Filling our propane tanks

Found a local supply (most of Europe uses butane or a mix), but needed to get it into our American tanks.

Now I understand why the folks at the Cape are always so jumpy whenever they're fueling the shuttle.
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It's gusting 50 knots and Rigel's first molar came out

No obvious causal relationship between the two.
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Today's science lesson

NEVER try this with your steering compass at home. . .
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20-year-old jeans

Surely we can get another month out of them, get us through the winter. . .
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Skiing

Skiing, as far as I know, is more than going down a slope. It is
full of complications, such as the wedge, French fry position, pole
plant, and the up-and-down weight shifting.
You can hurt yourself in skiing. One of the most common ones is the
old chairlift fall down injury. It isn't much of an injury; the most
likely one is getting a twisted ankle, mostly. Besides, you'll probably
lose your skis.
From my experiences, however, skiing is very fun. The first time, I
fell down at almost every slalom that I made. But then I got better.
When I went down the really easy slope for the last time...it was the
easiest thing I ever did.

Big snowflakes

On the way home.
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A snack on the cable car

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Spanish is NOT Italian!

The differences between the two are irritably told to you the moment you say a single word of Spanish to an Italian. They will say the Italian translation of the offending word and then, in a very loud, annoyed voice say: "_______ IS SPANISH!" You can see how this could be embarrassing. My mom once said "Buon año" to the hotel clerk in Milan, and he immediately said "ANO! AÑO IS SPANISH!" Then here in Aosta, an Englishman at a table next to ours said "Gracias" to the waiter. At once she replied, "GRAZIE! GRACIAS IS SPANISH!" I don't know what this is all about, but Italians seem to absolutely hate it when Spanish words are mistaken for Italian ones.

--Orion
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Augustine's arch

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Roman ruins in Aosta

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A great first day!

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Lunch break

So, evidently, skis slide out from under you unless you keep them on edge. . .

That's the Matterhorn behind Rigel's shoulder.
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First ride up the mountain

Gulp.
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Hey! Snow!

Welcome to Aosta.
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Heading up into the Alps

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Learning Italiano,

Waiting for the train to Torino
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Brunelleschi's dome from Giotto's tower

At sunset, every red tiled roof in Firenze came alive for us.
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Tre cento settenta uno

Down, trenta-tre to go.
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Second climb of the day

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And we're here.

Definitely can feel the tilt. And, more unnerving, see it.
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Halfway up

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Almost. . .

You can really feel the leaniness (?) From here.
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Halfway up

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So the tower,

The cathedral and the baptistry all lean, and all lean in different directions. No wonder the city didn't stand a chance against Venezia and Firenze.
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Yup.

All the stories are right. It really is leaning.
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It appears

Out of skew on treadle.
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Crossing the Arno

Looking for the Leaning Tower.
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Huh. . . Now if only

They'd use Italian ingredients in their stuff back in the States.
(translation-McDonald's has a new flavor. All Italian.)
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How much propane is left in that tank?

We didn't have any idea, either. Until now: four pounds left. So now we know when it's reached the safe capacity, so we can stop filling.
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Forgot to bring our scale?

That's okay. We'll just make one. Let's see, one gallon weighs eight pounds, so one quart weighs two pounds and one pint weighs one pound. Of fresh water, of course, not salt. And not, on rough days, of puke.
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Microelectronics soldering

Success! When the adapter for Rigel's roll-up piano broke, it seemed like that was the end of keyboard accompaniment. But a rare soldering success story -- no sparks, fires, etc, at least so far -- means we've still got Rigel tunes.
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