colorado

in colorado we make our home in colorado springs. it really is a great city as it is big enough to have everything you need, but not too big (like denver) that you have the big city problems or concerns. from our home we can get anywhere in town in about 15 minutes

we live in the north central area near the patty jewitt golf couse. this course is the oldest golf course west of the mississippi, from what i understand. the course is open to the public. there is a nine hole couse and a separate 18 hole course which is a lot of fun to play. the club house is very old and inviting, lots of comfortable chairs, dark-stained paneled walls, and good food if you need something to eat. the entry way to the club house is a road lined with 60 or 70 old oak trees....kind of like entering an old plantation. golf works out to be about a $1.50/hole.

things to do in colorado springs are: visit pikes peak,walk around the broadmoor resort,clim, hike , and relax at the garden of the gods, spelunk in the cave of the winds, hike and camp in the pike national forest, rampart range and high drive scenic roads, visit and loss money in the old gold mining and now gambling town of cripple creek, be a cowboy for a day at the pro rodeo hall of fame,visit and get preached at at the glen eyrie castle, check your tax dollars at work at the u.s. air force academy, get pumped up at the u.s. olympic training center, visit the florissant fossil beds, and gape at the spectacular royal gorge and the worlds highest suspension bridge.

other things that happen in the colorado springs area include the colorado springs ballon festival during the labor day weekend. this is the second largest ballon flight in the u.s., second only to albuquerque. here you can walk among the baloons and assist if allowed. it's a lot of fun and quite a hoot. visit the pikes peak cam for a view of the weather...

the military presence in the city has been around for a while...there is the previously mentioned air force academy, peterson airbase (where the u.s. space command & u.s. space command are located), the cheyanne mountain complex/norad (where they track missile firings and space related objects), fort carson military base, and the shriver complex. we get an air force thunderbirds show at least once a year for the academy graduation exercises, as well as flyovers for the begining of each home game at the academy. if you are in the area don't miss the commander in chief's cup game. this year is was a sound thrashing of the army team from west point, new york. see what's happening now on the parade field, check out the terrazzo-cam.

italia

in italy we live in a small town called trissino. it is midway between verona and venice in northeast italy. it really is a quaint italian town. there are actually no stop lights and only a few stop signs. the city is about 10 minutes northwest of montechhio, 30 minutes northwest of vicenza (the provincial capital) and about 20 minutes south of valdagno where my wife grew up.

our home overlooks the city from the west. in front of the house is a beautiful valley. i suspect that there are 5,000 people in the city. from the fron veranda you can see seven churches. the most amazing thing is when the fog comes up the valley and covers the town. all you can see are the champanile, the church spires and the other side of the valley. it seems as though you could just step off the back porch and walk across the valley to the other side. sometimes in this valley there is an acrobatic pilot who does practice work. if i ever find out who he is i will beg him for a ride.

things to do in the area include visiting the villa di marzotto, villa di trissino in vicenza, or taking in the villas on the brenta canal as it winds down to the lagoon of venice. days can be spent walking through venice and visiting famous churches, architecture, or art museums. of course at some time you will have to stop and eat. you probably could not find a better area in italy to stop to eat...there are the fresh seafoods from the sea and the more terrestrial items from the farms in the area.

the architecture in the area is some of the most beautiful in italy... and europe for that matter. some these include this splendid palladian villa on the outskirts of vicenza: villa capra-valmarana, also known as 'la rotonda'. it is perhaps the most beautiful and well-known.it was built in 1550 by andrea palladio. the villa appears to have the same face from whichever side you view it from. a splendid example of his style. he was quite a prolific architect in the area. you could be going down some farm road and suddenly come across one of his villas. his classic structures were the first designed to be both a beautiful house and farm house. a true villa must be associated with the working of the land. a villa, in true form can't be in a city, although many so named are.

estes park

another place where we spend a lot of time is estes park in colorado... the city is located at the entrance of the rocky mountain national park. both my father and brother live there. paola and i spend a lot of time there with the family, and our new nephew harrison. there is a lot to do in the area with the mountains and rivers...the fly fishing is good as can be expected...the mounatin climbing is spectacular...the camping and backpacking are great...the hiking is picturesque...the ice climbing is made to order for hardmen and their toys...

here on the right is the estes park cam...you can see what the weather is...i'm trying to get my brother to let me set up a harrison cam in the house, but he is a whimp and his computer is even whimpier...he really needs to upgrade his box...one of the only problems i have about estes park is that there is no skiing other than eldora. eldora is a nice, little slpoe with some fun runs, but disapointing after spending time in arapahoe basin or breckinridge. this does have it's positive side as the city is not an overpriced skiing mecca filled with soccer moms and thrashers on the weekend, instead it's filled with soccer moms and turons....

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