Hotel Du Lac Malcesine

Hi there, ok, so its been ages since i blogged......busy times in florence....<br><br>Right, the highlights that you have missed so far....<br><br>we spent a week in Impruneta (suburb of Florence in the begining of the Chianti region) at Steph and Barbara's summer place. So nice and relaxing being in the country side.<br><br>We took full advantage of being around during porcini mushroom season (YUM!!) We ...

... on and on, usually going in circles. In between all the internal struggling, I would have moments of pure delight, like when we took the boys to the swimming pool and my Italian teacher/English student bought me a cup of hot chocolate. But hot chocolate over here is not thin, weak chocolate water that Americans drink. No, no, no. This hot chocolate is more like hot pudding, I couldn't fathom the idea of drinking it, it looked too thick. It ...

... as we had had enough of Venice and decided that we would rather be in Verona. <br><br>Even on a Monday night, there were lots of people out and about enjoying the restaurants &#8211; we notice that while we are having dinner, most people in Europe are having drinks or coffee and they eat later. We also have a theory that TV in Europe is pretty lame (American shows from years ago) because everyone is out, rather than home watching it.

... in a small courtyard which is free to get into and there is a statue of Juliette and everyone was trying to get a photo with her- her boobs are shiny from people rubbing them. The tunnel to the courtyard is covered with love notes. As we were leaving, I couldn&#8217;t see Greg, so I said &#8220;Romeo, Romeo, where art thou Romeo&#8221; and the girls didn&#8217;t think that was funny!<br><br>We got out of the madness and went back to the hotel for a siesta before dinner.

... wouldn&#8217;t see on a Saturday night in Sydney. There were market stalls in one of the piazzas and I found someone selling chestnuts so I was happy- I hadn&#8217;t seen any in Innsbruck and they didn&#8217;t seem to be too common in Verona. As we were looking for somewhere to eat, we noticed that all of the restaurants had similar menus, and go figure, it was all Italian food. We hardly saw restaurants for any other type of food.

... It was like finally my brain and my subconscious could operate at the same speed. I was seeing everything at once like a beautiful painting. I know, it sounds like they slipped me some absinthe or mary jane, but seriously, I just watch the crowd of people go by and saw each individual while I saw the whole part of the crowd. It was incredible. Same thing with the clouds, layers and layers and layers of 'seeing'. I loved it. I don't know if I ...

... on Mondays. I promised myself that if I stayed longer in Verona I would go back. They also have live music tonight, so it should be fun. Don't worry, I'll bring Lucy's alarm for when I take the bus home at night. :)<br><br>OH! And because I have a washing machine I have washed everything I have. It is SO nice to have clean clothes and not do the sniff test each morning and go, "Nyeah, I think I can get away with that ...

So much so, that it is about to take the title of 'longest stay' while in Italy. I will spend 5 total nights here. Woohoo! I'm about to leave my fabulous hotel that I love to go to an apartment in the city, where I can live like a local with my own kitchen and everything. I am psyched! The only drawback is that it doesn't have internet. So I will do my best to bring my laptop with me and post updates while I'm in town picking up produce. EEEE! :)<br>

Verona may just give you a run for your money.<br><br>I'm in a glorious hotel, drinking German beer -- courtesy Olga at the front desk. And I am right in the very heart of Valpolicella country.<br><br>I've decided that in Paris and Rome I was touristing (though I recognize I didn't see nearly enough in either) but Verona is going to be relaxing time. Which I also recognize is ridiculous since I go on a cruise in less than a week. But whatever, it's my trip, I get to decide what I'm doing. :)

(Whitney)<br> We found a lovely place to stay in Verona. It was our own apartment with a kitchen and tv and living room area! We found it on a last-minute booking site and it was the same price as a hostel which was awesome! We really just chilled our for a few days in Verona. We had plans to go see Mantua but we were feeling too lazy so we just looked around Verona- a lovely town with a great main square and a first ...