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Italy slideshow test post

Just trying a new feature for a photo slideshow.
B

Homeward bound

Homeward bound! Well, after some last minute purchases in Pisa, we walked to the bus stop to catch one to the airport only to find there was some bus problem that morning. Good thing we left early. We had to trundle all the way to the train station and luckily we had, by some quirk, already bought train tickets. Dave then misread the train schedule and we ended up running, unnecessarily, to the platform. Nothing like getting hot and sweaty before a long flight full of passengers!
The first leg was long but there were some spare seats so we all sprawled and made the best of the 3 movies and free wine and beer. Alcohol or no alcohol - either way you're jacked but a little wine does "take the edge off" (famous words from B and Mel).  
The second leg was brutal, 24 hrs straight... even espresso wasn't working but we made home and passed out. What a day!
 

Pisa and back

The famous tower.

The view of Cinque Terre from our plane home.

The cathedral door in Pisa.

B

Florence by foot

Sept 15 2009
Stacy and I spent most of the day, walking around Florence, stumbling through throngs of market shoppers and gawking every corner at the statues and intricate architectural sculpture.
We also went to the Palazzo Pitti upon a friend's recommendation. It was very quiet compared to the crowds surrounding the Uffizi. We saw the most stunning mosaic tables and of course lots of Renaissance paintings. The ultimate for me was the Gallerie d'arte moderna there. The absolutely gobsmacking collection of paintings and oil sketches from the 1800-mid. 1900's. We left there in a daze. I could easily spend a year at that place!
At night we went out to a vegetarian eatery that was nice and relaxing and cruised back through town and sampled some excellent gelato (nocciola and frutti di bosco).

Being iPhone nerds

After a rough night in the park, we unwind by checking emails in our
hotel.

Florence

Today the crew split up. B and I explored all the hot spots and got
lost. Florence is definitely historical, but I'm ready to say goodbye.
Me and the big city don't get along too well for vacay. :)
Pic 1 is the Ponte Vecchico that is a bridge full of jewelry.
Pic 2 is a view of a cool pic of a street.
Pic 3 was our view at lunch.

Eating crapy take-away in a Florence park

Yep, we ate some horrible, barely edible pasta in a Florence park.
There were bums, street tiffs and tourists all hanging out together.

Europe is just awesome for grabbing some food and a cold one and
heading outdoors.

Firenze...

Sept 14 2009
We jetted out of Corniglia early. Good timing with the wet weather anyway...most of the trails coastal trails are closed due to rockslides. D and I slugged the 400 odd steps down to the train station for some last Cinque Terre views - the building colors of Manarola were particularly vivid. A relatively short train trip later (but a tiring one), we arrived in Florence. The outside of the Duomo at night is absolutely stunning-intricate marble swirls, pinks, whites and beautiful green-grays and eerily life-like figurative sculptures.
We snarfed some gelato and toured the bustling mercato amidst gushing waterfalls off the vendor's tarpaulins. A totally different Italy!
 

Florence