Happy v-day. My valentine (Linda) and I had a lovely time on Saturday exploring the "Verona in love" getup. There were stands of regional samplings, chocolates and of course wine. Thanks for a lovely day Linda.

Now it is a day of work with the kids. I look forward to seeing them every time and will be sad to leave them when the time comes.

Yesterday I had lunch with my friend at the family house in the countryside outside of Verona. It's an old estate house with a winding gravel road up the hill, big iron gates, and a view over the hills outside of Verona. The interior is well kept but unchanged for the most part. There is an old wood stove in the kitchen next to the massive stone hearth. I made some good old Canadian fires for what was a very cold an rainy day. The property is also nice with trees and views. Jacopo is studying to be an architect, and a talented one I think he will be. His main area of interest seems to be tree houses. He's writing a thesis on the topic referencing old garden tree houses from japan, England etc. He and some friends built a small house in one of the trees on his property. It's complete with peaked roof, plexi skylites, sliding glass door, sink, storage, wrap around roof and fold-into-the-wall furniture. Smart. Oh, and I haven't mentioned the mode of transport used to get to the house.... No, it's not a zip line (I wish), but rather a lovely old topolino car. I'll get a picture if I see it again. Not a bad little place.