Ciao from Firenze ( btw...this is em)

Hello everyone,

I am writing from Florence, Italia, I think it is my favorite city in Europe. We have just enjoyed an excellent meal of pasta and vino, so please forgive my typos...which I am certain will be numerous.

Venice was fun. For Heather, like my mother, it was love at first sight. Our entire first day we spent attempting to find our hotel, which was in a town called Malcontent. Ironic since it took us about six hours to find the place, and believe me we were mal content by the end of the afternoon. We asked how to get to 'Sabbioni' which led us to an area called 'Punta Sabbioni', which is about 80km from where we wanted to be. 80km for the record, is not close.

We finally made it and spent the next day doing everything our hearts desired in Venice. We enjoyed visiting San Marco's, shopped a ton, climbed the bell tower, & visited the Peggy Guggenhiem. For me, the Guggenhiem was the high point of Venice, loved it!!!!!

Food was lovely, but expensive. We are now in Florence, where the food is decidely more affordable, along with everything else. Our pensione is on the edge of the old city, so almost every place we'd like to visit is in 20 minutes walking distance or less. We are happy to be here and will send more updates since internet in Florence is affordable. Cheers!

-em