Do you wonder what this artist was smoking ?

The statue is in the rose Garden below piazza michangelo.
Don't you wonder What he was smoking when he made this "pot head" statue !
Hilarious

Florence from Piazza michangelo

Cross the Ponte Vecchio bridge and turn left following the river. Just past the statue being restored turn right and follow the signs up the steep steps to the Piazza Michangelo. Go a bit before sunset and you will have a fantastic view.

More food

Yeah, the meal was fantastic

Cream puffs !

Cooking class

We took a class and it was so much fun. We joined a group of students from the USA and Australia. We cooked and then ate it all....gosh delicious and entertaining.

Isn't this cool? Florence

Must be in the right place, check out the tourist group.

But the best thing.....

We found a macaroon shop in Padova. They were so fresh and delicious. This one was chocolate and raspberry.

Padova, Italy

Just so you know....Americans say (pad-joo-wah)and Italians say (pah-doh van)
Why is this important..
So, you get on the right train. We went there to see the Scrovengi chapel which was painted by Giotto. It looks so much like the Sistine chapel that Michangelo painted 300 years later.

Ponte Vecchio bridge

Just on the other side of the bridge there are great sandwich and pizza places. Have not met a place we don't like to eat.

Florence

This is Michangelos David ...a copy outside in the piazza. We saw the original in the Accademia Museum

Yep McDonald's

This is McDonalds ?

Only in Italy is the McDonald's like this....

Our hotel annex room

The hotel manager said that we were fine from the earthquake and his hotel had been reinforced by steel beams during a renovation. Ya riiiight....the shower doesn't work and he has a concrete/steel reinforced 300 year old building....ha

Earthquake

This is the street outside of our hotel. At 4am I was awakened by the bed shaking and the ceiling groaning. I woke up Margaret and we realized we re in an earthquake. When it was over I opened the window to see what everyone else was doing....not much. So we went bask to sleep to be shaken avian by aftershocks. Margaret texted Shelby to see if a tsunami was going to drown us. It was a 4.9 scale in Venice and 6.0 in Bologna.

Gondolier texting Something is just not right about this picture!

Gelato...we are never coming home!

Masks

Venetian masks are sold in shops and street corners everywhere. But, when you flip them over most of them have a tiny tag reading....made in China . Of course....ha

View from the tower of Venice and St. Marks square

Wall to wall people...literally....in Venice

Vacation lazy has set in...given up on makeup and hair products.

Burano, Italy....All the pretty little painted houses

You can take a ferry from Venice to Murano, where they make the glass. But, if you decide to skip that tourist trap, stay on the ferry to Burano, a fisherman's village of colorful painted houses. It is one of the most beautiful places and you just can't stop snapping photos.

Venice is mobbed by cruisers!

The Gondoliers really do dress like this, all the while waiting for the tourists to take a ride.

Venice 2012

We arrived in Venice at midnight. So, all my careful research on how to get to the hotel was blown out the window. The boats were closed, so we took a bus then a vapporetti and wandered around until we found our hotel. No one messed with the worn out, frazzled, and 52 hr trip backpackers from Jackson.

5 Important things to do before leaving home

There are 5 things you must do before leaving on a trip to Europe 1. Call each credit and bank card and tell them the dates you will be gone. 2. Scan and email yourself copies of your passport and credit card toll free international numbers. Email yourself your itinerary and all hotel information. 3. Have a copy of your medical insurance card and/or medjet assist card and copies of prescription and contacts. 4. Check and recheck your airline schedule with the airline direct website not just orbitz or online agency. 5. Bring phone,computer,kindle chargers and an adaptor. Also, extra camera SD card and batteries. All these things are hard to replace or expensive to buy, everything else you can get in Europe. Who cares if you run out of toothpaste or shampoo, don't loose that bank card or itinerary.