Maureen
When he came back in, he was further inspired to write a couple more haikus about Denis' morning, and Denis then replied. The result was the following exchange. Maybe you can figure out who wrote which parts.
Denis Morning
Throbbing feet and back
Doric, Ionic
Now it is my turn
* a nighttime visit to the Capitoline Museum to sketch; and
So, just thought you'd like to know that despite the disastrous fall of the dollar, we're getting our money's worth here -- or at least we did last week! Now I need to go to bed to recover.
It is always bittersweet for us to be in Leuven, because we love the place and the people so much, and for a while it was home for us. Denis, who was delighted with how much he remembered -- both of places and of his Dutch -- was having a hard time sorting out these happy/sad/wistful emotions one night, so we had a great conversation about the meaning of the word nostalgic. 
as well as others who patiently allowed us to practice both our English and our Dutch with them as we caught up with each other. One highlight was an invitation to dinner from Molly and John Berger, the current residents of our old home at Begijnhof 19. 
We had a great time, though the children complained that the house had gotten smaller than it used to be.
It even got Sophie to pick out the weapons she would take with her on her quest. She looks all pacifist and all, but keep you might want to keep your eye on her and see if you can see where she's hidden her dagger. 
Nathan and Denis, of course, conquered the castle while we were there, so we knew we were in good hands.
was to spend a lovely time visiting the van Eyck masterpiece The Mystic Adoration of the Lamb altarpiece. It is truly one of the masterworks of the Flemish "Primitive" painters of the 15th century (from whom the Italians learned the technique of oil painting), and it is beyond my linguistic powers to describe. All I can say is, if you're ever in the neighborhood, definitely make the effort to see it. This portrayal of the heavenly garden has many amazing details, but our friend Bethany was most struck by how much the heavenly city in the background looks like Flanders. Go figger. Here are the children climbing into the laps of the van Eyck brothers outside the cathedral.
and we continued upon our return to Rome, where we had a great lunch at a local trattoria yesterday (the 18th). 
There is some confusion about which day actually counts as Sophie's birthday here, because she was born at 6:18 pm on March 18th in Baltimore, but with the time difference, that would be 12:18 am on March 19th here. Then Fritz starts to throw in daylight savings time, and things get really confused. Our solution is to keep celebrating, and we will have a special dinner of fresh pasta and fried zucchini flowers tonight just to make sure we cover our bases.
So the story also has a moral -- two morals, actually:
-- Beware of what you find on the internet.
and
-- God never closes a door without opening a pizza shop.
Maureen
When you need to wee wee
You see a bathroom -- whoopee!
You have no modesty,
Less than in the Odyssey.
The pipes are made of lead
So you'll find yourself dead.
In there it was so cold
There may have been mold.
Where would be all the poo
If there were no sewer below you?
The world is full of so many gross things,
We Romans will never be kings.
Pizzaaaaah.
Gelatoooooh!
Umbrella pines and palatial ruins on the Palatine Hill.
Ella contemplating great architecture and blood sports.
Arezzo, and Assisi, time-traveling back and forth from about the 12th to the 14th century, with short stops in various other eras every once in a while. 
For those of you unfamiliar with this particular bit of Italian history, the Pazzi's were a rival banking family to the powerful Medici family in Florence. They, together with others (and with the support of the pope) attempted to murder Lorenzo "the Magnificent" and his brother Giuliano de Medici at the consecration of the Eucharist during Easter Sunday Mass at the cathedral in Florence in 1478. They succeeded in killing Giuliano, but the magnificent Lorenzo survived and proceeded to wipe the Pazzi family off the Florentine map, killing about 100 family members in 5 days and even destroying the family crest wherever it appeared in the city of Florence. You don't mess with magnificence. The Pazzi's remain enshrined to this day in the Italian language, however, in which "pazzi" means crazy.
We learned about different grades of wine and olive oil (which they also make there) and the dangers of eating anything called simply "olive oil" as opposed to "extra virgin olive oil." Gentle readers, know that if it doesn't say "extra virgin," it is likely 3rd grade oil, much less pure, and like to result in unnamed but clearly ominous consequences. 
I must say, the tasting portion of the evening included bread with fresh extra virgin olive oil and salt, and it was squisito, as we say in Italian.
the head and finger of Sophie's patroness Catherine of Siena, and all of Assisi, which is fabulous and very moving. 
As Fritz said, the tomb of Francis does indeed feel like one of those "thin places between heaven and earth." It is a place to which we hope to return before we leave Italy. I will leave the description of Assisi's stronghold or "Rocca Maggiore" to the kids, who are now ready to move in there (despite its half-ruined walls and missing floors and ceilings).
