As I was flying over the French Alps , repeat, as  I was flying over the French Alps (doesn’t that sound awesome?) I was praising in my heart of hearts for the journey I’ve had so far and the 5 weeks to come!!!!!

Hello, Italy!

There have been a few times where Steve and I found ourselves stressed, lost, and grumpy and God has seemed fit at that very moment to let us know He’s still watching over us.

In Mont St. Michel, we had had a long (lost) day and we were entering the city when a bird flew over and did a major CRAP on my head. A nice family speaking English(!) helped me clean up. We found out they were from Seattle, great fellow- Christians, and they included us at their dinner.  Thanks Harriet, Ken, Ray, and Mom for making our day!

Just arriving in Montalcino and wanting some connection, we heard Bea talking with her daughter Paige at the outdoor cafe in front of our building. We found out they hailed from Burlington, North Carolina and this was their 10th visit to Montalcino! I took notes when they talked of the “best” of everything we should try. Jim, Bea, Paige, and Michelle shared so much of themselves with us. Paige sings in her UCC choir back home, and was missing Easter too.

There was the vacationing Sheriff from Poway who patrols 4S ranch whom we met at the 2nd wine tour. There were the college girls in Vernazza who were also looking for a room. They happened to be from Pt Loma Nazarene and were good friends with Tyler Kuehl from the Church of Rancho Bernardo.

Even KC and Jonathan’s friends, Jenn and Mike and their new baby Logan in La Spezia, were welcoming on a rainy Sunday.

More signs of amazing grace.

Beautiful, breathtaking, and…”Coast, we are nearly out of gas!”  Due to all of the switchbacks, we almost ran out of gas.  We arrived and had a great hotel and an awesome italian meal and a long walk around Parma before we headed to our reservation at Camp Darby in Pisa (a little-known military base with beautiful accomodations).

So heading out early we had to cross…guess what?   The Italian Alps!  But this time we took a major highway with buckets of tunnels and incredible engineering feats. 

We were scheduled to be in Pisa around 1 pm, but we got in at the ususal Morales-time table of 4:30 (at least it was still daylight).  We managed to go against the traffic, swimming upstream, and see the sights in town with fewer tourists as it was near closing. With the start of Easter week and school breaks, this place is bedlam.

We passed on climbing the  Tower, but were moved by our time in the Duomo and in the Bapistry.  The acoustics in the bapistry is such that every 30 minutes a guide comes in and sings a trio of notes spaced apart, but because of the echo and it’s 10 second length, it comes out sounding like 3 people singing at once (a full chord)!

It is amazing to actually be here and see this all in person.  And it blows me away to see and to know the effort, talent, devotion, and faith to build it all. Amazing!

There were a lot of tunnels on the way there as she is carved out of a rock and built up a sheer wall of a mountain.  It is supposed to have the bluest water (Cote Azur) and beautiful promenades (Nice and Cannes) but I will just have to take their word for it.

And while I’m whinning:  when you go by train you arrive at your destination energized and ready to go.  When you go by car however, you arrive  FRAZZLED!

With all the water in Holland, she didn’t know whether to have us travel on a road or canal.

In Monaco, she had no understanding  of what a one way street was (we spent an hour going 3 miles…round and round and round). 

And because she thinks she knows it all, if we ask to get out of Monaco and into Italy, rather than take the best road, she just takes us up and out and into the French Alps, whereas 2 miles out of our way would have given us a real road and not a cart path.

Now tomorrow  she has her last challenge for awhile: to get us to Montalcino from Pisa in the 3 hour drive time indicated…or she goes in the suitcase and I go buy a map.

I was thrilled to actually stay on the island in one of the few hotels, and thanks to the generosity of my church, to ask for a special room – one with an awesome view!  The Abbey itself is incredible to tour.  Reading the book “The Pillars of the Earth” before, really made this place come alive for me (thanks, Joe Hewitt).  Of course, there were a trillion steps which I took one at a time with my bum knee, but nothing was gonna stop me from this experience. Steve was so patient.

I will bring you up to date on the Bayeux Tapestry, bird poop in the hair, and enjoying dinner with other Americans, later as a flash back. 

We traveled from noon until 8:30 pm, traversing a lot of France  on our way to Monaco tomorrow!  It was a crime not to even see one chateau in the Loire Valley, but if I am lucky I can have lunch in Provence tomorrow.

Tomorrow is huge as we tackle the Bayeux Tapestry, and the beaches of Normandy, plus a 4-5 hour drive.  I don’t want to get up early, especially with losing an hour tonight.  The rolls and salami we snagged at breakfast will be our dinner.  When did travel become such work?