Best Italian meal evar!

Or, at least that we've had so far.

Typical Italian meals last from two to four hours. It is served in several courses over that time, starting with an apetizer (antipasto), a couple of main courses, desert, coffee, etc.

Tonight's meal was at the ristorante Buca Mario in downtown Florence. We took a bit of a stroll beforehand, winding over the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and through the San Lorenzo Market, viewing life-sized replicas of David, sculptures of famous Italian artists and inventors, and eventually wandering backstreets until we found the restaurant where our reservations were.

We were taken downstairs in the restaurant, which wound around through wine cellars until we found our places. The meal was incredible, to say the least.

Beginning with plates of Tuscan meat cuts and mixed cannape, a local favorite was one of the main courses. Florence is know for its wild boar, and ours was served on fettuccine. It was followed by thin slices of t-bone steak with rocket salad and pine seed roast potatoes.

But, the tiramisu topped the evening off. I think Jennifer will understand when I say this was a little chocolate slice of heaven on a plate. Rich, creamy, I would have fought anybody sitting at the table for a second plate.

Fortunately, I was stuffed enough that I didn't have to do that.

Everyone had a great time, laughing and sharing tales from our travels thus far, although the ride here was not mentioned, just walking back to the hotel reinforced the need to keep your head on a swivel constantly in this city.

Italian drivers

No photos to accompany this post. I was too busy holding on.

We left Venice bright and early this morning via motorcoach headed to Florence. This was quite a cultural experience in Italian driving, to say the least.

It was bad enough being cramped up on this "bus," which wasn't designed to accomodate someone of my height. Fortunately, we did make one stop at the "Autogrill," which is the equivalent of a truck stop or convenience store in the U.S.

The fare was pretty interesting. I found some motorcycle magazines that I kinda wanted to purchase to read on the ride, except my Italian is not so good. No candy bars, although I did find a section of chocolates. No coffee machine, either; it was made by baristas while you waited. I settled for a Red Bull and moved on.

Leaving Venice, traffic was pretty packed. The driver got several "Italian saltues;" I joked that everybody was waving at us, so we should wave back!

Finally arriving in Florence, traffic was pretty much the same, except more scooters and motorcycles were thrown into the mix. The cyclists filter lanes, or split lanes as it is called stateside. They drive in the space between lanes (basically on the lines on the road), cutting into and through traffic with seemingly little thought. Amazing and frightening at the same time.

We arrived early at our hotel, so we dropped off our bags and headed for lunch, which was our next lesson in Italian driving. While walking to lunch, Jim, who directs the international program at UCA, advised us to watch out for drivers. "They don't stop," he warned.

He was not kidding.

Even at crosswalks, with the light signaling you had the right of way, you still had to bolt. It's made me think long and hard about jogging in the morning, although with the amount of pizza I've had, I probably should.

Gondola ride

So we did the ultimate touristy thing in Venice last night. We rode a gondola.

It was actually a lot of fun, because even though it was a "touristy" thing to do, we got to go down some smaller, more out of the way canals, and get more of a glimpse of what life is like for a resident of Venice. Window flower boxes, laundry hanging from windows drying, and dogs sleeping on boats tied to nearby apartments were the norm on the backstreets.

Our gondolier was Franco ("Hey, justa call me Frankie, like Frankie Goes to Hollywood"). We actually had three gondolas, with one featuring a vocalist and accordinoist keeping us entertained through our tour.

We started on the Grand Canal, with the gonola station right outside our front door, and then wound our way around the city, seeing Marco Polo's home, as well as the apartment that Cassanova stayed. "He was a great lover," explained Frankie.

Later, he did his impersonation of him with Danielle, who is the director of the study abroad program. She wanted her picture taken with him, and he obliged, but he didn't want to seem to let go of Danielle. A few more pictures, por favor . . .

Visualizing Venice

Today we took a tour of the Basillica of San Marco. A beautiful cathedral, it faces the Piazza San Marco which is full of trendy shops and tourist traps.

However, no photos are allowed in the basillica. D'oh. However, I did snap a few outside . . .

Following that tour, we were treated to a tour of the Doge's Place. The doge was an elected position, the highest position in the republic of Venice. It is comparable to our Congress and Supreme Court, where laws were both made and enforced.

After that, a quick boat ride to the St. Giorgio island, where things were closed for the traditional two hour lunch. Nice.

So, we took our own two hour lunch. Only ours lasted about an hour.

On our return I spied a Ferrari store tha I just had to stop in. Especially since there was a full-sized Formula 1 racer in the window . . .

Now, if I can only find a Ducati store . . .

Our hotel

In the words of my friend Kurt, uh, yeah, it rocks.

Our hotel, Ca' Segrado, is located on the Grand Canal that winds its way through Venice. Its window overlooks the canal, with a courtyard separating us from the adjacent inn. You can sit on the windowsill watching gondolas, water taxis and all manner of craft slowly floating down the canal.

The cleaning staff tidied up the room while we were out today, and when we returned the windows were open, with a cool Adriactic breeze filling the room. I was rousted from a near nap by a group of gondoliers singing "Happy Birthday" after popping a bottle of bubbly.

It's been great so far! We have a gondola ride planned this evening, and dinner somewhere on our own.

And so it begins!

Finally, we're here!

It's been somewhat troublesome for me to post, which is why this entry is a little late. Our internet service at the hotel is not working, and I forgot a card reader, which made it a little difficult to get images from the camera. With the purchase of a card reader (12 euros for you, not 15, senora) and the discovery of a nearby internet cafe, we're back in bidness.

Five hours in the airport in Atlanta went by fairly quickly. Nine and a half hours on the jet did not.

However, once we landed, it was amazing. Finding yourself in a new culture was almost like waking up in Disneyland. It just didn't seem real.

We spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Venice, which is amazing. Beautiful centuries-old streets wound through, past and between amazing architecture. We were surrounded by a multitude of languages.

Quite a difference after waking up in Arkansas the day before.

Saying goodbye to the kids

Katie and Sarah are now in the care of my parents, who I'm sure will spoil them completely rotten before we return. Katie didn't want to tell us goodbye, and Sarah couldn't stop telling us goodbye. Sarah would like us to return with a "toy that the children in Italy play with." Katie said she wanted some coins - among several things from the designer outlet . . .

It's getting closer. Just a few more hours.