Feb. 21st -Rosemary does Florence - hmm that does not sound right. :-)
Ciao everyone!!!Last Friday was an odd day. A taxi picked me up at the condo complex at 6am. It has snowed so roads had been sanded and it was slow going at first (ok with me) until we got onto the highway and then the cab driver booked it. Got to Torino airport in plenty of time. It was foggy but not bad. By the time my plane was to take off for Rome, airport was fogged in. Planes were delayed. Then, there were lots of announcements about the flight in Italian but not in English. I just watched teh other people - I figured if they were not leaving, that the flight had not been cancelled. And nothing on the monitors about it. I finally could not stand it and got up to the person at the desk and got an explaination in English. Our plane got diverted to a smaller airport in between Torino and Rome and we were going to be bussed for 1 1\2 hrs to that airport. All was very well organized. Took plane from there, got to Rome airport at 3:15, missing tours bus to hotel by 15mins. Had to wait till 6pm for next bus. Ride to hotel was CRAZY. Traffic was insane. We were on cobble stone roads so it was noisey. Most cars are very small...one kind is a SMART Car...very tiny. It is coming to the US at some point. It is not street legal as far as the US is concerned yet, but apparently it is not a problem here. I missed the Welcome dinner party for the tour guests. Turned out I was the last one to arrive, which was funny since I was coming from inside Italy. I was tired, hungry, and feeling bad for myself. Ate dinner alone..sigh. But, next day, all turned around and Ive been having a FABULOUS time since! OMG, there is SO much to see in Rome! In one day, we went to the Vatican City, The Coloseum, some catacombs, the out to a wonderful restaurant, where we were surprised by entertainment... 3 opera singers and a strolling guitar player. The next day I took an optional tour to Pompeei. A 3 1\-2 hr drive each way. I honestly had no idea what to expect.. it was amazing! Yesterday, while driving to Florence we stopped at two Medevil (sp?) towns. It was wonderful. Today, we toured the Academy of Arts... saw the original statue of David. The local guides are very passionate and make you really appreciate the history, etc. I often feel overwhelmed about what I am doing.. where I am standing at the time, etc. This afternoon, I walked around Florence with 2 of the women on the tour. We finally tried some hot chocolate '- it was like just after you cook pudding. Then, we found a carousel!! My favorite ride! They rode on it with me.. we were the only ones to do it. Such fun. Oh, it has been fairly warm, except for today as it rained, which made it very chilly. Luckily it was never a real downpour. Traffic is crazy here too but not as insane as in Rome. There are much larger cars here. OH, also, there are gazillions of scooters here as there were in Rome. Easy way to get around.. and less expensive gas-wise. The two women I spent the afternoon with own a scooter dealership so they are all excited about all the scooters and things you can buy to do with scooters. Tonight we are going to a Hunting Lodge in Tuscany for dinner. Tomorrow to a castle for lunch and wine tasting. The hotel we are in now is very swanky - the kind with a phone and tv in the bathrooms.
Thank goodness I bought a 1Gig memory card - I do not know how many photos I have taken so far, but have about 700 plus left. Phew!
Nice to read the guys blogs since I have been gone.
I hope all is well with you! Love and Ciao! Mom\Rosemary
posted by DaveandBrian @ 11:06 AM
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