The pictures that started it all.

As I mentioned before, my love for Italy began in fifth grade when my mom showed me slides from her trip to Europe.
Here is the lovely Rita in Florence in 1982.

Of all those slides, Venice was what stuck. It was love at first sight. I still remember seeing these projected on the wall in the library at Peach Plains Elementary:

I spent a few tedious hours pushing slides through the converter. I barely got through one carousel of slides, but I'll keep going tomorrow.