Ciao Italia!

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Hello friends and family!

Since Barcelona, we have made our way through to Avignon and Nice in S. France, and then on to Venice. We are currently in Rimini, on the eastern coast of Italy. I'll start with Avignon.

In the 14th century, the Catholic Popes decided that Rome was too dangerous for them to live, so they built a huge palace and a few churches in Avignon. For a little over 100 years, 9 different Popes lived and reigned from this small walled city in S. France. We only stayed here for two nights, so we didn't see too much of the town. We also needed a break from the hustle and bustle of Barcelona, so we took it easy for a while. We did see the two main sites: the Papal Palace (built in 1300's) and the St. Benezet Bridge (built in 1100's).

The St. Benezet bridge was the first major bridge to cross the Rhone River, so the city got quite wealthy by taxing anyone who wanted to cross it. It was built on the site (as the legend goes..) when God spoke to a simple shepherd named Benezet and asked him to build a bridge. I guess you could imagine that God said something like 'If you build it, they will cross.' Anyway, Benezet went to the city Bishop and told him what had happened, so the Bishop challenged him to lift a huge stone to lay the foundation. Of course, Benezet lifted it with ease and now there is a big bridge. It was a cool story, so I thought I'd add it.

The Papal Palace was an interesting walk through Catholicism's history. Some rooms still have the original artwork, and there is a good audio guide which tells tales about each Pope's reign. I guess that is all there is to say about that.. The rest of the time we spent in Avignon, we just strolled through the city sreets.

When we arrived in Nice, it was a bright sunny day. We found a room, dropped our backs and walkd to the beach. The beaches in Nice are really just big mounds of pebbles, but for a small fee you can spread your towel on a small sand box that has ben shipped in. It was too chilly for swimming, but there were a few folks here and there trying to get some sun. Supposedly the beaches of Cannes are much better, but the rooms cost three times the price. We had fun just hanging out on the boardwalk. We took a day trip to Monaco, it was only a 20 minute train ride. It poured all day long, so we hunkered down under our umbrella and made the most of it. We went through the Royal palace and learned a little about the history of the small principality and the Grimaldi family. There were many portraits and statues of the late Princess Grace who died tragically in 1982. After the palace, we went over to the famous casino in Monte Carlo. We wanted to see if we could spot a few millionaires, but we had to pay a $10 cover charge just to get in. Also, the require men to be in a suit and tie. Since Andy didn't remember to pack his suit and tie for this world trip, we could only gawk at it from the outside (like peasants at the palace gates). So we didn't see any millionaires, and nobody offered Andy 1 million dollars to take me away for the night, so we hopped on a train back to Nice.

Our next destination is my most favorite city on this trip! At least my favorite so far :) Venice is about the most unique city on the planet. In order to protect themselves from repeated attack, the citizens of Venice built their town out onto the water so their kick-ass navy could prtotect them. It is amazing that the town even exists. To build it, the people drove tree trunks vertically into the shallow mud, and paved over the top of it. Canals are the major route of transportation. There are no buses, cars, mopeds, or trams to get you around this city. You have to either walk, or ride a water taxi. Of course, you could always pay an outrageous fee for a 30 minute ride on a Gondola. Since we are budget travelers, we opted to just watc from the bridges. We spent three nights in Venice at the Hotel Marin (www.hotelmarin.it). It is a one star hotel, but it was very clean and comfortable. Most rooms in Venice START at about $150 a night, but this room was only $80. That is by far the most we have paid for accomodations in any city, but well worth it. Since Venice is small, they can charge whatever they want and the tourists will pay it.

We also ventured over to a few of the lesser visited islands near Venice. The island of Murrano is the site of many glass blowing shops, and all the gift and trinket shops that go along with it. We watched a demo of some guy making a glass horse, it was pretty neat. Then we got funneled through their gift shop and strongly encouraged to buy something. We slipped out when the glass mafia wasn't looking. Then the island of Burrano is all about lace. Every shop has lace tablecloths, doilies and a picture of the old Italian grandmother that supposedly knitted it. We were sad to leave Venice, but we had to move on.

Now we are in Rimini, which supposedly is the 4th most visited city in Italy after Rome, Venice and Florence. Rimini is located on an 11 mile stretch of beach which overlooks the Adriatic Sea, and there are over 1400 registered hotels to cater to the summer crowds. Well, none of them are here now. This place is a ghost town! We also found out that it was the feast day of the patron saint of the city, San Guiseppe, or something like that. When we arrived, we walked around for over 2 hours just to find a sign of life and an open hotel. They were all closed since it isn't summer anymore. We were really worried about getting shut out and having to sleep on a park bench, but we found a hotel that is open all year. Since most of the restaurants are also closed, the owner made us dinner last night. It was a great full italian meal, complete with pasta course and then a meat course. We are going to eat there again tonight.

We leave for a small italian hill town, Spoleto, tomorrow. We have decided to skip Siena and Florence since we are tired of the big cities. We will be in Rome in a few days!