Hmm. I was in Italy a few years ago.

Florence has all the art museums, of course. It's also got a museum of the history of science that's nowhere near as interesting as the ads would have you believe. (There are like three really cool exhibits, and rooms and rooms filled with things like protractors and log tables.) If you go to the Academia, there's a little exhibit in a sort of side gallery of antique musical instruments, and that one is pretty cool.

Food is incredible everywhere except Venice. If you've got time and interest to do a winery tour, those are fun.

There was this great little restaurant that we found in Pisa, but I can't remember exactly where it is. The restaurants within a few blocks of the tower are all overpriced. When you go see the tower, also go over the other side of the plaza and look in the church -- there's some cool artwork on the walls.

Hil, Hubby suspects a muscle has shifted on you and is now pinching some nerves.

Any advice, suggestions, warnings? I'll take anything you got.

You should email mfnlaw. Her family's originally from italy and she goes there every other year, I think.

Brenda, take the time to see the statue of David while in Florence. Also, if anyone is in a shopping mood, Florence is the place to do it, especially for gold and leather goods.

Tea:

We actually had really good food in Venice. We ate on a nearby island called Burano. It's a beautiful fishing village, and we had the freshest seafood dinner.

I'm thinking if to send my resume for a 1/2 time job. Because that job is easy, and I need one, and I can also work from home, but I really only have the time for a 1/4 time job.

Hil, I hope things will turn alright for you.

brenda, I say you'll be too close to not visiting Israel. But dammit, Italy. Have fun!

I took a couple big sips. eh. Not bad, not WOW! but I can drink this. Cute co-worker was like "oh, I've always wondered what they taste like, can I?" Um, Ya! Apparently that thing was pure booze. Me? No clue. Thankfully I stopped drinking it after that next sip. 10 minutes later. Ya. Felt it. Feeling it. Yum. Feels great, but glad I stopped, or no driving home for me. WOW! And that was only 1/4 of the glass, if that! So what's that say about my ability to drink? My mouth used to be an early warning for hard liquor. Apparently not any more! If I make it to the F2F, something tells me, I'm gonna be drunk off my ass.

Now I want to experiment. Please, by all means, if he makes it to the next F2F, take pictures. With notes.

Brenda, I heard an NPR story on the state of tourism in Italy right now, which is apparently crappy, so there's som good hotel and tourist deals right now. Some AmEx places have closed, so I would make sure I got good info on the best exchange places before you go. And Italy/American taxes are crap, so remember that when you buy stuff.

Otherwise, I am totally jealous! Neither my mom or my dad have ever travelled out of the US, except one day trip to Mexico in the 60's and I know they've always wanted to. This is so cool.

The London police are getting in on the fashionista business as they advise bankers to dress down for the G20 summit next week. I don't think ironic cardigans are going to save them.

Sssh. I think I actually got a good night of sleep. I even heard my first alarm, and lay there listening to Beatles. Then turned off 2nd, 3rd, & 4th alarms immediately as they sounded. Listened to the news for a bit of the 5th alarm. And made it to the shower 10 min before the 5th alarm. And I'm heading into work a bit early. SHOCKED am I!

Menopause hit me a bit over 10 years ago. I kind of ambled through it - didn't realize what was going on until I noticed I hadn't needed tampons for a while. I seem to have missed a lot of the worst symptoms (thank you very much). It's kind of nice not to have to worry.

bonny, I had a minor fungus infection on my toenails a while ago. I dealt with it by scrubbing the nails with soap and hot water (I used a nail brush) and keeping them dry (i.e., wearing open slippers and no socks at home as much as possible). I also rubbed tea tree oil into the nails once a day - but I understand some people have problems with the oil, so you might want to skip that.