You’re so sweet, sabbath. We spent a total of 9 days in Italy, split kind of evenly between Venice, Florence and Rome. Stayed in the center of the city in the first two. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Venice, next 3 days in Florence and thelast 3 in Rome. Venice was magical. I could live there happily as a chimney sweep or a store clerk. From Florence, we took a day trip to Siena And went up the tower. Museums one day, and a half a day at piazzale michaelangelo before we left for Rome. things got a little tricky in Rome. As I has mentioned before, DS doesn’t handle museums too well. The Vatican, even with the no-wait tickets, got to be a little too much. So, after we got to the Sistine chapel, and almost close to seeing the ceiling, DH and I decided to leave , because DS was getting very uncomfortable with the crowd and the wait. And we left without picking up DH’s backpack that was left at the entrance. So it was a trek to the entrance before it closed for the weekend. And we spent a day Hamburg on the way back. Anyway, it was great for the three of us to spend time together. I’m sure we’ll go back again next time we’re in Europe. Here are some pics.

A trip to Torcello, where the settlement of the lagoon began, to see the two 12th century churches, and lunch at Locanda Cipriani (or one of the other restaurants). There is a panoramic view of the lagoon from the campanile next to the churches. If you go to Murano, please take time to see the Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato with its wonderful mosaic floor and apse. We attended a concert of chamber music surrounded by the art of Tintoretto in the SCUOLA GRANDE DI SAN ROCCO. I don't know if the concerts are regularly scheduled. We also were at a concert in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (the church is worth seeing on its own). Also worth walking to see is the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo. It goes without saying that San Marco is the most important church in Venice, and not to be missed. Because we travel by train, we usually stay in the Cannaregio area close to the station -- meh, but very convenient for us, and a close walk to the historic Jewish ghetto and the Fondamenta Nuove stop for the traghetti.

Both would require skill to pattern match, but the stronger pattern would be more obvious if perhaps the pattern could not be matched due to lack of materials. It really boils down to your personal preference, though, which one you like better. Be sure to view the actual slab before fabrication, because patterns like that can vary greatly from slab to slab.

As the blooms age, they start adding greenish tones. After several weeks of this, you get another change where the blooms develop pink/red/purple splotches like that. Finally, the blooms start to brown out. Some varieties produce a lot of this and others less. Try to water the soil and never the leaves so you do not get leaf spots. Use soaker hoses or drip irrigation. If using a sprinkler, make the station water close to sunrise so the leaves do not stay wet for long periods of time.Infected leaves should be discarded in the trash when they fall down. Spent blooms and all plant debris from plants with leaf spots (a fungal infection) should also be discarded asap to minimize repeats of this problem at the end of the growing season.