Buon Giorno!

We have arrrived in Italy. Florence is wonderful. Our Adriactic Sea crossing was like a scene from the movie "Titanic." The sea was very rough. Even with ear plugs in we could hear the waves crashing against the hull of the ship. Luckily neither of us got seasick, but we were sure rocked back and forth quite a bit. Good thing we are on a travel budget and with the poor folks on the lower level. It didn't rock around as much. When we awoke the next morning we were in Ancona, Italy. We caught a bus to the train station and then a 4.5 hour train to to Florence. All in all it was about a 30 hour voyage! Our hotel is Florence is located about two blocks from the Duomo- Florences Gothic Catherdral. We dined the first night on a three course dinner for 7 euros! What a deal. Today we visited the Duomo, The Uffizi Gallery (some of the greatest Italian paintings anywhere), The Ponte Vecchio (the famous bridge lined with gold and silver shops), the San Lorenzo and Central Markets (souvenirs and food). We bought some great watercolors and pasta and it is soon to be headed home via DHL. We had lunch today at Trattoria Mario's, a recommendation from a friend in St. Louis. Superb. After that we headed to the "Lavarapido" for a great time doing our laundry... then a walk along the Arno (for you crossword fans you know this one) and dinner in the Oltraro area. It's amazing to see the number of scooters in this area, everyone has one. They are parked together in large groups... quite a sight to see. You risk your life crossing the narrow streets with all of them zipping around. The shopping is really great - hand painted ceramics, great wines, and leather, leather and leather. So here's the final image, us in our leather, on our scooter ( a vespa) heading over the Arno for a bottle of Brunello and some pecorino cheese. Cin Cin.