after a mini-epic arrival in the states we settled into a busy schedule of family and shopping. the fact that all the family was around to share in the activities, and the added bonus of dad retiring, made for a wonderful visit. we left medina for new york to spend some time with a dear friend of eleftheria, and then it was time to fly back to europe. fortunately, we had a 10 hour layover in venice where we escaped the airport and went into the city for the day. below is a photo chronicle in reverse.
a beautiful canal
the city is really falling apart in some places. the diagonal bars that you see in the walls seem to be support structures; they were everywhere throughout the city.
no cars, motorcycles, or bike, just your feet and lots of boats.
it is the only way to get around quickly
we thought we were really lucky to get into this building without any lines or tickets. turned out it was a hospital.
eleftheria took this picture and it is one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip.
The water came up into some of the buildings and it was not even at its highest levels according to the high water line.
the buses are actually boats
central park ny
this was taken on the high line (a new above ground park in manhattan on an existing abandoned train rail) and is a cool bird house/feeder installation.
the colors of china town.
the view from our hosts window in manhattan.
old hair curlers kind of look like The Robot.
we caught up with a friend in akron. she was a student teacher at pinewood last year and she became good friends with eleftheria and i.
'do you see what i see?'
eleftheria and i (with lots of help from mom and dad) cooked a traditional new year's eve feast; it turned out better than expected. this is the dessert. 
seriously, the best picture i have of keith from the whole trip.
it was great to see everyone at dad's retirement dinner.
playing with the new toy on christmas.
it was such a wonderful trip home. we really had a great time. i have a new camera now and i will hopefully not miss two months ever again. peace, love, and happiness
ian
