rome and florence in 1979

Today we're continuing our vintage photographic tour around Italy with stops in Rome and Florence....

The beautiful Duomo in Florence, Italy.

The Roman Forum. 

My beautiful grandmother Joan at Rome's Forum.

The Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy.

Michelangelo's David in Florence, Italy.

My grandparents Joan and Sid in front of the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy.

Just for fun, here's Jonathan in the same spot in August 2010. 

The glorious Trevi Fountain.

I love seeing photos of my grandparents in places Jonathan and I have experienced and loved as well. Time marches on, but some things remain the same. There is comfort in that.

You can see photos from our trip in Rome in 2010 over at my old blog, Painted Pink Roses. 

capri in the summer of '79

These photos were taken by Joan and Sid in June of 1979 while they were on the Isle of Capri, Italy for my parents' wedding. Film photography does an excellent job of capturing the Capri light and the colors...As amazing as digital photography is, it just can't quite compare.

Jonathan and I traveled to Capri in August of 2010. You can see some of my own photos of Capri here.

family stories: clyde and his friends

I love this group photo of my great-grandfather Clyde L. Stroup (third from right on the second row) and his fellow Cleveland and Nottingham Equipment Works Supervisors Club members. It was taken a few days after Joan's 12th birthday (the one where she received the piano I mentioned earlier this week). 

We have plans to hang this photo in our powder room along with several other vintage group photos of various family members and their coworkers and friends. It should be cool! 

joan's piano

We recently inherited Joan's piano. If there is such a thing as a family heirloom, this piano would be near the top of our list. Joan received the piano from her dad for her 12th birthday on September 10, 1945. It was her most prized possession. When the family relocated from Ohio to Southern California in 1960, the piano moved into my great-grandmother's living room because it wouldn't fit in Joan's apartment. Here's a photo of my mom playing the piano before her junior prom in 1973:

After my great-grandmother passed away the following year and Joan moved into her new house in the nearby suburb of Cerritos, the piano moved into a corner of her living room. You can see it in the background along with the chandelier that now hangs in our foyer:

For the thirty years she lived in the house, the piano occupied that space. When my sister and I were kids, we loved playing the piano. It was one of our favorite pastimes as children. After we sold Joan's house in October 2011, the piano moved across the country to my mom's house in Oxford, where it stayed until this spring when my mom decided to downsize. It now lives in our living room: 

We still have some work to do in this room, but we are excited to have Joan's piano in our home. Jonathan is already practicing his piano-playing skills. Porter sings along!