Bye bye Italy, Egypt here we come.

Our last full day in Italy started out rather early.  3 a.m. to be exact.  That is when Joe's woke up with a raging case of gout.  Luckily (or not so much) a couple of days before we left Canada, he twisted his ankle and it seemed like he was having a flare up.  I panicked a bit and got Dr. C.Hall to write him a prescription in case it turned into a full blown attack.  It didn't, fortunately enough, but to be on the safe side, he brought the meds with him. We knew it was full on last night when  even so much as the bed sheet touching his foot sent him groaning. It is now 2:00 in the afternoon and he is sleeping off the pain.  I am praying that he is able to walk by tomorrow when we catch our plane.  We have been so incredibly lucky, other than a head cold each, we have had no ailments to speak of.  Thanks again to Chris for being the "doctor on call".  The meds have started to work and he says he is at 7 out of 10 for pain instead of the 12 he woke up with.

With this particular blog I am going to try to wrap up our fondest memories of Italy.  I will try hard not to make this an epic War and Peace novel although I could see how it could get to be that long.

Our first Gelato in Italy was eaten in the square beside the Hotel Victoria looking over the Arno River in Pisa.  The flavour was pistashio and I remember thinking that it tasted like ice cream did when I was a kid, but somehow better.  We had only one other gelato that we both agreed was better and that was in San Gimignano at a little gelaterie that claimed it had won the best Gelati award 6 years running.  We had pine nut gelati and we have not had better since, although we keep trying and trying.  The stuff is as addictive as crack cocaine, I am sure. 

The sight of Leaning Tower of Pisa was the first moment we realized were weren't dreaming and this icon of Italy was standing crookedly in front of us for real.  A perfect choice for the perfect first day in this beautiful country. 

The Cinque Terre was magical to us for so many reasons.  We met the most wonderful people there,

Marlo and Sebastian and

Denise and Richard.  Our time there wouldn't have been half as great without them and that to me, is what great travelling is all about.  Between doing the hikes between the towns, watching the fisherman bring their boats in at the end of the day

 and the amazing fresh food we had there, it is really hard to pick just one.  Oddly enough, while we were dining with Marlo and Sebastian at Billy's Trattoria*, Denise and Richard who we hadn't met yet, were sitting across the room having the same free bottles of port and limoncella that we were and enjoying every moment of their evening just as we were.  We met them them at the train stain on our way to Venice.

*We have since met so many people who went to Billy's in Manarola that it has become the first question we ask people after they have told us they stayed in Manarola.  Billy's gets our vote for best dining experience while we were here.

I can't decide whether my favourite moment in Venice was drinking Belinis beside San Marco square,

 going to Murano in the luxury water taxi

 , the cheesy (but had to be done) gondola ride through the canal,  or the impromtu picnic in the sun on the steps of one of the small bridges in the back alley

all done btw, with Richard and Denise from Australia.  I knew we would be friends  from the first moment Denise and I saw the Grande Canal and she grabbed my hand and said, "Can you believe we are here?!", more like a long time friend than one I had virtually met only 3 hours earlier.

Years ago, my sister Debbie came to Italy. When she came home I remember her telling me that she thought everyone in the world should see the statue of David before they die.  I put David on my bucket list because she told me to.  I can in ernest understand and also agree with her, that everyone should see the Statue of David.  Never has a work of art brought tears to my eyes but this one did and left me breathless.  Florence for me is just David, and if I ever come back here, you can be sure, I will go and see him again.
(Shopping the market in Florence was quite fun too but Dave was the highlight)

this is fake David, you are not allowed to take pictures of the real one

When we left Florence we only got one memorable night in San Gimignano.  Our balcony overlooked the Tuscan hills so Joe and I had a picnic on it consisting of fresh bread, pecorino cheese, Montepulciano wine, and some fruit.  There was a little day bed right beside the balcony door so after lunch, Joe went for a long leisurely bath and I laid down on the day bed with the balcony doors open for a nap.  Believe it or not a man with an acoustic guitar came with a chair during our lunch and sat and played under our balcony serenading us both for over an hour.  It was the most beautiful guitar music and we felt like he was playing for no one else but us.

The whole time at Reniella was incredible and for the most part hard to describe.  From my, oh so pathetic, attempt at painting a water colour, to being in the trees with the men, being sous chef to Gordon Ramsay aka Bill, to eating ribolitta at La Botte, to drinking Laphroaig at the riddler and Reniella red in the evenings, all in all I am hard pressed to find any experience I have loved more than this.  Thanks to Bob, Elfride and Owain for their hospitality.  (and for putting up with us!)
I will have to add two things here.  I have never seen Joe double over with laughter like the day Roy played us a Jerry Seinfeld routine on the ipod while we were picking olives.  He literally was bent over with laughter.
This trip has renewed a lot of laughter in our lives which makes us appreciate it all the more.
And the second one is the day of travelling to all the little hill towns.  Prosecco in Pienza

 and Brumello at lunch in Montalcino, then dinner at the Grotto where they took the steaming hot pasta out of the water and straight into a huge hollowed out round of pecorino cheese, swirled it around with some cream and hot pasta water and called it sauce... how fantastic is that!!!
We met one more couple when we came to Rome.  Their names are Olivia and Ethan.

  We met them while we sat in the sunshine having wine in Piazza Navona.  They were doing the same.  This was their honeymoon trip.  We ended up spending the entire evening wtih them.  We used our goofy little picnic board and had a picnic on the Spanish steps until it was so cold we had to go to a restaurant for dinner. 
What I am realizing about this trip is that it is just as much about the people we were with as the places we have seen.  We have had a great time, that is for sure.
Our trip isn't over, but it has been one incredible journey so far!
Oh and I can't forget to mention the pizza in Italy. It was made at Reniella. Elfride and her neice Laura, get the award for most amazing pizza!

Now to see a man about a camel...