Giglio Montecatini Terme

... market (without the sampling) with lots of lovery deli's, cafe's and patisseries. Ofcourse we had to buy the local pastry called a buccellato which is kind of a cross between a biscuit and a fruit loaf... yummy with the morning coffee.<br><br>Before too long Kim pointed out her favorite bar from last time and pull me in to join her in a wine or 3. The tapas were as good as Kim had ...

... for the main course and was given one plate of cheese and one plate of spinach...hilarious. I had a gigantic veil roast like nothing I had ever seen, and fortunately it was delicious. We finished the meal with a chocolate covered panna cota, coffee, and endless dessert wine for Kate. They kept filling her glass because one older fella was the only one that could drop the check and he either took a nap, or was quite busy. The ...

It was our first full day without rain!! What a wonderful way to see the Pantheon, Colosseum, and kiss Rome goodbye. And we even made it to breakfast today...that hasn't happened since London. :) Check out our pitcher of steamed milk! I'll take that over half and half any day. <br><br>After seeing the closed Pantheon at night, and it's beautiful yet stark outer image, we didn't know what to expect once we walked through its huge iron doors. I ...

Just realized those not on facebook haven't seen pictures from Pisa and Florence. No long recap of Anthony and I's weekend in Tuscany, for obvious reasons. Also note that "Anthony and Alison's Great Adventure" was like taking a knife.<br><br>Love you guys! :)<br>

Rented an apartment in a villa which was at the top of a mountain (like most villas in Tuscany), however, our journey to the top was not on a paved road which made for some challenging driving. The villa was really nice with its own pool and great view over the countryside. The owners also provided fabulous meals in their other ...

... This was my personal favorite!) Everyone was in awe. The leaning tower was a sight. Everyone wanted to take funny pictures of themselves "holding up" the tower - ha ha. It continued to pour, but the kids didn't mind. Several of them bought handbags from the vendor. Sam (Lindeman) even found a new suitcase. (his bag was in trouble) Just as we were leaving someone came and gave me a great big hug - it was Jaime Hunt - one of my ...

... Empire back to Rome (apparently it had been displaced to another city for a number of years), and therefore when she died, the Romans felt that her body should remain in the city. She was from Siena, however, and eventually (forget how many years it took, but this is the gross part) the city received permission to retrieve part of her body back to the city. Thumb and head? Probably the best preserved parts of her body. That would have been the best episode of Dirty Jobs ever ...

... to buy some gorgeous Italian boots to give her dry footwear for the afternoon in Pisa. Pisa was beautiful - again the short train journey was easy, the weather had cleared up, and we had the Piazza dei Miracoli (aka Piazza Duomo, due to Pisa's large cathedral) almost to ourselves. In fact, whilst we hadn't expected to be able to climb the tower itself, having not booked in ...

We got up and went to the Uffizi museum of art. The most famous piece in this museum is the "Birth of Venus" by Botticelli. We ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant. We then went up to the top of the tower of the Duomo, which was a 500 stair climb. The view was well worth the trip, as it was ...

... the first day. Just short of the road leading to the mainland. Good thing I stopped walking. Farther and farther from the island as the water turned to land, and cars and buses started to reappear. The first station we went through has a McDonalds out my window and I must say I have never been so annoyed to see one of those again except when I saw it and Burger King in Venice. There are just some places you don't want to see that ****. But I'd rather have them infest ...