Tonfoni Montecatini Terme

... and we stayed until we were ready to retire for the evening.<br><br>Sat 14 Nov<br>Next day we had a sleep-in and then went for a run around the 4km city walls. Twice around was enough for Kim and I managed a 3rd. After a shower we were back in town for more meandering and I had one of the best Cupuccio's (Capuccino) ever!! We found a few hours during siesta to catch up with the ...

... was buzzing with a variety of languages and the overall atmosphere was jubilant and festive. Despite challenges with the "menu", it was a great way to end our visit to Italy. <br><br>We'll retrace our steps through Rome tomorrow and will wind up in London for the night before catching our flight back to San Francisco on Sunday. It was quite fitting to end our journey in Florence, where so much of our current culture emerged centuries ago. <br>

... I've seen images of it but I guess they faded from my memory because the inside is quite ornate. The dome alone is breath taking. Mass is still held at the Pantheon &amp; couples even get married here. I cannot imagine this location! :) <br><br>From the Pantheon, at about 11AM, we went to a gelato shop Chris M recommended. Mmmm, mmmm good. It was brisk outside and we had just had breakfast and we loved it even more. While enjoying these ...

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>

... 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!

... of them. You can do it in runners but the ankle support came in handy on the uneven ground. From the Cinque Terre we drove towards Florence via Lucca and Pisa. The first part of the trip is pretty boring flat ground so we took the Autostrada. Lucca is a nice town with huge intact city walls. It is not a hill town and the medieval flare is not like what we have experienced so it was a bit disappointing... still it was pretty and clean. It would be a nice city ...

... some supper and bed time. Yesterday we got a bit of a slow start and it didn't help that we had to spend about an hour at the post office mailing a package home. We made our way down to the Piazza de Uffizi where they have a number of very nice statues (including a copy of Michelangelo's "David" where the original used to be back in the old days). The Uffizi museum is supposed to be spectacular, but feeling a little art galleried out we ...

... set of three...) and a scarf I was only missing new shoes. I did not know that I needed new pair of shoes untill the last weekend, when my pair (of old trusty walking shoes with 10 cm high heels) just got broken beyond repair. Well, they were only 11 years old, so who could have guessed that all this wondering around would be the end of them... After two days of using my trainers I realiced that they are not exactly in ...

... spent almost 2 hours there just looking at it. We went to the corner grocery later and had a picnic in our convent's garden, a very very GOOD and cheap way to do dinner. It's really fun to hang out as a group, we all get along very well and enjoy each other's company. Later that night we went to a disco and a karaoke bar (Gloria, have you been to the Red Garter? oo man haha). It was a great, hot, smelly, beautiful, crazy Florence day.

... program partook in Corri La Vita which is the Florentine equivalent to the SF AIDS Walk, but instead it was a charity walk/run for breast cancer research. It cost 10 Euros to enter the walk and it included a free t-shirt designed by giorgio armani, and a hat from salvatore ferragamo. (Granted, they were both really ugly, but I am sure all the Ate's back home will be excited by my acquisition of such high label brands) The morning was ...