Last Day, we made it home!! !

Our last dinner was great. We had about five clubs attend and it was very crowded. Luciano was the main contact for Calgliari and did a great job with getting everything set up for us. We made it home on our 10.5 hour flight, then had about a five hour lay over in Chicago. We went to Morton's for a good American Steak! It was great, we even had bread and butter and ice in our water. By the time we got onto our flight to OKC, we were hitting a wall. We all made it safely back and are glad to be home. Bose's best friend was there to welcome us with a fancy sign. I am now going through all of my new stuff and sorting out the many memories before I head out and get the rest of my life in order. I can't wait to see my girls later tonight!!!! I think I get a welcome home dinner at The Boulevard tonight with my parents and the girls. Life is sweet. I will jump back into work tomorrow and am looking forward to it. Ciao.

Cagliari

Visited a company called Aborea in Oristano yesterday. A huge milk and cheese company and very impressive. It was a great tour. Went to a local farm where some of their milk is sourced from. The bull on the left was HUGE!! The cow on the right was his girlfriend for the moment. It was am impressive farm and the owners were very kind to our group!! Saw many other spots for vocation yesterday and ended the day with great pizza and friends!!! Went to the local market this morning and saw many things, mostly various parts of every animal in Sardania. It was so crowded with the locals. We fianally got a nice day at the beach to relax and enjoy. We are just about ready to give our last presentation for the month. We head home tomorrrow. It has been a fun trip.

Cagliari Day One

Tour of Cagliari with some new friends. Dinner with my host, his girlfriend and friends. We visited the largetst Radio Telescope in Italy, the second largest in the world!! It is under construction. Had more porcetta for lunch. Lacey did not like the pic face!! I ended up eating the ear, but not the brains!! More historic ruins. It is nice in Calgari on Sunday as most things are closed. Tomorrow we have more vocation.

Iglesias

Had a great dinner with Marisa Dessi (host Rotarian) and her family last night!!! Big vocation day today. Visted a very impressive meat company by the name of Salumitaliani (or Porro). They were very advanced with technology and had an amazing inventory system for thier products. Visited a small pasta facility, family owned. The plant was close to 40 years old, but had been updated with new equiupment and looked brand new. It was great to see this process. We had lunch and a tour at a wine factory and then visted Porto Flavio, an old mining area used here in Iglesias. We were underground in the mining tunnels with hard hats and flashlights.

Oristano

Oristano was a very quick trip for the GSE team. We were able to take a tour of the city where most of the children were dressed up in traditional costumes of the area. We visited the Oristano museum, a few churches and a monestary. We later took a trip to the old ruins of Tarros, which were inhabited by the early settlers of Oristano and Sardinia prior to the Romans. Only one third of the area has been excivated so far and it has not been touched for close to 30 years. (due to funding) After our tour, we were able to relax for about one hour on a small beach next to the Mediteranian Sea. After a tour of the local fish farm, we headed back for lunch got ready to travel to Iglesias.

Ozieri

Here I am with Diego and Jiovanna, my hosts in the small town of Ozieri. Sat next to Catarina at both lunch and dinner yesterday. ( I think we are dating!) She did not speak much English but we were able to communicate well. Is it possible my Italian is getting better?? Catarina and her husband were celebrating 50 years of marraige. The night ended with the traditional Sardanian love song. Got it all on video. Yesterday, we visited two cheese plants and a small knife factory.

Supramonte de San Giovanni

RICOLA!!!!!!!!

Had a great time with both Italian and French Rotarians at the Super Mountains of San Giovanni. What a great day!! Not only did we have to practice our Italian, but they threw in some French. There is also another language spoken here in Sardania that is closer to Spanish. To many words to learn in one day, but overall, we are learning a lot!!