Travel day…5½ hour road trip beginning at 10:00 am…Photos…Tomorrow, a huge update!!!…

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No doubt, it was sad for us to see 32-year-old Lakshmi standing outside the temple, most likely day after day, waiting for treats from visitors who believe greeting her with offerings provides them with a blessing.

Note: To all of our readers visiting our site via a smartphone, please click the “View web version” tab under the word “Home” at the bottom of the page to access the web version enabling you to access all of our archives on the right side of the page. We’ll be updating our site in a few months, making these extra steps unnecessary. Thank you.

Arriving only minutes ago at the hotel in Tanjore with it already after 5:00 pm, I need to rush through the balance of this post I started yesterday to get ready for a relaxing evening after today’s harrowing long drive. 
Lakshmi was so sweet and welcoming. I patted her thick trunk and looked deep into her eye. More here: “This Ganesh Chaturthi, you can visit the extraordinary Manakula Vinayagar Temple situated approximately 400 metres away from the Bay of Bengal in White Town, Pondicherry. Read on to know why devotees, photo fanatics, and experience seekers flock to this amazing temple of Lord Ganesha.”

The narrow two-lane highway was congested with trucks, cars, motorbikes, bicycles, and tuk-tuks with horns honking constantly, vehicles swerving in and out of traffic, and accidents waiting to happen. Another one of those Mr. Toad’s Wild Rides!

From this site about the significance of the elephant: “Symbol of wisdom, the elephant-headed Lord Ganesha is popularly known as ‘God Of New Beginnings’ and ‘Obstacle Remover.’ Such is the joyful sight one comes across during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. Markets are colorful with clay models of Lord Ganesha, artisans look delighted with their creations, people are shopping for sweets and decoration materials. Celebrations at places like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Goa are worth an experience.”

We’re glad to be settled at another Ideal Resort, but it’s not as lovely as the last Ideal Beach Resort in Mahabalipuram, which we left three days ago. We only stay here two nights, and then we’ll be on the move again.

Lakshmi entered the temple to participate in a ceremony.

As of yesterday afternoon, we have more photos we’ve yet to post than we possibly can add here. Finally, I figured out how to get the photos from the camera, using the new SD card reader into my Google Drive and moving them over to my Google photos. It was quite a learning curve with little supportive information online that was confusing and convoluted.

Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

More and more people are ceasing to use Windows-based computers due to the issues with Windows 10 updates, and many are moving over to Chromebooks. I suspect this will be a real turning point in the computer world.

The fact that my new HP Chromebook has a battery that lasts 12 hours, it’s a whole new world to me. Using Google Drive exclusively to save my files rather than files on my desktop has also been a significant change. I kept no less than 40 files on the desktop. 
“The church beautifully depicts the events from the life of Christ through its stunning glass panels. It also contains spectacular glass pictures of twenty-eight saints, the great devotees Jesus Christ.”

Now, I have none. With Chromebook, one cannot leave a folder on the desktop. Everything, other than apps on a taskbar called the “shelf,” along with the ability to scroll down to see and use more apps, there is nothing on the desktop. 

“The south boulevard at Subbayah Salai houses this famous church in Pondicherry, constructed by French missionaries during the 1700s. It’s a classic example of Gothic splendor, and one must visit this to experience its inner beauty and peace. 

At first, I tried to find a workaround enabling me to load icons on the desktop and finally gave up. Now, weeks later, I’m OK with this new (to me) operating system. Tom has a Samsung Chromebook, and he too has become acclimated to the new system. 

The old lighthouse is no longer in use after a new one was built.

As it turned out, I’ve had to ask him how to do a few things, and he happily complied, thrilled to be the one with tech knowledge for a change. Now I am passionate about learning every possible command that can make the system hum for me.

Giant Hindu God statue near the beach.

As a result of the abundance of good photos from yesterday’s tour in Pondicherry, it was challenging sorting through all of them to decide which of those we wanted to share in today’s post.

A beautiful dome in the church.

Yesterday, I began going through them, deleting duplicates and, and less preferable shots in an attempt to narrow it down. I could spend all day, every day, going through photos. 

The interior at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

With time at a premium based on our current schedule, I have no time to crop or edit any photos we post. They are exactly as we took them, which has generally been the case in most photos we’ve published in the past several years—no photoshopping here.

“The church is also known as Samba Kovil and is located on the mission street in Pondicherry. The church is 300 years old and one of the most senior tourist sites in Pondicherry. It was initially financed and built by Louis XIV, king of France, in 1698. Since then, the church has been rebuilt more than three times as it was demolished by the Dutch and British. “

Raj was ready for us yesterday morning, and after a short drive, we picked up the tour guide for the day and began the three-hour tour of the French, Hindu, and Muslim neighborhoods, referred to as “Quarters,” as in the case of the French Quarter in New Orleans in the US.

Classic French-designed property in the French Quarter in Pondicherry.

He spoke good English, as do most of the guides, but his accent was strong, and Tom had a little trouble understanding everything he said with his lousy hearing. But, he picked up most of the content, and we both enjoyed the history lessons about Pondicherry, aka Puducherry.

Beyond this gate is a statue of Joan of Arc.

From this site: “Puducherry formerly, Pondicherry is a Union Territory of India. It is a former French colony, consisting of four non-contiguous enclaves, or districts, and named for the largest, Pondicherry. In September 2006, the territory changed its official name from Pondicherry to Puducherry, which means “New village” in the Tamil language. The territory is called Pondichéry in French. It is also known as “The French Riviera of the East.” 

The powerful symbolism of the peacock 

Pondicherry consists of four small unconnected districts: Pondicherry, Karaikal, and Yanam on the Bay of Bengal and Mahé on the Arabian Sea. Pondicherry and Karaikal are by far the larger ones and are both enclaves of Tamil Nadu. Yanam and Mahé are enclaves of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, respectively. The territory has 492 km²: Pondicherry (city) 293 km², Karaikal 160 km², Mahé 9 km², and Yanam 30 km². It has approximately 1,200,000 inhabitants.”

More colorful figures atop a temple.

Of course, although sad to see, one of our favorite experiences on yesterday’s tour was seeing the elephant at the Ganesha temple up close. I even had a chance to stroke her truck. Here’s information from this site on this magnificent animal:

Another temple with beautiful colorful carvings.

“At the entrance of this temple, you will see locals as well as foreigners clicking pictures and taking videos of the elephant named Lakshmi. It is no less than a celebrity. When people offer money and food to her, she blesses them with her trunk. The sight is awe-inspiring, and crowds of people gather here to watch Lakshmi showering her blessings.”

There is a “police booth” near the Ashram, which we entered, but no photos were allowed. Locals and tourists visit from worldwide to take part in the quiet and spiritual Ashram, described as follows: “The Sri Aurobindo Ashram is a spiritual community located in Pondicherry, in the Indian territory of Puducherry. The ashram grew out of a small community of disciples who had gathered around Sri Aurobindo after he retired from politics and settled in Pondicherry in 1910.”

As we were leaving the area after touring the temple, Lakshmi was directed into the temple to participate in a ceremony. Since we were only allowed to take photos in a tiny room, we didn’t follow her.

War memorial in Pondicherry.

I know, I could say all kinds of things about domesticating elephants or any wild animals for that matter. But, as a guest here in India, where culture dictates that elephants may be domesticated and often “work,” I should leave those opinions to myself.

This building was filmed in making the 2012 movie Life of Pi as described here: “Pi Patel finds a way to survive in a lifeboat that is adrift in the middle of nowhere. His fight against the odds is heightened by the company of a hyena and a male Bengal tiger.”

With little time for more details on today’s photos, please bear with us, knowing we’re doing everything we can time-wise to keep our worldwide readers updated on what we’re experiencing.


May your day be rich with experiences.

Photo from one year ago today, March 12, 2019:

It was beautiful to the male Nyala three out of four days. For more photos, please click here.

Visiting another town in Costa Rica…Naranjo…Chatting with friends on Skype…

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 Basilica Nuestra Senora de las Piedade is one of the most beautiful Catholic temples in Costa Rica, unique in its Renaissance style, was built between 1924 and 1928.

“Sightings from the Veranda in Costa Rica”

Colorful flowers are blooming throughout the villa’s grounds.  Ulysses takes excellent care to ensure everything is perfectly groomed.

Naranjo is the capital city of the canton of Naranjo in the province of Alajuela in Costa Rica. It is also the name of the district that includes the city. The district of Naranjo covers an area of 25.75 km² and has a population of 19,760.

We visited Naranjo last week when we had the rental car hoping to see this well-known Catholic church. Unfortunately, upon arrival, we discovered the church was temporarily closed due to renovation. So instead, we wandered around the center of town and the local park, observing yet another community filled with friendly people.

Many towns in Costa Rica have Central Parks such as this in Naranjo.

From this site: 
“The town of Naranjo, settled in 1830, was originally known as “Los Naranjos” (the Orange Groves) due to the abundance of orange trees in the surrounding area. Although the name has been shortened and the amount of orange trees lessened, this city of 35,000 has remained an important agricultural hub for Costa Rica.

Set at the base of the Espírito Santo Hills in Costa Rica’s gorgeous Central Valley, the area surrounding the town is stippled with farms growing all kinds of crops– plantains, corn, tapioca, coffee, rice, beans, sugar cane, tobacco, and beef, to name a few.

On a recent road trip, we visited the town of Naranjo to see this church, the Basilica de Naranjo.

The coffee plantations are perhaps the best represented, and plantation tours are becoming increasingly popular among tourists. This fertile area is drained by the Grande Colorado, Molino, Barranca, and El Espino rivers, and, at an elevation of 3,398 feet (1,036 meters), the temperature is a consistently cool 68° F (20° C).

Each year a large festival honoring of the Virgin de Lourdes brings in visitors from all over the country to Naranjo. Additionally, there is an attractive baroque-style church in town that is worth checking out.
Many local citizens travel on foot to get to around town when cars are expensive and bus service is limited.
CIn the Alajuela province’s capitalcity of the canton Naranjo  Naranjo is 27 miles (44 km) from San José. The town of Sarchí, renowned for its abundance of fine handicrafts, is 3 miles (5 km) west. The road north leads to Ciudad Quesada and the Northern Lowlands, and is one of the country’s most picturesque drives. Other popular destinations, including Monteverde, Arenal, and Guanacaste, can be reached from here as well.”
The warmth and friendliness of the people of Costa Rica are evident wherever we may travel. They often smile when walking past us and many often say, “hola or Buenos Dias”. 
Interesting architecture.
There’s no doubt in our minds that in many countries locals can determine that we’re Americans. I’m not sure if there’s an “American look” but we must have it since even before we speak, it’s often presumed. 
Speaking of friendliness, after spending nine weeks in the USA this past summer and after seeing many of my girlfriends, I couldn’t go back to our lives of world travel without staying more closely in touch.
The clock is the correct time.

In these past two months since we left the US,  I’ve had the opportunity to speak with four of my long-time girlfriends on Skype.  No words can express how enjoyable this has been. Yesterday, I talked to my dear friend Colleen, who worked for me 35 years ago in real estate.

We’ve stayed in close touch by email and Facebook these past years. In 2013, while on a cruise in the Caribbean, I visited her in person when she lived on the island of St. Thomas for many years. 
The municipal building is located across the street from Central Park in Naranjo.
I was always impressed how she’d left her life in Minnesota behind to live on the exotic island for decades, never knowing at the time, that we’d do something similar. Over those many years, we easily stayed in touch by phone and later by email. 
We’d hope to see the interior of the church but it was closed due to renovations. So instead, mass is held outdoors on the grounds of the basilica.
However, we hadn’t talked since we visited St. Thomas on April 17, 2013, when St. Thomas was a planned port of call during the cruise. Click here for our post from that date. She’s since moved to Florida. 
We talked about the many hurricanes she experienced over the years in St. Thomas and the worry and concern she shared with other Floridians over the recent devastating hurricanes. Fortunately, her current home weathered the storm well and all is fine and good for her.
This historic outdoor altar is where church services are held while the church is under construction.
Tom walked with me to the center of town where Colleen and I planned to meet and went back to the ship on his own. Later in the day, he met me at a nearby fountain and walked back to the boat.  It was beautiful to see her then and equally excellent to chat on the phone yesterday.
Typical roadside scene.

We promised to stay in touch by phone in the future providing we have a good enough Wi-Fi signal.  Recently, with other friends I’ve done the same, spending time every so often chatting on Skype or now, Facebook’s own free voice chat module. 

My sister Susan and I have been talking every week, Julie less often and other family members as their schedules allow. But, in today’s world, we’ve found talking on the phone is less of a priority to younger generations when social media and texting play such a more significant role. 

Cattle near the road on a small farm.
Today, we’re staying in. We haven’t been able to use the pool for many days due to heavy thunderstorms with lots of lightning throughout most of the day. Of course, it’s still the rainy season (aka green season) which continues from May to November but we’re making the best of it, never letting the rainy days get us down. 
We’re content. We hope you are too!

Photo from one year ago today, September 27, 2016:

We lounged in this (one of many) cabanas overlooking the sea at Puri Bagus Lovina, in Bali with iced tea in hand and books to read on our phones as we continued the five-day process at the nearby immigration office to extend our visas.  For more details, please click here.

A procession, live music… A ripe zucchini… An odd solution to drive away the flies…

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Sandwich sized Ziplock bag clipped to the railing of the veranda with clothespins with the intent of keeping houseflies from bothering us, biting us and from coming inside the house.

Last night, as darkness befell Boveglio, a procession of parishioners commenced originating in the old church with the loud bell tower that we’d videotaped a few weeks ago. (Please see archives for June 30, 2013).

Here are our videos of the procession. Bear with us, it was dark:
Video #1 – As the procession left the church and entered the road
Video #2 – As the procession was maneuvered up the road
Video #3 – The procession as it made its way passed our house
Locals walking on the steep roads during the procession last night.  The woman on the far left in navy blue is our own, Santina, our precious cleaning lady.

Much to our surprise the marching band and followers walked the long, steep roads traversing past the door to our house as they continued on to the square near the Bar Ferrari.  

As we stood outside on the road, outside of our house, as the procession stopped for a few minutes for prayer. There’s Santina again in navy blue. Notice the heels on her shoes!

Making the video in the dark was difficult when we wanted to avoid blinding them using flash and thus our video is hard to see. Their safety on the dark winding roads superseded our desire to make an easy to see the videos.

The shrine, across the street from our house, was well lit with candles and the focus of the prayer led by the priest as we stood outside of our house.

Many of the parishioners carried candles, illuminating the way for the marching band.  Need I say, it was a delight to behold.  Our vantage point made the festivities all the more exciting, being able to watch the beginnings from our veranda and later from the road outside our front door.

The locals were dressed in their finery with many of the older women walking the long steep trek in 2″ high heels.  Oh, I’d better stop whining about climbing these steep hills, casually dressed while wearing tennis shoes!  They were a sight to see, quite an inspiration.

Zucchini from our garden???

Our solitary zucchini which grew in the garden on the patio.

Years ago, I had a garden in the overly wet soil in the only sunny spot near the lake at our home in Minnesota.  Amazingly, much of the produce we’d planted actually ended up in the kitchen while I feverishly made salsa, a plethora of zucchini recipes, and myriad dishes made with a variety of peppers. 

The tomatoes didn’t do as well in the soil or in the pots we’d placed around the yard. As a result, I made a determination that my thumb wasn’t green enough to be a garden enthusiast and I stuck to small herb gardens. 

Eventually, I converted to an Aerogarden, a lighted indoor garden given to me by my dear friend and business partner Theresa which ultimately kept us in herbs year-round.

Arriving in Boveglio on June 16th, two large planters were prepared for us to tend, literally jammed with herbs, tomato, and pepper plants in their infancy. Unfortunately, flowers had been planted as well, attracting many bees of which we’re allergic. 

As a result, we used the herbs regularly but didn’t spend much time tending to the care of the planters, other than an occasional watering with the hose provided. 

For some reason, yesterday, I decided to get rid of some of the weeds and dead leaves spending a little time to hopefully giving the garden a chance to grow. Wouldn’t you know? I stumbled across this 8″ zucchini with what appears to be more on the horizon.

With renewed interest in the garden, Tom immediately began watering again taking special care.  This one zucchini gave us hope.  Ironically, we had purchased a basket of 8 zucchini when grocery shopping on Monday some of which I’d used the prior two nights to make a stir fry of zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes seasoned with fresh garlic, basil, and rosemary from the garden.

This patio is where we suntan a few times a week.  These impatiens seem to attract the bees as do most flowering plants requiring us to pay special attention during our hour in the sun, quite close to the planters.
The second of the two planters.  As you can see, the giant leaves on the are those belonging to the zucchini.  It appears we’ll see more zucchini over the remaining summer along with the abundant herbs we’ve been using.

Why in the world do we have hanging Ziplock bags half-filled with water and a few coins in select areas of the house?

Tom and his retired railroad guys, friends, and family member send hundreds of emails between one another each week in addition to frequently posting on Facebook. Many are silly jokes and a wide array of goofy entertainment.

On occasion, a post or email may contain “how to’s” that work (or not) to ease one’s life in one manner or another. Over a year ago, Tom’s sister Rita and most recently a railroad friend, posted this information on how to get rid of annoying flies.

Recently, I’ve resorted to wearing my Exofficio Bugs Away pants at dinner each night to keep the flies from biting my legs which are intended for use on our upcoming almost year-long travels to Africa. 

It’s comforting to know that these pants and other such clothing we’d purchased online while still in the US, embedded with Permethrin, actually do keep the bugs from biting.  The product remains in the clothing after 70 washings. We have 69 washings left, having worn them on several of our excursions in the desert while aboard ship. 

The main purpose of this type of clothing is in the prevention of mosquitoes carrying Malaria from biting, as well as other insect-borne diseases (Of course, we’ll be taking anti-Malaria pills and, had numerous immunizations while in the US, many lasting up to 10 years).  However, some insect bearing diseases have no prophylactic medication or appropriate vaccination).

In any case, when this “home remedy” with Ziplock bags came down the pike several days ago, we began our own research.  The efficacy of this remedy is disputed and confirmed by many reliable and less reliable resources.  Studies had been done, not under ideal conditions which are often the case in certain studies.  The most substantial validation of this simple process was the general public in 1000’s of comments and reviews all over the web.

Here’s a Ziplock bag half-filled with water and a few Euros to ward off house flies. See the story for the results of using these well-placed bags over the past 48 hours.

At times, when a household remedy is used, naysayers say the results are “psychological” or “the placebo effect.”  Keeping flies at bay is hardly either of these. Are they less intrusive after two full days of use?

Ziplock bags are not sold in Italy.  Luckily, we have many with us that we’d used in our luggage to contain small items and bottles that could potentially spill. Dumping the contents of several of the sandwich-sized bags (the only size we have with us), we tested them for holding water.

Here are the instructions for this housefly deterring remedy. There are dozens of websites debunking this supposed Internet legend. What did we have to lose to put a few Euros (no pennies with us) in plastic bags in a few choice spots around the house:  the kitchen, the patio where we keep the door open for air during the day, and the veranda where we sit outdoors most days?  We could reuse the bags after drying them and put the Euros back in Tom’s pocket if it didn’t work.

The definitive answer is “YES!”  It works! Without wearing the Bugs Away pants since we clipped up the three bags, I don’t have one new bite, not during the day, not during dinner. 
We’ve actually watched the flies attempt to fly in, immediately heading back outdoors. Now, we can sit on the veranda with only an occasional crawling insect.  With the kitchen windows opened from the time we awaken until bedtime, we’ve only killed or chased off a total of three houseflies, as opposed to the dozens we were dealing with only days ago.
Why does it work? From what we read, flies have a powerful vision, including peripheral vision.  When they see the bag with the water’s reflective light, they perceive it as some life-threatening creature, heading the other way.
It works for us. With the hottest period of Italy’s summer fast approaching, we no longer have to keep the windows shut in these three areas, where we spend most of our time.  The bedroom door and windows continue to stay closed around the clock, considering the fan we use at night. 
Thanks, local residents for the procession of last night.  Hello, zucchini. We’ll dine on you tonight. And most of all, goodbye houseflies!
At the end of today’s post, there is an explanation as to why we have a Ziplock bag of water hanging near to the door to the patio where the planters are growing herbs and vegetables for our use over the summer.
Day #115 in lockdown Mumbai, India hotel…Is the “head in the sand” premise the best response during these times?…

The Borgias… Historical TV series about Italy… Reminds us of our location…We went exploring…More photos….

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These are the locked iron gates closing off easy access to the church. To get closer to the church tower, we’d have to walk through dense weeds. Knowing there are many ticks in the grass, we chose to drive to the other side with still no way to get closer to the church.
This unattached separate building on the church grounds may have been the original church on the grounds based on the above inscription near the entryway.
A portion of the entrance to the larger church.
This gate was also locked, preventing us from getting inside the church.
This translates to:  “the companionship SS V Del Rois,”  appears to be the name of someone of significance to these church grounds.

It’s ironic that we chose to begin watching Showtime’s series, The Borgias, a historical piece on the raucous lifestyle of the papacy in the late 1400’s Italy. Although filmed in Budapest, many scenes are of renowned Italian cities, many of them now familiar to us. 

The back view of the church and clock tower facing the cemetery.
Overlooking the iron railing around the cemetery prior before entering.

Able to download full episodes (with no commercials on any of the TV shows) on Graboid, a $19.95 a month download service, we’ve enjoyed watching one episode a night as we catch up from Season 2 and 3, having seen Season 1 in the US. 

Another view of a portion of the cemetery from the iron railing. A gate was also locked to the main entrance, but we able to enter through an unlocked side gate.
These steps were much steeper than they appear here, more so than many of the steps on the walk to Bar Ferrari in our neighborhood.  At the bottom of these steps, we found the unlocked gate allowing us to enter.
These were the first gravesites we spotted as we entered the cemetery.
Tom, ancestry.com obsessed, was fascinated with the stories revealed by the many headstones, names, dates, and photos.
Many gravesites had these oversized headstones.

Each night after dinner, we place my laptop on the coffee table in the living room to watch the highly entertaining series. The sofa in the living room, more than 100 years old, is lumpy and uncomfortable, but with the addition of a few well-placed pillows, we’ve managed to make it work for us.

The name Ferrari, as in the local bar, was depicted on many of the headstones.
Some of the headstones were quite impressive, both old and new.

With no appropriate plain wall in this house, we haven’t used our mini projector.  With 100’s of movies and shows downloaded on our portable hard drive, we’ll be able to continue to enjoy a few shows in the evening when we spend our upcoming nine months in Africa.

It was surprising that many of the headstones here in Boveglio weren’t older. The earliest date we saw was in the early 1800’s.  However, the oldest of the markers were embedded into the surrounding wall and difficult to read due to their age.
Most of the flowers were artificial as often is the case except for significant dates and remembrances.

Watching The Borgias, we’ve marveled over their use of the sound of the clock towers clanging while filming the show. Often, we’ve assumed it was the sound of one of the two bell towers we hear four times an hour, including during the night.  Located outside of our bedroom window we’re surprised how quickly we’ve become used to the sound which doesn’t awaken either of us at night.

Looking carefully, we could see this may have been born in 1832, passing on in 1898.

 

More Ferrari family members from Boveglio.
This may have been a husband and wife, or a father and daughter.

After one month in Boveglio we’ve posted many photos of this church and tower that our house overlooks.  Since arriving, we’ve wanted to have a closer look at the 100’s year-old structure and cemetery. It’s one of those places you can see, but it’s not easy to get today.

This old basin was working, we surmised it was most likely used for watering flowers.
One of these lost souls was born in 1844.

A few weeks ago, we drove down the steep hill only to be shooed away by some woman sitting in her car with the door open. Worried we were on private property, that the church had been sold as residential property, we left, not wanting to intrude.  With no one to ask about it that speaks English, we assumed we wouldn’t be able to get closer.

The view backed up at our home and the clock tower next door to us that clangs four times per hour, not necessarily at the exact same times, including during the night.  

On Saturday evenings, as the bells clanged loudly for over five minutes on two occasions, only minutes apart, we saw a man in a red shirt with two children, inside the tower. Unless they are the owners of the church, we decided that today, we’re taking our chances and driving down the steep road, to walk the remainder of the way to see the church up close.

Before driving back up the steep hill we stopped for this shot which was our only unobstructed backside view.

Satisfied that we’d seen all that we could by car and on foot, we maneuvered the steep inclines to return to the main road. With the sharp angle required to depart the narrow driveway, we had no choice but to travel much further down
the winding mountain road to a tiny turnaround spot we’d used on other occasions.

Each day as we write from the veranda with the fabulous views of the mountains covered with a wealth of lush vegetation, a perpetual fluttering of white butterflies, the melodic sounds of myriad birds, and the endless buzzing of bees flying around our heads, we are content.

Every 15 minutes or so, the clock towers clang as a reminder of the history of this magnificent area, the lives lived and died in Boveglio and the memories any of us are lucky enough to treasure in our hearts and minds forever.