June, 2014

Hi Dan - Sorry it's taken so long to catch up with you and the crew. Suffice it to say that Virginia and I have been adjusting well to our new life here in Foligno, Italy. And, just so you know, the tandem survived the flight with only a slight problem with the brakes which were knocked out of alignment in transit. Fortunately, there's a small bike shop a five minute walk from our apartment. The bike is working really well and most Italians are transfixed by it!!!! It's a good conversation starter. Something to keep in mind is that we now live in the historic center of a medieval town and a huge number of the locals ride their bikes to do everything. Old, young, parents with 2 or three kids on one bike.....you see it all here.

So, for some fun stuff: I'm going to send you pictures from my G+ account. I think you'll like the pictures. Also, I've attached some pics of the bike! These pics are from Assisi which is only a 40 minute bike ride from our apartment.

So far, so good. My new job is exciting and challenging. My colleagues have been wonderful. We live in a town where we can literally walk to everything: restaurants, butchers, bakers, cafes...everything! Yes, the Italian bureaucracy can be challenging, but interestingly, all of the local government people have been incredibly nice to us. In fact, the Umbrians have proven to be a really patient and generous people.....Oh, the food is fantastic here. No Arsenic Cesspools I'm afraid!

Finally, please say hey to everyone. Thank you all for making our adventure even more spectacular: having a tandem here is wonderful!

Here's a link to my website: jameslupori.com There you find pics we took when we first arrived in Foligno. As I said above, make sure you check out the pics I'm sending from G+

Ciao!!!!!

Jim & Virginia