SAN DIEGO!

As the only thing that truly means VACATION for our family is BEACH, we headed off to San Diego's Coronado Island! However, the weather did not cooperate, and it was cold and grey the whole time we were there!! So, we took advantage of the bad weather and headed off to the San Diego Zoo and Sea World. In the middle, we celebrated my birthday in style at a beautiful French restaurant on Coronado.

Here I am at the del Coronado Hotel, being "crowned' by the chandeliers in the main dining hall.  

Mom and my sister, with their hands in a plaster of the head gorilla's hand at the Zoo.

Beautiful Eclectus parrot at the zoo.

Beautiful male orangutan at the zoo.  I love his fat face and his big beard.  Their faces were so expressive, we could've stayed there all day to watch them.  

Here is a simply gorgeous bird at the zoo!  You don't get an idea of how BIG this bird is, but she was about the size of a large CHICKEN.

Here is another family's portrait at the gorilla section of the zoo.  They were amazing. 

Baby hippo - - tooo cute!

No, it's not a zebra, it's not a kangaroo, it's an OKAPI! 

With Dad, the Italian contingency and I went to see the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier.  My husband was in hog heaven!  He and his sister even took a ride in a flight simulator.  Dad was a great sport and did all the stairs up and down to see the "innards" of the ship, as well.  Fascinating.

Here we are at a beautiful restaurant on Coronado Island with family!  What a beautiful birthday!!

At Sea World, I watched everything, agog like a little girl, while my husband laughed at my glee.  But you have to admit, the sea creatures are pretty amazing!

SHAMU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sea Otter and Seals show...

Sharks!

The turtle exhibit was simply beautiful - these animals are really wondrous. 

Probably one of the most touching of the animals at Sea World was the beluga whale.  They were so peaceful and mysterious.

The walrus was ENORMOUS and was eating some kind of squid-like thing right up against the glass.  Amazing is the only word I can come up with..

Long Beach

Before singing with the L.A. Phil, we decided to come out to California a week early to hang out with my sister and my parents. Tullio's sisters came with us, and we had a grand time. We took a boat ride on the canals in Long Beach and hung out with Mom and Dad and my sister. Seal Beach was a big hit, and we introduced the Italians to a good Southern Barbecue in my sister's back yard! Yum!

ROME!

After Puglia, we had a day and a half at our sister-in-law's in ROME, my old hangout, before we headed off for California. Tullio and I played the tourist and visited all the hot spots downtown. I have missed Rome since I lived there over 10 years ago!

Puglia 2012

We went down south to my husband's native Puglia for a too-short week with his family. We got in a little beach time, and I got sunburned on my legs despite the best intentions, tons of sunscreen and lots of cover (see me all dressed up in a hat and pants and long shirt!) Alas… The water was gorgeous and the company was wonderful. My husband even got a little yoga lesson in with his sister…

Serge in Italy

My protégé Serge Kakudji came to Turin to visit for a week at the end of the summer. He was lucky enough to be here on my husband's birthday, which we celebrated at a park and then at some friends' house. I put him to work in the new house, and he helped us move a ton of our things from the garage into the house. He was able to coach with a wonderful coach here, and we were able to have some quality time together. While I worked at the new house, he was also able to finally get to see a bit of Turin. 

 

When my husband had to take a business trip to the Veneto Region, we met up with him there, and took the train in the evening to Venice. Serge had no idea what he was in for - - he hadn't really studied that in history in school, nor had he heard that much about the city. We told him it was on canals, but I think he was imagining another Amsterdam, a city he knows. So when we arrived, it was amazing to see the city through his wonder-filled eyes, and appreciate what beauty we could behold in one evening. We walked around a bunch, saw the major places, giving Serge a taste of the city, and then took the last train back to where my husband was staying. We must return! 

 

The next day, we took the early train to Milan, as I needed to get my Swiss work visa done for Geneva. So, off we trundled, and played tourist until that evening when Tullio was able to join us. We saw the Duomo, La Scala (and the Scala Museum), had a posh lunch, saw an exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci's notes (amazing!) and the church which houses the Last Supper. Since it's in renovation (seems to be a theme here...), you can only view it certain days, and it was unfortunately Monday when there were no visits. Again, next time! Afterwards, we joined friends at our favorite Japanese restaurant and pigged out on sushi. A pretty great few days. It was all over too soon.