Our dream vacation to Italy was a special treat for our 3rd anniversary and we enjoyed every minute… well almost every minute. There are always problems while traveling away from home, especially in a foreign country.

We began our trip the evening of November 23, 1996. We left Tucson for Phoenix where we spent the night. Our plane was leaving early in the morning, so we wanted to be sure to get a good nights sleep. We had a brief breakfast, left our car at the hotel and took their van to the airport. We were faced with a long line at the check-in, but it moved quickly.

Soon we were on our way to New York where we would board TWA 840 for Rome. We had a two hour layover, but by 7pm, we were over the Atlantic and well on our way. Now it was time to relax and get some rest. It was a 9 ½ hour flight from New York! I have never had much luck sleeping on a plane, but Richard did get a brief rest. He just couldn’t put his book down!

It was a beautiful sunrise, Monday, November 25th, from 35,000 feet in the sky and soon we were gazing at the coast line of Italy. Approaching the Rome airport, we could see the countryside. Even the land seemed ancient and contoured for use by man. To my surprise, there was a lot of countryside with vineyards everywhere.

The airport was big and very busy. It was about 8:30am. We had no trouble finding a taxi (I suppose “taxi” is “taxi” in any language).

It was a good hour drive into Rome and to our hotel, “Hilton Caleveri”. The hotel looked just like any other big business hotel in the US, but it was high on a hill overlooking all of Rome. The view from our window was breathtaking….all of Rome before us and to the right, the dome of St. Peter’s Bascilica. We began taking photos right away. After settling in, I was drawn to the bed, but Richard persuaded me to stay up as long as I could. So, we planned our first day.

We were too tired for any organized tours so we hired a driver from the hotel for a private tour. He was very knowledgeable about Rome and spoke very good English. He took us everywhere. As he drove, he would tell stories associated with the ruins, explaining the Colosseum and the Gladiators, the Pantheon, built in 27 BCE, for the worship of all pagan gods, Circus Maximus and all the bloody battles and massacres that took place there.

He drove us around for several hours, but it was not really a tour in the “tour” sense. He did not go with us into all of these marvelous places, but gave us a brief time to walk through and take some photos. We stopped by “Bocca della Verita”, the “Mouth of Truth”, made famous by a movie with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, named, “Roman Holiday. We gingerly placed our hand inside the mouth because if it turned out that you told a lie, you would get bitten,or so the legend goes.

We stopped at the “Spanish Steps”. We walked through the Piazzo Di Trevi to the famous Trevi Fountain. It was magnificent with its fountains of clean, clear water. Of course, we tossed in a few coins to guarantee we would return someday.

We walked through many famous Piazzos taking photos of statues and fountains that we have only read about. It was a thrill to actually be there.

We drove by the “Baths of Caracella” built in the 3rd century and the site of many famous performances. This is the site of the famous “Three Tenors Concert” with Pavarotti, Domingo, and that Italian guy, “whats his name”. You can tell we are really up on our opera!. Our guide explained to us how they built the stage across the ruins with seating for 5000 people. As we drove passed, I asked, “Did the audience sit down in the grassy area in front of the stage?”. That is when I got the retort, “Madam… I just told you!” and he backed up the car and pointed to an area in front of the stage and I just replied, “Uh..huh!” I still don’t know where the audience sat. I thought to myself, “Maybe this is just the way Italians talk?” or was he a little bit rude! We were getting a lesson. When Richard asked the question, “What year did Nero build the colosseum?”, our guide Aldo replied, “I TOLD YOU, AUGUSTUS BUILT IT!!!”. Richard said, Uh..huh!”. So we finally concluded, it must be the Italian way because he wasn’t actually rude any other time and we are certain he did not realize he was being rude….by American standards.

Next, we went to the Jewish Ghetto area which is still a Jewish community today. We stopped by the Synagogue, but could not get inside. The gates were chained and armed guards were everywhere. I suppose here, as in other parts of the world, there are disturbances and threats. Well, we have photos! So ended our first day tour of Rome and we returned to the hotel. It was a lot of fun and whenever we stopped long enough to rest, I practically fell asleep. But not yet. We had a very special dinner planned for our first evening in Italy.

We grabbed a taxi and left for “Les Etoiles”, a beautiful rooftop restaurant overlooking St. Peter’s and all of Rome. It was raining and too cool to eat outside, so we were confined to a sort of greenhouse type part of the restaurant with no view at all. When we arrived, there was only one other couple there, but we remembered that most Europeans eat very late. It was only 8pm after all. What a strange menu. I suppose it was northern Italian, but we could not decipher it. The waiter helped us out and we finally ordered a Spumante. Dinner was good, but not great.

Afterwards, decided to take a taxi downtown for some gelato. We went to the recommended “Café Paris” for some out of this world gelato. Italian ice cream is the best!! We returned to the hotel late and couldn’t wait to get some sleep. First, we took photos of Rome at night with all the city lights twinkling. It was beautiful.

Tuesday, November 26, 1996 was our busy organized tour day. We joined a group with about 15 others destined for the Vatican. We visited St. Peter’s and the Vatican Museum and walked around huge St. Peter’s square where thousands of people gather each Sunday to see the Pope give blessings from his balcony. He even makes an audience on Wednesdays, inside the Basilica for all to see. Shucks! It was Tuesday. Our tour guide Enzo, was so knowledgeable. Of course he gets paid to be, but he went beyond what we expected and there was not a question, no matter how minute, he could not elaborate on. We asked him if he was a history professor, but he replied, “Just a tour guide”.

We entered the Basilica. It is the most impressive, grandiose sight I have ever seen. It is awesome. There are a dozen small chapels within the Basilica and we photographed them all (no flash of course!) The chapel of the Pieta contained the famous sculpture La Pieta by Michelangelo. This is the statue that was attacked twenty-five years ago and made all the news. I remember hearing about it. A madman jumped the rail and attacked it, broke the virgins nose off and snapped off a finger. They put her back together very well, but the scars do show.

At the far end of the Basilica, under the spectacular dome of St. Peter’s, is a gigantic canopy of bronze, “Baldacchino”, designed by Bernini. It is seven stories high. Beneath the canopy are the stairs leading to the “Shrine of the Apostle”. Our tour did not take us there nor into the catacombs. Against the far wall beyond the canopy, is the famous bronze alter, also designed by Bernini. In the center is “St. Peter’s Chair”. You have to see it to believe it. Many think that it is a little grotesque, but we happened to like it. It also is massive.

In the next building, to the right of St. Peter’s, we passed through a bronze portal and entered the Vatican Palaces. The great hallways were covered with the paintings of the world most famous artists, Michelangelo, Bramante, Raphael and Bernini.

The hallway lead to the Vatican quarters. We passed the “Scala Regia”, the majestic, grand ceremonial staircase that lead to the “Sala Regia”, the audience hall. It is all made of marble and is quite a site to see. We passed through many more elaborately decorated hallways adorned with famous paintings. I cannot remember the names of all the hallways, but we were on our way to the Sistine Chapel. We stopped in one of these hallways while the tour guide gave us a 45 minute briefing on the chapel. I was in pain with a backache from standing still and was about to grab Richard and head for the chapel by ourselves. I must say, Richard paid attention to every word and learned a lot about the famous painting and the painter, Michelangelo. We were told there were no photos allowed at all, but I think that is the part of the speech Richard missed, conveniently.

All our lives we’ve heard about the famous Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo, but to actually stand there and have it all before your eyes is an experience that I feel privileged to have had. The ceiling is all Michelangelo, but the walls are covered with the painting of other famous artists of the time. Needless to say, Richard took many photos of another awesome site to behold. We were on our own the rest of the day and walked and walked the streets of Rome. We revisited some of the areas that we did not have enough time to enjoy and took many more photos. The streets are crowded with cars jammed all together. I don’t know how they ever move. We did see several accidents. It is best when one is in a taxi to just not look.

We returned very tired to our hotel once again. We made some phone calls, relaxed and decided to have a real Italian experience for dinner that night. We picked a restaurant known to be frequented by the locals. We were looking for atmosphere and good food. I don’t think we accomplished either at the “Al Mora Ristorante”. The food was interesting, but like nothing we have ever seen. Where are these quaint little Trattatorias with singing, happy Italians?

The next day, November 27, was our last in Rome and we wasted no time getting into the city. We quickly dodged into the Basilica Di Saint Pietro in Vincoli to see the statue of Moses by Michelangelo. The sculpture of Moses clearly had horns, but some say it is a halo.

We walked to the Coloseum and took our time wandering through. Then, we walked across the way toward the “Forum” area. We walked up the ancient, well traveled road, Via Sacra, but found that it was not the way to the entrance. By the time we found the entrance, it was closed for the day. We found many great vantage points to see the Forum and take lots of photos. We were disappointed that we could not walk through it, but it was still enchanting to see it all.

We agreed that we had covered most everything there was to see in Rome before going back to the hotel.

For our last evening in Rome, we selected “Georges Restaurant” for dinner. For a moment, I thought we were in Japan. All the customers were Japanese. Most of the tourist in Rome were Japanese also. Once again, we were not totally pleased with the food. The service was nice though and they made the evening pleasant. From the first day of our vacation, we ended our evenings with a treat of Gelato. Some good! Some great! But always, unforgettable.

We caught our train to Florence at 9:45am, November 28. The trains there are very nice. We sped along toward Florence and arrived around 11:30am. We took a taxi to our hotel, but we were disappointed to find it not especially to our liking. There were renovations going on. We stopped at several other hotels to find them booked solid. What a lucky, lucky series of events that led us to the Grand Hotel Villa Cora, high in the hills. A villa we will never forget. It was built around 1865. It is pure Neo-Classic, which was the style of that era. It was built as a home and one can imagine walking through how it once must have been. Grand hallways and ballroom, spacious dining rooms decorated heavily with wood with fine paintings and frescos. It was once the home of Empress Eugenia, widow of Napoleon III. The Villa has a long history of famous owners. Machiavelli, the famous writer, described it as “The most beautiful Villa in Florence on the most beautiful street in the world.” It was all that and more.

We stayed in the Imperial Suite in the front of the hotel. The opulence was embarrassing. The suite consisted of four rooms. The ceilings were 18 ft high. The ceiling of our bedroom was painted with an enormous fresco framed with gold trim and gold molding covered the rest of the ceiling. The sitting room, which was large, had a beautiful Murano crystal chandelier. The walls of the bedroom and sitting room were covered with gold fabric. The windows were all the way to the ceiling with doors opening onto a balcony overlooking the beautiful garden. We each had a marble bathroom at opposite ends of the suite. It was sheer luxury, but then, this was our dream vacation. The only other guests in the hotel were Japanese. I think they were all honeymoon couples.

Florence is the most beautiful city with its skyline dominated by the famous Duomo. Florence is famous for its art and architecture.

Later that afternoon, we struck out on our own. We took a taxi into the city and went straight to the massive Cathedral, the Duomo, dedicated to Saint Maria del Fiore. The Cathedral is the fruit of the dedicated work of many artists. Started in 1275 and finished in 1420 with the addition of the famous Brunelleschi’s Dome for which he won a competition for the building of this enormous structure. What a photo experience!

Before entering the Duomo, we stopped at Ghiberti’s famous bronze “Gates of Paradise”, a huge door depicting episodes from “the old testament” in ten relief panels. It is a marvel to look at.

The Duomo, this huge gothic style structure is the 4th largest church in the world and once inside you can look forever to see the alter at the other end. The dome was an elaborately painted fresco, appearing as intense as the roof of the Sistine Chapel. We spent most of our time at the Duomo outside photographing the impressive architecture.

We enjoyed walking the streets of Florence. Florence is not a big city like Rome, but still large enough for those same congested streets with crazy drivers. We had to be very alert when walking. Little motorscooters were everywhere.

We toured the gallery of the Uffizi, which is the most famous art gallery in Italy. There were paintings by, Leonardo da Vinci, Lorenzo di Credi, Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, Michelangelo and many others. What an honor to view these works of art.

Our tour of Florence was fast paced and furious, so forgive me if I am out of sequence, but you should not notice.

That evening, after the sun had set, we walked some of the famous shopping streets. The streets were closed to traffic which made it a pleasure to take a leisurely stroll. We just eked our way in before closing time at the “Galleria Dell’ Accademia, the museum that houses Michelangelo’s statue of “David”. What an awesome sight to see. It is hard to believe it is real. Other Michelangelo sculptures and some of his unfinished sculptures are also in this gallery. We saw Giambolgna’s famous sculpture, “The Rape of the Sabines”.

Well enough of this, we were looking for the finest Gelateria in Florence and we found it. The “Bar Vivoli Gelateria”. It was so true. This was the very best in all Italy. Dinner must not have been notable since again, we can’t remember it at all.

Soon we were back at the hotel for a good nights sleep in our marvelous room. We had a tour planned for the next day.

The next morning, Friday, November 29, we prepared to leave for our guided tour of nearby cities, Siena and San Gimignano. Siena was about an hour away from Florence and we were on a comfortable bus with our guide, Francesca. She had such a funny voice and accent, I could not keep a straight face.

Siena can be seen from a distance, set on three hills in the sub-Apennine foothills of Tuscany. It is an Etruscan city fill with mystical legends.

When we arrived in Siena, we were joined by our local guide, Monica. She was real sharp and loved the history of Siena, her hometown. We learned a lot from her, including, never marry a man from Rome. She lead us through the streets to the Piazzo del Campo at the heart of the city. It is a huge shell-shaped area with brick streets and a lovely fountain.

Here in the center of town, they hold mediaeval horse races where NO one wishes to come in second place for fear of the beatings they will receive. It is traditional and so if a rider fears he will be in second place, he will fall from his horse rather then cross the finish line. This horse can come in second, but he cannot. It is really much more complicated than I have explained. The races follow a long Renaissance celebration. It is called Palio: Days of Revelry. More than 60,000 people are invoved and TV crews from all over the world fill the streets.

We moved on to the Cathedral, the Duomo, built of polychrome marble which is another architectural wonder. The bottom of the structure is Romanesque in style, the center has Arabic influences and the top of the huge structure is one of the finest examples of Italian Gothic. It was begun in 1229 CE and continues to be refurbished. The splendor of the inside is unequaled. The marble floors are finished in a style called “Graffiti”. Though ancient, we were permitted to walk on them, except for areas being restored. Huge polychrome marble pillars dominate the interior and stretch the length of the structure. We were fascinated with the intricately carved pulpit. It is considered one of the most important works of all time. It was built in the 13th century by Nicola and Pisano. I could go on and on, but I won’t. I am so happy that we took this tour and we saw all these wonderful things. Our albums are bursting with photographs.

When the tour ended, we were on our own in Siena to walk the streets and look into the shops. After lunch in a dark place that looked like a cave, we did just that. During lunch, we sat next to a couple from northern California who were traveling Italy by car. They shared a few of their experiences with us. They seemed to love the food where ever they went.

We rejoined our group and walked the winding streets back to the main gate of the city and our tour bus. We were soon on our way to San Gimignano, an even older medieval city.

For twenty or more miles away, we could see the city of San Gimignano on top of the highest hill. It is a walled, ancient, truly medieval, Etruscan village. Known as the town of the Fair Towers. Towers, towers everywhere, dominate the town. We were on our own the whole time and began exploring at once. We had about 1 ½ hours before the bus would leave for Florence.

First, we bought a book about San Gimignano and what there was to see. We found the town square, called, Piazza Della Cisterna. In the center was an old cistern built in 1237. How strange to walk up those time worn steps and look inside. I wondered if there was still water in the well.

We continued traveling ancient stone streets passing under dozens of arches on our walk. We stopped at the “Palace of the Commune” and entered the courtyard. The courtyard was fascinating and also had a cistern, for use only by the palace. Another lucky photo find.

Rushed for time, we moved on to visit the largest of the churches, the Cathedral of the Collegiata. The outside of the building is unimpressive brick and stucco, but inside it is Romanesque with stone columns and seven arches. A wall is decorated with a monochrome frieze by Fiorentino that is the entire length of the wall. The museums are filled with fine art.

It is almost impossible to believe that this town, so far away from everything and high on a mountain is a archive for such important paintings and sculptures.

After a lovely day, spend in these two enchanting cities, we met our group at the town gate and boarded the bus for Florence.

It was our last night in Florence, so we dressed for dinner and headed back into town. After another well meaning but not achieving that great-level gourmet dinner, we needed Gelato. We knew where to go. Back to the greatest Gelateria in Florence and some rich chocolate icy treats.

We walked a bit, looking for a taxi but had a bad experience with one. The driver was parked so close to this big chain that was blocking the parking lot from the street. Richard came around, opened the door for me and then went around to his side. He accidentally, touched the chain with the car door. Well, all hell broke loose. The driver got out of the cab and started with his “Mamma Mia’s” and a barrage of Italian we did not understand, but I think we got the gist. Seems he was a little upset over his door. Then the driver got back in, like we would really go somewhere with him after that display. Richard said, “let’s go. We are not staying in this cab”. So making sure to only “gently” touch the chain upon our leaving, we were out in the street again looking for another taxi in the cold night. So we walked some more and found a friendly driver to take us to the hotel.

I never thought it was really true, but all over Italy you can hear the famous “Mama Mia’s” anywhere there is an upset Italian. Very emotional people. They also use their hands and yell a lot. Of course, there are the overly polite and you will never know what a relief it is not to hear the ingenuous word, “Madam” at every turn. I suppose it is that Americans are just not used to being called “Madam”.

Well, after a lovely stay at this beautiful hotel and this enchanting city, we were looking forward to Venice.

The next morning, Saturday, November 30, we packed, took some photos and left for the train station and our trip to Venice. Silly us, we actually thought we were going to Venice today.

It was a nice train ride through beautiful country side. We had a one of those orient express type compartments and it was a comfortable trip. After about two hours, we stopped at a town called Madres. The announcement was made that this train was not ACTUALLY going on to Venice and that we must detrain here. Hmmmm! We had no idea how far away from Venice we were. We knew our hotel was in Asolo, supposedly a suburb of Venice so we sought out a taxi to take us there.

Seeming to take a very long time we began to wonder just where was Asolo. All the road signs pointed in the opposite direction for Venice. I was on the verge of tears, worrying about how far away we were from Venice. Richard said to not worry, that diversions like this often turn out to be very pleasant experiences. About 1 ½ hours and 75 miles late, we arrived at the small town of Asolo in the pre-Alps. There is one stop light at the entrance to the town that will not turn green until all the cars that are heading in our direction are clear. That is how tiny the streets are and it takes about 1 mile to get through it.

Through the winding streets and at the other side of the town, we found our hotel. The Hotel Villa Cipriani. I was a wreck when we arrived and afraid we would have no time to spend in Venice. I mentioned I would like to go back and find a place to stay in Venice. Richard asked me to just take a look around and see the charm in this little town. So I did. We let the manager, who said, “This way, Madam” lead us to the best room in the house. So OK, we were impressed, especially when we found out that the Queen Mother, while visiting Asolo, stayed in this room also. The balcony off the bedroom was enormous. About 20’ x 20’ and overlooking the quaint town with a breathtaking view of the snow covered mountains. The grounds were so beautiful. I wish I could see this place in the spring when the flowers are in bloom. They say that the poet Robert Browning, lost his heart in Asolo.

So we stayed. It was late in the afternoon by now and we were hungry. We opted for some cheese and bread in their bar, saving our appetites for dinner in their fine restaurant that is very popular and people from Venice who come here for a special dinner. Venice is notorious for not having any good restaurants.

After lunch, we hired a driver for a tour of some of the local sites. Nearby, there were a couple of Villas that once were private, but now are open to the public to help subsidize the expenses of these enormous properties.

First stop was, Villa Di Maser. Not even a brochure was available here. We paid, we put on these ridiculous slippers and skated and slid around the halls, peeking into grand rooms with magnificent frescos. There were only three large rooms on display. No photos allowed, but you know Richard. Even though we were followed very closely, he got in his shots.

We left there and continued to our next villa, Villa Emo. Now this place was impressive. It was dark now so the lights really showed off the place. We were immediately directed to the gift shop, where we browse and continued the tour. This was a real mansion that looked lived in, decorated with period furniture and fine art. We enjoyed this place much more than the first. It was opulent and painstakingly restored. We took many pictures here.

Time to leave and we headed back to Asolo. We had the driver drop us off on the shopping streets and decided to walk back to the hotel. Actually, the town was quite crowded with shoppers. The stores were one after the other, filled with fine fashions from Milan, located not too far north. It was so cold and we needed scarves. We stopped at a shop and asked to see some scarves. The salesgirls brought out tons of things and spread them across this enormous table. What a display! I think we destroyed the entire store. The table was covered with hats and scarves to match. Richard liked me in this fuzzy little, chartreuse number, pull-on hat and equally chartreuse scarf to match. They told me it was made for me and that I was lovely in it. (I guess they had not had a sale all day). So we could not resist. I have no idea what I will do with it in the Arizona, but I suppose it will be right in place in New York City.

We left there and I was snuggy warm, but we still needed a scarf for Richard. We found a littlediscount store on the way back to the hotel and they had the perfect thing to match Richard’s sport jacket. He bought the scarf and a pair of gloves and now he was snuggy warm also.

We picked up the pace and started out for the hotel to get ready for what we hoped was a good dinner. The restaurant was very nice and filled with very fashionably dressed Italians. I was roughing it in my only dressy outfit brought along for the trip. We decided to travel light. ALL Italians dress only in black. We never saw any other color on any of them. Maybe I stood out in my brightly printed magenta jacket.

We started the meal with a Puccini. A Puccini is like a Mimosa, but instead of orange juice, it is made from mandarins. Very delicious. There was nothing on the menu that appealed to us. (big surprise). So we asked the waiter to have the chef prepare some chicken breast in a wine cream sauce, which they did, accompanied by some sautéed potatoes. Richard could not cut his chicken. Mine was a bit more tender. When he told the waiter, the waiter brought sharper knives. We said, “no, no, this appears to be an old bird who has probably wandered the streets of Asolo for at least 5 years when to his misfortune he just happened to trek by the restaurant”. He replied, “Madam?” We responded, “Would you prepare another on the chance that it is more tender?” I can’t remember if they brought another or if I shared my bird with Richard. We finished the meal and topped it off with, you guessed it, some delicious gelato.

After dinner we walked all over the Villa taking pictures of everything. Even a picture of a picture of the Queen Mother. I could not wait until morning to take more photos of the grounds and the mountains.

We filled out our order for a continental breakfast, some light cokes and hot tea and place it outside our door.

Sunday, December 1. We planned to be up early and on our way to Venice. Showered and dressed we awaited our breakfast. The desk soon called to apologize that the orders were not picked up last night as usual, but they would fill it as soon as possible. So, what could we do… we took photos.

After breakfast, we hurried on our way. We did have a wonderful experience and a wonderful stay in Asolo after all. It is one of the places that I would love to return to. The Villa is a quiet retreat. But, I would have to chain Richard to have him stay in one place for more than a day! He likes to keep moving through.

We had the same driver that took us on the Villa Tours (and you can believe these were the most expensive taxi rides in our history) take us to the airport near Venice. There we could store our luggage and catch a water taxi to Venice. Water taxis are fast speed boats that cross the channel and travel through the canals, dropping passengers off on the other side of the island at San Marco Square.

What a beautiful sight Venice was! The architecture is more toward Turkish and very elaborate. We came to shop! This is where the glass is, and we love collecting glass.

The island of Murano, nearby, is famous for their glass millifiori paperweights and much art glass. We did not really have the time to take a tour of the factories, besides we were more interested in the results of the production.

We didn’t neglect the famous sites of Venice and headed straight for San Marco Square and the view of the Basilica of San Marco. San Marco is considered the heart of the city. The Cathedral is very large and has five copulas. One would have to devote an entire day to do it justice. We stepped through one of the five famous portals. Each of the portals has a detailed, famous moments in Christianity, mosaic at the top. The walls inside the church are gold leafed and a background for the many mosaics. The walls greatly contrast with the rich black wood separating the alter. We photographed the interior walls, domes and arches, but did not choose to take an official tour. We simply did not have enough time. The richness and opulence of the Cathedral of St. Mark’s is certainly not outdone by any other church we visited in Italy, except by of course, the Vatican and all it’s treasures.

It was time to shop and walk and see the visions of Venice. We looked over the Gondoliers and decided, “nah, too commercial”. Venice exists for tourists and honeymooners.

We had to see the Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal and the shops that span the length of it. We took photos of the canal and of a small traffic jam we witnessed. We saw the same sites from the water taxi as from a gondola.

Everywhere glass shops. I think we stopped in everyone of them.

The city is a maze of streets. Luckily, there are no vehicles in Venice except the boats. Many of the streets are so narrow you can easily touch both walls. There are 117 islands that comprise Venice and every inch of them, built on. When you are passing through a narrow corridor, you are actually going between buildings.

Some of the shops were closed for lunch. All over Italy, stores close for lunch. I guess business is very good.

We finally found the one very small shop that had a beautiful, delicate art glass that we fell in love with. After shopping around to find a better price, we settled on that one. Lovingly packed with tons of padding, we knew we would have to carry it on our laps all the way home. We bought some paperweights but nothing as spectacular as those from Scotland or those available in New Orleans and other places in the states.

We picked up some jewelry that was very unusual and then we went into another little shop full of the neatest iems. We stayed and looked at everything. This is where Richard spotted the perfect item. He asked me if I liked it and of course, I said, “Yes!”. He said, “Happy Birthday, your present will arrive in about 6 weeks.” I can’t wait for it to come. It is a very heavy glass vase, guaranteed one of a kind by the artisan. Very colorful. I love it. It is certainly nice that we both love collecting glass.

After lunch, we had to leave. We did not see all the art and wonderful museums in Venice, but still, it was beautiful and we had a wonderful time there.

Hailing another water taxi, we wound our way through the canals, taking photos along the way. Our first water taxi that brought us into Venice took about 25 minutes and moved right along. This taxi going back was in a hurry! We made it across the channel and to the airport in about 12 minutes. It was a rough ride but Richard, who does not especially like the water, enjoyed it.

By 5pm, we were aboard our Alitalia flight going back to Rome where the next morning we would leave for Tucson!

We landed in Rome at about 6pm. A one hour flight from Venice. We had planned on staying as close as possible to the airport and we did, but it was still about a 45 minute drive. We stayed the night at the Sheraton Roma. It was a nice hotel and we had a nice room.

We went into Rome for one more time and had dinner and a nice walk. We thought we would pick something different, so we went to “India House” for some good Indian food. Richard is very well acquainted with Indian food and asked if they had this or if they had that. The waiter acted like he had never heard of such food. The waiters could also only speak Italian. Finally, we realized that they prepared a different fixed dinner every night. The menu consisted of that one meal. It was about 6 courses and quite delicious. The restaurant was located on a street that we might call a back alley. Lots of atmosphere.

We found all of the neighborhoods in Rome and in the other cities to be safe. It could be that the Gypsies had migrated south for the winter. A taxi driver told us all the petty crime is perpetrated by Gypsies. He said, “Italians go in more for banks and bigger crime.”

When we finished, we waited outside the restaurant for the taxi to arrive. We decided we needed a farewell gelato at the hotel. Not a good experience. When we arrived at the hotel restaurant we told them we were only at the restaurant for dulce (dessert). The waiter said, “We are closing soon”. But that was not true, as he was only worried about his tip, we think. We placed our orders and of course, through another lack of understanding, they messed up the order. The waiter asked me over and over again and again, how I wanted it. I do not know if he was being obnoxious or really did not understand. Richard said, he was a creep and so the evening culminated with Richard standing in the waiter’s face, plopping a chocolate hunk of ice cream, by hand, into my dish that the waiter was waving back and forth in front of my face as he said, “There, that is the color she wants!. We are leaving, have it sent to the room!” After a while it was delivered to the room by a shaky young waiter. Richard said to me that the head waiter probably told the young waiter to deliver this to the madman in room 5040. Yummy! It was good gelato after all.

The next day, Monday December 2, we left for the airport early to make our 11am flight back to JFK. We said “arrivederci Roma” and took our memories and photos with us.

There are several important things we learned while in Italy.

1. Don’t believe everything you read about crime in Italy. At any rate, they would never be able to keep up with the USA.
2. “Mama Mia” is an Italian work that means in English….. Aye, Chihuahua!
3. Food does not have the same meaning in Italy, but then again, they might not like tacos and refried beans either.
4. “Madam”, means “Hey, you! Yes, you lady!”.
5. It is easier to speak Italian than it is to speak Spanish.
6. Most of the people are very nice.
7. We would go back.

Twenty hours later, we arrived in Phoenix. The hotel, where we left our car, picked us up. Richard had a nice nap on the plane, but I was a physical wreck.

We talked all the way back to Tucson about our wonderful dream vacation. All in all, everything went smoother than expected, and we had the time of our life.