Kakki Time

How could I not love this face?!

Earlier in the week I had a feeling in my heart; it was a yearning to see my grandbabies. So I took a break this Friday and Saturday to visit the kids in Tupelo. All were doing fine, and the boys were as cute as ever, and they were just the medicine I needed to cure that feeing in my heart. After hugs and kisses all around, I was one content Kakki. We played in the sand, visited Phillip's Garden Center and Lowes, worked in the yard and gave Laura and Chase some time to themselves. What can I say? MY LIFE IS BLESSED!

#7 Wednesday, March 12 "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"

Well, the ole trusty alarm goes off to start another day. I talk myself into getting out of bed and hope to see the view I know is out our window. I open the shutters and the most beautiful day greets me. The view is spectacular!! The blue waters of the Bay of Naples stretche out before me, and I am immediately jealous of the people who live along the bay who get to wake to this view every morning. We have the same wonderful view as we eat breakfast, and this is truly the first beautiful day we have had on the trip.

View to the left out our balcony

View directly in front of our balcony

View to the right out our balcony

View below our balcony

We get aboard the bus and settled in for a wonderful ride along the Amalfi Coast, heading for our destination, the town of Amalfi with a stop at Positano. The stretch of road winds on the side of the mountains of the coastline. The twisting curves double back on themselves, and the bus driver blows the horn each time he prepares to enter a curve to warn approaching drivers. Many of the turns have large mirrors so the drivers on each side of the curve can see what is approaching. After the maneuvering of the first few curves, we settle in for one of the most scenic drives I have ever been on. MR has forgiven me for my being separated from the group in Pisa and allows me to sit in the front seat with her so I can take in even more of the view, making each turn even more dramatic. The Bay of Naples stretches out before us into a vastness of blue. Homes are perched on the the cliffs on both sides of the road and the continual sound of the bus' horn reminds us of the precarious nature of our drive. It is hard to find the words to describe the view so the pictures will have to do.

One of the many curves with a parking area for the owners of the homes built on the cliffs

View of the Bay of Naples from the front window of the bus. Notice the drop off to the right!


One of the beautiful towns we pass along the way is Positano, which covers a hillside that runs down to the coast line of the bay. An interesting building is a Byzantine styled church Santa Maria Assunta with a majolica tiled dome. The town, along with Amalfi, is the chosen vacation spot for celebrities, including Tom and Katie who have a villa somewhere tucked into a cliff overlooking the Bay of Naples. We stop outside Positano an at overlook point and souvenir place. We take pictures and leave more euros behind. One of the things we seen here is lemons the size of softballs. Lance needs to get some of the fertilizer the Italians use for his garden in Inverness. We load up again headed for Amalfi.

Our stop at the overlook. Cathy and I with Positano in the background

This picture really does not do justice to the size of the lemons, but they really are as large as softballs.

The town of Positano

The Dome of the Santa Maria Assunta Church with majolica tile roof

A look back at Positano as we leave

We arrive in Amalfi at 11:00 a.m. and make plans to be back at the bus at 1:00 p.m. My first response is that I don't think 2 will be enough time to cover the coastal town. It is the typical quaint Italian town that we have all seen in the movies, and Cathy, Shirley, Mary Kat and I strike out determined to do the most we can in 2 hours. Clothes hang from lines stung across the streets from window to window. There are fish markets, bakeries, pastry shops, small eating places, ristorantes, and quaint shops with every imaginable souvenir to take home. Amalfi is where I find my major purchase of the trip, a pasta bowl that is purchased with the money the Lalis gave me for my retirement. It is the most beautiful hand painted pasta bowl, and it takes me a while to pick out the perfect one to display on my kitchen counter along side Lance's mom's handwritten spaghetti recipe that I have framed. Her recipe is a genuine Italian recipe for what is known in Italian speak as tomato gravy. I mentioned fixing the sauce for our Lalis get together back in February. If you want to know more about the Lalis, go back to the post of February 5th, and you can find out about them. Anyway, I finally make a decision, and ask the store owner if he will ship it home. He says he will for 50 euros, which is right at $75 American dollars. Okay, the bowl is beautiful; it is one of a kind; it is expensive; but I can't see spending $75 to ship it home. I will sit with it in my lap on the plane if I have to. So, he wraps it up in layers and layers of bubble wrap, and I go on my way happy that I have made "the purchase" of the trip.

The narrow streets of Amalfi

Laundry hanging above a fish market

Cathy, Shirley, Mary Kat and I reconvene to find a small, quick place to have lunch, you know one of those 5 euro delights with prosciutto. We find one and then eat some gelato for dessert. Our entire group gathers at the old town wall at the appointed time and strolls down to the waterline to take some pictures before we head back to Sorrento.

View of Amalfi from the shoreline

The shoreline of Amalfi

We return by the same gorgeous route, and on the way the driver points out that a particular villa on a cliff is the home of Sophia Loren. All the adults say "Oooh" and "Ahhh," and the kids say, "Who?" Can you say generation gap?!

This is a rock formation called The Virgin. The tree makes her look as if she is holding a bouquet of flowers.

We arrive in Sorrento around 3:00 p.m. We take a while to rest up a bit, and I walk around our hotel to take a few pictures. Several of us gather again to take in Sorrento and to spend more euros. At one point Shirley figures we need more luggage to get our purchases back to the States, so she buys the cutest lime green suitcase. I vow not to spend anymore money. Yea, right! Our hotel perched on the waters' edge. The dining room is the level that is white just beneath the terra cotta color part of the building. Our room is on the second level of the terra cotta part of the building, first window on the far left.

Part of the grounds around the hotel

Some of the many orange trees around the hotel

We gather at 8:00 p.m. in the hotel dining room for our evening meal. Now, I know this sounds crazy, but for the life of me I can not remember what we had to eat that night. I didn't write it down so it must not have been that memorable. However, I just can't imagine that! I'll have to think about this some more. As always, the kids head out for the nightlife, and the adults head to their rooms to crash. However, before we get to go to sleep, we have to get our bags ready for the ride to Rome tomorrow, with a stop at Pompeii. We stuff the lime green suitcase with our purchases minus my pasta bowl and then get our own in order and fall into the bed, 3 tried little puppies. Oh, did I mention I set the cell phone?!

Okay, Time to Vent, Again

I know I said I was swearing off TV, and I have for the most part, but I still listen to the news. This morning I was listening to Fox and Friends, (yes, I am a conservative by nature and no, I do not apologize for it) before GMA came on. There was a news story about a cheerleader being tragically killed after being kicked in the chest by a squad member on a stunt that went wrong. One of the young girl's friends was interviewed, and her response when asked about the girl was "She liked glitter." She liked glitter! That's all the girl could say about her friend! Now, I know she may have been overwhelmed by the death of her friend, but give me a break. And I'm even more mad that FOX thought that was a worthwhile comment to put on the news. AHHHHHHHH!

On the local news last night there was a report on a man who shot and killed himself accidentally by scratching his head with the shot gun he was holding. Need I say more!!!

The Mississippi State legislature is going to have a special session to take care of the business they did not get around to in the regular session. Oh, I can't stand it!!!! They were more concerned with deer plots than Medicaid. The state of Texas' legislature meets every other year for 3 months. Now, you may think the state of Texas is messed up but so is Mississippi. It just takes our legislators twice the time to mess it up.

Have a great day! And, be careful when you scratch your head. DK

#6 Tuesday, March 11 "Rain Rain Go Away"

Yep. The cellphone lets us know it is time to get up and face the day. Cathy and Shirley continue their getting up so promptly, and I continue to "work" on getting up. It's just that I have to "work" harder each morning. I look forward to throwing back the shutters to see our view of the bay only to be disappointed that it is raining and the bay is covered in a gray mist. What I do see is impressive from the stand point that we are perched and I mean perched on the side of a cliff that overlooks the Bay of Naples with a sizeable drop (I'm not good at measuring distance at a glance or even after I have time to think about it.). We head to the dining room for breakfast. Our table overlooks the bay also, and by the time we finish we are beginning to get a better view of the bay. Breakfast is a wide assortment of cereals, fruit, breads, eggs, meats, juices, pastries, and tomatoes. I could truly get use to eating breakfast if it was prepared for me every morning. Yes, Lance I know you fix my oatmeal for me, but for some reason your breakfast doesn't quite match up to an Italian breakfast.

We return to the room to don our rain gear and then ride the bus to the dock where the boat lands to take us to the Island of Capri. The weather is miserable. The temperature is cool and the rain is coming down fairly hard, so we shelter ourselves on the dock under an awning until we are told to board our boat. Strike one against our day on the island. Our boat is the kind that ferries passengers back and forth between the island and Sorrento. It probably holds 150 to 200 people and is comfortable. All the stories of ferry boats sinking are running through my mind, but I push them back in my mind and enjoy the company around me.

The view from the boat dock. We walked down the steep hill from our bus.

We are a joyous group boarding and finding our seats, even though the weather is so rotten. We laugh and talk with each other and take pictures of the beginning of our journey.

Mary Kat and Dianne are all smiles before the ride to Capri

MR, Bill and John before the nausea sets in

It is still raining and the water becomes rough. Our fun ride is not so fun now. Several of us start to get a nauseated, white around the mouth, and sweaty. Several of the kids are going to the restroom and some of the adults are trying to find cool air. If you haven't figured it out, we are sea sick. This all happens about 10 minutes into a 30 minute ride. Before the crossing is finished, half of our group is nauseated, a fourth is throwing up and the other fourth is seeing to those who are sick. Strike two on our day on the island.

We finally debark and get our land legs back and walk in the misty rain to the lower part of the city. As we make our plans, the monsoon hits with a vengeance. It rains for a good forty five minutes as we try to decide what to do. Shirley and Cathy and Mary Cat and I decide to take the funicular, a.k.a. a tram, up to the shopping area of the island. We ride up only to get off in the still pouring rain. This is not how I imagined my day on the Island of Capri.

Getting ready to ride the funicular

A Brief Lesson on Pronunciation: Capri

In our southern drawl, we say Ca pri with the emphasis on the second syllable. The pronunciation should be Cap ri, with the emphasis on the first syllable. It is much more lyrical, as is much of the Italian language, with the second pronunciation.

Class dismissed.

We have come this far so we might as well see the sites. We wander the narrow streets lost as a goose (Does a goose get lost that often that it gets to be part of a phrase meaning you are lost?) in the pouring rain. Strike three against our day on the Island. As we return to the piazza where we started, the rain begins to lighten some. We find seats at a small ristorante and order the most delicious hot chocolate. The rain finally stops, so the day may not be a total loss after all. At this point Lisa Young joins us and makes our day. She introduces us to scopolimine patches. We all go with her to the pharmacia to purchase patches for our return trip. The druggists are more than happy to help us and probably think we are crazy by the time we leave the store.

Shirley, Cathy, Mary Kat, Me and Lisa warming up with our hot chocolate

Our druggists who helped us with our scopolomine patches

The rain stops for a while and some of our group finds us to tell us that our trip to the island has been shortened because another storm is coming and the last ferry to Sorrento will leave at 2:30 p.m. So we have to make the best of the time we have left. One of the best bargains on the island is the cameos that are carved from the shell around the island. We peruse some of the shops and settle on our cameo purchases. We do not get to make a trip around to the other side of the island to see the rocks at Punta Tragara or go to the Blue Grotto or go to Anacapri at the top of the island. We eat a quick lunch at a small ristorante. I wish I could say we have a congenial waitress, but that is not the case. Now, I am a nice person when I dine out because I adhere to the old saying, "You can catch more bees with honey than vinegar," but my southern charm has not worked on the Italians. I vow to keep trying. I share a pizza with Mary Kat. It is the best. The crust is thin and soft and melts in my mouth. It has a marinara sauce with fresh basil. What can I say? Another good meal. The weather clears for a while, and we take pictures at the Pizzetta by the Santo Stefano church.

Picture at the Piazzeta with the mountain leading up to Anacapri in the background

The clock tower in the Piazzeta

The apartments above shops at the Piazzeta. Notice they all have balconies.

The view from the Piazzetta. The boat landing is in the distance.

Our group gathers and after a lengthy wait, we board our boat back to Sorrento, many of us armed with our scopolomine patches. They do the trick and before we know it we are back at the dock in Sorrento. We attack the steep hill going up this time and find our bus that takes us back to our hotel. Our trip to Capri was somewhat disappointing, but it it was worth braving the rain and the nausea.

We arrive back at the hotel. After a short rest, several of us gather and walk into the main shopping and restaurant area of Sorrento to spend the rest of the late afternoon and evening. We visit several of the shops and leave several euros with the owners. We then scout out a place to eat and enjoy the company of our group. We eat a variety of food that night. I order a prosciutto sandwich with lots of cheese and basil along with tomatoes. I know you think I should be tired of prosciutto by now, but it just keeps getting better and better.

Our group enjoying our meal. Notice Shirley is still standing in the background.

Shirley ordered a hamburger. Do you notice anything missing?

I said in an earlier that John (on the right) was a nut and the Drew (on the left) became a different man when he hit Italian soil. Here is proof!

We finish our meal and look in some of the stores as we walk back to the hotel. The day has been long and tiring. We bathe and collapse into bed, but not before I set the trusty cell phone.

#5 Monday, March 10 "Hello, Pinochio"

The cell phone makes its familiar noise as it wakes us up. We are leaving Florence today, headed for Sorrento. Most of the day will be spent on the bus riding through the Tuscan countryside. It is a welcomed rest from walking and gives our legs a break. After breakfast with one last sweet croissant, we struggle with our bags to get them loaded on the bus. They are a bit heavier with all the scarves we bought!

Our itinerary tells us we have a stop during the mid morning in a small town called San Gimignano, a town that is described in the guide book as "a the most magical of Tuscany's hill towns." The guide book could not have been more correct. This was one of the most delightful side stops we made on the entire trip.

As we ride during the morning, we are finally in the Tuscan countryside I imagine when I think of Italy, countryside that reminds me of the movie Under the Tuscan Sun. There are rolling hills of vineyards and olive groves on both sides of the bus. It is a wonderful morning just to ride and not have a care in the world other than gazing out the window and not missing one beautiful site. One of those sites is the mimosa trees that are in full bloom during this time of year in Italy. They are not like our mimosa trees with the pink, wispy blooms. The bloom is cluster-like with bright yellow, tiny, round flowers. These trees dot the hillsides, and many of the Italians have them growing in pots around their homes. San Gimignano is nestled in the Tuscan hillside surround by these groves, vineyards and mimosa trees.

An olive grove on a hillside

The Tuscan hillside just outside San Gimignano.

We arrive at the town around 10:00 a.m. and have approximately 2 hours to visit and walk around. After a short walk up a fairly steep hill, we come upon the old city gate that is worn by the elements and overgrown with vines.

The old town gate of San Gimignano

Brief History Lesson: The Town of San Gimignano

During the 13th century San Gimignano was one of the major mercantile towns in Tuscany. The rich and powerful families of the town built towers as part of their homes that could be viewed for miles around the city. These towers represented their wealth and power in the area. When Florence conquered the area in the 14th century, most of the 76 towers were knocked down, and today only 14 towers remain. Also, San Gimignano is known in folklore and fairytale as the home of Pinocchio, the fictional character that first appeared in 1883, in The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carollo Coldoi. He was carved from a piece of pine by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a small Italian village and was created as a wooden puppet that dreamed of becoming a real boy. The name "Pinocchio" is derived from the Italian words pino (pine tree), and occhio (eye), i.e. pine-eye. In the Tuscan dialect, pinocchio is the term used to refer to the pine nut.

Class dismissed.

We are in awe as we are taken back in time after we pass through the city gate. The streets are narrow and hilly. The aroma of pastries and strong coffee float out the shop doors, and there is an overcast dreariness that adds to the aura of the town. We stroll in and out of the shops and run upon one filled with Pinocchio souvenirs. Shirley and I buy the grand kids t-shirts and Pinocchios bouncing on springs to commemorate our visit. We continue to walk around the town and visit some of the sites and eventually purchase some of the pastries for the bus ride. Some how mine do not make it to the bus.

My traveling buddies on one of the narrow streets with some of the remaining towers in the background.

The well at the center of the old town

The Collegiata that has frescoes of New Testament scenes inside

One of the many niches in the sides of the buildings. At one time they held religious statues.

Some of the more modern homes on the outskirts of the old town

A mimosa in full bloom

After a 2 hour visit, we load the bus again for a 6 hour ride to Sorrento, located on the Bay of Naples. From what I understand the town is perched on a drop-off at the edge of the bay. I later find out that drop-off is an understatement.

About an hour and a half into our drive, we stop at the infamous Autogrill again. It is at this grill that I get my induction to the world of eating at an Autogrill, described in an earlier post. I order my prosciutto and mozzarella and tomato sandwich and settle in for the rest of the ride. As the day wains, we start to arrive on the coast of the Bay of Naples. The ride becomes quite precarious as we wind on a narrow road situated dangerously close to the edge of the drop-off, better known now as a cliff. As we arrive in Sorrento in a misty rain, the lights of the town reflect on the bay. It is a beautiful site, I think, because I am watching how close we are to the cliff on the right side of the bus.


We arrive at the Hotel Ambasciatori at 7:00 p.m. and pile off the bus to retrieve our luggage. The luggage is stored, and we head to the dining room for our evening dinner. MR explains that she splurged with this reservation and that the Hotel Ambasciatori is a 4-star hotel. It is nice. Pictures of the hotel follow.

Lobby area of the hotel

Area leading to the dining room

Our bathroom

If you are wondering why I took a picture of our bathroom, it is because I was excited that first, it is pretty and second, and more importantly, it has a tub in which I plan on relaxing in as soon as possible.


Now back to dinner. We claim our dinning places, and the waiter takes our orders. With our anti pasta we had several choices from which I chose a risotto with sausage and truffles (yum, yum, yum); our main course is a choice of a smoked fish or roasted pork (Can you guess what I chose?!); dessert was a choice of a cream cake or mixed fruit or gelato. I chose gelato. Dessert is when we sort of lose our composure. Shirley ordered the mixed fruit for her dessert, and that is what she got--a pear, a banana, and an apple. Not pealed, not sliced. Just plain pieces of fruit sitting on a plate. We have had such a long day that we are rather silly and thought this display of the fruit as a dessert was the funniest thing we had seen in a long time. Someone even took a picture of the fruit on the plate.

After our wonderful meal and our silliness settle, we head to our room on the second floor. We throw back the shutters and stand on our balcony and look out at the bay. The darkness hides the bay so we really have no idea what our view is really like. We decide who is getting in the tub first, and it happens to be me. I retire to the bath and soak for a while. Afterward, I get ready for our trip to the Island of Capri the next day. I set the ol' reliable cell phone, and fall into my bed for a deep sleep.

#4 Sunday, March 9 Last Day in Florence or Punching Becky

Before I begin this next entry, I want to introduce my traveling companions.

The Adults

Front: Bill Nunley; Second row:Lisa Young, Diane Nunley, Susan Allen, Debbie Woodruff; Third row: Robert Sledge, Natalie Peeler, Mary Kat McDowell, Betty Barrett Rodgers, Susan Jordon, Patricia Brashier, Nan Randall, Diana McDowell, Cathy Dickerson; Fourth Row: Mary Ruth Brindley, Randy Randall, Shirley Turner; Back Row: John Brindley, Drew McDowell, Me. I hope our group picture made by some of the other cameras is better than this one.

Mini Bios

Shirley Turner and Cathy Dickerson--my traveling buddies and long time friends. I may have mentioned this before, but Shirley and I were in college together and in the same sorority, and our husbands were roommates at Delta State. Before we left on the trip, Shirley hurt her back and the sciatic nerve running down her right leg. As a result, she has a hard time sitting, especially for long periods of time. That is why you will see her standing in the pictures at mealtime. Cathy and her husband became our friends through Shirley and her husband. For the last several years, we have spent spring holidays together. This year the men went their way and the girls went to Italy.

Mary Ruth and John Brindley--the official tour guides. They have been taking IA "children" to Europe for the past 12 years. John is music director at First Methodist in Indianola and MR taught English at IA and now at MDCC. She is a great teacher and a long-time friend. John is a nut!!!!, a good nut, however.

Debbie Woodruff--official tour guide #2. Debbie has made most of the trips with the IA groups. I have known Debbie for a long time through tennis and our attending Bible study together. I enjoyed striking out with her on our last day in Rome so we wouldn't miss seeing anything we had come to see. She is also a master gardener, and one I can hardly wait to get to my house to help landscape my front flower bed with some color, preferably red.

Diane and Bill Nunley--from Greenwood but formerly lived in Indianola. I had the honor of teaching their three children. Bill and Dianne were acquaintances, but they are now friends. They are so much fun to be around and are ready for an adventure any time. Bill is the resident thespian and sings beautifully. His comment to me after I was separated from the group in Pisa was, "I am so glad we found you. This could have messed up the whole trip." Thanks Bill for your concern!!

Diane and Drew McDowell--from Indianola and like the Nunleys, former acquaintances but now friends. Drew is also another friend with whom I attend Bible study and have gotten to know through his mother who is my backdoor neighbor. Diane never meets a stranger. Drew had some anxiety over flying and the trip in general, but when we hit the Italian soil he was a changed man.

Mary Kat McDowell--my neighbor and friend. What a woman!!! She is 80 years old and never missed a step. She endeared herself to the kids, and her grandson was on the trip along with her son Drew and his wife Diane. They made a family affair of the trip.

Robert Sledge--was the backup man, literally. When we walked around, Robert was at the back of the group to keep up with the stragglers. He got to know me well since I tend to be a straggler (Do I need to mention Pisa?). I knew Robert from hearing him sing, but got to know him on this trip. His is a smart, well-read man with a kind heart.

Natalie Peeler--has made several of the IA trips and is from Shaw. She also attends Bible study with me and is a master gardener. I enjoyed picking her brain about plants. I consider her a true hero as she is a cancer survivor.

Lisa Young--was our resident nurse. Thank goodness for her and her recommendation about scopolimine patches, which you will learn about later. Susan is quiet, but I admire her for jumping in with a group of strangers and enjoying a trip to a foreign place. I learned later during the trip that she had an affinity for Austi Spumante, so we shared a bottle each of the last two nights in Rome. Salute, Lisa!

Susan Allen and Betty Barrett Rodgers-- a.k.a, the Sistas. You have to remember that although I have lived here for 30 years, I am still considered a foreigner to the Delta. I am a hill person from Tupelo so I still do not know all the ins and outs of the Delta and Indianola. It has only been in the last few years that I realized that Betty Barrett and Susan were sisters. Another one of those duh moments. They are fun to be around, and Susan can be a surrogate tour guide on a moment's notice.

Patricia Brashier--a gentle spirit who never raises her voice. How I aspire to be like this. Her daughter Ann Hall was on the trip too, and she reminds me so much of my Laura. Ann Hall is beautiful and fairly quiet (I'm sure her freinds would problably say differently), and it was obivous she loved her jeans and tennis shoes. She could dress with the best of them, but I think she liked comfort better. A girl after mine and Laura's hearts.

Susan Jordan--interior designer extraordinaire and traveler. Susan had made a previous trip to Italy and knew some of the places to visit and at which to eat. She is from Yazoo City, and her daughter joined up with the IA crew for the trip.

Nan and Randy Randall--they both also attend Bible study with me, and I have known them for many years but really got to know them better on this trip. They both are kind people who will go out of their way to do anything for this community, their church, and their friends.

We are on the go again . . . . . . . Sunday morning dawns with the alarm of the cell phone, and as they did the morning before, Shirley and Cathy spring up from their beds with a vigor that is totally foreign to me. I am not a morning person. I have to "work" on getting up, which may include all or some of going back to sleep for a few minutes, rolling over to Lance's side of the bed and going back to sleep a few more minutes, or turning on Good Morning America and going back to sleep for a few more minutes, or stretching and groaning about how much I hate morning and dragging myself out of the bed and stumbling to the bathroom. But, since I was with my buds, I kept the hysterics to a minimum and lay in my bed wondering how they just jump up so quickly and face the day.

Anyway, after getting my sore calves limbered up, I get up and get dressed in time to go to breakfast and eat one, maybe two, of the filled sweet croissants and pass on the coffee. We gather in the lobby and head as a group to church services at the Santa Croce Church not far from the hotel. We are a bit disappointed that the front of the church around the altar area is under restoration; so much of the beauty of the altar is hidden. The mass was completely in Italian with some Latin thrown in here and there, and the temperature gave meaning to the words "stone cold." There was no heat; imagine those early Italians not thinking of putting in duct work for the inclusion of heat in the 20th century. I have always been fascinated by the liturgy of the Catholic Church, and this Sunday was no exception. I understood a few words here and there and made out that the scripture reading and sermon was on Christ's raising of Lazarus. After the service, we visited the burial places of Galileo and Michelangelo inside the church.

After the service, as a group we head to the Piazza Michelangelo high above the city of Florence to get the grand view of the city and to make the first of several group pictures of the "children," and the adults took advantage of the time also to get one. The view of Florence is stunning from the piazza.

View of Florence from the Piazza Michelangelo

After arriving back in the city, we are on our own to see the sites and shop one more day before we leave on Monday morning for Sorrento. Shirley and Cathy and I strike out with several destinations in mind, one being the Ponte Vecchio, better known as the Punching Becky!

My friends Shirley and Cathy are elementary school teachers and sometimes their conversations amaze me as they talk about the various programs in our schools and how they struggle to teach children to read and comprehend. Apparently there all kinds of little "tricks" to get younger children to remember words and phrases, and I got to see one of these "tricks" in action. Cathy was having trouble remembering how to pronounce Ponte Vecchio, so she used the association trick of giving it another name in English that sounded fairly close to the Italian pronunciation, hence, Punching Becky.

A Brief History Lesson: The Ponte Vecchio, a.k.a The Punching Becky

There are several bridges that cross the Arno River in Florence, one of them being the Ponte Vecchio. The bridge is part of a walkway system that the Medicis built to walk to the Pitti Palace after they decided to leave the original Medici Palace (picture in post #2). On the bridge that was part of that walkway, there are shops that once housed the butchers and tanners of Florence, and the owners would dump the remains of the animals they slaughtered in the river. Apparently the stench was awful and the Medicis did not like the smell, so they evicted the butchers and tanners and instead let the gold merchants set up shop on the bridge. Until this day, the gold artisans still remain in these shops. The shop windows are filled with their beautiful gold creations that are said to total into the millions of dollars. During WWII the Ponte Vecchio was the only bridge in Florence that was not bombed by the Allies.

Class dismissed.

The Ponte Vecchio on the Arno River in Florence

We eat a quick lunch and wander across the Ponte Vecchio and soon realize our euros will not go far on this side of town so we head back to the Central Marker and Celeste to purchase a few more scarves and ties, like we didn't have enough already.

We finish our shopping and find our way back to the Uffizzi Museum. I am finally going to get to see The Birth of Venus. After going through airport security measures, we are inside and ready for viewing. We stroll down the main corridor lined with sculptures and dart in rooms whose walls are hung with some of the most beautiful paintings. I am on the lookout for Venus, but she is nowhere to be found. The afternoon is passing quickly, and I am beginning to think that like the Leaning Tower, I have made it all this way and will not get to see my entry on my bucket list. We run into some of our group and ask if they have seen Venus, and they point us in the right direction. There she is in all her nude glory. On the adjoining wall is the other painting entitled Spring. I can now mark another item of the list, and I am not even separated from my group! We finish our viewing and visit the souvenir shop to make our purchases and head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

We couldn't take pictures in the Uffizzi, but above is a copy of Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. I'm still not sure why pictures of this painting have always fascinated me, but it is stunning to see it in person.

We arrive at the hotel in time to check our e-mail and get ready to go out to eat for our last meal in Florence. We have reservations at La Martinica. It is too far for us to walk, and it is raining fairly hard, so we take our first taxi ride of the trip. Now, I haven't ridden in a taxi too many times, New York and London being the extent of my taxi experiences, but I think we literally put our lives in the hands of our taxi driver. He sped around the narrow streets like a man possessed for at least 10 minutes. We arrive and pay him 15 euros for the trip. Remember 10 minutes and 15 euros.

I can't let the post finish without a description of our meal. The restaurant is quaint and our waiter is so personable. We learn that his wife is from the states, and he shows us pictures of his children. Where have they been hiding this man? He needs to give nice lessons to some of his countrymen.

Our anti pasta is a spinach tortellini with a tomato, basil and cream sauce (a sauce I want to try to recreate). Our meal is a chicken cutlet with mushroom sauce and roasted garlic potatoes. Dessert is a wonderful tiramisu, not too bitter, and a chocolate cream cake. What can I say, another great meal. The tortellini were the hit of the meal. Everyone commented on how good they were.

We catch a taxi back to the hotel. Can you say sucker? The ride back to the hotel lasts approximately 5 minutes and costs 11 euros. I hope the other driver enjoyed his extra money at the expense of the "Americanos stupido." I'm sure the same thing happens to tourists who come to the U.S. Why can't we all just behave?!

We get back to our room and get our bags ready for the next morning because we are heading to Sorrento. I set my cell phone and I fall in the bed exhausted.

It's Time to Vent!

To all of you who are waiting anxiously for the next post on the Italy trip (I know there are so many of you out there), you will still have to wait another day or two. Last week my precious family came for a four day visit after which I had to take to the bed for three days. I have heard many of my grandparent friends relay the familiar story of how wonderful it is to see the tail lights of their children's vehicles after a visit, and I can say that was the case for me this past Sunday afternoon, not because they drove me crazy or wore me out, but because I was so sick I could hardly hold my head up. The meanest stomach bug knocked me down with a sledge hammer, and I have lived on instant mashed potatoes, skittles, and diet Dr. Pepper for this entire week. These are the only food items that will stay in me. I am suppose to go to Shapley's tonight to eat, and I have no idea what I am going to order to eat now that I am in the land-of- the-living and do not want to go back to the land-of-lying-in-bed and halfway watching television.

Now, this is where the vent comes in. I am a Christian and a Methodist by domination via the Baptist Church. I was raised a Baptist and had a short stint in the Episcopal Church as a way to bridge the difference between my husband's Catholic upbringing and my Southern Baptist legacy. We eventually joined the Methodist Church when we returned to Mississippi in 1979 after starting our married life together in Florida. The reason I inform you of this is to explain that although Methodists do not actively mark the 40 days of Lent by having to give up something, my husband and I usually will decide on giving up something as a way to reinforce discipline in our lives, if only for 40 days. Note: Whatever you give up has to be a sacrifice. My giving up brussell sprouts would not be a sacrifice; believe me.

So this is where my vent takes its creation. Lance gave up drinking beer, and I gave up watching television, a real sacrifice for me. My good friend Shirley never watches television and her life goes on quite well, even though when we all get together and begin discussing something that has happened on a national level or some weird happening that has taken TV by storm, she just looks at us like we are crazy. So I thought if she can do it all the time, I could do it for 40 days. They were the most wonderful 40 days of my life, even if I did not get to see the latest Design to Sell on HGTV or jot down one of Giada's wonderful Italian recipes. I missed Bill O'Rilley's Patriots and Pinheads ( no big deal), but I did miss Robin and Dianne and Chris on Good Morning America as I dressed in the mornings. But the truly serious withdrawal came when I could not watch Law and Order (Yes, I have seen them all at least 6 times if not more, but I can not get enough and I love Jack's gray hair).

Here's what I realized after 40 days of no TV:

I know the Lord led me to stop watching TV for Lent.
The TV for the most part (probably because I get only basic cable) is aptly named the idiot box.

I got more done around my house.
I read some of the most wonder stuff, both spiritual and pleasurable.
Lance and I talked more because he pretty much observed the no TV rule while I was in the room.
My insominia went away.
Most importanly, what is considered news is a bunch of crap!

What prompted this particular blog is what I have heard on TV these last few days while I recovered from the sledge hammer blow:

A man is having a baby!?????? Just because techonology allows us to do whatever, does it make it right?

Some third graders were planning on hurting or maybe even killing their teacher. What happened to playing hop scotch, tag, dodge ball, and writing notes of check yes or no so I will know if you like me or not.

A girl is being criminally charged because her bus driver could not or would not take charge of a situation on her own bus. Did you ever hear the threat, "If you get in trouble at school, you will be in double trouble when you get home."

Hilliary lied about sniper fire. What is news about that? She lied? Wow! Who'd a thought that?

McCain made a gaff in Iraq. Like he's the only one?!!!!!

O'Bama is allied with a minister who can't keep his mouth shut. Does the media not know the dynamic of the black church in the south?

Mississippi legislators are worried more about killing deer over feeding plots than our failing Medicaid system and the fact that we do not have enough certified teachers in this state. Looks like the good ole boys are still in charge despite all the supposed progress that has been made in our state.

There are enough feel good television evangelists to make the good Lord above shake his head in disgust and wonder if they have really read His word. I shutter at all the "if you can name it, you can claim it" drivel or the "we are all trying to get to heaven; there are just different ways to get there" response. Yeah, right!

Jack still wins the same case he won when I watched the story the last time. However, his gray hair is still attractive.

What have I learned from all this wonderful "news"? Lent or no Lent, I am not watching TV anymore !!!!!

Now you know where Laura gets her ability to vent. The apple does not fall far from the tree!!!!! Italy trip narrative will return soon. Happy reading.