Ciao Italia

Italy... Its so hard to wrap up all my experiences in the last two weeks in a post. I journaled while I was there some thoughts and observations. I had an amazing time. The most wonderful part of course was traveling with two of my dearest friends. I am so blessed that my relationships with these women continue to stay strong and a huge influence in my life. So here are a few pictures and highlights to start with. My observations are going to follow. Follow the dropshots link on the right and you can view the rest of the pictures.

Venice:

The crazy streets and narrow canals were fun to explore. I just loved people watching and seeing the architecture of this city built on the water in the middle ages. What would it have been like to live there? I would go stir crazy without green grass and trees. Still it's beautiful in a very unique way. The Island of Murano where they blow the Venetian glass was one of my favorites because it was more like a village and less crowded.

Florence:

The highlight of Florence was having Jaelyn come join us for a few days. It was so fun to just wander the city and shop together. I negotiated a good price on a fabulous leather jacket and purse. We had amorous Italian men in the market get a bit to friendly for our tastes, but it was memorable. I saw the most amazing scuplture in the world up close... The David. Now that is the perfect man. Seriously you can see the veins and sinews in the muscles in the scuplture. It was breathtaking. I caught a nasty cold that stayed with me into Cinque Terre and went to the Farmacia three times. I also saw the lovely Birth of Venus and Spring (Primavera) by Botticelli. I'm now a big fan of Bottecelli.

Cinque Terre:

The highlight was most definitely the place we stayed, Eremo Sul Mare. If you ever go you need to stay here. It's a hike up the hill but then you are in a secluded villa overlooking the Meditteranean Sea. It was so peaceful and relaxing. A good end to our trip. We wandered the little coastal towns built into the hills, sat enjoying the ocean and food. Oh and the sweet cats that roam wild in the towns were so great. I'm cuddled up with one of the four that lived at our B&B permanently. He was a sweetie. Don't go to Cinque Terre if you don't like cats. It used to be the "undiscovered" vacation area in Italy's Riviera but from the number of American's and Cruise ship tour groups we saw its no longer the undiscovered country.