Holiday Inn Florence

... 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 ...

... busy streets. [And side note, Rome traffic wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. NYC is much crazier, minus tiny, unmarked, cobblestone alleys.] GPS saved the day and we easily made it out of the city after we realized the device was in simulation mode and showing us the course we would eventually take, and not the course we were currently on. It was hysterical!! However, this "fake route" took us to an unbelievable overlook of Florence ...

... short walk to the Palazzo Pitti, which is an old Medici family palace. There are about seven or eight galleries/museums inside this one palace. There are two different tickets, depending on which galleries you want to see. I wasn't sure, but opted for the cheaper ticket. I'm really glad I did, because this was the ticket that covered the Custome Gallery. They had an excellent display of costumes and accessories from the 1800s to 1980s. Some amazing stuff in there! Plus ...

... grace than these two women. As I stood there on the pavement outside no.64 for the next 40 minutes - I think italians have no concept of being punctual - I observed numerous locals walking by on a Sunday morning. Most of them were obviously well-coiffed and attired. I think I may be on a street where the locals may be quite wealthy; the buildings along the street have an old elegant look, the people an arrogant look about them. No one looked me in the eye, no one smiled ...

today we took a train from rome to florence for a day trip. florence is not nearly as busy as rome and there are lots of little botiques. we are convinced that italians are obsessed with scooters- we both almost got ran over twice. we love the gelato ice cream which has become apart of our every day afternoon snack. the weather so far has been beautiful..we are amazed at how people here dress for winter when its 80 degrees out.

... on the next hill. Drove all around the countryside (which I hate to say is much bigger and impressive than Napa). Wine is so cheap and good but unfortunately the majority of grapes had just been picked. Also ventured into Florence for two days of sightseeing. This is one place that is as magnificent as tpublished pictures!

... i have an italian final tomorrow that i am scared for but i figure i can probably try my best and pull off a B. i have done well so far but there is a lot to know so im scared. anyways since that fell through i went to lunch with lauren and the girls. we tried this place called the oil shoppe and it was delicious. i got a veggie sandwich with added chicken. it was so great and it kept me full all day long until my 3 euro gelato that we all splurged ...

... activities like a normal Florentine and it was a great experience. I have been to so many places and seen so many things that it seems hard to really wrap around everything I have done and it will get worse over the next 3 weeks. As I said, I am currently in Milan, where tomorrow I will leave for Athens, Greece, to see Anouska, a good friend from high school. I am going to be traveling for 3 weeks before I go back to the states for Phil's graduation ...

... top. It was a hop on/hop off tour that allows you to get off on any stop and then get back on another bus. After the bus tour, it was time to head back to San Gimignano. Overall we spent one week in Italy with three days in Venice and four in Tuscany. I had a great time and really enjoyed both the city of Venice as well as the beautiful country side of the Tuscan Valley. It was definitely a trip I will never forget.