Home in Utah

Several months after our return home, one of our special Italian missionaries traveled to the US for the wedding of another fellow missionary. Francesco DeRuvo is shown here with President and Sister Acerson, and Karen outside the Salt Lake Temple as we gathered for Josh Helding and Amanda Maero's wedding. (Will was taking the picture.) Both Elder Helding and Sister Maero had served in the Rome, Italy mission, along with Elder DeRuvo. In fact, Will was kind of the match-maker for Josh and Amanda. We had come full circle from Utah to Italy to Utah and totally enjoyed the journey.

French Riveria

Canne was our final place to visit. Every morning we enjoyed a french croissant or other yummy pastry, and wandered through the streets looking at the International Film Festival site, along with other interesting shops and stops - always ending up at the beach for a day of sun and relaxation. Toward evening, we would sit on the boardwalk and "people watch" which was a whole new entertainment in itself. We tried out a couple of restaurants and found one that suited us perfectly. When we first arrived in Canne at our hotel, the man at the desk took one look at Will and commented that the room we had reserved probably needed to be changed to another room just so Will would fit in the bathroom. We laughed, but had to wonder what the first room would have offered, considering the size of the room and bathroom we ended up in. What an adventure! It is all part of European travel. Will was very impressed with all the high-dollar sports cars lined up along the street. It seemed they had them all.

Paris, France

Four lovely days were spent in Paris. What a treasure trove of things to see. We took our time and enjoyed the Paris Opera House, the Champs Elysees, Arc de Triumph, Montmatre, Louvre Museum, Cathedral of Notre-Dame, and several other interesting places. Of course, the Eiffel Tower drew us back again and again.

Madrid, Spain

We were only in Madrid for a couple of days. Mainly we wanted to attend the temple there. We rode the subway to the stop that was supposed to be very near the temple. After ascending out of the subway, the temple was not immediately visible because of the all trees. While trying to decide which direction to go, a total stranger approached us, and said "Tiempo? Tiempo?" And he pointed in a direction. Sure enough, we walked right to the temple.

Venezia, Italia

Venice was a wonder of water canals. We enjoyed seeing the gondolas, as we rode the vaporetto (water bus) down the Grand Canal. The curved Ponte di Rialto (bridge) is a famous landmark, and was completed in 1591. We toured Basilica di San Marco and enjoyed "people watching" as we walked through the streets that were on land. Our accommodations were ever so quaint, with our window opening directly onto the canal. The bathroom, however, though private, was actually in the hall next to our room. Of course, you cannot go to Venezia and not buy Murano glass. I purchased a lovely necklace there.

At Mission's End

August 13, 2010 When we had completed our mission in Rome, Italy, we were given permission by our mission president to spend 2 weeks touring Venice (which had been out of our mission boundaries), Madrid, Spain to attend the temple, and Paris and the French Riviera in Southern France. We were delighted for this wonderful opportunity.