Sunday was a relaxed day; we didn't do much but hang out in the apartment, wander around a bit, then we went to Angie's place with the Valentines, Max & Maryel, Forrest and Melissa, Karen Febey, and Judit Celine for cocktails, and received the news that President Biden had stepped down from the campaign.  Then we all made our way to Piazza Filiberto for another al fresco dinner with as many people as were still here.  

 The party started with everyone boarding three mini busses at Piazza Castello.  Emilia was there to make sure everyone got on.  After an hour's ride up into the hills (to the Agriturismo Pinareul Arios in Talucco), including a short stop where the drivers got out and argued about whether they could make it all the way up, we arrived at a most charming restaurant, where aperol spritzes awaited us!  It was a blast from the moment we got there. I think there were about 70 for the 10-course dinner, which was wonderful, and lots and lots of dancing to a dj.  We even got to see a beautiful pink moonrise.  I don't know the last time I had so much fun.

 Before we knew it, it was time to leave the beautiful Dolomites, and make our way back to the rental car place at Malpensa.  We were met there by Angie and Hans, who drove us to Via Po, in Torino, where we were to make our home for the next four days.  Max and Maryel and Forrest and Melissa had already arrived and checked in.  It was so great to have our whole family together again.  The apartment was quite lovely, but not exactly as advertised (two bedrooms, not three), so after the first night, Forrest and Melissa decamped to Angie's Air B&B, which was just down the street from ours, and had extra room.   Randy had had the brilliant idea of holding a happy hour for all the people coming into Torino on Thursday the 18th.  Fortunately for us, Manuela Grasso, who had come on spring break with us and Elisa Raimondo in 1992, owns a bar named Margo, in the heart of Torino, so that's where we held it.  It was fabulous, with so many mutual fri...

 Our next two days in Castelrotto were spent exploring the Alpe di Siusi area of the Dolomites.  To say that this is one of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful spots I've ever seen is no exaggeration.  We were really pleased to find out from the manager of our hotel that they supply us with passes that we could just use on the local bus to the gondola station. It was a short drive of only about 15 minutes to the station, and even though it is July, there was no long line and we boarded right away.  Surprisingly for me I didn't even freak out on the gondola.  I enjoyed watching everything as we ascended the mountain, as the ride was smooth and stable.  Once we got up to the top and looked out we could see what amazing vistas were in store for us. We looked at a board that had information on some of the refugi up in the hills where you can go after you hike for a bit; you can stop and have a bite to eat.  We chose one that seemed to be a pretty short ...

Day two of Angie's Fabulous 50th started out with us realizing our stupidity; we have been in numerous european hotels with electrically controlled metal shutters. But last night, thinking that all there was to cover the sliders was a gauzy curtain, we used our eye masks in order to sleep. This morning, we realized that this room is equipped with the metal shutter that not only block the light, but the noise as well. So much for our experience! Then we started on a search for a fan. There's no air conditioning in our lovely room in Castelrotto. When we went downstairs today for breakfast I asked the man at the desk if they had any fans that we could borrow just to move the air around in the room at night. It's not terribly hot but it gets really stuffy with no air conditioning and no fan. He looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "Fan! For what you need a fan?" That started us on a quest, which led us to the local grocery co-op and hardware store. They ac...

Day One of the Fabulous Fiftieth Birthday adventure, and we're off to a good start.  We had an uneventful boarding in Detroit for the Delta flight to Newark and it was reasonably easy to navigate our way to terminal B, where we were to catch the La compagnie flight to Milan.  We had never flown with this airline, so weren't sure what to expect, but once we were there, it's like its own dedicated space with their own TSA area, and then you get to the lounge, which was quite nice, and we waited for our flight. The flight was great, and once we got to Milan we caught the shuttle to our rental car place and we were off!  As we approached Castelrotto after a 4 hour drive, we could start to see how lovely this part of the world is.  Castelrotto is a perfect city to choose for a stay in the Dolomites.  It is not as well-known as some other cities, so less touristy, and probably a better value.  The city is as charming as you could imagine.  Our lodging, the G...