Some interesting new developments for our trip to Italy have occurred since my last posting. My friend Sam, manager of Scope City in San Francisco, introduced me to Francesco who lives near Grosetto and Follonica in Italy. Francesco is a retired physicist with an interest in astronomy and telescopes. On a recent trip to the United States, Francesco and his wife had occasion to stop in Scope City and was introduced to me via telephone. We exchanged a couple of emails, and a few days later he and his wife were able to stop by my place in Palm Desert. We had a great visit, talked about my telescope building efforts and amateur astronomy in general. Francesco went on to invite Linda and I to his home in Italy. He further offered to take us on a personal and guided tour of the Tuscany area!! Francesco offered us the use of one of his cars for a few days! What a treat this will prove to be...

As the trip to Italy gets closer, the itinerary is beginning to materialize. It's clear that we'll be travelling to Rome and then to the north. Switzerland is a short train ride away, so a trip there should be in the offing. Additionally, we've decided to make our way to Munich so we can take a side trip to Dachau. Dachau, for those of you who may not know, is the infamous "slave labor" camp run by the Nazi's during WWII. The camp was opened in 1933 and continued in operation until it was liberated by the Allies in 1945. The camp is now a museum located outside the city of Dachau.

More later.....