It has felt very summery and hot around here this week. It think we will soon be swimming in Lake Zurich. This time of year I look around and see all the lovely gardens coming up and it makes me miss my little patch of land back in the States. There is a beautiful garden…

As I mentioned, Verona was the first stop when Brian and I went on our honeymoon 17 years ago. I remember feeling nervous about everything and while I enjoyed myself I was not very relaxed. It was my first big travel outside of North America. This time we had two hangers-on (Bea and Claire) and…