Message to London

You are wonderful as always - lively diverse and with great theatre

However.

You could gain from figuring out your night trains. And your wifi - I should not have to register to a service to access free coffee shop wifi.

On the flip side: how has Come Dine With Me not been exported to the US yet??

Greenville, SC

Has it's own Porcellino. A Florence landmark

Easter hike and dinner in Greenville. 

Diario di Bordo - Steamboat Springs

How amazing is Colorado? Beautiful outdoors, friendliest people, tons to see and do. All of the best America has to offer.

In my humble and all that jazz.

After a wonderful if brief family reunion with aunt and uncle, complete with a tour of their old homestead, Giuseppe and I made our way west and north to the stunning Steamboat Springs.

A car-less holiday: the hotel offered a free shuttle to the slopes and back, and the town has a free transit system to get around. We rented our skis at the base (shout-out to Steamboat Ski & Bike Kare for excellent service), and the shop would also store our skis over night. That is nice enough, but they also keep your ski boots on a heated rack to dry, so in the morning: warm boots. It's the little things.

Another shout-out is due to the Ambassadors Ski Tours, run by volunteers and completely free of charge.

A word of caution: if you are in the witness protection relocation programme, do not try to move to Colorado. It is impossible to be anonymous in this state.

Helpful People

And adventures in road tripping.

Half way between Atlanta and Charleston we discover a broken headlight (yes the sun had set) and a flat tire.

Many thanks to the owners and workers of the I20 Marathon petrol station in Batesburg and the kindly driver who happened to be present for helping us pump our tire, diagnose a problem, call their mechanic friend, host as as we waited for all our car problems to be fixed, and to the mechanic for his work and fair price.

People are good.

Busy Week

It turns out 6 people all in one house is busy and chaotic even if they are all adults.

So here's the drill.

A Friday drive with stops in Covington and Aiken - hello America - and arrival in Charleston. Saturday strolls and night at the symphony with featured R2-D2, storm troopers, Obi Wan, and Bob Gebhardt, concudcting

 

Sunday Christmas Carol service - sing along! - and Monday shopping for last minute gifts. 

Spotlight: entering the cinema to see a film you know nothing about is always fun. When the film is Spotlight it makes for quite an impact. See this film. It is important. 

Have I mentioned the food? Food, wine, limoncello, nocino. And more food. 

Some work, more errands, more food, more presents. More chocolate. Star Wars, of course. And so it goes.

Brentwood, Tennessee

Is a nice Nashville suburb. And hosts a community theatre called Town Centre Theatre. And this past weekend was the closing night of The Addams Family musical. Good fun.

Tennessee in the fall though, what a sight!