Ciao! It's the Italian word for "Hello" and "Good-Bye". I get to say "Hello" to you again!

 After being gone for 12 days, today I am back. My trip to Italy was nothing short of amazing. I talked nightly on the phone to my wife Mandy and she asked me to describe the trip to her. Time and again I used the words "life changing". To immerse yourself in another culture, another type of history...was amazing. Many of the historic sites I saw were built around the time to Jesus Christ. I saw places and things I had read about but never thought I would see in person. It was an amazing time. It was "life changing" in the sense that it opened my eyes to so many things. How America is viewed overseas. How people of another country live their lives in ways so similar to ours; there really are more similarities than differences. When traveling overseas, you feel a complete sense of helplessness because you're in an area you're not familiar with, working with people who do not speak your language. At some point, I realized this early, you just surrender yourself to the process. You observe, you react, you go with the flow and you end up having a fantastic time.

 We visited several different Italian cities. The most important one for me was Rome. In World War II, my grandfather spent a lot of time in Italy while serving with the 5th Army. He actually bivouaced in the Coliseum in Rome. He always wanted to go back and see it again for himself (without the stress of people trying to kill him). He never got to make the trip but I did. I went to the Coliseum and imagined the thrill and the fear he must have felt. It's during this time in Italy my grandfather developed a love for pasta and opera; loves which stayed with him until his death, At one point, I had to separate myself from the rest of the tour group and I shed some tears. I completed Grandpa's journey for him and it was an honor to do so.

 The following links will take you to several pictures I took of my trip. My informational captions are done for all cities except Rome. But check back again in the coming days and I will have them done. It had been a wild time this weekend, trying to fight off jet lag and the time change and nearly tackling Mandy, Austin and Cameron as I was so happy to see them.

 Here we go on the pictures:
 Pictures Of Verona, Italy
 Pictures Of Venice, Italy
 Pictures Of Mantua, Italy
 Pictures Of Florence, Italy
 Pictures Of San Gimignano, Italy
 Pictures Of Rome, Italy

 Take a look when you get a moment and I you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

 Quote Of The Day: "Men willingly believe what they wish." Julius Caesar

 This Day In History: 'The Jazz Singer', the first full length talking movie starring Al Jolson, premiered on this date, October 6th, 1927.

 Something You Should Check Out: "Saturday Night Live" is hitting it on the head every week in their take on the 2008 Presidential Race. Their spoof this past weekend of the Biden-Palin Debate was fantastic. Take a look and see what you think!