From Florence to Rome…

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Dave

View from Piazza Michaelangelo – Florence

As usual, it has been a challenging balancing act performing my unofficial role of tour guide–trying to see as much as possible without any of us passing out from exhaustion–though I think we all came fairly close in Rome this evening.

I was able to break away for a couple hours early yesterday morning and made the walk from our apartment to San Miniato al Monte as I planned.  Thankfully, the walk up the hill was much less severe than I anticipated.  The experience was enhanced by the fact that I was the only person in San Miniato and this added an element of spirituality than I wasn’t expecting.

We were able to watch the Steelers game at La Botticella in Rome last night and you would have thought you were siting in a bar on Carson street on the South Side of Pittsburgh…but a block away was Piazza Navona…a juxtaposition that was difficult to mentally process.  A great experience all the way around….great beer, people and a last second Steelers victory.

The Rome-Pittsburgh connection continued the next day.  As we exited the Pantheon, we ran directly into Bishop David Zubik–Pittsburgh’s Roman Catholic Bishop.  Kevin and Renee introduced themselves and chatted a bit and got a photo with him in front of the Pantheon.  Not sure what the chances are that two Catholic Pittsburghers would run into their Bishop outside the Pantheon in Rome…wow.

It is after midnight and I have to get prepared for another long day tomorrow.  I’ll leave you with a few more photos from the last two days.

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Italy…again.

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Dave

Zeno – Enoteca Pitti Gola E Cantina

Yes, back in Italy again–after saying I wouldn’t be returning for quite some time.  It took less than 11 months.  I have to thank Renee and Kevin–old friends from my junior high and high school days–who coaxed me and Steph to return to help them celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.  We have only been here 2 days and I have already spent more on food than I have in the umpteen times I have been here combined.

One thing that stood out already–and it will be difficult to top–is the fantastic experience we had at the Enoteca Pitti Gola E Cantina.  It is certainly worth all of the praise that folks heap upon it on Tripadvisor and other sources.  Thank you Zeno for being a great host and for the seemingly endless sampling of great wine and equally great food.

It is 1 am in the morning and I want to try to awake around 6 am to walk to San Miniato for a little exercise…though I need a bit more than a little exercise after the last two days.  Looking forward to the walk…haven’t been up to San Miniato yet and many rave about it.

Not much more to say tonight…as usual I’ll let the photos do the talking.

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The importance of living in the moment….

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Dave

View of Half Dome from the Panorama Trail

Near the end of our trip, Derek aptly pointed out that when I get an idea in my mind, I usually attack it with a complete disregard for moderation. This has been clearly evident in the last year when I started on my self-proclaimed National Parks Tour. In the last year, I have been to Mammoth Caves, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Glacier, Yellowstone, Death Valley, Grand Canyon (both the north and south rims on two separate trips), Yosemite (twice) and, for good measure, Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada (I guess I ran out of places in the U.S.). I think I drove over 5000 miles in 3 separate trips out west this last year. The clear downside of this mentality is that I don’t allow myself to live in the moment; I am constantly thinking and planning for “what’s next.”

Although I clearly enjoyed my latest adventure—even more so being with Derek and Jarrett who I haven’t seen in a while—I still found myself thinking one step ahead and didn’t embrace the experience as Jarrett described in the last post. So, I clearly have some things to work on as I approach my next adventure.

However, I can say with absolute certainty that I have the National Parks bug out of my system. In fact, I think I now have the credentials to be hired by the U.S. National Parks Service as I spent more time inside National Parks this past year than some of the park rangers.

Concerning the latest trip, I have many good thoughts to post and a few bad ones. I hope to get around to putting these thoughts into words in the next few days. Until then, I will leave you with a few of my favorite pics.

Dave

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Sierra Mountains and Yosemite – The importance of insignificance

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Dave

Jarrett fishing on the Panorama Trail - Yosemite National Park

It has been 2 weeks since we returned from our 10 day trip to the Sierra Mountains and I haven’t written anything about the experience.   The main reason is that I have been in the process of moving into a new house and haven’t found the time.  Luckily, Jarrett has volunteered to write the first post for our trip and I won’t waste any time posting it….in his own words…

“The importance of insignificance…

It often takes an experience like this to open ones eyes as to how trivial their “stresses”really are. The immensity of the landscape as we saw it humbled me and I never tired of seeing it. Gradually I was able to let go of the wretchedness and boredom of my career and actually enjoy myself. The time at which I most realized this was while fly fishing one of the Deer Ponds. Knee deep in the stunning blue water and watching the setting sun illuminate the canyon wall; I cast my fly to rising trout. Some were caught but many were lost as I could only look in bewilderment at the scene which surrounded me. This was the most serene I have felt in years. I have brought this memory back with me and think of it often when the sense of urgency or alarm props up in daily life. Things really aren’t as important or disquieting as I once thought, (specifically with the aforementioned job). To further propel this feeling is the idea of carrying everything you need for multiple days survival on your back. To live so simply out of a backpack and make the most efficient use of space was both exhilarating and relaxing. If you didn’t have it and made it through a night, you didn’t need it. I very much look forward to loading the pack fly rod into the pack and heading out again.”

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Final day…Yellowstone revisited…

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Dave

Grand Prismatic Spring - Yellowstone NP

We are back home today after another long day of driving yesterday. We decided to return to Yellowstone, traveling from Jackson, WY through the eastern border of Idaho then back to Montana and Yellowstone via the West entrance of the park. The total amount of driving we did during the week totaled 1788 miles…I believe this is a record for me…there is just so much to see out West; particularly in this area. One of the main reasons we decided to take the long way back to Helena, through the park again, was to see Grand Prismatic Spring (see photo above). We saw photos of this site on so many travel guides that we had to see it for ourselves. It certainly didn’t disappoint. One of the really cool things about the experience was the walk up the wooden path to site. It was a cool day somewhere in the mid 40’s but the steam coming off the springs made it seem like we were in a sauna. The colors of the spring were the most amazing we had seen all week.

Our decision to take the long way home benefited us again as we decided to make a stop in Bozeman again and discovered that their Friday Art Walk season started this particular Friday. Of course, I had to buy a few items and ended up spending way over my budget–but it’s not like that hasn’t happened in the past (actually, it happens on every trip). We ended the evening at Ted’s Montana Grill followed by a 90 minute drive back to Helena on a one lane road in the rain and dark.

The 6AM flight back has left us exhausted but we have to recharge for The Shins concert in town this evening. I will still post more stories and photos from the trip over the next week or so….I hope.

Posted in Idaho, Montana, Northwest, US, Wyoming, Yellowstone NP | Leave a comment