Good Intentions

I had grand plans to finish the half-written post recapping the merry month of April. But I couldn't bring myself to pay the overpriced charge to use the airline's wifi, and last night all I wanted to do was go to bed. I've written about jet lag before, but I am currently disrupted by more hours than usual.

As far as my body knew, I had stayed up all night only getting about one hour of sleep. I have done that in the past, although not too many times and I was a lot younger. And when I stayed awake all night, it was a lot more fun than sitting in an airline seat, going through customs and then sitting some more.

So, I went to bed. You can expect that post on April tomorrow. I'll work on it in between naps.

PS I wrote this when I got home last in order to publish it this morning, but was so tired, I forgot to schedule it to post this morning at six am. Oh, well. Here it is.

Flying Home

Our Italian holiday has come to a close and we are currently heading home. I'm both sorry for the end of the trip and happy to be anticipating sleeping in my own bed. I will miss my family members and our adventures.

Some random thoughts, definitely not the final ones on our travels:

Don't leave your gondola ride to the last day of your vacation, because it might be rainy and cold and you might be too tired and the gondola will remain unchecked on your bucket list.

Make suggestions, but don't set anything in stone.

If you have more time, try to get out of the cities and into the countryside because it looked really beautiful from the train windows.

Ask for help. The Italians we met all bent over backwards to help us, from joyfully assisting my mother navigate the inaccessible to calling a giant taxi to get us and all our luggage plus a walker and a broken wheelchair to the train station.  We owe them all a big thank you.

And if you try to avoid a time when it might be crowded, like Easter in Rome, make sure that you don't accidentally arrive instead during a time when it might be even more crowded, like the never-before, maybe never-again, canonization of two very popular Popes.  Three million people in Rome had an effect.

But most of all, go! Do the best planning you can, deal with the broken wheelchairs and millions of people, and have a memorable time!

According to Rick . . .

. . . Rick Steves, that is.

Like many other English-speaking travelers, we rely on Rick Steve's advice on what to see, where to eat, and how much not to tip. 

We've read his books many times, both before and during visits to museums and other sites. We quote him quite frequently. In fact, I've heard the title of this post more times than I would have imagined before I took this trip.

And for the most part, we have found his information quite accurate and therefore valuable. However, we have encountered a few differences of opinion. First of all, we felt Rick severely underrates the Uffizi in Florence. He said that most people breeze through in about an hour, but we stumbled out, dazed after more than four hours. And we didn't leave because we had seen all the art, but because our minds simply couldn't absorb any more. There was one more idea we disagreed with, but I can't remember what is was now, so it must not have been that important.

In addition, Rick recommends eating in real restaurants, where the locals go. Unfortunately, any "real" restaurant that he mentions immediately is filled with tourists, as so many of us read his books and follow his every word.

On the whole, though, I'm grateful for Rick and for the guidance he's given us as we have traveled through Italy. I should probably tell him. If only he read my writing as much as I've read his.

Birthdays

When we're young, the details of our birthdays are vital to our well-being. What kind of cake, who to invite to the party, and most importantly, how many days until it gets here.

Now that I'm only a kid in my mind, and no longer in fact, birthdays seem to have lost their allure.  I probably shouldn't eat any cake, I don't usually have a party, and most days I can barely remember my age or the date, much less when my birthday falls.

All that being said, yesterday was my birthday. On my 32nd birthday while in the shower, I realized that on that day my age equaled 2 to the fifth power.  I also realized I would never be any number to the fifth power again.

Since that birthday I've paid attention to the mathematical properties of my age, and this year is two to the fourth times three, which isn't bad. However, this year there's a new addition to my thinking about my age.

It's all Oliver Sacks' fault. I recently learned that when he turned eighty, a friend gifted him with a small vial of mercury, because mercury's atomic number is eighty. So I started obsessing about the periodic table of elements.

This coming year corresponds to silver*. I like silver. I can even get myself a gift of silver, either earrings or a necklace. And I have one more thing to think about on my birthday besides cake.

*I wrote this entire post before I looked again at the periodic table and realized that last year was silver and this coming year is cadmium. I know nothing about cadmium. I guess I'll have to learn!

Eenie, meenie, miney, moe

Dinnertime choices in Italy.  Life is so difficult!

I'm a little late this morning, but it's better than never. Plus it's the same day, so it still counts!

Life is Unpredictable

I know that I've written it before, but life can really surprise us.  Wednesday night the new aluminum wheelchair bought for this trip shocked us by breaking. Clean through one of the handles, with no chance of repair.

Of course, there's also no chance of getting spare parts for it here in Italy, or so the gentleman at the sanitori assured us. Finding a replacement, whether a rental or a new purchase took up much of yesterday. Or at least the part of yesterday that wasn't taken up by moving from Florence to Rome.

That wonderful man fixed up a rental, gave us directions and said that "they" would be waiting for us. Unfortunately, when we got there, "they" had closed up shop and gone home. I was hot, tired and quite frustrated. We still haven't solved the problem completely. If only I had some rope!

Gelato

We've been doing our best to eat gelato in each new city, so that we can compare tastes. So far we have managed it nicely, sometimes eating it more than once a day.

I fear I don't have a sophisticated gelato palate. It all tastes good to me. Last night, though, we had our most expensive gelato yet. If I think about it, I can't quite comprehend that we paid that much. It was as good as the rest, but it did look more amazing in the case. Enjoy the photos and we'll keep enjoying eating gelato.