We slept in... we actually slept in...

Realize something. On weekdays, we get up at 6:00 a.m. On weekends or holidays, we might 'lounge' in bed until 7:00 a.m. Today, in our Salle Noir (Black Room), we woke up at 9 a.m. thinking it was 3 o'clock in the morning. So nice. They're not messin' around when they call it the Black Room. Last night we went to dinner at a place called Al Gondaliere. It's a restaurant that specializes in all things non-seafood. It was supposed to be one of the better restaurants here... but we didn't think so. We had a tasting menu... half of the courses were really good, the others weren't so good... at all. Here is a picture of me at dinner... beautiful, as always.


Since it was hovering around 35 degrees today, we thought... what better way to spend it than to go to the island of Murano (pictured below) and spend our time in front of the 1000 degree kilns where they create glass sculpture? Actually, we didn't go see them actually making the glass. Most of the 'masters' are on vacation... and if you go to the main terminal where they try and herd you in off of the boats like cattle, you are guaranteed a sales pitch at the end of the 20 minute tour. We escaped and went wandering... we might not have been into the tour, but we are always into shopping. When we go traveling, we always bring home a memento from the trip... which doesn't necessarily have to be expensive. Take Prague for instance... we have a tiny cobblestone from the street in front of our hotel on the buffet in our living room. Then again, sometimes they are expensive. We found a vase we absolutely loved... LOVED. If we could have taken a picture, we would have. Beautiful. We started talking to the sales lady... who was able to speak English VERY well... We asked her the price and got (in a thick Italian accent)... "Relax, relax... you choose what you like... I tell you the detail... then we talk money... no how much, how much..." I knew we were in trouble.


Beautiful or not, we were not going to be bringing home a $6,000 vase. It was really nice to escape the crowds though... it was peaceful, and you could actually move around walking side by side... something we haven't been able to do in this city.

Tomorrow, we're off to Positano on the Amalfi coast. Normally it would be an 8 hour train ride... or what we opted for... the 1 hour plane ride. We'll send out a post when we get there. Hope you're all doing well. Oh, and to our mothers and fathers... we ARE eating our vegetables, see...