oh yes my friends, that's a starbucks coffee... and that's the cereal aisle.
so the venture of the day: the cereal aisle.....
which by the way, they have come up with some interesting concoctions to claim as cereal and i don't know who has some of these particular tastes or are looking for that in a cereal but whatever. for example Kelloggs cereal straws?? or yogurt burst?? that can't be tastey
but i'm alive and i made it through without too much trauma to my psyche. i did stand in the aisle for some 20 or so minutes (but just to point out, most other acclimated americans wandered from one end to another and back, just as indecisive. )
THEN a grocery store attendant walked by and asked if we needed help, we said no thank you, and he LEFT. just like that. i was confused... why didn't he follow us around and stand within 5 feet of us??
so the venture of the day: the cereal aisle.....which by the way, they have come up with some interesting concoctions to claim as cereal and i don't know who has some of these particular tastes or are looking for that in a cereal but whatever. for example Kelloggs cereal straws?? or yogurt burst?? that can't be tastey
but i'm alive and i made it through without too much trauma to my psyche. i did stand in the aisle for some 20 or so minutes (but just to point out, most other acclimated americans wandered from one end to another and back, just as indecisive. )
THEN a grocery store attendant walked by and asked if we needed help, we said no thank you, and he LEFT. just like that. i was confused... why didn't he follow us around and stand within 5 feet of us??
the world may never know.
Vasha picked me up from the airport bearing amazing gifts of homemade chocolate chip cookies and a cold DR Pepper! can life GET any better?? i submit that it cannot!
and this is Vasha (pronounced Va-shay for those who don't know her). 
and this is Matt Davis, they are some of my best friends in the world. 
on some of the walls of the houses, you could still see bits or larger scenes of the original frescoes and paintings. it was incredible.
When Mt Vesuvius erupted, it covered everything in ash. when archaeologists were excavating the area nearly 1800 years later, they found voids or pockets in the layers of the ash... Realizing that these voids were left by the decomposed bodies of those unable to escape; plaster was poured into the pockets and this allows us to catch a glimpse into the last moments of their lives. Eerie and strangely intrigueing all at the same time because on some you could see the terror on their faces. A little history lesson for ya kids.
Then we continued on to Sorrento on the Amalfi coast.... 
stopping in Positano:
and Amalfi Town:
we went to St Peter in Chains Church near the colleseum and saw the chains that they said held Peter at one time and also Michaelangelo's Moses.
we headed to the Colloseum and Roman Forum... it was soo cool! It was so neat to envision what rome had looked like at the height of its glory...
oh and here's me killing the guard with his sword... he should've let me bargain and given me a good price.....ha.
we walked to the Pantheon....
Then we went to the Trevi Fountain... 
and threw in our coins in true tourist fashion.... 
The next day we said ciao to Roma and headed to Venezia. 
Venice is fantastic! such an incredible place and so quiet. No horns were honking or people crowding you....
so me and aunt paula floated down the canals in a gondola with our singing and aspiring historian...aka the gondola driver. (actually got to bargain with him, muahaha)
********************************comic relief: isn't it cute??***********************
we went to the Uffizi gallery... and the Accademia, where you can see Michaelangelo's David
we also headed down to Ponte Vecche and across the bridge to Pitti Palace.
This is the Duomo near our hotel.
************************This pic is for all my friends in india who have just returned from Egypt or are going soon to visit.... i'm there in spirit!!! ********************************
********************************************************************* 
Then on our way back to Florence we stopped in Pisa to see the Tower. i think we were there a grand total of 20 minutes. hop on a bus from the train station... snap snap snap of the camera... back on the bus and you're back on the train before you know it.
We hired a guide who drove us around "under the tuscan sun". we visited several old towns
and 2 vineyards, 
one of which is a self- sufficient farm. 
We had lunch with the owner and he served us pasta they make there... grow their own wheat and everything. even the sauce was made from scratch from the vegetables they grow on their property. it was delicious (& we got the recipe!! it was a girl's grandmothers recipe. how cool??) 
