It is later in the day, and we have finally located an internet shop with two working computers. The last one was in a cafe, convenient for having a cappuccino while you work, but requiring serial efforts. Mike went first then got bored waiting for me to work on the blog, hence the short write-up earlier.
We are staying in a lovely hotel in the main square. After ending up here we found out from our well traveled next door neighbors that this is a favorite hotel of theirs. It is nice to hear that we didn't just miss on a better one. The views from the breakfast room are sensational- when we get to Florence and have free internet in our room I will be able to work on my computer and send the photos. This walled town is surrounded by rolling hills covered in vineyards planted in various directions depending on the hills and the sunlight, making a beautiful patchwork green.
We are enjoying our return to Italian food. The difference in weather since our last visit has provided an entirely different range of menu possibilities. We are starting at least one meal each day with a rich soup, mostly homemade minestrone, but sometimes lentil. Yesterday I had something called medieval soup which is a cream based leek and vegetable soup with saffron. It is fun to try the sous after all of those hot weather sandwiches. The Tuscan wines beat the Swiss wines by 100%. For about 10 Euros ($14) we had a wonderful bottle of local chianti. Great life.
We are here until Thursday then we go back to Florence. We have three nights in Florence. We will see Caitie art of that time, although she and her roommates will be visiting Venice for one of those nights. It is such a great opportunity for her to see these Italian cities on her weekends. School is going well for her. She has sent us by e-mail a couple of her essays and they are outstanding.
Our current internet outlet is a bookstore. Books have turned out to be one of our biggest costs on this trip. We both spend lots of time reading (on trains, evenings, etc). English books, in normal paperback format cost between $10-20. I can read four or five a week, which adds up. So, Mike likes to limit my access to bookstores. As it turns out though, the bookstore is the only location with two internet accessible machines in this town, so here we sit.
We fly back to the US on the 15th from Rome. We are planning dinner with Jonny the night we return, a day of doctor and dentist appointments the following day, dinner with Mike, Dana and Matt that evening, then a flight to LA and Sydney the following day. Another leg of the adventure!
Deanne
P.S. I just reread for edits. The keyboard does not accept the letter P unless you pound heard, so if there are misspellings it is not my fault!
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2 comments:
Jeez, the European portion of your trip is almost over ~ where did the time go? As for sporting news. Both the Seahawks and the Broncos lost on Sunday. To make matters worse, USC even lost to the paper-mache'team of Stanford no less!! Yikes, what's the world coming to! The only saving grace for us is that the Colorado Rockies are in the playoffs - headed to Arizona for the National League championships. Okay, I think you're caught up in sports now. Unless you need golf or horseracing!! We are having a delightful fall. The colors are gorgeous. The evenings are getting colder but daytime temps still in the low-mid 70's. Winter is almost here though - I can feel it! Hey, when you see your daughter, let her know that I've e-mailed her 3 times but haven't heard back from her. Either she's too busy or something isn't working correctly. I just didn't want her to think I was ignoring her. Give us a call when you return to the states. I'd love to hear your voice and do a quick check-in (when it doesn't cost $30/per call!). I love you but don't forget I'm the sister that works for a non-profit and never has $$$!!! Alrighty, keep on treking and enjoying Italy. Be safe and love to you both. Love,me
thanks for the sports update. We sit in the internet cafe on Mondays so that Mike can read ESPN. We also try and call Matt, our sports encyclopedia on Sundays. He gave us the low down on the Trojans, the Yankees, etc. but we called during the first half of the Seahawks game so he was pleasant but distracted. He takes Sundays off during the football season so he never has to miss a game. My son. Can't say that kid is a chip off this block. More like his Dad in that category.
Caitie is fine. We are scheduled to see her on Thursday before she leaves for Venice, then again on Sunday morning before we leave for home. She just had a series of papers due so she is recovering from the onslaught of a hard press.
Thanks for writing. We will have our cell phones charged up and ready to call you when we get home. Take care and thanks for writing.
Love, your Sister, me
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