Roman Holiday

Anna, the kids, my mother-in-law, Linda and I went to Rome last week. Let me just say that Italy sucked. It did not live up to my expectations AT ALL.

I mean, sure the Colosseum is AMAZING and the Pantheon was BEAUTIFUL and I felt extra holy for having been to the Vatican and seen the Pope up close and in person (OK...not so up close...but still in person).

But whatever. I had one goal for my first trip to Italy and that was to finally buy some personalized "Vito" merchandise. I expected to come home with a bag filled with "Vito" key chains, "Vito" coffee mugs, "Vito" bicycle license plates, etc. Not a single "Vito" item was to be found. As far as I'm concerned, the trip was a waste.

Joking aside, we had a great time in Rome. We saw some amazing sites and we know we just scratched the surface in the 5 days we were there.

The first day we saw the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. I asked the kids what their favorite part was and of course they said the ice cream.

On Day 2, we toured the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. The kids favorite part: The pop tarts they had for a snack before we went into the Sistine Chapel.

Starting on Day 3, I stopped asking about their favorite part.

The tour of the Colosseum was terrific.

Mom Price and the kids take a break in the Map Room of the Vatican Museums.

The view of St. Peter's Square from the steps of the Basilica.
Despite their goofy uniforms the Swiss Guards are in charge of guarding the Pope.
A well deserved beer after traipsing through the Vatican Museums all day. The food in Rome was awesome. I had some great Lasagna and probably the best Eggplant Parmigiana I've ever had.

The view from the bottom of the Spanish steps. Only Katie and I braved the steps to reach the top.

One of the fountains in the Piazza Navona.

The General Audience with the Pope was both exciting and a bit anti-climactic. The Catholic School boy in me was very excited about seeing the Pope in person. The reality of it was that it was 80 degrees in direct sunlight with no seats (we got there 15 minutes before the start). The audience lasted for about 90 minutes but that was because the Pope and the priests/Cardinals that spoke basically said the same thing in 5-6 different languages. And naturally, after waiting all this time I had to take the kids to the bathroom (no line for the Men's room...my hand over Katie's eyes) and THAT'S when the Pope gives his blessing on the crowd.

Thank God for the Zoom on my camera.

Still, I'm glad to have gone. But we had to rush back to the apartment to catch our ride to the airport.

One last thing to share. Vito drew this picture of St. Peter's Square and the Pope and the teacher wrote down exactly what he said (click on picture to enlarge).
"We went to the Vatican in Rome, really called Italy. Italy is a fun place, but I didn't bring any toys, only my stuffed animal, Sparkles. We saw the Pope, he was asking a lot of questions."

International Week Opening Parade

It's International Week at AISB again. Mom Price is visiting and she and I got there extra early to get good seats (the gym fills up quickly).

Katie was super excited since she was picked to be the "Sign Bearer" for USA this year. And it was extra nice that she walked in with her brother, holding his hand.

Too bad they didn't look my way as they led the American contingent into the gym.

Katie sits with her class...

...and Vito with his.

Katie's good friend Shiraz was the Flag Bearer for Israel.

Katie's friend Courtney and her sister Skye who is in Pre-K with Vito, represented South Africa.

The South Koreans always look terrific.

It was a great morning and a good start to International Week.

Happy Birthday Dad

Happy Birthday to my Dad, today on his 61^st Birthday. And now that moment you've all been waiting for (at least since my Mom's Birthday last month) it's time for

"Frank Salvaggio Throughout the Years"

1949. I never pictured my Dad as a "Little Elephant Overalls" kinda guy

1^st Communion.
He wasn't fooling anybody with that "angelic" pose.

Sometime 1963-1967 High School Picture

(just not sure from which of the 3 High Schools he attended)

1967 USAF
I think my brother looks EXACTLY like my Dad in this picture.

1971 USAF Sgt. Frank Salvaggio. Protecting the beer and...
...basketball courts of Okinawa from the Vietcong.Audition Photo for the part of Arthur Fonzerelli for new TV Show "Happy Days."
(The part eventually went to Henry Winkler.)

1973 Baby Vito & Dad outside our River Street Home.

The Birthday Boy and his lovely wife. 2007

Happy Birthday Dad!

IMBROKE2 1990 - 2008

So this summer my Dad had to say goodbye to his 1990 Toyota Corolla. After 18 years of service, it finally had to go (16 years if you don't count the 2 years it spent sitting in the driveway). The car is an institution in the Capital District, with it's many distinctive features: Rust Holes the size of your foot, a back bumper that has been hanging down, seemingly about to fall off, for the past 10 years, an ugly, discolored hood and of course the famous IMBROKE2 license plate.

Reaction to his loss was varied:

• His coworkers suggested having the car mounted on top of building in Albany, replacing the U-Haul truck.
  
• My brother Frankie's friends, having been the recepients of many a 3:00am sober ride home, desperately tried to convince him to keep the car.
  
• Bill, the manager at the Tire Warehouse in Troy (where most of the nearly weekly repairs and maintenance was done) wept for three days at the loss of his biggest cash cow.
  
• The neighbors cheered at the removal of the neighborhood eyesore.

Those aren't rust holes, it's just extra ventilation.

The bumper sticker reads:
"This Car Is A Status Symbol. It Symbolizes Me Being Poor."

My favorite story about the IMBROKE2 takes place just a few short months after my Dad bought the car...his first brand new car since 1972. He got it in the late summer/early fall of 1990. That November he was driving home from work and on his way to pick up my brother at the YMCA after school program. He was going over Burdette Ave when a Troy High School student pulled out of the THS parking lot in front of him. Did I mention that it was freezing raining?

As he pulled into our driveway my mother and I looked out at the car. The hood was crumpled and bent nearly in half. Both headlights were still working but one was now pointed up at the sky. He was so angry that for almost 30 minutes he could only say "Not now" in answer to our questions. The worst part was that he had to use his old car until the Corolla was fixed so it was back in the school bus for me.

Anna the Spelunker

Anna had a team building exercise one day after work last week at the Palvolgi Caves. These team building exercises usually involve some activities after work followed by dinner. The Bonus was that the caves are literally 4 minutes from our house.

Anna had two choices for stuff to do: go into the caves for the main exercises or opt out (due to claustrophobia or limited mobility) and play the Wii and drink. Anna of course chose to go into the caves, a decision she would come to regret.

Anna went into the event thinking that the Palvolgi Caves would be something like Howe Caverns in New York. For those of you not familiar with Howe Caverns, you ride an elevator down to the caves where there are lights, walkways, handrails and even a boat ride.

She admitted to me that her first clue that Palvolgi Caves were not like Howe Caverns should have been when they handed her the coveralls to put on and asked if she had brought any hiking shoes. Missing this clue, she then spent the next 3 hours alternating between walking and crawling through the caves. In the dark with only the light from her helmet available. You can see why the guy is handing her the wine glass before she even changed...she needed it.

A week later she'll now say that she had fun, but for the first 3 days after she could barely walk she was so sore.

Moral of the story: when one of your choices is to play a videogame, you play the videogame.