Pieter Took Incredible Aerial Photos of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome

In 1972, while en route to Jakarta, Indonesia with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, they first landed in Rome, Italy.
The captain called his passengers to the attention of this view...

While descending, the weather was perfect and allowing Pieter to make two incredible aerial photos from the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Seen to the left with the Tiber River flowing to the right...

As the plane turned, now St. Peter's Basilica is more to the right.

St. Peter's Basilica as seen from Google Maps

Sometimes one can get lucky when flying over a certain area!

Brother Jan with Wife Wilma Rode his BMW Motorbike for 15 Hours to Visit us in Italy

While living and working in Italy, we had only one family member ever visit us...

Brother Jan Van den Munckhof, on his BMW Motorbike with his wife Wilma in the passenger seat, and it took him almost 15 hours, just 15 minutes short.
That was on Saturday, July 29, 1989 and they arrived around 19:00 after we'd worked, as usual till after lunch.

Sunday, July 30, Wilma and I walking as we just purchased a water melon 5.5 kg (12 pound) that Wilma craved for! Photo by Jan L.G. Van den Munckhof.

This was earlier in the morning as Jan & Wilma hiked up the hill behind our apartment, discovering our surroundings.
Both of us looking out of the bathroom window...That day we took them to medieval artist city of Asolo where we walked around and had an ice coffee on the terrace.
We of course took them to our lot, across Madonna di Rocca, where we were supposed to build our home.
We spotted Bambi near the Runero Creek.
Back at home I made Babi Pangang...
~
On Monday, July 31, Jan & Wilma drove to the Dolomites and even lived through a thunderstorm... Both of us worked, and then we wanted to drive to Montebelluna for finding us a restaurant.
That proved to be quite an adventure as everything was closed!
WORSE was that we were running out of gas...
After Pieter spoke these words: 'IF we just make it over that final hill with Essy (my white Ford Escort) at least the downhill pushing of the car will be a lot easier', it became dead silent inside the car.
Miraculously we made it till the mushroom farm where we swapped Essy for Merc, our Mercury Sable, as he had a full stomach!
As bonus we even managed to find us a Pizzeria that was OPEN...
~
On Tuesday August 1, a normal working day and Jan & Wilma had a lazy day at and around home.
We went to the Silos Supermarket in Treviso.
~
On Wednesday, August 2, Jan & Wilma went to Venice for the day... We had a regular workday.
~
Thursday, August 3, regular work and Wilma had cooked a delicious meal for all of us at home.
~
Friday, August 4, I did my 5th training class with slides etc. and Jan & Wilma came to the mushroom farm by 11:00 and we went home together for lunch. Jan & Wilma next went to the River Piave for sun tanning as we went back to work. Pizza dinner in Crochetta del Montello.
~
Saturday, August 5, we both went to work as usual and Jan & Wilma came to the mushroom farm and also Ruud & Monique Thielen from Thilot for a machine demonstration.
With Tommaso we went to a restaurant near Montebelluna and afterwards we all visited Tommaso and Rosella at their villa.
Ruud & Monique followed us till Treviso, on their way back to Venice and we went shopping in Treviso.

That yielded us an angel, that is still with us, but Pieter has chipped off nearly all its fingers... Haha!
In this still shot from home movie 1999 it is still reasonable.

This is what he (yes!) looks like now...

It is a numbered Unterweissbach 1882

We ate a Pizza and got home just in time for a thunderstorm.
~
Sunday, August 6, Jan rode home on his motorbike with Wilma, they left at 5:30 and reached Horst aan de Maas in The Netherlands by 19:15... It sure is a vast distance!

Related posts:
Living out of our Suitcases - BUT we LIVED near Venice, Italy! | previous post by me
Our Historic Christmas in Italy - END of Romania's Communist Dictator | previous post by me
{Our Apartment in Cornuda, TV, Italy} | previous post by me
{2013 Fiat 500 versus Fiat 500 Topolino} | previous post by me
Visiting A.G. Linfield Mushroom Compost Facility in England  | previous post by me about Thilot and GTL Europe as it is called now

Living out of our Suitcases - BUT we LIVED near Venice, Italy!

How fun it is to move across the Ocean with all your household belongings...

Maybe a few of you have gone through the tedious process of going to the Embassy first and then the medical check, all the paper work and work permit etc.

AND moving all your belongings inside two 40-foot containers (one for the cars...) across the Atlantic Ocean.

Our 2nd move across the Ocean did not end too well...
That is, we ONLY had to live 8 weeks out of our 4 suitcases.

Due to a strike at the harbor in Italy our goods could not get delivered!

An empty apartment with its hollow sounds and our 4 suitcases...

Our kitchen sink and the ONE cooking pot we purchased for making a hearty meal soup or a one-pan dish. Mind you, there was no oven!

Eating out was also limited due to its high cost...

Doing laundry in the bathtub—all by hand!

BUT we lived in the Venice area!

Until finally after 8 weeks, from our 5th floor apartment, we could see the furniture arrive in the big container...

Yes, there was a Bar Belvedere below, more a coffee shop where we enjoyed a great cappuccino.

What a feeling for finally getting back our furniture, after about 4 months...

The men from Gondrand became active...

Scary if they REMOVE the windows and hoist it up on an elevator to our 5th story... and all through the window!

View down from the guest bedroom window, on that elevator...

This was the view from the back of our apartment... Mountain View!

We stayed in Italy for less than a year. Pieter had just changed his American Driver License for the Italian 'Patente' on November 30 of 1989... I never changed mine as we already had plans for moving back to Georgia and working in Indonesia.
In doing so, Pieter lost his motorcycle license as they left it off, for whatever reason.

Sadly we lost our Italian pension money because we did not work for 1 year... Nobody told us, or warned us for that.

IT IS WHAT IT IS... My Mantra!

Quite an adventure!

And YES, we did move all our belongings a 3rd time across the Atlantic Ocean...

This is a weird photo... somehow that film roll got double exposure.

De Haan movers from The Netherlands is seen parked alongside the apartment and in the front you see our two white cars side by side...

I've helped those two guys loading the truck and I even loved doing so!

They said they would hire me...

This is the weirdest photo!

Our cars being parked behind each other in front of the apartment in Italy and then you see them again, now parked side by side on Dad's lawn and Dad standing in-between the cars.

My Ford Escort 4 doors with high output and shift stick and Mercury Sable wagon...

We drove them to The Netherlands, in a caravan; only about 12 hours!

Related posts:
Our Historic Christmas in Italy - END of Romania's Communist Dictator | previous post by me
{Our Apartment in Cornuda, TV, Italy} | previous post by me
{2013 Fiat 500 versus Fiat 500 Topolino} | previous post by me