(I took a 1000 pictures on this trip and narrowed them down to about 300.  I could probably do better than that, but I've wasted too much time already.  Check them out while you read the review.)

Day 1: http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=560924053205&page=1&sort_order=0 

My whirlwind trip through southern Italy...ah, where to begin?  After a two hour delay in Houston followed by another 2 hour delay in New Jersey, we were finally on our way to Rome.  Have you ever watched the sun rise while you're ABOVE the clouds on an airplane?  Truly wondrous...made even more so as the snow-capped Alps began to peak their heads over the clouds as well.  Seeing miniscule, shiny specks of civilization bathed in morning sunlight among the mountains, I could only conclude that the beacons were indeed lit (WARNING:  I can, and usually do, relate anything and everything to the Lord of the Rings...how do you get stuck being the guy whose sole purpose is to wait alone in the most desolate area until which time (we're talking years, decades even), only God knows when, another equally lonely guy sends you a signal?  man, it sucks to be you). 

So we finally arrive in Rome only to find out that our 10 AM flight to Catania, Sicily NEVER existed.  Not only that, but there's no Windjet representative in sight.  Apparently, being that it was Sunday and Labor Day (who has Labor Day on a Sunday?), Windjet decided to take it upon themselves to cancel all flights...just because they felt like it.  Note to self:  never fly on Windjet.  So we decided to jump ship to a Lufthansa flight that was leaving within the next 10 minutes.  Just kidding...this flight was also mysteriously delayed for 20 minutes, then 15 more minutes, then another 20 minutes, etc.  No explanations or apologies given.  Not a great idea when you're dealing with Sicilians who are getting increasingly restless, impatient, loud, and angry (emphasized by the heightened motion of their hands).  Needless to say, it was very amusing.  I, at least, got to pass the time talking to a British professor of Phoenician history who teaches now in Lebanon but has traveled the world, including India where she spent a year studying music.  Very cool lady. 

One of the really neat things about traveling around the Mediterranean area is that you can actually see with your own eyes the geography and borders of the land...it looks like a three-dimensional map that has come alive.  Anyway, so after a LONG day of traveling, we finally arrived in Catania.  Do the troubles end there for our young heroes?  Unfortunately, no.  Finding an ATM machine that actually worked was another hour-long fiasco.  Why didn't we just exchange money and/or find an ATM in Rome, you ask?  Uh, good question.  We didn't anticipate the country shutting down when we arrived.  2nd note to self:  never travel on a Sunday, especially if it happens to be Labor Day.

At least our little bed and breakfast was more than we expected with everything we could possibly need...on the most happenin' road of the city...with a view of Mt. Doom, I mean, Etna (which had small puffs of smoke rising from its peaks...Frodo, we must destroy the ring!).  Our plan was to have spent the day in the resort town of Taormina with its ancient Greek splendor and medieval charm along the Ionian coast, but since it was already evening by the time we got to Catania, those plans got scrapped.  Sigh.  Next time.  Instead we spent a leisurely day strolling around the university town of Catania.  Played football with some kids by a landlocked castle, watched a 2-year-old chase pigeons around Piazza del Duomo, and happened upon the 2nd Concerto per l'Europa Unita in the university square for which the entire city seemed to turn up.  We didn't realize what a huge event it was until we later heard the same singers over the speakers in the train station in Rome and on the radio in taxi cabs.  Apparently, Anna Tatangelo and Paolo Meneguzzi are HUGE...and we saw them for free.

I had my first taste of gelato in Catania...it was alright, but gelato really isn't a Sicilian specialty.  Cassatas and cannolis are...wasn't very impressed with the cassata, but cannolis are WAY better in Sicily than the cheap imitations you get in the U.S.  Good stuff.

Day 2:  http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=252357053205&page=1&sort_order=0

We spent the next day on the southeastern corner of Sicily in Siracusa and the island of Ortigia, the older part of Siracusa.  Ortigia is known for, among many other things, Fontana Arethusa. When Artemis changed Arethusa into a spring of water to escape the river god Alpheus, it was here that the transformed maiden emerged. On a more factual note, Siracusa was the city of Archimedes, Pindar, and Aeschylus. It was the most important city in Magna Graecia, and for a time rivaled Athens as the most important city of the Greek world.  There we visited a temple of Apollo, the temple of Athena turned Duomo, the largest Greek amphitheatre in Sicily and Magna Graecia, and the Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime, which preserves the plaster picture that, in 1953, weeped human tears.

We got back to Catania in time to watch the sunset over Mt. Etna from the spectacular views of Villa Bellini gardens...marred only by the disturbing show of a young couple having sex on a park bench.  As if that wasn't shocking enough, there was an elderly gentleman sitting on the park bench across from them acting as if this was a normal occurence...a regular day in the park, if you will.  Plug for waiting until marriage...you don't have to do it in a park.  Gross. 

Day 3:  http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=446219053205&page=1&sort_order=0

We literally got up before the break of dawn to catch the train to Messina on the Northeastern coast of Sicily, passing the lovely beaches and a few medieval castles of Taormina along the way.  From there, we took the sunrise cruise (actually, ferry) across the straits of Messina (home of Scylla and Charybdis) to the toe of the mainland.  There, began a 3 hour scenic train ride along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea to Paestum.  Curiously, it was just like the train that Harry Potter and his friends take to get to Hogwarts (the Hogwarts Express)...you know, with the booth and all.  Way cool.

From right in front of the Paestum train station, there is this straight, 15 minute dusty trail to some of the best preserved Doric temples in Italy.  You, literally, feel like you're walking into the past...well, at least, until you get to the street vendors selling miniature versions of the temples.  Unfortunately, this is where my camera battery woes began.  Perhaps I had gotten carried away with my picture-taking on the train, I don't know, but with half the day left and a sure-to-be-heavenly sunset bus ride along the Amalfi Coast coming up, it was probably the most inopportune time for my camera to shut down.  Consequently, much of this day was captured by a disposable camera...we'll see if any of them actually came out well.  By the way, the lady at the tourist information office in Paestum was AWESOME.  Her name was Giusy (hey, if your name was Giuseppa or something weird like that, you would shorten it, too), and she was SO tremendously helpful and knew everything there was to know about the entire region of Campania and how to get where and when.  She even let me charge my camera battery for the 15 minutes we were in her office.  She rocked.

After a brief two hours in Paestum, we were on our way to Sorrento.  A winding sunset bus ride along spectacular sea cliffs with stunning views of sunlight dancing among the waves of the Tyrrhenian Sea and random waterfalls amidst charming little villages...absolutely breathtaking!  

Day 4: http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=740255353205&page=1&sort_order=0

Due to the exhausting journey of the previous day, we slept in...way in.  We hadn't even noticed last night that our room had an incredible view of Mt. Vesuvius and Naples from our private terrace.  Not only that, but there must have been a huge waterfall below us that we couldn't see because you could always hear the refreshing sound of rushing water while you were on the terrace.   

Plan for the day:  exploring the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii.  We started with Herculaneum, which is situated about a mile straight down the hill from the train station.  Herculaneum is a lot less famous than the bigger Pompeii, but the preservation of the buildings is generally considered much superior.  Lots to see -- mosaics, frescoes depicting stories of Hercules, marble furniture...and there is still so much to be excavated.  A large portion of old Herculaneum is still buried under the modern town -- we essentially only have the remains of 5 roads.  Thousands of charred papyrus scrolls (some of which are on display in Naples), initially thought to be unreadable, have been excavated from Villa dei Papiri (the summer home of Julius Caesar's father-in-law).  The implications of being able to decipher what was written on these scrolls is tremendous in that, for one, we may be able to get more complete copies of Caesar's works.

I knew Pompeii was bigger, but I wasn't at all prepared for HOW MUCH bigger it is.  Oh. My. God.  It's an ENTIRE city!  When you are walking through Herculaneum, you are fully aware that you are at an archaeological site in the middle of a modern town built over it...but when you are in Pompeii, you are truly within its walls.  You see nothing else.  You are walking on the streets of the ancient city of Pompeii.  There is no possible way you can see all of Pompeii in a couple of hours (which we essentially attempted to do since we were running out of time) -- I, literally, could spend an entire day exploring the city.  EASILY my favorite place during the whole trip...an Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations major's heaven.  I was so floored by the fact that I could get a small glimpse into what it was like to live in that time period.  Extravagant vs. modest lifestyles, baths, gymnasiums, theatres, temples, the forum, main roads, side roads, casts of people in their final moments...an incredibly moving experience for me and one that I hope to have again.  The best time to go is near the end of the day...as it got closer to closing time, we felt like we had Pompeii all to ourselves -- you rarely run into another tourist because it's SO freaking HUGE!  I can only imagine how much cooler it would be to explore this city with one of my AMC professors or fellow students.  (speaking of which, there was a Scottish tourist there the same time as me, and hearing him talk made me feel like you were there with me, Mark...you would have LOVED it!).  And can you believe that only about 70% of Pompeii has been excavated?  THERE'S MORE!!!!  I can't wait to go back!  Especially since the second and last of my camera battery woes occurred right as we entered Pompeii...yes, that was the loud sound of my heart breaking.

After an exciting day, we returned to spend the evening in Sorrento.  According to Greek legend, the Sirens lurked in these parts.  The Sirens were half-bird, half-women who sang intoxicating lullabies to enchant and lure unsuspecting sailors to crash their ships into the rocks.  Odysseus escaped their deadly lure by having his oarsmen plug their ears and by strapping himself to the mast of his ship as they sailed past (oh, you didn't think the crafty Odysseus would miss the chance to hear the irresistibly beautiful voices of the notorious maiden-monsters, did you?  He always found a way...).  Less dangerous now, Sorrento, spritzed by lemon, orange, and olive groves, maintains its southern Italian charm and beauty, and there are many areas that remain untouched in spite of the city's progress and mass tourism.  A very lovely and safe city to take a stroll around.  We hiked down from our cliffside hotel down to Marina Grande for dinner and were treated with a spontaneous fireworks display by the gulf of Naples.  The only problem was the strenous, post-dinner, midnight climb up the cliffside to get back to our hotel.  Phew, quite a workout...made even more so by the fact that random stray cats kept popping out of nowhere to give me a heart attack.  (For those of you who don't know, I am deathly afraid of cats...and no, I don't know why...maybe I was a fish in a previous life.  Get it?  meena...fish...oh, never mind).     

Day 5:  http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=519630753205&page=1&sort_order=0

I was told not to bring anything to Naples that wasn't bolted to my body.  Maybe it was because we were a party of 3 or that the petty crime in Naples has improved recently, but we really had no problems at all.  I didn't feel any less safe in Naples than in any other city.  Or maybe we just got lucky.

First stop:  Museo Archaeologico, which houses the finest art and artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum, including a large collection of bronze statues and papyrus scrolls from Villa dei Papiri and the HUGE floor mosaic of the Battle of Alexander from the House of the Faun in Pompeii.  The most eyebrow-raising room, though, is the Gabinetto Segreto (the Secret Room), which contains a considerable assortment of erotic frescoes (often found in Pompeii's grandest houses as entertainment for guests...ancient dirty jokes, if you will) and also what will henceforth be known as the penis room -- a room full of phallic talismans that were used as amulets against the evil eye and as a symbol of fertility.  My favorite fresco is that of a faun playfully pulling the sheet off of a beautiful woman, only to be grossed out by the plumbing of a hermaphrodite.  Haha.  Those ancient dudes were pretty funny.  This museum also has a large collection of statues (the Farnese collection) excavated from the Baths of Caracalla in Rome.  The most notable one is the rather large Toro Farnese which depicts the story of Dirce.  Once upon a time, King Lykos was bewitched by Dirce and abandoned his pregnant wife.  The single mom gave birth to twin boys, who grew up to kill their deadbeat dad and tie Dirce to the horns of a bull to be bashed against a mountain.  Lovely story, isn't it?  Anyway, Michelangelo helped restore this statue. 

I know, I know, you want me to get to the pizza.  I'm going to make a very controversial statement right now (please don't lynch me):  I'm not a big fan of pizza.  (audience gasps).  Whether it's in America or Italy, I just don't care that much for it and never have.  I'll eat it...and some taste better than others, but the cheese and the oil and whatever else just don't sit well with me.  Having said that, the buffalo cheese they use in Napoli is pretty tasty.  We ate at Pizzeria Trianon, one of the two most traditional pizzerias in Naples.  It was decent, but honestly, I've had better pizza here in Houston.

Napoli's dolce specialty is the sfogliatella -- a crispy, scallop shell-shaped pastry filled with sweet ricotta cheese.  Yum.  On the other hand, their other specialty, the baba (a mushroom-shaped, rum-soaked doughnut) was yucky.  I guess the rum-soaked part should have clued me in to the fact that I wouldn't like it.  But, hey, you have to try everything once.

Just missed getting a tour of Napoli's famous opera house, Teatro di San Carlo, Europe's oldest and Italy's 2nd most respected opera house after Milan's La Scala.  They just don't make opera houses like that anymore.  So beautiful.

The best way to experience Naples is to just take a walk through the city.  There's so much to see -- churches, museums, architecture, castles, the people, etc.  But my favorite site in Naples, by far, was the "Il Cristo Velato" (the Veiled Christ) by Giuseppe Sammartino in Cappella Sansevero, the personal chapel of an eccentric Freemason named Raimondo de Sangro.  UNBELIEVABLE.  It's a marble sculpture of the body of Christ lying on a soft pillow under an incredibly realistic veil.  As you walk from his feet to his head, the expression on his face goes from suffering to peace, and when you stand directly behind him, the veil over his face and knees disappears.  Awesome, AWESOME sculpture.  Seeing that alone would make a trip to Naples worthwhile.  No pictures were allowed inside the church, but I included some other pictures because you just have to see it.  The pictures do not do it justice.  Curiously enough, if you go down the stairs to the basement of the church, you will find two mysterious skeletons whose corpses were injected with a fluid to fossilize the veins and arteries so that they would survive the body's decomposition.  Well, that's the legend, anyway.

Day 6:  http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=396283753205&page=1&sort_order=0

We pretty much walked the entire city of Rome in one day...well, central Rome, anyway.  Don't ask me how many miles that is...I don't even want to know.  Let's just say that that's an incredibly exhausting feat to accomplish. 

The one thing about Rome that is so striking for me is that in the midst of this modern, bustling, very populated city are artifacts and ruins that are thousands of years old.  Many of these are unnamed -- you don't know what they are.  You can just be walking along some unimportant road and all of a sudden come upon some random ancient ruins.  The Colosseum, this humongous piece of ancient Rome that you can't miss, is merely a backdrop situated in the middle of a 21st-century city that has moved on.  It's so surreal.

The Colosseum is really cool, but I don't know if it was just because I've seen it in pictures so many times and I had a good idea of how big it was or that there were so many tourists and goofy people dressed up as gladiators around it, but it just wasn't that big a deal for me.  The whole atmosphere is a little cheesy.

The Forum, on the other hand, was a different story.  Yes, it was still overcrowded with tourists.  But walking along the same paths that all these famous senators and emperors whom I studied walked gives me goosebumps. 

Walking through Rome, you can see Bernini's Baroque-style stamp on everything from statues, monuments, fountains, roads, piazzas, and buildings.  One of his most famous fountains is the Four Rivers fountain in the center of Piazza Navona, a place swarming with street music, artists, vendors, and outdoor cafes. 

The Pantheon is another remarkable structure, one whose true beauty is compromised, in my opinion, by the fact that you can't see all of its splendour from all sides.  It's hidden amongst buildings that crowd around it.  Not that big a deal because the greatest wonder of the building is inside -- a domed room that inspired later domes, including Michelangelo's St. Peter's and Brunelleschi's Duomo (in Florence). 

The famous Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps completed our day.  Both very pretty and popular local hangouts.  We got to listen to a group of guys trying to woo some girls with their singing...we didn't stay long enough to find out if it worked.

Day 7:  my second favorite day of the trip  http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=254295753205&page=1&sort_order=0

We arrived at the Vatican around 10 AM and were greeted with the line to end all lines...I'm not even sure where it ended, and although people were saying it was about a 2 hour wait, I'm certain that that was an understatement.  Luckily, there is this group of people (unaffiliated with the Vatican) who plant English-speaking tour guides throughout the line so you can skip the wait while they wait in line for you.  We're not big on doing tours -- partly because they are so costly, but mostly because we like to explore things on our own.  However, waiting 2 hours in line wasn't really an option...and the precise time that we decided to join in was nothing short of a miracle.  We were the last group of people to get to see the Sistine Chapel before it closed.  If we had decided to wait 2 hours in line, I wouldn't have been able to see it.  And that would've made me very, very, very sad.  But we got in, and not only that, the guide that we happened to join with was absolutely brilliant.  He was this Belgian guy, whom we later canonized as Saint Jasper, patron saint of art and all things Vatican.  Jasper is my age and has a real job as an NBC analyst, but in his spare time, just because he is so passionate about the art and history behind the Vatican, he gives these tours for fun and has been doing it since 1998.  The wealth of knowledge that he has about this stuff  -- the dates, the names, the anecdotes, the inside info -- is mind-boggling.  The guy even owns the Oxford dictionary of Saints and Popes.  He attended art school and even has a life-size replica of the Transfiguration in his room.  He also despises the Da Vinci Code and could only get through about 20 pages before he decided to give it to his girlfriend for her birthday.  He rescued an elderly woman from getting trampled in front of St. Peter's when the new pope had been named, and he even got arrested for it -- there was a lock-down in place and nobody was allowed to leave the Vatican once you were in.  Oh, and the guy reads Ovid (how many people even know who Ovid is?).  He's been doing this for so long that he is friends with some of the Swiss Guard (one of whom even let him touch the Pietà!!!).  He basically possessed the extent of knowledge that I would have had had I continued with my Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations studies instead of letting medicine suck the life out of that vision.  Needless to say, I felt like he was my kindred spirit, and I was completely enamored by his sage-like wisdom.  Plus, he was kind of hot :)...you would never think innocent little me would be attracted to someone who smoked, had a stud in his lip and in his tongue, and had hair that seemed to have just been taken out of dreadlocks (meaning, it looked like it hadn't been washed since Julius Caesar's time).  I know, I've painted a pretty gruesome picture, but he really is good-looking (just look at my pictures)...soft eyes, cute dimples, nicely dressed, beyond smart, with an ability to make everyone in a 20-person group feel like they are getting personal attention.  Even my brothers were enchanted by him.

Okay, enough gushing over Jasper, back to the Vatican Museum.  So many incredible works of art by Rafael (including the School of Athens), Caravaggio, Perugino, Michelangelo, but my favorite, by far, was Transfiguration by Rafael.  You can't take your eyes off it.  In particular, your eyes are instantly drawn to Jesus.  I challenge anyone to try to focus on any other part of the painting without your gaze straying back towards Jesus shortly thereafter.  There's a reason for that.  Rafael incorporated a mind trick in this piece in that every other person in the painting is either pointing at or looking at someone else who is either looking at or pointing to Jesus.  You can stare at this piece over and over again and it probably never gets old. (There's a mosaic copy of the Transfiguration in St. Peter's Basilica, and once you've seen the real thing, that copy looks like the work of a kindergartner).  One of the few works of art that actually gave me goosebumps.  Not even the Sistine Chapel or the Last Judgment, which were mesmerizing in their own right, did that for me.  Interesting side note:  the reason why you can't take pictures or videos in the Sistine Chapel, but you can everywhere else in the museum, is because the photography rights to the Sistine Chapel are owned by Nippon, the Japanese company who financed its restoration (Italy couldn't afford it).  Nippon also happens to be the owner of such fine television stations as MTV.

The work of art that I was most anxious to see was the Laocoonte, a sculpture depicting the story of the Trojan priest who gave the famous warning about Greeks bearing gifts.  Virgil tells the story in Book II of the Aeneid, which I translated in high school and even wrote a paper about.  Immediately after issuing the warning, Laocoon hurls his spear into the flank of the Wooden Horse. However, this gesture was to come back to haunt him. For soon after this incident, while the priest is sacrificing to his god Neptune, a pair of giant sea serpents emerge from the sea and envelope both Laocoon and his two sons (the tragic scene that is immortalized in the statue). The Trojans interpret this grotesque punishment as a sign that Laocoon offended the gods - either Minerva or Neptune - for attacking the Wooden Horse. In the end, the Horse is brought into Troy, which is a fatal mistake and seals the city's doom.  Recently, there have been suggestions that the Laocoon was not the work of classical 1st century B.C. Hellenistic sculptors but rather a forgery by Michelangelo himself.  Huge controversy -- very interesting to follow.  One of my favorite sculptures, if not THE favorite.  So, so, so beautiful.  You get the sense of impending motion and that the serpent is slithering around them, and the expressions on their faces -- the fear, the agony, the determination, the struggle...very moving.

St. Peter's Basilica -- the largest, richest, most impressive church on earth.  Surprisingly, though, when you are inside it, it really doesn't feel like it's the length of 2 football fields at all.  And the statues on the wall -- the little cherubs -- are 6 feet tall!  You would never know it.  In the center of the church is Bernini's gorgeous baroque baldacchino (canopy) made from bronze taken from the Pantheon.  Bernini also constructed the starburst dove window on the back wall and St. Peter's throne.  To the right of the altar is a very famous bronze statue of St. Peter whose right foot has been worn down by the kisses and touches of many pilgrims.  Funny thing about this statue that not everyone knows is that it's not a statue of St. Peter at all -- it's Marcus Aurelius.  And all the statues of St. Peter that were made afterwards are modeled after this one. :) Imagine that. 

Last, but certainly not least, Michelangelo's superb Pietà.  When the Pietà was first exhibited, people asked how the mother of a grown man, in the depths of her grief, could appear so young and beautiful. Michelangelo replied that physical perfection was a symbol of a pure and noble spirit.  The Pietà is the only statue ever signed by Michelangelo. Shortly after it was installed in St. Peter's Basilica, he overheard a group of pilgrims remark that it had been done by the artist Cristoforo Solari.  In a fit of rage, Michelangelo stole into St. Peter's with a lantern, and carved "MICHEL ANGELUS BONAROTUS FLORENT FACIBAT" (Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made this) on the sash running across Mary's breast.  He later regretted his outburst of pride and swore to never sign another work of his hands.  The Pietà was damaged in the early 70s by some nut who hammered the sculpture, breaking its nose and other parts, while shouting "I am Jesus Christ."  After the attack, the work was painstakingly restored  -- there had been previous plasters/molds made of the Pietà and they took marble from Mary's back and used it to reconstruct the face.  Jasper, our tour guide extraordinaire, got to look at the back of the Pietà and the face (and even touch it!!!) and he said that there is no way you can tell that any repairs had been made.  It looks untouched, er, so to speak.  It is now protected by an unbreakable, bulletproof glass panel.   

Across from St. Peter's Basilica, is Castel Sant'Angelo, which was originally built as a tomb for Emperor Hadrian, but has been used through the Middle Ages as a castle, a prison, and place of last refuge for popes under attack.  It is now a museum.  Ancient Rome allowed no tombs within its walls, so Hadrian grabbed the most commanding position just outside the walls and across the river and built a towering tomb well within view of the city.  A hundred years of emperors after Hadrian are also buried there.

My favorite gelato place is right next to the Vatican -- Old Bridge Gelateria...killer nocciola and pistacchio and sorbetto flavors, humongous portion sizes.    Regular American ice cream will never be the same again. 

Day 8:  http://www.kodakgallery.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=249738753205&page=1&sort_order=0

I didn't really like Florence.  Don't get me wrong -- it's oozing charm and beauty and there's so much to see and do.  But nobody speaks Italian there.  More than Italian, I heard English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.  It feels so touristy, and I felt like I was in a Las Vegas copy of Florence.  Rome didn't feel like that, but that's probably because it's so big.  Even Sorrento, which is a major tourist resort, was somehow able to maintain its southern Italian charm.  Having said that, Florence is still the home of the David and the finest restaurant food I have ever had in my entire life.  My friend, Amanda, strongly recommended that we go to a restaurant called Leo in Santa Croce in Florence.  She claimed it was some of the best food she has ever had and is her favorite restaurant in the world.  In fact, she and her family ate dinner at this restaurant every night they were in Florence. While I believed that I would have a good meal, I was skeptical that it would be the "best I have ever had." I was clearly proved wrong. The food was divinely delicious!  The sumptuous flavors and spices that they added made you feel like there was a party going on in your mouth.  It was basically Indianized Italian food -- that's probably why we liked it so much.  I have to admit that before this meal, I had become very disillusioned by "authentic" Italian food -- it was so bland, and I had not had anything in Italy that surpassed Italian food that I've had in America.  But that was before I had a taste of Leo's.  Is all Tuscan food so incredible?  Though our time in Florence was limited, we seriously considered catching a later train back to Rome so that we could have dinner at Leo that same evening! Oh, how I wish we had! 

Chiesa di Santa Croce is where every famous Florentine you know is buried -- Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Rossini, to name a few. 

Michelangelo's David -- breathtaking.  You could stare at this colossal work of perfection for hours.  Every time I'd walk away, I would find myself looking back to have another drink with my eyes. 

After seeing the Vatican Museum, the Uffizi Gallery paled in comparison, although Titian's Venus of Urbino was quite beautiful.  Maybe I was just tired...I don't think Florence is a place you should visit at the end of your trip.  I don't think I gave it enough credit or enough of a chance this time around.  And I'm sure I would enjoy spending more time in other parts of Tuscany, too, especially if the food is half as good as Leo's.  Mmmm...heaven.

We got back to Rome that night and were so sick of Italian food that we decided to eat at an Indian restaurant, instead, in an area that looked like Hillcroft (but in a much crappier part of town) with all its Indian clothing stores, grocery stores, and restaurants.  We amused ourselves for many minutes with the Italian descriptions of samosas, curries, gulab jamun, and various other Indian delicacies on the menu.  Also, picture our Indian waiter, a non-native Italian speaker, speaking Italian to us Americans.  So weird.  We weren't sure whether we should reply in Italian or English.  The food was pretty decent -- no different than what you can get here in America...except that it was PAINFULLY-spicy!!!  We asked the waiter if the Italians could actually handle such spicy food, and he said, not at all -- they only make it this spicy for South Asian customers.  Great, thanks for asking.    

And with that, our travels in Italy came to a close...for now.  You can bet I'll be going back. 

Random tidbits:  

*We essentially took Odysseus' route on our trek through Italy -- Cyclops is from somewhere around Catania, we passed Scylla and Charybdis, encountered the Sirens, and Circe's island is right off the coast of Naples.  Pretty cool, huh?  The only difference is we weren't lost, it didn't take us 10 years, and we didn't go in quite the same order. 

*If you want a taste of what India is like but want to ease yourself into it, visit Sicily.  As soon as I walked out of the airport, my first thought was that I felt like I was in India...a lighter version with a little less chaos and pollution.

*What is up with Italians wearing HEAVY jackets and scarves when it is sweltering hot outside? 

*The latest craze in Italy is a pair of silver Nikes...it doesn't matter what you're wearing -- EVERYBODY wears them...ALL the time.

*I know at least one of you will ask, so here it is:  Campania (the region which includes Naples, Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, and Pompeii) has some of the most beautiful people I've ever seen, both men and women.  Especially this one Sorrentino guy who was handing out flyers for his dance bar...at least I think that's what it was -- I wasn't really paying attention...I was too busy staring at his eyes.

*the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam has got to be the swankiest, cleanest airport in the world.  Full-fledged business centers, post offices, comfort lounge chairs, massage services, meditation rooms, playgrounds, museums...I always feel like I'm at a resort when I travel through there.  And everyone there is just so darn nice.  It's awesome.