Colorful street performer assists in real world emergency.

The doors fit to stand at the gates of heaven.

Finally - made it to Florence.

The girls display scarves belonging to fiercely competitive neighborhoods of Siena.

Nicholas discovers his favorite kind of pasta (in Siena).

We look good in this light.

Preparing for the birthday fete.

Todi the Town.

Another beautiful (and large) Umbrian meal.

We eat truffles. We even waste them on the children.

I am van Gogh, but with more ears.

We light sparklers to celebrate Jeffers' birthday.

Villa again.

I resolve to spend all my waking hours attempting to photograph the villa.

Villa in the distance.

We are surrounded by fields of sunflowers which I spend hours, unsuccessfully, attempting to photograph.

Another view of the villa. This thing is sprawling and bit hard to photograph.

And now, back in the pool.

No point visiting Perugia without investing a couple hundred euros in Perugina chocolates.

Caroline and Maisie in Perugia, not drinking Pilsners.

Caroline at the party we threw for her 18th birthday.

We play water volleyball. I am assigned to the girls' team.

Jumping into the pool is a big part of our entertainment strategy.

The girls throw a pool party. Everyone attends.

Everybody gets in on the holding the baby thing.

We eat and drink well (and often) in Umbria.

Claire amid the sunflowers.

The picturesque town of Colleluongo.

Todi the Pig.

A view of the villa (www.villacrispiano.com).

We happen to be in the flight path of the annual internation hot air ballooning championships.

Dinner al fresco in Umbria.

The adults briefly turn into a Norman Rockwell painting.

Claire and baby Jack.

Jumping in the pool turned out to be a big part of our week.

Three boys, one pool.

Nicholas in water.

Caroline levitates.

The pool at our villa (the girls were briefly hypnotized into believing they were trained dolphins).

The duomo in Orvieto.

Silbers, Guthries and Maisies in Orvieto.

Boars are big in Umbria.

The locals play rutalone, an inscrutable pastime that either does or does not have a lot to do with bocci.

Looking up from our villa to the little town of Camerata.

And now cut to a villa outside the medieval town of Todi, in Umbria. Here we see the little old ladies who cook - btw, they are neither little or old but they do, in fact, cook.

And the Guthrie children (and the Guthries themselves) join us, along with the B-E's, to take our minds off the fact that our family is traveling with our own stupid selves.

Caroline's friend Maisie comes to join us for two weeks and take Caroline's mind off the fact she is trapped all summer with her stupid family.

Another spectacular view from our hotel (this is St. Peter's at night).

The Pope's secret service guy does his best to blend in.

The Pope uses his magical powers to project his image on giant screens.