not a time to dawdle (With some pictures added!)

we have made it through hurricane irene and flew from boston to paris then onto alessandria.  we are currently in our local internet cafe where our names were still on file.  problem is, these keyboards are russian and european and i cant figure out how to make my grammer proper.  so forgive me for the presentation.

also, i have tried to download pictures but i am being thwarted.  i know now that i am back in italy...

here in alessandria, much remains the same while much has changed.  the italian economy, like the rest of the world is in crisis.  consequently, many establishments have folded.

This was one of my favorite fruit and vegetable stands. 

Also, I could not find my favorite stand in one of the daily markets.

But, the first place we ever ate (our first night) in Alessandria remains.

And a local park has really matured.  They began work on it before we left and now it's in its' glory.

the title of this blog inferes not a minute to spare.  kim has done an amazing job at coordinating our travel.  we evaded the hurricane and made it to paris after a 5 hour flight.  from paris, we caught a plane called easy jet and made it there with 3 minutes to spare.  easy jet is not easy although they are inexpensive...the paris airport is not that user friendly and the shuttles between planes do not really run on what one might consider a regular, predictable time....long story.

milan was its chaotic self and the train station is a sight to behold with the throngs of people of all nationalities. this is what i love about europe. remembering where things are located is very helpful and so when we had 7 minutes to catch our train to alessandria, we made it with at least a minute to spare.  this train decided to leave right on time and again we did not dawdle and made it.

Of course, we had to grab our water and Kim has her chocolate.  Sister Wendy was so happy to be out of her compartment.

its hot here--around 90 degrees.  lots of zanzare--aka mosquitoes, i had forgotten that little detail.  but, luckily being the traveler that i am i brought my rei jungle juice and have only gotten one bite.

This bite, however, has been a real killer.  Rita tells me that it is because of the "stronger" variety of mosquitoes that are associated with the rice production fields.

my blogs are usually more interesting with the pictures.  later i will try another computer.  it is great to be here and rita is a wonderful hostess who is feeding and feeding and feeding us.

life is good and i am grateful.

ciao for now.

ps here are some cute thingys  òò°°°°ùùù<èèèè+<<<<<<<<<ùùùù<ùìì and i cannot find how to capitalize! let,s hear it for the exclammation point!!  and when i do spellcheck everything is yellow.  these are my current problems.