Goodbye USA - close future

I have to leave the US. Similar as with Singapore, I am a little sad of going away - it was such a great time here. Even if  I'll have to come back one day to do the activities I had not the time for, this stay was a success.

Now, the future has a lot to offer. I'll spend one week with the other global trainees in Switzerland and then a couple of weeks in Rome during February and I'd like to visit my brother Michele in Berlin. By end of February, I will start the new challenging job for the space industry in Zurich.

Work in LaFayette

Even if the project progressed a bit different than originally planned, I'm glad to have had to opportunity to work there. The project was interesting and I had a great time with the colleagues.

Key West

Wey West, the last of the Key Islands is closer to Cuba than to Miami.
It has warm weather and beautiful wooden houses. Amazing High
<<DSC00842.JPG>> way Nr. 1 to it runs over the Keys and partly over the
sea. These islands are definitively a nice place where to retire.

Miami Beach

Unfortunately the water was a bit cold. But everybody in the hostel was
friendly and we had a great time going out.

Pilot Randy flies us to Detroit

To shorten the transfer time to visit a supplier, Randy's plane was
used. He is a really good pilot. It is the first time I sat in such a
small plane and can not wait for the next time.

Boston

The historical buildings and places of Boston are all connected by a red
line painted on the ground called "freedom path". I followed it on a
really cold day and saw:
- Old South Church
- Granary Burying Ground, with tombs of Samuel Adams, John Hancock and
the 5 victims of the Boston massacre.
- the house of Paul Revere
- Bunker Hill
- The USS Constitution, the country's first war ship, which was said to
have walls of Iron
- MIT & Harvard University
After Boston, I went back to Manhattan for 2 days and then I had to
travel back to work in LaFayette.

Long Island - Barbara, Manhattan - Manolo

In Long Island, I could stay at my dear friend Barbara's place. Barbara,
PhD student in Biochemistry is a former flat mate of Luca, Lorenzo and
me and lives there with Angelo and other students. She showed me Port
Jefferson and her university. The three of us spent new year's eve
together in Brooklyn. Angelo cooked delicious handmade pasta.
Former schoolmate Manolo offered me instead a stay in Manhattan once I
returned from Boston. It was nice meeting him after so many years - and
we had great fun.

Manhattan

New York is the US city I liked the most - it's enormous and has an
excellent public transportation system. Due to long waiting lines, I
avoided visiting the satue of independence or Ellis Island. And in that
time I saw/visited:
- ground zero
- Empire state building
- Central park
- downtown (wall street)
- time square
I took the subway to Bronx final station and Back. When the train was at
street level, I saw pretty neighborhoods with lots of stores. No
Gangsters.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia was the biggest city of the US at the time of the
independence revolution. Representative of 13 States meet there during
the 1770's to discuss what to do.
In Philly, I saw/visited:
-the liberty bell
-the first supreme court of the US
-the first house of congress and senate of the US
-the liberty hall from outside
In the Hostel I met Brizio, boxer from Italy that came to the US to go
pro.

Washington DC

During all the trip (except Manhattan and Long Island) I stayed in
hostels because of the lower rates and to meet other travelers. The
whole trip was actually a plan "B", (Plan "A" would have been California
with Letizia).
I Washington DC I saw/visited:
- the White House (from outside)
- monuments in or around the Mall (amongst others: Korean War Monument,
Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Roosevelt Memorial, Washington
Monument, Vietnam war Memorial)
- Arlington Cemetery
- The capitol (and in it, the house of congress and the rotunda)
- Smithsonian museums
- The pentagon (from outside)

Christmas and New Years' Eve Holidays: East coast trip

To take full advantage of the stay in the USA, I remained there over
Christmas and New Years' Eve. The family of Bob and Jenny invited me
therefore to have Christmas with them (picture) close to Chicago. The
were incredibly friendly and we all had a good time. Some of their
ancestors are as well like some of mine from Calabria in Southern Italy.
The trip to historic places on the East Coast began then with a flight
from Chicago to Washington DC.

Gran Canyon

<<DSC00343.JPG>> The Gran Canyon was the place that impressed me the
most during my stay in the USA. That waste landscape gave me the feeling
to be in a Western Cowboy Movie. We followed a narrow path towards the
river until reaching "skeleton" point