Mama Roma and Firenze

I am in Firenze (Florence) and planning to catch the morning train to Venice after mass at the Duomo. The famous church here that the architect, Brunelleschi designed and brought the process of making a dome back in architecture from antiquity after the way was lost for several hundred years. If you are in Florence, you can not miss it as it makes for an excellent landmark. Florence is pleasant walkable city along the Arno River and most of the major sites are conveniently close together. In a weird way I do kind of miss the honking scooters criss crossing the lanes and streets as it seems much more ordered here. There is also a great simple and honest eatary or should I say Trattoria called Marios (unlike some of the Rome restaurants that charge you for service and then stiff you by charging you additionally for the use of cutlery and plates)and I had this monster Florintine steak the size of my head and delicious "el dante" pasta. The locals know and it has gotten quite a few write ups in cooking magazines.

As for Rome... what can I say. It's like you are walking around the streets looking for supermarket and suddenly you turn the block and there's the colosium. Mama Roma is there to embrace you and take you in!!! Rome is really two cities to explore. First, the ancient Roman archeological and Renaissance sights with it's 2000 year old roman squares and buildings and beautiful fountains abound and piazzas suddenly pop up. There's a great gelato place called San Crispino where I recommend the grapefruit and honey flavors. The grapefruit flavor was what you imagine grapefruit should taste like without the tartiness while the signature flavor was the Italian white ice cream with a hint of honey. A lingering aftertaste of sweetness. Oh yeah, the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain are amazing.

Second, there is Vtican city. Endure the crowds to the Vatican Museum and see the beautiful artwork and the interesting Enthnological floor with Asian religion and the missionary work in these countries. St. Peter's Basilica is beautiful and the view from the dome of Piazza Di San Pietro is a must after the long climb up.

There are great cool fountains everywhere and all the bus stops have there statiosn marked. My only quibble is the metro and bus system shuts down way to early. 11 pm for the Metro in a major city. The buses are overcrowded and for a city so spread out. Off to Venice...