tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:00:49 +0000http://peterlitton.com/noreply@blogger.com (Peter)Blogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-5975168794902819399Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:57:00 +00002008-08-18T07:26:50.703-05:00 Rebecca and I spent the weekend in Boston. We flew up on Thursday and spent 2 days at my Stoughton office and then moved downtown. With big plans for Friday night, we took the T to Fenway for a game vs. Blue Jays. Sadly, it got rained out but we had a fun time anyway. Saturday was beautiful and we toured the entire city on bike. Our tour guide took us all over for three hours. In the http://peterlitton.com/2008/08/boston-visitnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-3273201101820693941Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:52:00 +00002008-07-20T10:11:41.488-05:00On our last full day in Italy we packed in as much as we could, repeating those things we enjoyed and trying to visit those places still on our list. Warren and I traveled to Volterra where we discovered the world base for alabaster. Visiting several studios and shops, we saw beautiful craftsmanship using different grades of stone. Each piece seemed to be more beautiful than the next. The townhttp://peterlitton.com/2008/07/volterranoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-9207192387337705568Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:36:00 +00002008-07-12T02:54:29.101-05:00 We all slept late and relaxed around the villa. The kids went for a hike and then a compulsory swim. We headed to Castelina in Chianti, passed through Radda (MUST go back) and then to Dimezzano for dinner at Dave and Laura's cousin's restaurant Borgo Antico. Photos.http://peterlitton.com/2008/07/borgo-anticonoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-5134795898307550841Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:10:00 +00002008-07-12T02:25:40.240-05:00 We lounged around the Villa and then drove to Baratti Beach, about 2 hours from here. The roads were twisty, turny so not much fun for some of the family but the views were great. We then worked our way up to the Populonia Castle. It's situated on a peninsula a few hundred feet above the Mediterranean with an unbelievable view that included Elba. Dinner was at the only restaurant in the tiny http://peterlitton.com/2008/07/reach-beachnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-5649597636011747444Sat, 12 Jul 2008 05:18:00 +00002008-07-12T00:29:11.506-05:00 Florence is about an hour away so we packed up the kids and hit the road. It's hard to do such a big city in a day but we hit the highlights, covering it all on foot. Sharon played tour guide, having studied here in college. Photos.http://peterlitton.com/2008/07/day-in-firenzenoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-3608434177688330204Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:33:00 +00002008-07-12T02:35:30.705-05:00 The girls went horseback riding this morning at Agrifolio in Staggia and I toured nearby villas and vineyards. With Villa owner Jens Schmidt we drove up to Montauto where his friend owns the only home. It's isolated and has spectacular views at the top of the mountain. We hiked down to Case Monti and then onto Scorgiano. Photos.http://peterlitton.com/2008/07/hike-from-montautonoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-9198854179778383080Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:45:00 +00002008-07-09T18:26:37.948-05:00 We had a leisurely morning on Monday the 7th and then headed out to Casole D'Elsa and Colle di Val D'Elsa. Both are exquisite old small towns that have been well maintained and are fun to explore. There were few tourists so we had both mostly to ourselves. The evening was a late swim (with drinks of course) and another delicious team dinner. Photos.http://peterlitton.com/2008/07/visiting-local-townsnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-589748150734478903Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:51:00 +00002008-07-09T17:44:48.795-05:00 After our drive up from Rome, we were happy to just hang out for most of the day at the unbelievable Villa Montecastelli. So we slept in, took a few walks and played by the pool which, on the north side of the estate, has breathtaking views of neighboring hillside villas and nearby towns. The kids got in plenty of pool time (which, of course is never enough). We pickup up some groceries and http://peterlitton.com/2008/07/monteriggioninoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-7461323532616064372Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:21:00 +00002008-07-09T16:23:55.213-05:00 How cool is this?!!! Our friend Peter Vogt took a picture of Rebecca and his girlfriend Pam did a little Photoshop magic. Click on the image to see it bigger.http://peterlitton.com/2008/07/flyingnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-5246345169773432435Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:49:00 +00002008-07-08T16:33:40.540-05:00 We checked out of the hotel after another nice breakfast on the terrace and we walked to get our rental car (van). It was a nice walk north through beautiful streets. We got a bit lost but picked up the 9-passenger Europcar without incident. We picked up the girls and headed out of town. Again, the GPS was invaluable. It's about a 3 hour drive to Siena and we stopped halfway in a random http://peterlitton.com/2008/07/to-sienanoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-6363976109727715280Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:46:00 +00002008-07-08T06:16:44.365-05:00What a HUGE day. We met Laila at the Coliseum and learned much about its history and how it was build. We then toured the oldest part of Rome, had lunch in a private dinner club in the Jewish part of town and then visited the cat orphanage. After a little nap we walked more and had dinner just off of the Piazza Navona. And no day is now complete without gelato. Photos.http://peterlitton.com/2008/07/blog-postnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-7866456297407222790Mon, 07 Jul 2008 07:07:00 +00002008-07-07T02:54:17.232-05:00 We spent a very full day touring Vatican City and the Pantheon. Our guide was Laila Volpe. For now, I will let the 140+ pictures tell the story. When I have time I'll update the images with captions and details. We are having a spectacular time: learning lots, exploring, eating, drinking and laughing.http://peterlitton.com/2008/07/vatican-city-and-pantheonnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-4812143886300591686Sun, 06 Jul 2008 13:26:00 +00002008-07-06T08:46:46.587-05:00 We arrived in Rome on 3 separate flights, meeting within 10 minutes and somewhat all well rested. We taxied downtown, checked in and hit the streets for food and sites. It's hot but tolerable. We're near the Spanish Steps in the heart of the city with most everything within walking distance. Sharon's effort to relearn Italian has immediately paid off, simplifying most interactions around thehttp://peterlitton.com/2008/07/romanoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-2145925150236243753Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:57:00 +00002008-06-23T17:58:03.646-05:00The Tourtellottes came over for dinner and to do some final Italy planning. It had been raining on and off all day--rain, sun, rain, sun... We were rewarded late in the day with a beautiful rainbow--lots if detail in the color spectrum. Seen here from our bathroom.http://peterlitton.com/2008/06/rainbownoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-3885474989831628199Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:49:00 +00002008-06-23T08:43:42.942-05:00 The three of us flew to Cona for the weekend--nothing formal planned, just to hang out with Grandpa Jason. We swam in the pool, kayaked down the Yellow Breeches, had dinner with the McCorkles and Peter & Pam visited. The most memorable part of the weekend were the meals on the screened porch. I had SO many family dinners there as a kid and in the summers, with no A/C, we practically lived out http://peterlitton.com/2008/06/cona-visitnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-6391657362161507268Thu, 08 May 2008 02:26:00 +00002008-05-07T21:33:16.170-05:00 Some neighbors and I hosted a wine tasting fund raiser to benefit the Irving Park Community Food Pantry. It was a huge success, raising over $6,500 for the homeless and underprivileged in our community. It was their single most successful fund raiser ever and it created new awareness of the efforts of the organization in the neighborhood. Wine, food, venue and invitations were all donated. http://peterlitton.com/2008/05/6500-raisednoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-132227488987860509Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:11:00 +00002008-05-07T21:26:46.681-05:00 I brought Great Grandma Gert to see Grandpa Jason in Dataw. She had never been to the new house. We travelled together and had a great time. Spring was in bloom and the weather was beautiful. Jason has been setting crab traps at a neighbors dock. We caught a bunch is an awefullys smelly trap--steamed and ate them in a meat garnish. Yum.http://peterlitton.com/2008/04/gert-to-datawnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-5061021382007288527Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:46:00 +00002008-04-28T11:53:41.649-05:00Rebecca performed in her first-ever band concert, blowing on her trumpet in a three-song set that opened the NPES Spring concert. She matriculates to 5th grade band and then Advanced band. As her smiles show, she had a great time. http://peterlitton.com/2008/04/spring-concertnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-7650025937844726009Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:23:00 +00002008-04-13T23:26:10.555-05:00 Rebecca ushered in turning ten or "double digits" as she likes to call it. Of course it was celebrated with friends--no better way for her. So, cakes, parties, sleepovers were all part of the festivities. There was a little gift giving but nothing too excessive either requested or given, except for a cell phone. She would have given ANYTHING for a cell but a little too early and unnecessary.http://peterlitton.com/2008/04/httppeterlittonnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-6700248916452940796Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:47:00 +00002008-03-24T19:14:44.569-05:00 There's something magical about introducing my daughter to an old friend and watching them interact and, almost simultaneously, introducing my daughter to a city that I love, showing her many of its features. Again watching her interact, respond and enjoy it too is an amazing personal experience. Shots and a few more shots. http://peterlitton.com/2008/03/rebecca-to-nycnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-1092267425936418448Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:26:00 +00002008-03-16T20:35:07.402-05:00 NPES took over the Portage Park Theater for their annual school play. Warehouse Rules, written by school mom Wendy Andrews and scored by dad Chris Cameron, was a great production. Rebecca delivered an unprecedented 7 lines with 2 costume changes and some dance routines thrown in. Photos.http://peterlitton.com/2008/03/warehouse-rulesnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-3695183665216668520Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:07:00 +00002008-03-05T16:12:13.573-06:00 Nothing like a little snow to bring two dogs together for some fun. Cousins Lily and Ruben played in Aunt Ash's back yard after a few inches of fresh powder had recently nestled down. Photos.http://peterlitton.com/2008/03/ruben-and-lily-in-snownoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-6118206933510662604Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:42:00 +00002008-02-25T21:46:26.544-06:00 Here are the Dance Pictures.http://peterlitton.com/2008/02/dance-dance-dancenoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-5032804444958459327Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:22:00 +00002008-02-11T22:44:58.853-06:00 We were blessed with another great weather day. Reports from home were zero degrees. Here it was mostly sunny and in the 30s. The mountain was again not very crowded and no lift lines. We covered lots of runs with everyone making the most of our final day. The kids showed little fatigue as we followed them down the moutain. Rebecca regained her snow boarding confidence and tackled one of the http://peterlitton.com/2008/02/last-day-of-solitudenoreply@blogger.com (Peter)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10257975.post-9096943582286319559Mon, 11 Feb 2008 04:16:00 +00002008-02-10T22:34:14.335-06:00 A gorgeous day--Sunny, 30s. Much of the mountain was groomed overnight making everything an easy ski. Black diamonds--no problem said the kids. Jack was back on skis leaving Rebecca the sole snowboarder. A few tumbles she took made me happy she was wearing a good helmet--thanks Ash. We covered lots of the mountain today including 2 trips through Honeycomb Canyon. The Canyon is on the back side http://peterlitton.com/2008/02/honeycomb-canyonnoreply@blogger.com (Peter)