WOWZERS!!!!!!!!!! (Saturday)

Today was our island tour of Capri. This was simply the most amazing place we have been to. It will be our new home.

We started off with a 50 minute boat ride to the island (not so much fun for Hillary… or Matt for that matter). Once we arrived we met our local guide Rosanna. We were told she was a typical beautiful Napolitan woman. She was short and squatty with thick black curly hair and leathery skin. Not what we pictured at all. But she was awesome. Very fun and energetic.

First things first for the island of Capri is the Blue Grotto. Yet another boat ride and this time less fun for Hillary. But we were able to see some pretty neat things. The water was several different shades of blue depending on the sun and your view point. It just sparkled in the sun. To get into the Blue Grotto we had to get into a very small row boat – 4 people only. Matt sat in the front and I sat with Jen and Alan (our Canadians) in the back. They immediately told us hand inside at all times because it’s dangerous. We thought, well ok whatever, kinda like hands and feet in on roller coasters or something. Oh no.. they meant it. Once we pulled up to the entrance we were able to see why.

We all had to lay down inside the boat. Could have been romantic, but I was laying in the lap of another man with his wife beside me. Very awkward moment.




But we got into this cave and the boatman grabbed my arm and pulled me up. It was the most spectacular view. Where the sun entered the cave the water was the most beautiful blue. We were in such awe.


He rowed us around the cave explaining the history behind it. Apparently there used to be an emperor that lived on the island and the grotto was his swimming pool. Once we got about half way around the cave he started singing to us. Not too shabby! It was very surreal and such a wonderful moment. As we were leaving he turned to Jen and Alan and said that this is the place for romance and they had to share a kiss. So they did, and then he told us that we should share a kiss. So he allowed me to stand up and lean to the front of the boat to kiss my new husband. Totally romantic! Then it was back to lying down to get back out of the cave. The whole experience could not have been longer than 10 minutes but it was worth all the other crappy boat rides to see it.

We got back to the main island of Capri and took a bus to Ana Capri which is the city at the very top of the island. This bus ride had to have been the scariest ride any of us had ever been on. We had to cram into a mini bus because the roads are so narrow here. We had a few close calls where the drivers of the busses were passing each other and hanging out of the window shaking hands and trying to decide how to pass one another. People were honking, mopeds were flying through the middles, and we on the bus were freaking out about hitting something or someone. But it all worked out.


We made it to the top where we got a demonstration on inlaid (I think that is what it is called but may be wrong). It is basically all the beautiful artwork on wood. They had tables, music boxes, pictures, chairs, jewelry boxes, and china cabinets all done with this amazing technique. And apparently they put so many coats of polyurethane that you can put a lighter to it and not damage the wood (as demonstrated today!). And then you can buff our scratches, oh you know, with rubbing alcohol!

After the demonstration we took a fun little ride to the extreme top of Ana Capri, this time no bus. Instead we took a chair lift which only held one person per chair. So it was a lonely ride up to the top.


We had the most amazing views from this point of the island. I even got winked at by the guy letting us off the lift, right before he hit me in the face with the bar. It was great. Haha. We saw so much vegetation as well. I even got to see an olive tree. YUM!! Dad (Keith) you would absolutely love it here. They have lemon orchards everywhere. One of their hot commodities is lemon cello. It’s kind of like a lemon liqueur but very very strong burst of alcohol. They sale it everywhere! They even had lemon perfume. It is just an ever present scent of lemon. Very nice.



It was finally time for lunch after this. We were all starving and were treated like it too. We had our big 5 course meal for lunch today. Ravioli with ricotta cheese, calamari – the best we have ever tasted, very flavorful chicken, and the best brownie in the world! Ok so it wasn’t really a brownie but that is the best way we can describe it to you. It just melted in your mouth. After brownies everyone had espresso with lemon peel.

Our next journey was a walking tour around the city of Capri (this is in the middle level of the island). We saw beautiful gardens and lots of places to shop.



We even saw another wedding party walking down the street. This one had bagpipes and kilts! Once we finished with our tour we ended our time at Capri in a quite famous way. There is a very popular Italian song that I know everyone has heard the tune of but may not know the words. (We’ll have to sing it for you when we get back) But the lines go and forgive my spelling, Yummo yummo (de da de tada) yummo yummo (de da de tada) feniculi feniculare, feniculi, feniculareeeeee, lalala dada te da te da. Sorry can’t really remember all the words but feniculi means up and funiculare means down. They are talking about the cable car that takes you from the top of the island down to the bottom. Well we got to ride in it. It was kinda hot and cramped, but cool just to have the experience.

Once we got back to Naples we had a short break and then it was time for pizza. Naples is the “best” place for pizza in Italy. So we walked of to Ciro’s gourmet style pizza. Yet another 5 course meal. Who would ever think of having a 5 course meal with pizza!!! It was a grueling task, but we did it. We had the traditional Napoleon pizza – red for tomato, white for mozzarella, and green for basil. It was fantastico! A little soggier than traditional American pizza. For dessert we had some kind of delicious cake with a cream filled center and crazy good berries. A perfect end to a great night. Plus we had a blast at dinner with our Canadians and a new player Cheryl from Philidelphia. She’s one of the younger ones who came with her sister. We were having such a good time that the table across from us kept asking us what we were talking about. And if Roberta Walker is reading this… we had a grand talk about mullets!

Tomorrow we are off to visit Pompeii and then traveling back to Rome. This should only be a 2 – 3 hour bus ride, hopefully.

We can't wait to get back and show you all the rest of the pictures of our trip. Sorry that there are so few here, but there are just so many beauftiful things that we can't decide which to show! We'll have so many pictures when we get home we wont even know what to do with ourselves. Thanks so much for continuing to read about our journey. We love you!

Road Trippin'

Today was our drive from Florence (North) to Naples (South). We boarded our bus at 8 am and were scheduled to arrive in Napoli at 3 pm. Yes, we know what you are thinking… UGH!! And yes it was ugh! We made our first pit stop at 9:30 at a gas station that already had about 4 other tour busses full of people! They even had another Perillo group there. I almost got in a fight with some old ladies because they kept pushing me in the bathroom line! Grr.

Our next stop was for lunch around noon. We had the most amazing provolone sandwich. It was made with foccassia (spell?) bread, ham (maybe turkey, not real sure), and provolone all melted to perfection. Our final stop at around 2:30 was in a city outside of Naples. Here we received a demonstration on how they make cameos. These are the trinkets carved from shell that typically have a woman’s profile. And of course we had time for shopping. (They give us a whole lot of that.. apparently they want our money or something).


After that it was another 45 minutes to Naples. Once we arrived we took a driving tour around town. They have the most beautiful coast here. We were able to see Mount Vesuvius – a still active volcano that destroyed Pompeii which we will get to see on Sunday. They have the most peculiar beaches here. They are nothing but huge stones, big rocks that people lay out on. They just go find their own rock. We have also seen a lot of people making out here. Several couples think it would be fun just to go find a bench and make out. Hey when in Rome, right? Or Naples either one. We got to see a few castles and one they say every bride and groom in town after their wedding go there to take a picture. We got to see a wedding party and the old grandpa fell down on top of the little kids. It was kinda funny.

After our driving tour we came back to the hotel. This hotel is stinkin’ amazing! By far the best one we’ve been to. It is called the NH Ambassador Hotel and can be found at http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/italy/naples/nh-ambassador.html?action=search&stype=default&fini=&fout=&nadults1=2&nchilds1=0&services=&maxPrice=&searchLauncher=reservation&stext= (Sorry for the long address, but that should take you directly to our branch)



We had dinner here for the evening, of course another 5 course meal. We started with fried mashed potatoes almost (the Italian version of a tater tot with cheese) and fried rice balls with tomato sauce, peas, and cheese. Next was our vegetable soup or pile o’ rice. The rice block was huge – sausage, egg, ragout sauce, peas, mozzarella. For our main course we had the most amazing fish, dentex. Everyone enjoyed the fish for the evening. Dessert was another story. We had baba. Matt loved his baba. Mine, not so much. It is basically a rum cake. We did not know this until after the first bite. The cake was soaked in rum. So after our failed attempt at dolce (dessert) we decided to go out for gelato. We had a mix between chocolate and vanilla. Very different flavors than we have in America. Then it was off to bed.

Josh, Lucas, and Taylor - this ones for you! Apparently Italy has a Comicon too!! hahahaha

Random Thoughts

Just wanted to mention a few random things about our trip:


1) 6:30 am is just as bright as 8 am summer time in Texas
2) The 80 degree weather that we are enjoying is apparently July weather – very hot for them
3) Internet sucks here, period. Haha
4) Don’t ever ask an Italian for directions. They give describing words such as “over there” and “around the corner”. Nothing is ever where they say it is. The first night we asked where we could find a converter. They said “Ho Kay, turn right and then turn left. It is called La something or other”. We tried every possible turn right and then turn left combinations we could think of and never found anything!!!! Then a few in our group tried to find the ATM that is supposed to be by our hotel. “It’s at the end of the street”. Neither group ever found it.
5) I am apparently Italian. I was asked yesterday by a man at the Murano glass factory if I was Italian. I said um, well… no. He then asked if I was of some Mediterranean descent. I just kind of shrugged my shoulders. He said I looked more Italian than he did. Haha. On another occasion while we stopped at a gas station, the lady at the check out quickly spoke to me in Italian, telling me the price. I just handed over money and she said something else. I just said “Grazi” and left. I felt very cool that I could pass off as Italian. Lol
6) Gas is apparently the most expensive in Italy. It has ranges from 5 dollars a gallon all the way to $12. CRAZY!!
7) Our tour only consists of 26 people. Most with Perillo are 50. We are very lucky that we are so small.
8) People will do anything for money here. Today we saw women dressed in all white robes with white faces walking around making noises at people and sticking their tongues out. Very weird, but people gave them money.

Florence

Today has been such a nice, relaxing day. We started off with our American breakfast! Matt had coffee this morning. Not even half of the cup was coffee; the other half was milk and sugar because it is so strong here.

We boarded our Perillo bus at 8:10 this morning and headed over to the Academy of Fine Arts. This is basically the housing place for the works of Michelangelo. When we first got to the area and were walking down the street we were quickly told not to buy anything from the street vendors because it is illegal in Florence. I didn’t really know what to think because yesterday in Venice there were lots of vendors on the street with decent products. Well these people were distinguishable to say the least. They walked right up to you and pulled out all their crappy pictures and random gadgets. They just stood there and displayed everything to you. But then if a police officer or sirens were seen or heard, they picked up faster than anything I have ever seen and ran away. It was hilarious!

While in the Academy of Fine Arts we were able to see the unfinished works of Michelangelo. So sorry, once again… no pictures allowed. There were about 6 unfinished statues. Why were they unfinished you ask? Well we thought the same thing. Basically he was just so cool that two popes just kept commissioning him to do work (ie the Sistine Chapel) so he did not have time to finish his statues. At the end of the gallery stood “David”, 15 feet tall and simply indescribable. We were able to hear the history behind the statue and see all the imperfections and perfections that Michelangelo put into this work of art.

Michelangelo was commissioned to build “David” after the Florentines won their independence back from the French. It was to be something meaningful and sentimental to all. The story that we heard today (which Matt and Alan, our Canadian did not agree with) was that Michelangelo chose David from David and Goliath to be his muse. Such a young boy with confidence and bravery who defeated the giant. He carries in his right hand a stone and in his left, the slingshot. Michelangelo also chose a block of marble that had been rejected. It is theorized why, some say its because he wanted a challenge, others because he could see that David was already in there and just needed to come out, and still others say its because the marble was bruised and battered but could still be something great, just like the Florentines. One thing that was really neat about this statue is that everything is anatomically correct. You could see the veins in the arms and hands and even the muscles in their flexed state. It was amazing to see the detail that was in the sculpture. We also learned that because the marble was not perfect, there were already two big gouges. One was in the area of the right hand and the other was at the legs. When you see the sculpture up close the right hand looks exceptionally large and disproportional. This has also been theorized about. It could stand for the right hand of God, it could be just because he had to due to the gouge there, it could be anything, no one knows.

Next we walked down to the piazza or square. Note that we’re picking up on Italian pretty good… we’re prepping for when we move here. Hahahaha! At the square were the Cathedral, Giotto’s Tower, and Baptistry. The walls were all made of marble. Inside the church was more of the magnificent marble flooring and beautiful stained glass windows. And for once we were actually allowed to take pictures! Haha. The dome above the alter was painted with the life of Christ. Apparently you can walk all the way to the top of Giotto’s tower, over 500 steps and 30 minutes one way. Um, so yeah… we didn’t go up there. The door to the Baptistry was decorated with 10 gold dipped plates (the original gold has been replaced and hidden away). Each plate was a different depiction of the Old Testament.
Next we walked down to some other piazza in front of some kind of castle. Matt and I along with the Canadians weren’t really paying attention at this point. We were having more fun just walking around and taking our own pictures. But in this square was a giant statue/fountain of Neptune along with the other Michelangelo greats, or well copies of them at least.

Once we finished here we were treated to another great opportunity. It would have been even more awesome if we had money. Haha. We went into C.O.I, wholesale gold store. Because we were with Perillo we qualified for 20% off of everything! The entire store was made with 18 k gold, nothing less. The jewelry here was stunning. If we would have had you know, an extra 500 euros lying around I would have totally gotten a bracelet. And Matt would have gotten the 200 euro cross that he liked. Eh- maybe next time.

After this private tour, we got a private tour of a leather shop. Italian leather is apparently the best in the world. Well we finally saw why. Everything was so incredibly soft and just gorgeous. We received 10% off every purchase and free 18 k gold leaf letters pressed into anything purchased. We got our own little show too. They took a few from our group and outfitted them with some jackets and coats. We had a ball with our fashion show and I saw the cutest jacket… it was of course 870 euros so that stayed in the store. Hahaha! But they had everything from bags, jackets, belts, to wallets, key chain holders, shoes, and even golf ball/tee holders. This was a very very neat store. And we did come away with a few items so we’ll be sure to show them off when we get home. (Plus I got to use my new initials for the first time!!!)

After the leather store, Matt and I have had the rest of the afternoon off. This has given us time to blog for today and even post pictures on yesterdays blog. Y’all can finally see what we’re up to! Tonight we will have dinner at the hotel. (Hopefully not too many courses) Then we are thinking we will check out the nightlife and head down to the square.

Tomorrow we board the bus to Napoli or Naples. It will be a very long drive so we may not post tomorrow as driving is all we will be doing. Maybe we’ll just take that time to put more pictures up. We’ll see.

Love you all!

Matt and Hillary

Josh and Megan - we totally had a couple of pirate moments today and thought of you. Hope you enjoy these pirate boots and jacket! (Sorry that the jacket is sideways)

Cities of love… water… and glass

Today was our grand excursion to Venice. It started off as our typical morning here. We were greeted with a wake up call at 6:30 am and then off to our American buffet style breakfast. (We actually had milk today!!) We met our group at 8:10 am and then headed over to the train station. We boarded our Venice bound train scheduled to depart at 8:36 am. And then we sat. And then we slept. And then we stared at the landscape. For 3 hours we did these things! Haha. It was a very long trip in which Matt got lots of pictures. We sat with the mom and her son and had a fun time talking.

Once we got to Venice, we boarded a water taxi that took us to our restaurant; yet another 5 course meal. Geeeze, we are eating a lot over here. Each meal is practically more than Matt and I eat on an average daily basis. We had proma ham, tomato and eggplant pasta, veal scallopini with salad, and gelato for dessert. We both agree that it had to have been the most tart lemon flavor we have ever tasted. But, everything was delicious.

Today for lunch we sat with two older couples. The wives were sisters and both husbands were teachers. One in physics/chemistry and the other in British/Shakespearean lit. We had a grand time talking about Texas weather, paramedics, sports, military, and even lyme disease. Apparently in Connecticut, everybody gets lyme disease. After lunch when the women went to the bathroom, Matt and Lloyd had a big chat about Shakespearean plays. They bonded.

After lunch we met Cristina for our tour of Venice. Venice is one of the most expensive places to live in Italy. An apartment rents for 5,000 euro per square meter per month! Can you even imagine? (Just a side note, 1 dollar = 1.4 euro – or at least that is what we exchanged for before we left). Most people live outside the city in Venecia Mess – something. Haha. Can’t exactly remember what it is called. But it is basically the slums; nothing but apartments. This is where all the grocery stores are, the malls, etc. Prices here are 30% lower than they are on the main island. By the way, did you know Venice is just a bunch of small islands connected by bridges? About 117 to be exact. The Grand Canal is just the water running in between the 2 biggest islands.

Cristina took us to St. Mark’s Square. In the square, a cup of coffee costs 13 euro and a beer 18! Needless to say, we did not dine here. The cost of the item is due to the fact that it is such a high profile location. You are not paying for coffee, you are playing for the right to sit in the square. At the end of the square was St. Mark’s Basilica. Once again we were not allowed to take pictures inside. All of the art work was done in mosaic tiles. Mom (Karen) you would have loved it! The floors were all done in marble tile and were very uneven due to the shifting in Venice. Here is the burial place for St. Mark. The ceiling had 4 domes, each representing the life of Christ. The front of the church faces the east. This is for the beginning, the start of life and so the dome represented the beginning of Christ. The end of the church faced the west. This is for the end of time, and therefore death.

After the Basilica we walked out into the courtyard. We watched the bell tower and two big statues strike the bell. These statues have been ringing the bell for 500 years. Every hour on the hour. We also walked past the Bridge of Sighs. This was basically “the green mile”. Prisoners would be walked from the square to the prison over this bridge and then back over to be executed. On the building there were 2 pink columns in the midst of white ones. These columns are where the execution vote would take place. To this day no Venetian will walk under those columns.

After our tour with Cristina we had our romantic gondola ride. Because we were on our honeymoon we had the amazing opportunity to ride with musicians. We shared our ride with the young Canadian couple. The streets of water were just beautiful: the homes, the bridges, the walls even. The water did smell a bit, but it was quite easy to get used to. Our gondolier was great as well. He pointed out things like city hall, the courthouse, the homes of Marco Polo and even Mozart. This was such a relaxing and perfect afternoon ride. Matt apparently dressed for the occasion as he matched all the gondoliers perfectly!

Next we boarded our private limousine boats to the island of Murano. This place is famous for their glass blowing. We had a private tour of the factory and watched them make a vase from start to finish. It had to have been the coolest thing ever. And took the guy probably 5 minutes to make a beautiful vase. All of the glass blowers are family. This tradition has been passed down from generation to generation. It takes years of expertise to make even the simplest of glass works. To make more elaborate items, they work in teams of 3-4 people. Each brings their own unique expertise and secrets passed down from generations. Once finished with the demonstration, we were allowed to go into the shop. So sorry, once again, no pictures allowed. And once again Mom (Karen) this is something you would have loved. They are famous for their glass chandeliers, and we could definitely see why. They were so exquisite. We had the unique opportunity to get 50% off of the bigger items. Well these bigger items were all in the 10,000 plus range. Soooooo, no chandelier for us. However, they did agree that once we get money they would cut us a deal. Hahaha.

We left Murano and went back to the train station. On the way I did get a bit sea sick. Whats life in Venice, surrounded by water, without me getting sea sick? But we had a quick bite to eat at the station and then back on the train for another 3 long hours. This time we both slept most of the way.

Another amazing day down, several more to go. We can’t even begin to describe how wonderful everything is here. Pictures will do no justice to this place.

Oh one funny thing is that we have quite fondly become known as “Texas”, and just that. They just call us both Texas. Haha. One couple even told us yesterday that they knew they were with the right group because they could pick us out with our matching maroon shirts. They were worried today because we didn’t have distinguishing colors. Lol. But Matt had stripes on so it was a bit easier.. until we saw all the gondoliers of course.

Pictures

So apparently the hotel did not actually activate the wireless internet in our room. We are mooching off of other rooms. Unfortunately because of that, we cannot keep the internet long enough to post pictures. Our plan is to take the computer downstairs to the lobby in the morning and post lots of pics. Sorry that there are no visual aids yet. :( Hopefully soon!

We met the Pope!!!

eh- jk. No pope around today. But we did have a fascinating tour of the Vatican City.

First things first however, the weather is beautiful. A tad on the warm side, but sunny and breezy. So no umbrella needed Mike or jackets/warm clothes.

Our wakeup call was set for 7 am. I of course slept until 7 am, whereas Matt had to get his morning workout in at 5. ugh! So we started our morning off with a nice American style buffet breakfast. Really it wasn't our style of American because there was no milk. :( haha. Matt enjoyed a nice orange/carrot/some kind of juice drink. But after a nice breakfast and a very rushed post, as you read earlier, we were off to the Vatican. We met our tour guide Mauro and he got us right into the doors. (Apparently when you go without a tour group it could take hours to get in).

Anywho, so we began our journey today at the Musei Vaticani. It was basically three big hallways of all kinds of art. They were all amazing. Everything from the floors to the ceilings was elaborately decorated.

The first hallway was sculptures. They had humongo sculptures and then tiny ones. They had them on the ceiling and built into the walls. They had the "goddess" of fertility and even the last supper.

The second hallway was tapestries. On the left side of the room they had laid out the life of Christ. The right side of the room we weren't really quite sure. Mauro said that those were the ugly ones and not important enough for us to spend time on. haha! The workmanship in these tapestries was spectacular. There was even one that when you walked passed it the angle of the table seemed to move with you. It was really neat.

The third hallway was a tribute to the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately for you, no photography at all is allowed inside the chapel. They do not even let you talk. We were shushed a few times by the guards. They just kept yelling at people to be quite. So before we went into the chapel, Mauro showed us pictures and the paintings we would see inside and gave us the history behind them all. All of the great painters of that time have some hand in that place. Michelangelo was of course the main dude. He painted the entire ceiling. Down the center are 9 pictures representing the main stories of Genesis. Then on either side was the bloodline of Christ. On the left side wall was the Old Testament, and the right, the New. The far back wall was the Revelation. Michelangelo not only painted the ceiling, but also painted the Revelation. Apparently as he was working, there was a cardinal that did not like him and gave him a very hard time. Well instead of making a big scene with the man, he painted him as the gatekeeper to hell. Hahaha! How’s that for getting back at someone. He also signed his paintings by putting a self portrait in the two areas. On the ceiling he had an entire body portrait and on the back wall he painted his face into a small area. The paintings in this room were indescribable. We were very lucky in that this area was cleaned and restored to the true colors of Michelangelo’s time. We were able to see the paintings as they truly were meant to be seen. What was cool is that the people who restored the paintings left small areas uncleaned. It was crazy to see the difference between the dirty part and the clean.

After the chapel we walked into St. Peter’s Basilica. This place seats over 70,000 people and currently holds 110 tombs on ground level alone. AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING!! The mass is held at the most beautiful alter. This alter is also the burial place of St. Peter and had the most beautiful artwork built up around it. We were also able to see the special door of blessings. This door is only opened every 25 years and remains open for the entire year. All the pass through it receive a blessing. The next opening will be 2025. In the door is a small black box in which the Pope places specific items of meaning. They remain inside until the doors are opened and new items are placed inside. Currently the three items inside are Vatican coins, a gold piece with the symbols alpha and omega, and one other item. I can’t exactly remember and apparently Matt wasn’t paying attention. The point is it was neat. Haha.

Outside the basilica we were able to see the square the Pope comes and blesses people every Wednesday. Yeah, we just missed. No blessings for us. L However, we did get to see the Swiss Guards and they court jester type outfits. Wow! Apparently designed by Michelangelo. We also got to see the Pope’s apartment. His room is the top right corner.

After having a quick bite to eat we boarded our bus and headed to Florence. And close to 4 hours later we were finally there.

*Can I just take a moment here to describe the traffic in Italy? It is CRAZY! I am honestly surprised that we have not witnessed any accidents. People drive all over the place. It’s like there are no traffic laws. The mopeds are weaving in and out like nobody’s business, the cars drive on sidewalks to get around other people, everybody cuts everybody else off…. Insane. I think I would fear for my life if I was not in a giant bus. Plus I don’t think they have ever heard of parking tickets here. You can park literally in the middle of the street. *

Ok back to Florence. We had to stop before we got into the city to buy a bus voucher; 400 euro in order for our bus to drive us around the city. How’s that for crazy. But Florence is absolutely beautiful. We are in the region of Tuscany and it is just as you would imagine. Beautiful trees, hillsides, rivers, and homes. This is the place to be. We stopped at an overlook to get one big group picture. We could see homes, churches, the river, and beautiful scenery. This was such a great place to be, very peaceful.

After that we came back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We are currently staying at the Hotel Rivoli (aka Best Western of Florence). And just for you Kristi, the website is http://www.hotelrivoli.it/. Our room is awesome!!! We have stairs leading from the front door to the bedroom and then stairs leading up to our balcony and bathroom. We think we got the honeymoon suite from talking with others in our group that didn’t get such cool rooms.

Dinner was at a very nice restaurant around the corner… another 5 course meal but this time with smaller portions. Pasta is served with every meal, along with some type of ham/roast beef appetizer, salad, meat, and dessert. And of course, lots of wine with every meal as well. We had such a great time at dinner tonight. We ate with the mom and son and then one of our young couple friends (psychiatrist and computer programmer). We stayed until 10 pm even after all the others from our group had left.

We are having such a great time. Tomorrow will be a very exciting day, but a long travel day as well. We will be taking a 3 hour train ride to Venice. So that means we are logging off for tonight. We love you all. Thank you so much for keeping up with us while we are celebrating our marriage in style.