Heating Up in Italy

Bonjourno from Italy,

We have been in Italy for a few days now and have managed to not gain weight from the heaps of pasta and gelato we have consumed. This is because we have sweated it off or so we hope! It is boiling hot. It is just about 5PM and it is 36 degrees feeling like 39 with the humidity. Last night at just after 8 it was 38 degrees! We are off to Rome tomorrow and it will be slightly cooler but still in the 30s. Despite this heat we are enjoying the sites of Italy.

Venice was our introduction to Italy and our first try of true gelato. I am making it my goal to try as many different flavours as possible. We are working hard on my goal as my travel mate and I have had it everyday in Italy. Venice was a lovely city despite the heat. We went on a gondola ride through the city. During our walking tour we saw many different churches and bridges including the Bridge of Sighs and the Rialto Bridge. We then went to a glass blowing factory for a live demonstration. There were lots of interesting but pricey pieces. We then had an awesome pizza lunch with some people from the tour before exploring Venice on our own. Later on we had a demonstration at a lace factory before going out to our Venetian dinner. We had the chance to try various pastas including my favourite-gnocchi as well as hear great accordion music

Yesterday we drove to Florence but stopped at Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Unfortunately, we weren't able to straightened it up. Today, we went to a leather factory shop and saw how they make the leather products. It was an interesting demonstration. We then went on a walking tour and saw many of the famous statues before walking around our own. Tonight we are off to a Tuscan feast. The food is supposed to be quite good so I am looking forward to it.

A few observations and stories before I go get ready for dinner. We are finding that a lot of the rooms have mold in them especially this current one-gross. Other than that most hotels have been decent. We had an issue yesterday with a lack of a second top sheet. I thought the receptionist understood me but then he sent the porter up with me and it led to an awkward conversation and moving situation with the non-English speaking porter. Then this morning my travel partner put out the electricity with her hair dryer so she had to go and speak to the front desk. Luckily, it was fixed easily. The porter guy just came up to me and pointed at my me and my wallet and asked me something. I just nodded as I had no clue what was going on. Odd!  I forgot to mention how my travel buddy and I got caught in a hail storm in Austria. It was quite an experience running to find shelter in the hail. Luckily, it didn't hail for long and we were able to run back to our hotel which wasn't far away. I best go get ready now.

Ciao!