The good, the bad and the ugly

The good - We began with a self tour of the Florence Cathedral called Santa Maria de Flore, or commonly referred to as the Duomo.  Built in the 12th century, it houses a comfy 20,000 for church services.  Beside the domed structure is a bell tower with 417 steps up and 417 steps down.  I counted them. But the view was worth it.  Then we went to the Uffizi and Academia museum, where I learned after carrying a camera for four hours that no pictures are allowed.  We saw works of Michelangelo and Da Vinci and many other famous artist.  The 18 foot sculpture of David is breath-taking.

The bad - We wanted to go to the rooftop lounge before dinner, but found the door locked.  So we decided to go to a restaurant recommended by the Nussmans.  The cab stand in front of our hotel had a cab but no driver.  We walked three blocks to the next cab stand and found three cabs without drivers.  We tipped a doorman at a hotel to find us a cab and arrived at the restaurant to discover it was reservations only.  We finally found another cab and returned to a restaurant near the hotel, only to find out that it was also reservations only.

The ugly - We eventually  found a place to eat and returned to the hotel at 10 pm. at 10:15, a band started playing outside our window.  Despite threats from both of us, the band played until 4:03 AM.  I need to learn to cuss better in Italian.   Off to Venice.

Ok, so Fred has told you about our unpleasant night in Florence.  Who knew this town was such a partying place!?!  At any rate, I tried to calm him down, but to no avail!!!  On another subject, the word "prego" as you may know, has multiple meanings here.  It can mean "hello", "thank you" or "you're welcome".  After 4 days in Italy, my new husband asked me, "why does everyone say 'spaghetti sauce' to us???  He thought the word "prego" only meant the brand of spaghetti sauce we use in the US!!  (This can be classified as the bad and the ugly!)  I have coined a new word here, the word "definitaly", it means "definitely, in Italy".  So we are off to Venice where adventure awaits, always with great artwork, wonderful food and superb wine.  Definitaly!!