What I did on my Fall Vacation...

I mentioned Venice already, so I won't linger there. Except to say that it was FABULOUS!!!
I mean, canals? Water buses? Fine Venetian dining? Gondolas? And Venetians to sing to one???! What can I say but "Ahhhh."

The four of us.
Traveling companions extraordinaire.

ME. In a gondola!

GONDOLA!
Again.

Mmmm.
When I serve cheese, it doesn't look anything like this!

From there, Florence:
Three days of art, fantastic views. Delicious food.
And shopping for leather. (You've found my weakness. Leather. I think it stems from my ranching days.)

Really famous door.
Apparently, there was a really famous contest.
And this was the really famous winner.
I'm fuzzy on the facts, but it was at the top of my historian Husby's 'to see' list of all time!

Admit it. Poseidon has a really cute butt.
Actually, most of Florence was statued (real word) with really cute butts...

Ponte Vecchio.
A somewhat (okay really) famous bridge over the river Arno.
It was so fun. Shops lining both sides.
We ate in one of the restaurants.
I think right in the middle where the arches are...

You put a coin in and let it fall, then rub his cute little snout and you're guaranteed to return.
And hey! Who doesn't want to rub a boar's snout?

See? What did I tell you?
The For Real David. From the other side.

Okay, this is the normal view of the For Real David.
It just always makes me feel cold...

A quick side trip out to Tuscany to eat a winery
And drop by this little place...

A genuine Florentine steak.
And man, was it good!
Those Florentines. They know steak.

And then on to Rome.

Which, sadly, I missed. 

I got real close and personal with my bed.

And the bathroom.

Sigh.

Not sure, but it may have been that Florentine steak...

I did see the Trevi Fountain...

And this.
Which I kind of put on my 'Yikes' list.

 My wonderful traveling companions took me through the Vatican Museum in a wheelchair, but I really didn't take in much.
A picture of Mary and the baby Jesus.
And I vaguely remember the Sistine Chapel.
I think.

Then on to the next adventure...
The Sail Away.
It was our ninth trip on board a clipper ship.
Absolutely our favourite mode of travel.

Our steed. The Royal Clipper.

The view from our window.

And yes, I spent most of my trip in the nets at the bow of the ship.
It's just like flying...

And you meet really interesting people.

Fabulous sunrises.
(Hmmm...If God had wanted us to actually see the sunrises, He would have scheduled them later in the day. Am I right?)
And sunsets. 

Tomorrow:
Everything else.
Or:
What I saw from the ship.
On the rest of my trip.
Ha!