. Here I am trying to be all serious and Rome is being a clown, as usual! Those of you who know Rome well will appreciate this. :) 
