Lindsay: June 2007

Goofy girls!

Cheers! Love the Spumanti.

Cappacino anyone? (The wine is much better.)

Hanging out in the olive grove.

Let's not add up how much we spent. Good stuff in this shop!

Michelle and Mom. Yes, the sun is shining!

Michelle and JoEllen (her appointed Auntie Mame). I am sure there is something they haven't told me

Hotels

The Hotel Poppi was the most modern of all the hotels. It must have been renovated because the review from two years ago were horrible. The Hotel Princess was like all of the other hotels. Most of the hotels are in residential neighborhoods and like most buildings, very non-descript.

You have to love the rotary dial phone. Can't make any calls, but it looks good. Rooms are small, but it was fine. The bathroom looks bigger in the picture than it really is. All of the hotels were comfortable (except Hotel Europa). At our first hotel, they turn the air conditioning on at 2 p.m. and turn it off at

1 a.m. If you want air, open the window. That works until about 4 a.m. when the deliveries begin. The food is definitely different. I never thought of having a piece of meat and cheese for breakfast, nor warm milk with my cereal. You need to work on the coffee, and then sometimes, you just walk away. In a couple of the hotels, you have to put your door key in a slot by the door. This allows you to turn the lights on. I guess they have a problem with people locking themselves out. In two of the hotels you could hear the person snoring in the next room. (Who needs to sleep? You can do that back home.) The best buy for my money was the 5 euro international calling card that I bought - it had 4 hours of talk time. Kept Michelle happy!

Hotel Amenities

This is the hairdryer. I was glad for anything since my curling iron burned up at the dreaded Hotel Europa. We had a laugh when we passed a hair salon in Florence. They had giant octopus looking contraptions that you sit under. A flashback to the 60s.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

You can see when you get up close that the stonework is beautiful and so smooth looking. No, we did not climb the tower - we feel we have walked halfway across Italy, I just want a place to sit and observe. The tower is over 180 feet and leans to the right about 16 feet. If you look in the pictures, there are no benches. Oh yes, nice restroom

here and you don't have to pay.

This is Miracle Square surrounding the town of Pisa. This walkway will be full of people after a short time. You can see the street vendors selling souviners. Depending on the city, you

could buy T-shirts from 5 Euro to 13 Euro. Yes, IT RAINED AGAIN!

It was fun to watch people posing as if holding up the tower - we are a little boring.

More Doors of Pisa, Italy

Okay, if you have not noticed, I like old doors. I love the colors and the architecture of the first two doors. Someone made me take the picture of the doors into the Duomo.

Approaching the city of Venice

Our water taxi is taking us to Venice. Everything is more expense in this city. It even costs to sit down - no joke. You don't see any places to sit, unless you go to a cafe or restaurant. Going to the "lovely" public restroom, 1 Euro. Want a coke? How about 7 Euro. Want a real meal - don't ask. A slice of pizza or sandwich is about 7.50 Euro. I will say, when you are tired of walking, you are hungry and it pouring rain, you will pay the price for food and a bathroom.

There are many churches that you pass on your ride in. For celebrity seekers, one of those houses belongs to Elton John. There is a church that we passed where you can go to pray to their patron saint if you are searching for a husband. I told one friend that I prayed for her coming and going - she loved it!