OK, I said I wasn't going to post anymore and here's one last entry.We're back in the US and I just had to report on our trip home.

We had a rental car reserved to drive from Macerata to Rome. We didn't think it would be a good idea trying to take the train (which requires 2 changes to get to the Rome airport from Macerata) while carrying 6 suitcases and 3 carry-ons. Monday evening I got a call from the rental car company that the car reserved for us would not be available. They had another smaller, but she knew we had requested a larger car, so she called to alert me. We were to get the car Wed. morning. I lost a lot of sleep Monday night. Tuesday morning I called the Macerata Avis office. No problem - they had a station wagon we could take and drop off at the airport. All that worry for nothing.

Wed. we left Macerata and drove to our hotel near the airport. Thursday a.m. we dropped off the car and went to our flight. They were just about to begin boarding when they decided to delay the flight. Three hours later they canceled it. To U.S. Airways' credit, at least they didn't have us sitting on the plane the whole time. They made us retrieve our luggage (ouch!) and bussed us to a nearby hotel for the night. They fed us and treated us well, except for the dribbling of information. When will people learn that the best PR results when a company shares what it knows with customers?

The next morning they had a wake-up call at 3:30 a.m. Breakfast (continental) was available and busses would begin boarding at 4:30, registration at the airport would be at 5 and the plane would leave at 7...which got changed to 8. About the time we were ready to leave, we were told our flight was delayed until 10 and busses would leave at 7. We got to the airport about 7:20 and stood in a very long line. Not knowing how to work the system, we were in the line for 3 hours. Others behind us in line got taken care of before us, by going to other desks, using the phone, etc., but 3 hours later, there we were with an Italian priest behind us in line. Our original 7 then 8 then 10 flight was now going to go about 3, which would've made us too late to catch our connection in Philadelphia. The nice, overwhelmed US Airways agent got us on the flight at 11:15 (the one we would've gone out on the day before) which was only delayed about an hour. But, the Philly-Indy leg was full, so she couldn't book us onto that, and told us to talk with US Air in Philly when we arrived.

About 4 p.m. Philly time we arrived and went through a very painless passport and customs check. The toughest part was collecting our luggage again (ouch). Then, we talked with another nice US AIrways agent who kindly forced us onto to the full flight. I don't know how she did it, but we got seat assignments and by the time we got to the gate they were offering people incentives to stay overnight and take the first flight the next morning. Our flight was delayed leaving Philly so we arrived in Indy about 26 hours behind schedule (the full day plus a 2 hour delay). It was a good thing the last flight was delayed, because we never would have made the original flight time. After collecting our bags and getting through customs, we left the secured area to get ticketed for our next flight, then had to go back through a very long line for security again (about 45 minutes). Why, if we were already in a secured aea did we have to leave it? It seems like a design error that causes increased labor costs. It wasn't just us because of our re-ticketing situation. Everyone on our flight who had to catch a connecting flight had to do the same. That's an airport problem, not US Air. Now that federal agents are handling security, doesn't that mean wasted tax dollars screening people who have already been screened?

All in all we made it through unscathed. We didn't miss a family gathering or a day's pay because of it, and we were treated as nicely as can be expected under the circumstances. God bless Nicole! Our 13-year-old held up great. She had really hoped to be home to see friends and her cat, and she kept up her spirits and stamina. She didn't sleep on the 9+ hour flight, either, opting to watch movies the whole way home (not having seen English-language TV or movies for 4 months). We couldn't have asked for a better traveler.

We're thrilled to be home. It was a great trip, a wonderful experience, but it's always nice to be home. Happy Holidays to all, and in the immortal words of Tiny Tim, "Tiptoe through the Tulips"........ oops, wrong Tiny Tim. I meant, "God bless us, every one."

The city center (inside the walls) of Macerata has been buzzing with Christmas activity. Merchants inside the walls are trying to attract shoppers away from the mega-stores and malls, just as they do in the States. Until Christmas they’ve been providing free cab rides in the evening hours, and there are wandering Father Christmases handing out candy.

This will be the last installment of this blog. We leave Macerata tomorrow, then fly out of Rome on Thursday. It’s been an incredible experience.

Here’s a picture of all of us in San Marino back when Megan and Anthony were here visiting on Nov. 29.

The following day we were in Venice, and Megan shot this family picture. If we were doing Christmas cards this year, we would undoubtedly use this photo (much better than the one of the three of us in medieval costume back in October). While the digital camera doesn’t provide the quality a professional portrait would, the setting is pretty amazing.

A photo of the Pantheon doesn’t do it justice. As I said with St. Peter’s, it’s the sheer size that is the most amazing. But, this was constructed hundreds of years before St. Peter’s.

Piazza Navona in Rome has a Christmas market. It’s a real carnival atmosphere – complete with cotton candy. I sat in this piazza for a while just to watch people. I could be mistaken, but my sense was that there were a lot more locals here than at the Trevi fountain or St. Peter’s.

We didn’t tour Castel Sant Angelo but we walked past it several times.

In my last blog update I told you we saw the Pope while in Rome. Here are two pictures. The first as you might expect, is the Pope at his window welcoming the crowd. The second is to provide you with a little perspective on how far away he actually was. The camera has a nice zoom.

Back in Macerata, I wanted to show how prominent the advertising posters are. Walls have areas designated by cement frames where ads can be posted. All sorts of things are promoted this way – festivals, store sales, even church events.

This photo was shot just last week. The front of the building is nice, but I also wanted to point out that there are still flowers growing here.

I thought this would be a nice closing shot. Macerata is a wonderful town. Just the right size. I’ve enjoyed my visits to Florence, Rome, etc., but they’re big cities with the accompanying traffic, pollution, etc. They are nice places to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. Macerata, on the other hand, is a place not too many people visit, but is quite livable.

Our trip is winding down. I gave my final exam on Wednesday. I’ve been making dubs of the projects and delivering them to clients for a day or two. Last night we had a farewell dinner for the students. Today, one of the clients wants to have a final toast to the students who worked on their video.

We leave Macerata Wednesday for Rome, and fly home on Thursday. I hope to have a chance to post one more blog entry Tuesday before we leave. We’ll see.

As promised earlier, I have a few pictures from our trip to Florence back on Nov. 21-23. This is the skyline with the cathedral and Brunelleschi’s dome the most prominent feature.

Here’s a picture of the dome from much closer. Brunelleschi was an architectural master. When he did this in the 1400s, no one had been able to accomplish anything like it since Roman times. All that knowledge had been lost. He studied Roman architecture to build it. When he quarreled with a rival about the design, he walked away from the project, knowing his rival would never be able to complete it, and was invited to return and do it the way Brunelleschi wanted. Thanks to Michelangelo, the red brick remains according to the original design. They started marbling up the ribs of the dome, when he told them to stop (he said they were making it look like a cage for crickets).

While quite beautiful, the dome’s interior is a violation of the original design. Renaissance style would have been to leave it white, emphasizing the vertical nature of the dome – looking to heaven. Instead by adding the horizontal bands of art, Vasari and Zucchari de-emphasize that. Fortunately Brunelleschi was dead by the time they did this in the 1500s.

Santa Croce (Holy Cross) has little of the original artwork, but houses the tombs of significant Italians, including Michelangelo and Galileo. The marble façade was added in the 19th Century, when Florence became the capital of Italy. The original design was stone.

Pizza made in brick ovens tastes different – there’s no doubt about it. I told this guy he’d be world-renown because I would put his picture on the Internet. Still charged me full price for my meal.

On Thanksgiving Day we got to meet with the president of the University of Macerata. I was thrilled to hear he is a real faculty member, not some political appointee, who in fact still teaches a class. Here we are Filiberto on the left and the University of Macerata President on the right.

That evening we had Thanksgiving Dinner at a nice restaurant. It was a cross between Italian and American. The main course was turkey, and Kim made some apple pie so that everyone could have a little, but the antipasto, pasta and salad were definitely Italian. Our table consisted of Kim, Nicole, Anthony and his girlfriend Megan (who by this time had been in Italy a whole day), and two Italian professors who teach in the AHA program, Tonino and Elena.

While most Americans were Christmas shopping, the day after Thanksgiving we visited the independent Republic of San Marino. Anth and Meg posed at the fortress at the top. Perched on top of a mountain, we are miles from the Adriatic, but it’s visible in the background behind them.

Kim decided the most important sight to see was Venice, so we went there the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Nicole and Megan did the obligatory pigeon feeding in St. Mark’s square.

Here’s a picture of my cousin Cetta in Bologna. After dropping Anth and Megan off at the airport in Milan, we drove down to Bologna to see some relatives. It was a Sunday and most everybody was unavailable (at least, that’s what they told me). At least we were able to spend a few hours with Cetta, but even her husband had gone on a 3-day trip skiing with friends. The next day we headed back to Milan to return the rental car.

Since our last Blog update, our friends the Youngs returned to the U.S. and so have our final set of guests, our son Anthony and his girlfriend Megan. Theirs was a whirlwind trip. They arrived Milan the day before Thanksgiving and took the train to Ancona. Kim picked them up there. By the time they reached Macerata it was dinner time. They spent Thanksgiving in Macerata, the day after in Urbino and the Republic of San Marino, Saturday in Venice and flew out early Sunday morning. Maybe I’ll get some pictures from that visit up next time. I’m giving my Final on Wednesday, so once I get my grades done, I’ll be able to put up some more.

Last week we had a “performance night” for those who wanted to sing or play an instrument. Nicole and Jen Spurr of Indiana State performed a duet from Newsies. I was very impressed that a 13-year-old was willing to get up in front of college students and perform. “Willing” is the wrong word: she was dying to get up and perform.

We just returned from Rome. Far too many pictures to post. Yes, we got to see the Pope address the crowd from his window. We also attended mass at St. Peter’s. Here’s only a small sample of photos. Those wanting to see more will just have to visit us when we get home ;)

Just as we were arriving, the firefighters were holding a protest march. This float depicts Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as an octopus. The clear meaning is that he has his hands in everything. The implicit meaning is a tie to organized crime, as decades ago the octopus was used to imply the mafia’s involvement in Italian affairs. Berlusconi wants to run for Italian president, but he also wants to rewrite the constitution to give the president more powers. In case you don’t know, he’s a multi-millionaire who owns the three independent TV networks (among other things). He’s accused of wrongdoing in some business affairs some years ago. He managed to get the parliament to pass a law allowing him to move his trial on the assumption that the judge in his case is prejudiced against him.

The Coliseum is certainly one of Rome’s most recognized landmarks.

From Inside the Coliseum you get a great view of the Arch of Constantine. Note the relative size of the people walking near it. Perhaps the most amazing part of ancient Rome is the size of the monuments. It’s difficult to imagine how they were able to engineer such things.

OK, so we’re tourists – what’s so wrong about that? We just had to have Nicole photographed with some gladiators.

This unassuming balcony is the one used by Mussolini for his addresses to the crowd. He turned Palazzo Venezia into his offices and used this balcony for public addresses.

Of course if you ever want to return to Rome, you must visit the Trevi Fountain and toss in a coin. I remembered visiting this place 30 years ago. I must not have used a large enough denomination last time since it took me so long to get back.

The Vatican Museums are a vast storehouse of art, both religious and secular. Best known for the Sistine Chapel, there is a lot more to see than just Michelangelo’s ceiling. Much of the museum was fine, but the closer you got to the Chapel, the more crowded it became. I just wanted to show one of the rooms painted by Rafael and the crush of people. Had I not been with the group, I probably would have left at this point rather than even make it to the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, no pictures allowed in there - you’ll just have to see it yourself.

Here are Kim and Nicole in St. Peter’s square.

I was astonished that we were allowed to take pictures inside St. Peter’s. Most of what is impressive about the basilica is the size and design, something that can’t be captured on video. The best known artwork inside the church, though, has to be Michelangelo’s Pieta. On our trip to Florence where we saw his David, Filiberto told us that Michelangelo’s parents wanted him to be a lawyer, but he wanted to follow his dream to be a sculptor. I will refer to that every time a student talks to me about pursuing a subject for economic security rather than passion. Imagine what the world would have lost if Mike had decided to become a lawyer because you can’t make a living as an artist.

Sorry - no pictures today. Just time enough to proviide this update. I hope to get some pix up next week.

Our son Anthony and his girlfriend Megan arrived in Italy last Wed. (Nov. 27). They flew into Milan and trained to Ancona, where Kim picked them up. We spent Thursday locally, Friday we saw Urbino and the Republic of San Marino (on the weekly student excursion), and Saturday we spent in Venice. They flew back out of Milan early Sunday morniing. Their visit was too brief, but Kim managed to squeeze in as much activity for them as she could. They were troopers, too: in spite of jet lag, they kept up with us great. The onlly trouble is that seeing Anthony again has made Kim homesick. She was fine until he came, now she misses her firstborn, which also reminds her of the others she misses back in the States.

Monday we returned the rental car. Kim was sad. She'd put nearly 6,000 miles on it in 3 months.

Tuesday we attended the taping of an Italian game show, Passaparola. I met with the producer and one of the writers. I also had a brief visit with the show's host, a very big TV celebrity. He also hosts the Italian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionnnaire" and stars in a sitcom, "Finally, Alone." I don't know if it will make the finall edit, but during the show he mentioned the fact that there was an American professor in the audience visiting from the University of Ball. That may get edited, but there's no way they can edit out Nicole. For one of the games, she was seated in the background of the camera shot of one of the guests. Unfortunately, the show won't air until Dec. 20, and we fly home on the 19th. I'm going to have to try to get someone to tape it for me here in Italy and mail it to the U.S.

I'd better get going. Kim's preparing dinner for students tonight and she could use some help. We're off to Rome this weekend for our final excursion with the students.