October

Hard to believe October is just about past. Didn't get up to much this month other than

• Drank beer, all Oktoberfest beers, had high hopes for Harpoon Oktoberfest since I really liked their Summer beer, but I didn't love it. Sam Adams was good and Hofbrau was good, but liked Hacker-Pschorr the best. I didn't drink all the beer yet, but I better get to it soon, so I can start on the Holiday brews.

• Planted 75 cloves of garlic on the 6th and they are already growing. I still have about 20 more small cloves to shove into the ground.
• Stopped by a Science Fair on the 13th, it was promoted by New Scientist.
• Mulled some wine on the 14th, thought it was going to be a cold Sunday, but it ended up balmy. Just unmeasured amounts of cinnamon, star anise, cloves and whole all spice simmered in some Beaujolais and added some Ruby Port.
• Had a last minute Dinner party.
• Went to the climbing Gym again and we got belay certified, not as big a deal as it sounds.
• Got immunized for an upcoming trip, still more shots needed.
• shaved 4 lbs. off the weight of my checked luggage for that trip.  I purchased the Sponge Bob lamp for $5 at the local hardware store. He's not coming along.

• Did a test pack for what I think I will carry in my day pack on that trip, just under 10 lbs.

• Planted Eranthis (Winter aconite) on the 20th, it never seems to last more than one year and I really look forward to seeing them show up in the early, early spring.
• Replaced windshield washer jets on the car.
• Cleaned up some rust on our Land Rover which I have been trying to do all Summer long.

Travel? Why Not! Rome, Pizza, Boloney and Salami

Travel

• 8 hours NYC to Rome non-stop.
• 30 minutes Fiumicino Airport (Leonard Da Vinci) to Rome Termini Station
• 3 hours Rome to Pisa via rail.
• 2 hours Rome to Bologna
• 2 hours Pisa to Bologna by rail, change at Florence.
• 1 hour Bologna to Verona Porta Nuova train station.
• 90 minutes Bologna to Venice St. Lucia train station.
• Venice to Marco Polo airport by boat (max 1:15)
• 20 minutes Venice Piazzale Roma square to Marco Polo Airport by bus
• 9 1/2 hours non-stop Venice Marco Polo airport to NYC.

You could either do a loop starting and ending in Rome or have Rome and Venice as your endpoints.

Sights
Rome
Everything you learned about in school and saw in movies; art and history and religion.

• The Vatican
• Roman sights
• Art Museums
• Famous monuments

Pisa
I'm not quite sure about visiting Pisa, but they have the oldest University related Botanical Garden in Europe which might be interesting to visit.

• The Leaning Tower
• Duomo di Pisa
• The Botanical Garden of the University of Pisa (close to the Tower)
• Museum of Human Anatomy, Medical School of Pisa, by appointment

An alternative to Pisa would be
La Cinque Terra
Five villages built on the cliffs of the Mediterranean, only about an hour and a half past Pisa.
The small quaint villages interconnected by regional trains and walking trails are full of Churches, castles (ruins and not), tower houses and narrow medieval streets.

Bologna
A University City with lots of University Museums and fast cars nearby, maybe I'll be able to fit in a track day in a Ferrari.

• Gothic Duomo 
• Covered Arcades
• Palazzo Poggi Museum -University of Bologna Museums
• Wax Anatomy Museum - free
• Ducati Factory Tour and Museum
• Lamborghini Museum - an hour outside Bologna
• Ferrari Museum - outside Bologna

Verona (Day Trip)

• Churches
• Medieval City Center

Venice
A return visit, lots we didn't see and it was such fun just wandering around and finding things.

• Museo Correr, Venitian Civilisation Museum (models, maps, weapons)
• Libreria Nazional Marciana
• Museo Diocesano d'Arte Sacre, Romanesque Cloister behind the Doges

Souvineers

• Regional Flags
• Coat of Arms pins
• Interesting liquors