Decked out in USA colors with my American family in Milan!
The US Consulate in Milan and an American magazine here put on an Independence Day party at a nearby design museum's courtyard.
The courtyard was filled with sculptures, auction items, and July 4th decor. I toured the current exhibit in the museum which was VERY interesting. It was a progression of mostly Italian furniture designers, product/ industrial designers, and architects. Some of the products were one of a kind or prototypes....some were pieces that had been "domesticated" and mass produced.
The original Moka pot, something I use everyday to brew my coffee, was featured. 270 million copies have been sold worldwide in the last 80 years. I learned that Italian furniture design stemmed from the transAtlantic cruise line furniture. One of the very Italian, prototypes was a mobile that was a combination of a motorini and a car....very small but sat nine.
Some of the notable designers featured are Ron Arad ("bookworm"- bookshelves formed by extrusion and have flexiblilty to take on different organic orientations). Phillipe Stark's famous "Bubble Club" chair was on display. Michael Grave's teapot was also exhibited. It was very cool to see some icons I studied in school.
This link shows images of the different areas of the museum:
http://www.triennaledesignmuseum.it/itineranze.html
The Ferrari P6 prototype was on display. It was tweaked a bit before it was road ready. So sleek. I saw 3 red Ferraris in a row on Sunday....they are fairly common here. (the photo is from the museum website)
Gabe making a balloon smile:)
The musician that has sang with the likes of BB King leading us in the national anthem. Wow, that song hits home every time!
Maggie and her sister, Sophia with painted faces.
Of course I got some cotton candy....it's more fun to eat than the taste, I've decided.
After the lawn party we went to a the after party sponsered by an American bar owner. It was outdoors, under and surrounding a radio tower.
The American crowd I hung out with that night were US Marines and coworkers and interns from the US Consulate that Jeanne introduced me to. Laura (long hair) is from Atlanta and plays volleyball. We're going to try to play sometime.
This is Carmelo, a Sicilian guy I play volleyball with. He made a wonderful authentic dinner on Friday night and we are helping to teach eachother English/ Italian.
On Sunday, I was asked to take photos of one of the American families in our building. This was my favorite shot but it's hard to take a bad picture of such a nice looking family!
I also took some shots of them at the Duomo.
I just haven't seen an umbrella as a sun shield for awhile.
While at the Duomo, I discovered that a concert was scheduled there later that night.
So, I came back later with Amber (the American up the street) and some of her friends. Giovanni Solimma played the cello with great passion, backed by a talented orchestra. Incredible! Before that, we had dinner and walked and talked around the city.
I am always finding interesting the contrast between the contemporary and the ancient.
We mostly just walked along the water, sat by the lake, and talked. That night we ate at a quaint little restaurant, outside, overlooking the water. I had a saffron risotto with shrimp that was fantastic!
Motor bikes are more plentiful than cars here and motor bike racing is a very popular sport.
More scenic views...
The swans gracing the waters made this sparkling lake all the more beautiful.
I was very tempted to take off in one of these sailboats.
My new found friend, whispering sweet nothings. Literally, nothing at all.
Taking in the views and taking many pictures. 
Between the cameras clicking, my sundress, and Mickey's map, I'm pretty sure it was easy tell we were tourists:)
Ah, how romanticall! Love is definitly "in the air" everywhere I look in Italy.
The gang with a huge, ancient castle in the background.
Dramatically sight seeing.
Molto Bella!
