LOFT!

What's a LOFT but Ladies of Fun and Travel - a new group recently formed and named, of 5 grannies who will be heading to Italy next spring for a cooking vacation plus Rome.  Who are they?
Fran - I worked with Fran in 1967 for the Defense Department and then three of us decided it would be fun to move to Los Angeles.  It was a long route from Minnesota to Washington DC to New Orleans, Houston, Denver, New Mexico and finally California.
This is Fran and me in Loveland Colorado.  She lives in Washington State and has little grandchildren.

How did we get this cooking trip off the ground?  I've been wanting to do this for a few years but my travel partner/spouse did not have a great interest - no duh!  Last winter just before Fran and I went horseback riding near Phoenix where they winter we had lunch at a Polish restaurant (yes, as in Poland).  We received a handout about a cooking trip to Poland and I mentioned how I wanted to do a trip.  Fran says "I'm in if you want to do it" - I was amazed!

Me - I think I wanted to travel my whole life even though I was raised on a dairy and grain farm.  I remember the "gypsies" coming around selling stuff and my mom would let us use old curtains to dress like them.  My German grandma just told me to never talk to them.  This is my brother Keith, my cousin Shawn and me.  Almost every picture if Have of me is in a dress with little fancy shoes and socks - even on the farm.

Mardelle - she's in.  We dished food at a church dining hall at the State Fair and figure that counts for cooking.  I met her in the 1980s at the U of M when we were "college returnees" getting nutrition degrees and we ended up working for the same health organization, Fairview, and both retiring from there.  She lives in Minneapolis and is a walking buddy, laughing buddy, cooking class buddy, and movie buddy.

Mary - lives in St. Paul and worked with Mardelle and looks like a pretty good Grandma!

Kathy - my son is married to her daughter Amy.  This was taken in 2010 when we were both helping Amy after the brain tumor recovery and rehabilitation.  I've also travelled with her to Italy before on a family trip in 2002 for our 30th wedding anniversary.  It was great fun! We have been together a lot since about 1996 or 1997 when our kids met and fell in love in college.

2002 - the Italy group in Florence - 7 of us in a "so called villa" as we called the farm home and then vehicle not much bigger than a mini-van and it worked to go all over. (Ross, niece Sara, daughter Jenny, Kathy, Amy, Chris - and me with the camera somewhere).

Toffia - the town where the cooking class will be for 5 nights 6 days and the couple has super good reviews.  It is an hour or so by train from Rome - easy peasy as Alex would say.

Where I think we will be staying in Toffia

The kitchen of the lodging is good enough but we won't be doing the cooking there.  The classes and meals are in a 15th century home of the couple.

Rome - if all works as it should our apartment for 5 is in this building.

The kitchen - of course we won't have much time for cooking but will have time for gelato and good Italian pizza out and about as we see Rome in 3 days!!!

Now I am still waiting for my passport to be returned from Brazil consulate unsure where - since May 16!  Breathe, breathe, breathe - because I need it in a few weeks to head to South America and the next adventure.