...what Willis was talkin' about.
Here is a picture that represents my mouse movements for the day. The black spots are places where the mouse stopped moving. The larger the spot, the longer the pause…
This was done using a Java app called MousePath. You launch the application and let it run in the background. You can download it here.
Did you know that you can use your panorama stitching software with more than just landscapes? Kinda creepy.
Yep… with the lack of Internet access, and the whirlwind nature of the trip, I did not post any more updates. My bad.
After the farmhouse was the wedding and then off to Rome. Suffice it to say that we had a great time!
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
After our day in Florence, we went back to the farmhouse with the whole crew. The place was fantastic. The rooms were nice, the restaurant dinner was excellent, and the company was even better!
All together, there were 45 of is in the group; we took over the entire place. Cameron and Stacey’s friends and family are great people! We are enjoying hanging by the pool and talking day trips with them. I think we are making some long term friends…
Here a couple of pictures taken out of our window. The farm is also a horse ranch, and the arena is right across from our room.
We made if from Venice to Florence with only minor mishaps. We got tickets for, and got off at, the first station in Florence. Once we got off and started looking at our maps, we realized that we were at the wrong station! We got on another train which took us to downtown Florence, only a block from our hotel!
In the morning we went to the local market. Lots of cool cheeses and sausages, and really interesting foods. We took in a few churches, the market bridge, and the Michealangelo Plaza.
At 12:45 we met the group at the Academea Museum. We saw David… Wow. It is very beautiful and very impressive. An interesting piece of trivia; David’s left toes are chipped from an attack by a deranged person’s hammer attack. He used to be outside in the Ufuzzi museum plaza, but was moved after the attack.
On a lighter note- here is a picture me with a very cool little car.
We’ve spent he last two days wandering around Venice. It is a beautiful town! We bought the 72 hour vaporetto (water bus) passes so we can get on and off as often as we like. There are enough stops that you can get almost anywhere you like with only a little walking.
We haven’t really done the full tourist thing… We have not gone into any museums, and only a few of the biggest churches. We have spent a lot of time walking the different neighborhoods and looking around. It’s nice just getting a feel for the city.
What have we seen? The canals… Awesome! Plaza San Marco. No as many pigeons as I expected. The church was impressive. The Bridge of Sighs was a dissapointment. They are doing work on the Doge’s palace, so the entire side is covered with gaudy advertisements. You almost can’t see the bridge! We went out to some of the other islands to walk around and see something out of the heart of Venice. Nice views back to Venice proper.
We made the train from Lucern to Milan, the first step to Venice. Even though everything is as planned, there is a definite difference between Switzerland and Italy. The trains run on time, but the passengers are louder and less unobrusive. If the Swiss trains were like a board meeting, the Italian are more like a lunch in a noisy restaurant.
After a short final walk around Lucern, we’re headed to Venice (via Milan). We picked up some more of the wonderful “Jersey blue” cheese and a couple of pretzel sandwiches for the train. There are several transfers involved, and we expect to be in Venice about 6:00pm.
After a series of tribulations, I finally arrived in Lucern! As I was coming out of the train station, I ran into Mark, who was wandering around looking for me. I guess they knew about what time I was due to arrive, so they went out to look for me.
After freshening up a bit, we went out to see what there was to see. Since they had already been here for a day, they knew their way around. The highlight was some cheese from a local chess shop, a few beers, and the lion memorial park. It was a wonderful welcome to sit and chat whole nibbling fresh local cheese in the park. Welcome to Switzerland!
D and I are getting ready to hit the train and be on our way to Venice. See you there!
I finally made it out of Newark and into London to make my connection to Zurich. While it has been an incredible hassle, at least I have this; bragging rights that I have been to England, and a proper English breakfast with a proper pint in the airport while I was waiting. At this point, I’ll take anything I can get to put a positve spin on the situation!
Friday, Sep 3
Fair
Currently: 77˚F
Feels Like: 76˚ F
Hi: N/A˚, Lo: 62˚
Wind: calm, Gust: N/A MPH
Wind Direction: CALM (0) 