Dear Cha-Wel-Dor-Sue,

The expression "All roads lead to Rome" is based on the fact that at one time, the largest empire in Europe and the Middle East was that of the Romans, and being master engineers and road builders, they joined all their conquered territories with roads, all directed toward the hub of the wheel, their capital, Rome. Somehow or another, I had managed to avoid Italy in my travels, except for a brief trip across Northern Italy, at which time, we visited Venice, Lake Garda, and Genca. Otherwise, Italy was an unknown entity for me. Pat, however, had been to Italy in the 50's and was familiar with Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples, Capri, etc.

Our trip was headquartered in Rome for a week for a medical meeting, during which time we visited Rome, many historical sites, St. Peter's Cathedral, the Coliseum, many museums, and finally, had a day's trip to Pompei, Naples, and Sorrento.

After the meeting was over, we spent a week sight-seeing in Florence (unbelievably beautiful), Assisi, Pisa, Venice, Verona and Stressa on Lake Maggiori, and even spent an hour or so in Lugano, Switzerland! Our departure was from Malpensa, the airport for Milan, but we saw nothing of the city of Milan itself.

Several high points are unforgettable: St. Peter's Cathedral, of course, and a mass audience with the Pope, the Sistine Chapel, a visit to the Trinity College campus in Rome, which is downtown and adjacent to the Circus Maximus (site of the Roman chariot races), a visit to Monte Casino, which was founded by St. Benedict and where the Benedictine Order originated. This was wonderfully restored after having been destroyed by bombardment in World War II. It is remarkable in that the interior is made entirely of marble. It served to remind Pat and me of the fact that it was Italian artisans and craftsmen that possibly designed and which actually built the Taj Mahal at Agra, India. The pantheons in Rome and in Florence where Michelangelo, Galileo, and innumerable kings and emperors were buried were also of great interest. In this regard, we were reminded that Leonardo DaVinci died in France and is buried there and his remains were never returned to the land of his birth. The leaning tower of Pisa with its Bassilica and Baptistery in Pisa was beautiful and well worth the side trip from Florence. The Uffize Gallery in Florence with its priceless collection of the greatest of all of Italian painters, was also interesting. St. Mark's Bassilica in Venice with its well-known Campanile and Piazza, and our trip to the Venetian Islands of Murano (glass makers), and Burano (lace), were also enlightening and interesting. We also visited Verona,with its history of the feuding Montegue and Capulet families, immortalized by Shakespeare in his play Romeo and Juliet.

Italy is a shoppers paradise, with its magnificent leather industry, headquartered in Florence, and its jewelry industry, perhaps best associated with Pontvecchio, and with the name of Benvenuto Cellini, its wood inlay furniture, seen at its best in Sorrento, and finally, its unmatchable glass works, as previously mentioned, on the island of Murano. Pat was in her element, looking for mementos and gifts for our expanding family and naturally, I spent most of my time acquiring books, that I may never open again, but hopefully might be appreciated by others in my family who may someday retrace my footsteps.

Travel is an enlightening experience and certainly provides one with a sense of historical perspective and a chance to review the evolution of many civilizations with their unique cultures and arts. In traveling, regardless of the countries visited, one is constantly reminded of the fact that war (i.e. Athens vs. Sparta, Alexander vs. Darius, etc.) is an intrinsic part of man's nature and despite his love of the arts (architecture, painting, sculpture, music, literature, etc.) man is fundamentally a highly evolved animal, nothing more or less, and accustomed to fighting one another for survival and aggrandizement. The history of every country I have ever visited is replete with its stories of victorious battles and defeats and monuments and statues abound everywhere, testifying to these feats of war. Today, the world differs very little in this regard from that 3,000, 2,000, 1,000, and hundreds of years ago. What the Romans did many years ago, Russia apparently is undertaking at the present moment. Some day, it will succumb and fall, like all previous empires.

Returning home is always a welcome experience, and seeing 45 Wyllys Street once and again will provide a moment for reviving our weary minds and bodies from the effects of having been constantly on the move for the past three weeks.

Italy, unlike China, has copies of the International Herald Tribune newspaper and we were able to procure it in most every city we were in. Thus, we were in constant contact with the world scene. The only depressing effect reading the paper during our trip was the fact that a close friend of mine, Mr. Loctite, was slowly bleeding to death, and I have been more or less dependent upon his resources to sustain me in my retirement. Perhaps his hemorrhage will be controlled before I am called to the Great Beyond, and in this manner, some of my anxieties at the moment will be relieved.

Our last day in Stressa, on Lake Maggiore, took us to one of Italy's most famous and exclusive summer resorts. The season had closed and we were, at least for the first day, the only occupants of the Regina Palace. It is truly an elegant hotel and resort area and it was from there that we made a combined boat and bus trip to Switzerland, the most northern point in the lake. Our last day found us with a crystal clear sky and perfect weather for photography. Stressa, probably like many other resorts on Lake Garda and Lake Como, is beautiful in that the background is the snow covered Alps of Italy and Switzerland, and the shoreline is rimmed with hotels, summer homes or villas.

May you all enjoy in your futures some of the pleasures of travel, such as Pat and I have enjoyed together.

The presence of Gordy Strom and his wife Barbara added immeasurably to the pleasure of the trip.

Love,

DAD

CEJ/ngb