One other thing happened in Paris... ;-)

'nuff said
 

Paris!

Paris was awesome. The food! The City! Our first day Jody gave me the "Jody Woods" tour- we hit all the major sights, then over the week the did various museums, a walking tour and more (this was Jody's 4th time in Paris so she knows the city fairly well). The metro in Paris is excellent- was better than the one in the UK (none of the 'north'/'south' etc nonsense). We got a 5 day travel pass at the airport that let us go anywhere and a 4 day museum pass. The museum pass let us bypass _really_ long lines and travel pass was incredibly handy.

We walked a lot over the last 3 weeks and I don't think I'll be wearing those shoes for a while. I was so happy to get home and wear different footwear. :)

More to come....

Siena!
Siena was our vacation from our vacation and its worked out realy well. The only down side is that its taken most of the week for Jody to get over her cold and my allergies are killing me slowly but surely (I've tried Claritan and some local allergy stuff - neither one is doing the trip so I tend to sneeze a lot).

One unique thing here are the road signs- specifically the signs telling you the distance to the next town. Yesterday we came to an intersection that had two signs for Siena pointing in opposite directions- one said 18km, the other 20km. Now this makes sense- two routes into Siena, one longer than the other. We take the 18km turn- about 0.5km later (and NO turns or exits) we see another sign that says Siena 24km. WTF?

Its been a very good week- we went to Frienze twice (once to shop, once to see the sights- trains here are dirt cheap and efficient). I bought an awesome leather bag and I got Jody's b-day present (she had to try it on so she knows what it is ). We also did a wine tour yesterday which let us soak in the tuscan country side. It's very beautiful!!! Molto Bueno! (I think BC wines are better though- I'm sure some people will think I've sinned by saying this but given that Jody and I are polishing off a bottle a night I know of what I speak).

Today is our last real day in Italy as we head to Pisa tomorrow to catch our flight to Paris! I'll miss Siena as its been a lot of fun (and the food is awesome).

More from Paris.

So. We are in Rome!!!!! Saw the Pope! (Jody says his english isn't as good as the previous Pope- 'course this is her 2nd trip to Rome soooooooo..... ;-) ). What else? Our feet hurt. Jody is sick (meh!!!!!). But we're having an awesome time (and we discovered a good lunch for 2.60€). We're off to Siena on Saturday!!! Then comes Paris....

Hrm...

I will say the streets in Rome are a bit frustrating- the people drive....uniquely...and the streets are packed. Jody and I aren't big crowd people so its a little trying at times, but then you turn a corner and see Trevi fountain or Vatican square for the first time and it makes up for it. The gelatto is also bene! I will be happy to leave the bustle of Rome for Siena as its starting to wear on me a bit. Jody bought a Prada bag (how she can afford it is beyond me- and she paid cash!!!!).

More from Siena (or more likely Paris).

(BTW, no one seems to take credit card or travellers cheques which is very annoying).

Wow, in 16 hours we board a plane for Europe....crazy. Much packing still to do! As Jody and I get time, we'll update this blog with our adventures and maybe even a picture or two!