New Years Night

Taryn teaches Earl to Rollerblade

First she assists him with the basic gear skills....

Then she has a good laugh at his expense...

Then she helps out like a good little teacher...

Then...she promptly ditches him and heads for greener pastures...

Having a great time at Carney Park...

Ahhh...at last...simpatico!

Whew, this is hard work!

Pudding.......

With a name like "Danette" it's got to be good!!!!!!

The Amphitheatre in Pozzouli

Techno T

PARIS...The Eiffel Tower

Ahhh, you just gotta get a kiss in when you're at the top of the Eiffel Tower!

Le Cafe' Marly - Palais du Louvre

Doing my very best Parisian Poet bit.

So in Louvre

Pollock Escapes from Azkaban

Here is the "Captain Caveman" picture of day the day after his arrival in Italy. He is doing much better now after a some pasta and red wine. Will send updates soon.
Ciao for now, Danette

Assissi in Umbria

Ahhhhh...Bach.

10 points to the first one of you that get's my "pop culture reference". Here's our little mischief maker aping for the camera. It goes without saying that the art in Italy is phenomenal!

Cooking Lesson In Tuscany

We had a fabulous week at Agriturismo Cretiole in Pienza over the holiday. This is us at cooking lesson followed by a feast of all the things we created. We made Tuscan Roast Pork, Green Beans, Eggplant and Tirimisu. Fresh baked bread from the wood fired pizza oven and salads from the winter greens picked straight from the garden. Later, Earl and Taryn went horseback riding (Taryn did not like her horse unfortunatly...doesn't she look thrilled?) and I took a walk in the countryside with a newly made friend to visit the sheep in their surreal setting. It was a great day!

My Precious Truffle

The local law enforcement / truffle guide arrived with his dogs to take us truffle hunting. I was actually expecting a pig to sniff out my prize but the dogs were quite efficient and had found a truffle within only a minute or two of the hunt.

Carlos gifted ME with the treasured white truffle that was found that afternoon with strict instuctions to shave the truffle and serve it with ONLY taglitelle pasta, butter, and Parmesano Reggiano....finito! I prepared a dish of the pasta and shared it with the other guests at the agriturismo who had been on the hunt with us. We all enjoyed the musty simplicity of this decandent and sought after delicacy.

Thanksgivng Dinner in Pienza

I don't recall ever having "gone out" for Thanksgiving dinner and it was a bit strange not to compete in the famous Imbiorski "I make the best cucumber and onions with sourcream and dill" contest but somehow we managed. We had one of out favorite meals in a little restuarant that our host from the agriturismo made us reservations at...one seating at 8:00 pm...sharp! We wandered the streets of the small village admiring the various shops, doorknobs, little doors, and narrow passageways. Waiting until that late to eat had us all pretty ravenous so we ordered Tagliatelle with White Truffles, Pienza's reknowned Pici with Ragu Sauce, Succulent Roast Pork, Duck with Wine, Filet of Beef, Vanilla Gelato with Chocolate Sauce and Homemade Hazelnut Ice Cream. A bottle of the House Red and a snippet of Grappa to toast our thankfullness for all of our friends and family made for a very warm and fuzzy Thanksgiving meal.