Two things made this trip special:
# Mike and Chris did all the planning, reservatons and day-to-day work and translationing to make it happen and very smoothly for Deb and I. We can't tell you how much that was appreciated. This trip would have been much rougher for Deb and I alone.
# In a surprise move to me, Catherine joined up with us for the week. I typically see Catherine one day every 2 years, so spending a week with her was wonderful.
In no particular order, here are some comments.
I must look into having a cochlear implant as soon as possible. I missed a lot of the conversations and felt very isolated at times. This has a bad effect on my personality and how much I bug people asking "what's happening?" and "why are we doing this?" and "where's ....?".
In retrospect, I wish that Loretta had been with us too, but having a family to manage, that could not happen. Hopefully my story here will serve as a scrapbook for her to enjoy.
It was very smart to make camp in Lucca and stay put for the week. It is not as pretty as Montepulciano (what is !?), but very sweet and convenient. Our apartment could not have been better. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, patios, perfect location, and very reasonably priced.
For the most part, this was not a great trip for "postcard scenic" pictures.
The Italian train system is very good but (for me) very confusing. Tickets do not show the train # or the platform that it leaves from. The overhead screens in the station show the last stop - not necessarily the station you are going to. The only way to know which train # is going to your destination is when you buy the ticket at the kiosk. Don't forget that train # after you log out ! !
I never got it straight.
Not to mention that 15 seconds before the train arrives, an announcement (in Italian) says they changed the track number. So you are racing about hauling all your bags across to some other platform along with 300 other people, as the train rolls in.
Crazy Italians !!
Italy is, for the most part, an earthy agricultiral country with pockets of classic Rennaisance opulence.
Italians are very very nice people. At this time of year (the end of the tourist season), they can be somewhat burned out on us visitors, but it hardly shows when it does.
Food and wine are amazingly inexpensive. Five of us had most dinners for about 55€
On the other hand, handmade goods are wicked expensive. But, I'll tell you, I watched a woman weaving a scarf and it made me understand how labor intensive that work is.
We bought some things in a really nice leather shop. I got a new walk-around bag for my trips into Boston. It replaces the one you can see with me in the pictures of Cinque Terre, below. Rebekah would call it a "man purse". I would not carry this thing into a local biker bar. It's peculiar how the European concept of "manliness" is different from the American concept.
Pictures in Lucca
Pictures in Florence
Wine Tour Pictures
Pictures in Pisa
Pictures in Cinque Terre
