Friday, July 31

One last entry: Betsey; you WILL go with us the next time. I greatly missed you!!!!

Wednesday, July 23

We are heading home today. I'm leaving with such mixed emotions. I honestly think I could live in Italy and be perfectly happy. If my family were there, I'd have no problems. Don't think I could be away from my children, grandchildren, parents, and siblings though. Oh yeh, my two nephews too. I don't want to be away from them. It's hard enough having my oldest daughter and her family living in MS.

I heard the door open very early and Beth leaving. She had to leave for the airport at 5:00AM. I jumped out of bed so I could tell her goodby. Although Beth is technically my husbands cousin, she is my cousin too. More important than that, she is my friend and I truly love her!! We've had many adventures together and I look forward to many more!!! Have a safe flight--

Holly and I are up at 6:00 to get ready to leave. I'm sad. She's ready to get home and I want to stay. I understand her needing to get home though. Many things happened in her family while she was gone. Mostly, the death of her mother- in -law. She'll have many emotions to deal with upon arrival back in the states!!

As we were boarding the bus to take us out to the plane, I heard someone yell Debbie. I looked over and it was Sally and Nan getting on their bus. Goodby new friends. I hope to see you again one day. And so the long flights begin. First up, Florence to Frankfurt Germany. Pretty uneventful. We sleep a while on this flight. We have about a 2 1/2 hour layover in Frankfurt. As we're walking from one terminal to another, we notice a huge crowd gathered and music. We look over as we pass by and see a group of 5 dressed alike and they begin to sing a Frank Sinatra song to karaoke!!! We bust out laughing. This airport is absolutely huge. Like a two story shopping mall. Stores everywhere. We get to our gate after going through their customs and wait. A short note regarding the Frankfurt airport. We went through security checkpoints about 5 different times. I've never seen anything like it. Of course, I ALWAYS get stopped because of my camera equipment. This time, I get a cute guard that guides me over to the "extra" security station while Holly waits, AGAIN for me. Another funny happened then. He says he's going to check out my equipment for explosives and as he looks at me, he squints his eyes and says "you're explosive". OMG----that has to be the worst pick up line I've ever heard. Well, other than my grandson saying "if you were a booger, I'd pick you!" He actually said that to a little girl. He's 7 years old!!!!!! And quite the Romeo I might add.

I passed the "explosives" test and was sent on my way.

While waiting for our flight, we encounter several strange things. A european woman was sitting behind us in a chair nursing her child. No cover-up was being used. There was an American guy who I think literally was the actor in the movie Deliverance (not really, but he looked the part) who was straining his neck to watch this taking place. Across from us was a man and his wife who were stretched out on the seats, taking up about 6 seats. I had gone to get us a bottle of water and when I got back, Holly said I missed it. The man decided to pass gas and never flinched. The three little boys sitting behind him were cracking up. I can say I'm glad I missed that. When he stood up to board the plane, I swear to God he had hair on and in his ears that were at LEAST 3 inches long. The hair curled outside his ears. I've never seen anything like it!!! I knew our last day would be eventful but not expecting this.

The flight was long, long, long!!!!!!!! Our seats were awful and we had very little room. I couldn't even set up my computer without it being right in my chest. We tried to sleep but it was very sparse. Can't wait to get off the darn plane. I'm soooo tired of flying.

We arrive in Denver and go through customs. All cleared and bags rechecked. One more security checkpoint. Damn!!! The bottles of Limoncello that we had purchased and had been carefully wrapped and marked, were being confiscated in Denver!!!! I was so mad--I had 3 bottles and Holly had 1. Guess I'll have to have my new Italian friend send me some since you can't buy that kind in the states.

We're off--one more hour and we will arrive back in OK. It's good to be home back sad to be away from my new love, Italy!!!

Thanks to all of you for reading my blog. My neighbor Lori told me it wasn't a blog, it was a novel. I know it's long but wanted everyone to experience the things that we experienced. Plus, I want to relive it over and over. I never want the memories to fade!!!!!!

---debbie malone

Tuesday, July 22

Our last day in Italy!!!!!!! I think this is the first long vacation I've ever taken that I wasn't ready to go home. I absolutely love Italy. I love everything about it. The sounds, the smells, the history, the people, and the FOOD!!!!!!! I love that the people are laid back and take time to enjoy their life. They are not rushed to go from one thing to another. Meals go on for hours because people actually sit there and have conversations. They're not in a hurry to get the bill and leave. We had two goals to accomplish today. One, we had tickets to go see Michelangelo's David and the other was shopping for gifts for family. Since we had booked our tickets in advance, we didn't have to stand in line to get in. We had a time to be there, handed them our ticket and walked right in!!!! I couldn't believe that I was viewing history in the flesh!! The statue had me standing in awe. The details in it were incredible. Right down to the veins in his feet and hands---Wow!!! Statues were described to us by our guide in Rome as the way that people were preserved. Like we take photos now, they did statues or busts back then. Made perfectly good sense to me. The have the David roped off so that people can't actually touch it but you are right there looking at him.

Now off to the task of finding some lunch. We found a cute little place with sandwiches and pasta down by one of the open markets. I had bruschetta and a bottle of cold water. It was soooo very hot and we couldn't seem to get enough water. Our feet were swollen and sore from all the walking and heat but we went on. After all, this was our last day in Italy :-(

We decided to split up at the market so we could each look for what we wanted without having to wait on the other while they shopped. Great idea. We met back at the fountain in an hour or so. So many bargains!! We had a blast and felt good about our purchases. Now back to the hotel as it was evening. One stop on the way though. Louis Vuitton, here we come!!!!!

It was getting late. We wanted to get cleaned up and head out for a wonderful dinner on what was our last night in Florence, Italy. Actually, our last night in Italy period. The front desk had suggested a restaurant called Mama Gina's. For some reason, we headed in the direction that we were told but didn't seem to find it immediately. However, we did find the actual Pitti Palace where the Medici family once lived!!! So, lesson on hand, sometimes we don't always find what we're looking for the first time around. We may, however, find something that we always wanted to see!!! We saw the Pitti Palace!!!!! Around the corner and down the street was Mama Gina's. A wonderful meal we had that night. Our waiters were quite frisky and especially with three blonde women from the United States. As we were leaving, one of them said to me, "oh, you yummy"!!! We laughed and laughed and laughed. Had he been cute it would have been one thing. Not the case though. That made it even funnier. So, the term "yummy" was born.

Beth had a 7:00AM flight to catch so we packed up and headed off to our rooms for some sleep. Sleep was hard to come by for me though. I was sad to be leaving this new country that I had fallen in love with. Holly and I had to leave for the airport at 8:00. Good-night!!

Monday, July 20

I'm sorry Venice but I have to leave you today! I'm leaving with regrets that I didn't get to see all there was to see. I guess that's what makes great travelers though. We know that we have to go back to get in all there is to offer.

We decided to hire a private water taxi to take us across the canal to the train station. Handling bags on a public one was a bit much. Yeah, one more move and we're finished with these stupid, heavy bags. Note to self: only pack a few essential pieces and keep alternating them with jewelry and scarves. No more of this 10 outfit stuff for me!!!!!!!!!! I should have known better as I've been to Europe many times before.

On the train and headed back to Florence for our last day and a half in Italy. We have no agenda today other than to shop and explore. Florence has many open markets where anything you could possibly want can be found and purchased. Most of all, purses and belts of all kinds!! Scarves by the millions and mens ties. I'm in heaven.

When we checked in to our hotel, we were speechless. It was an old Palace that is now a hotel. The lady behind the desk actually greeted us at the door and took us up the old elevator to the 3rd floor. When I stepped in the elevator, there was a little loveseat in there. I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. "Well color me happy--there's room in here for two"---that was only the beginning. Oh my gosh! We had our own corridor where a plate of different kinds of teas were arranged and a bucket of ice. Something that europe doesn't offer unless you ask for it. Wow--she opened the doors to our suite and our mouths dropped. There was a couch, a loveseat, several chairs and a HUGE beautiful stone fireplace. Many furnishings as well. To the right was a big bedroom with a king size bed and even a treadmill kind of thing. We laughed and said it was to work off all the pasta we had eaten. This bathroom had a jacuzzi tub, double sink, and a separate shower. To the left was another bedroom with another king size bed. No tub in this bathroom though. Just a shower. Oh darn. I forgot to mention too that each bathroom had it's own bidet. I lived in Madrid Spain for almost 3 years many years ago so I was familiar with bidets. We unpacked and decided to go find some lunch (like we were starving you know). We asked at the front desk for a recommendation and they told us the little trattoria just across the street called Dante was great. We took their suggestion and headed off. We definitely were not disappointed!! I had a wonderful pasta and a lovely bottle of chianti. It was great!!!!! After lunch, we headed off exploring and shopping. Two of our friends that we met at Cooking School were supposedly staying at the Pitti Palace Hotel which was just down the street from where we were staying. We walked down there and I inquired about them at the front desk. I was told that they were not there. Hmmmmmmm-maybe they went home early or decided not to stay there. Darn--we really wanted to see them one last time. We walked back to the Ponte Vecchio and I headed off to shoot some more photos. Holly and Beth looked in some of the shops lining the Ponte which is one gold shop after another. I really wanted a gold necklace and bracelet but didn't really find one that was in my budget. Oh well, my gold lies in the photos I shoot and it was pure enjoyment for me. Carrying the camera around, however, was not!!!!!!!!

Shopped out, we head back to the hotel to relax for a bit. By now, we are totally exhausted and I think our two weeks of non-stop going is catching up with us. Once rested a bit, we head back out for a bit more shopping. Low and behold we ran in to our two friends that we had looked for earlier. Sally and Nan. They were college friends and have done several of these trips together. Both live in Columbus, Ohio. We invite them up to our hotel so they can see our room (suite). We still can't believe that that's where we're staying!!! They were in awe of it as well.

Dinner time--we tell them about the little Trattoria across the street and we decide it was so good that we'll go back for dinner. So the five of us head back to Dante's!!!! I would highly recommend this place. Everything was wonderful. Food, service, wine and location. We laugh and recall our past week at Cooking School. It's late and we're all ready for bed. We hug and vow to keep up with one another. New friends: I love making new friends!!!!!

Sunday, July 19

Good morning Sunday. The streets of Venice begin very early. We don’t really have an agenda while in Venice but we decide that we would like to go out to the island of Burano. Someone had told us that it is a very photographed place with all of it’s brightly colored houses. We decide that we would like to go out there and spend the majority of the day. It’s our last day in Venice and we want to see as much as we possibly can. Not really being able to figure out the public water taxi situation (we are experts now) we decide to hire a private water taxi to take us over to Burano. It cost us 100Euros to get out to the island. They weren’t kidding when they described it as an island with very brightly colored houses. I was born in Bermuda and remember my parents talking about how the houses were painted different colors. I’m sure that Burano is very similar in that respect.

Today is the birthday of my oldest grandchild, Brayden McKenzie Sexton. He is 10 years old today and I can remember seeing him for the very first time right after he was born. He was so beautiful and still is. He’s such a caring little boy and absolutely beautiful still. Of course I’m not proud or anything. Happy Birthday Brayden. I will call him later in the day since it’s still the middle of the night for them back in the states.

From far away, we can see all of the brightly colored houses that remind me of the houses that are all attached to one another in San Francisco. When we step off the boat, we realize that this little island is totally different than the big island of Venezia (Venice, in Italian). We don’t know which direction to go first. We decide to just take off like we’ve been there many times before. Everywhere you look are houses and canals with boats filling the canal. Some locals are out on the street (or sidewalk) with their children or just out taking a Sunday morning stroll. This place is so laid back and even though there are a lot of tourists there, it is still very mild compared to the big island. My camera was in full operation on this day. I just didn’t want to miss anything and especially with all the different colors everywhere.

After walking around for a while, we decide that we are hungry. Imagine that! In Italy and hungry—gee—what to eat. We found a small local restaurant with no other Americans eating there. Our kind of place. Not a tourist trap and we were sure the food would be good. It was extremely hot and our water was being deplenished by the second so Beth and I ordered a ½ Liter of the house wine which was a rose. When it arrived at our table, we were in for a surprise (a pleasant one at that) as the wine was chilled. Just what we needed on such a hot day. We enjoyed it so much, we ordered another ½ Liter. It seemed like we sat there for a couple of hours just resting and staying under the awning of shade. Not really sure how long we were there, but it sure felt nice.

A little more exploring on the island of Burano and we were ready to leave. We decided to take the actual public water taxi back to the main island. We were so proud of ourselves as we finally figured out that they are marked with their route on the sides. If only we had discovered that before we paid the 100Euros to get over there. Oh well—it was worth it and it was fun. We felt special. Our boat driver was cute and he had on the coolest green suede Italian shoes!! White shorts, white shirt with the collar up and green shoes. Yummy! (keep your eye out for this word Yummy as you’ll see it in the last blog entry as well.)

On the way back to the main island, we passed the little separate island which houses the cemetery. We decided to take the water taxi BACK over there so we could look around. Little did we realize that it was 5:30 and the cemetery gates close at 6:00. It gave us enough time to wander around though. We noticed that there were several graves that had either greek or Russian names on them. Not sure the reason behind that. I guess I’ll have to read up on that particular cemetery. On the way back, we passed the port for the island of Murano which is known for it’s Murano glass and all of the glass factories. We thought it was mainly filled with industrial stuff but we made a mistake by not stopping there. It looked like a little artists community. Next trip I will definitely make a trip over to Murano.

Back on Venice—we make our way via the long route to our hotel for our last night there. On our way, we stumbled upon the church of John and Paul. Oh my gosh!! It was absolutely beautiful inside AND they were getting ready to begin Sunday evening Mass. This church was wonderful and the next time I go to Venice, and I WILL go again, I’ll spend more time in there. I would have loved to have spent the time to attend Mass that night but we were tired and hadn’t had dinner yet.

Back at the hotel, we get cleaned up and head out for our last supper in Venice. Our intention was to eat at a place that was listed as the number 1 choice on TripAdvisor. We really wanted to eat outside but all the tables were taken. They were able to seat us inside and so we sat. All three of us looked at the menu and decided there really wasn’t anything listed on there that sounded good. So, one by one, we all got up and headed outside without saying a word to anyone. We had a good chuckle once we were out. Our wandering began again to find a restaurant where we could sit outside AND with a decent menu AND a nice price point. We ended up at a cute little restaurant right on Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square). Our food arrived quickly and was very good. Another thing with the waiter though when he brought the bill. He says to us “the tip is not included”. You don’t tell 3 American women that a tip is not included. So we left less than what we normally would have. By the way, they DID charge a 15% fee that they call a service charge just for sitting at their table. Go figure!!

The photos of my feet come with a story: before I left for Italy, the three of us bought a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes. For Holly and myself it was our first pair. For Beth, well, for Beth it wasn't!! However, I had big ideas to photograph our shoes alone in each of the cities we visited. That didn't happen so I decided to take a photo of my shoes (foot) hanging over the banister of our room on our last night in Venice. "Hello Lover" as Carrie Bradshaw would say. And so is my obsession with shoes-----

It’s time for bed. We want to spend our last night there with the sounds and smell of Venice and the canal so we sleep with the window open. The sound of the church bells ringing is a sound I really miss. It’s just magical—Good night Venice!!

Saturday, July 18th

Saturday has arrived and off we head back to Florence. It takes us an hour to get down off the mountain. The roads are narrow and windy and the drivers go whizzing by you so they can pass. To my dad if you’re reading this, it’s just like it was when we were living in Spain. They make 5 lanes out of a three lane road and that doesn’t include motorcycles (Vespa’s) or bicycles. They are free to roam in and out of traffic as they please. Probably to a normal Italian driver, it may have taken them 30 minutes to get down but I wasn’t about to go fast and downhill to boot. No sir—I’ll take it slow thank you. Once down, it was about another hour to the Florence airport to return the rental car. Thanks to my “co-navigators” we didn’t make a wrong turn once. It was the easiest check in I’ve ever done. They had you pull in a slot, get your stuff out, hand them the agreement, and take the keys. All done and halleluja I’m done with the car!! Yippee. We get in the first taxi we see and have him take us to the train station where we catch a fast train to Venice. Fast meaning a little over two hours time. I did have one exciting thing happen at the train station. As we were walking to the ramp where our train was parked, I spotted a little person. When I looked, it was Amy Roloff, the mother in the TLC show "Little People, Big World". Two of her children were with her. I went up to her and told her I enjoyed her show. She was very sweet. After I walked back over to where Beth was standing, I decided I would ask if I could take a photo. Not only did I take a photo, one of the guys on the camera crew took my camera and shot some pics of me with them. I figured my grandchildren would enjoy seeing them.

The train station sits right on the canal and when you walk outside the station, there are masses of people waiting to catch a private water taxi or the public water taxi where everyone seems to want to get off and on at the same time. That’s not too bad when it’s just you that you have to worry about. When there’s three of you and each of us with STILL too much luggage, it can become a problem. We weren’t real sure where to go once we got off and I struck up a conversation with a little man on the taxi and he said for us to follow him. He would show us where we needed to go. Only problem was, there are two hotels on Venice with similar names and he got them mixed up. No worries, one of the bell hops took some of our luggage and showed us to the correct hotel. Our room wasn’t ready when we checked in so we asked them if we could leave our luggage and wander until it was time to do so. Heaven forbid we have to lug our suitcases all over Venice until then. Not going to happen. Once outside the hotel, Beth drops a pin on her iPhone so we know exactly where we are JUST IN CASE we can’t find our way back. We were totally surprised when we found ourselves at the edge of Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square). We are taking it all in. They have these yellow chairs set up all over the Piazza and people can order a glass of wine and/or eat as well. We decide to sit down and order a glass of wine. Ha—little did we know that one single glass of wine would be 10Euros each and the waiter in his white coat, black tie and white pants, reminded us that a tip was NOT included!!!!!! Ok buddy, you just knocked yourself down from a great tip to a cheap tip for that comment.

Wine finished, we wander some more and come upon another part of the canal. This is the Grand Canal that goes out to Sea if you travel far enough on it. We are curious about the gondola rides even though none of us are in Italy with our spouses. However, it would be a shame to be in Venice and not go on a gondola ride. Beth and I head over to a little stand and inquire. We are told that tonight is the biggest celebration in Venice.

We wander the streets (streets with absolutely no cars that is) trying to decide where to get some dinner. Of all the wonderful food, we end up at the Hard Rock Café!!! I can say though that it was the only time in our 16 days that we have had American food. I didn’t miss it at all. The only thing I really missed was a green salad every once in a while.

The goldolas go out in the middle of the canal, along with literally hundreds of other gondolas and boats and yachts to watch the largest firework celebration ever!!!!! They weren’t kidding. It was 60Euros each for us and each gondola holds 6 people. We ended up in one with a lady named Ann from England that lives in Paris, a young Japanese fellow and a german lady from Munich that has an apartment in Venice. We were to be back at the Pier at 10 till 11 so we could go out and get our spot. I thought I would remember the exact spot where we paid for our ticket but apparently that didn’t happen. We had to weave our way through the crowds that reminded me of a rat in a maze. I can’t even begin to estimate how many people were there for this once a year event. We walked across the bridge to where we thought it was and I didn’t think it looked right. I told Beth it I thought it was back on the other side so off we trekked only to NOT find what we were looking for. Beth was right—it was back at the first place we went to so back we headed a second time.. Success—we got in line and quickly we were climbing into a gondola. It definitely was a first for all of us. Words could not even describe the experience of that night. Fireworks like we have never seen before, any of us!! At one point, I leaned over to Beth and told her this was nothing—they do this in Fletcher all the time. We had a little chuckle.

I tell you one thing, as soon as the show was over, it was no time and we were back at the dock to get out. They have it down to a science as to how to get people off the canal quickly. As we head back to our hotel, we walk through Piazza San Marco again. There are three different spots around the square where they have live music. Mostly classical but everyone enjoys listening to them. Families together, young and old. I could easily get used to the Italian way of living.

Ahhh-hotel room, sweet hotel room. How good that bed looks. We are exhausted and it takes us no time to fall asleep. Tomorrow is another day and we have many alleys, bridges and canals to explore. Good night Venice.