Hotel San Marco 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 ...

... s historical center. We began our one hour walk at the Duomo and finished at Ponte Vecchio. There were numerous sites in between providing details of Florence's political and social history. While the City itself was not as impressive as others we've visited on this trip, the sheer inspiration it provided for the rest of Europe to awaken from the Middle Ages made it well-worth a visit. Kate grabbed a delicious gelatto for the walk ...

... 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 ...

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 ...

... gruffly told us we were fine and that we should stay at the tracks we were at and wed get there okay (at least I think that's what he said since I couldn't understand any of the words coming out of his mouth). He looked annoyed... and rightfully so... damn tourists! I didn't feel we annoyed him enough so I asked him again if we were in the right place... "SI SIIII SI!" he said! Oh brother! Well, we did catch the regional train and we did ...

Last night the room-mates came back from the bars around 2:30. Mmm wake-up call in mid-sleep. So needless to say I was not on the A-game today, but I made it to class on time and managed to stay awake again all through class. A friend of mine made me lunch, then I headed back to school for Italian. Today we had a quiz, and I figured I had it in the bag. Missed 3/25 on questions about the linguistic transitions from Latin to Italian/English. No idea, was throwing darts at these multiple ...

... well just how excited she was to be in her "homeland" (hehe Monke Freake). I believe no fewer than four people asked her for directions in Italian or spoke to her in Italian believing she was Italian, and a crazy hotel manager asked her if she spoke French, even after looking at her American passport, so I think she would blend right in to Europe (and she says I have an Italian nose). Thanksgiving day for us was more like ...

... day. just exploring, and we need Gelati!!!!! but yes. Tomorrow we are going to do the Uffizi gallery (where David is) and the Duomo Cathedral and all the other sights. I may check out the pool at our hostel tonight if the weather stays this way. But yes. That is all for now. I probably wont unpdate again until i get to Rome, as the internet at our Hostel is so expensive. Its 5 euro for an hour. crazypants. but yes....that is all so CIAO!!

... Nice as it was we still opted to take beds when they were available. We met a nice girl from Bulgaria named Monica and a Taiwanese named Cedric. We spent the most time with a very nice Brazilian girl named Priscilla who had been there for over a month. We talked with her a lot and went with her in Florence and Pisa. One night six travellers from China and Taiwan showed up! Some were sleeping on the floor. The next night we all made Tex-Mex and Chinese ...