ready, set, go!

Some of ours students have arrived already and are spending a great deal of time researching the beach at Mondello. We will be receiving the rest of the class throughout the day, with some arriving as late as 10:00 this evening.

Palermo has been fabulous. Michael's cousin, Pasquale, and his wife, Maria, have gone above and beyond in hosting us with fabulous dinners and trips to the beach. Pasquale's son, Vincenzo, and his fiance, Marzia, have accompanied us on most of our excursions.

The weather is warm, our apartments are located in a very central spot, and we are anxious to get the program underway.

Miracle of miracles --- my wallet was found in Venice. The money is gone, but all of my other documents and cards seem to be there. Just have to figure out how to get it back!

We decided to cook a group meal tonight as we awaited the arrival of the rest of our travel mates. Since each apartment has a kitchen, we had a fabulous feast in a park near the apartments (some feral dogs joined us, but were smart enough to hang around the periphery of our picnic.) Noel brought his petanque(sp?) set, a game similar to bacce except that the balls are metal instead of made of wood We got some locals involved and had a great time.