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Editor's Notes

• #3: My friends and I have been getting together for ladies weekends for over 20 years¡­it started at each other¡¯s houses and then we began to venture out to travel. (2006) This particular evening was at my house and we watched ¡°Under the Tuscan Sun¡±. When one of my friends offered up ¡°We should go to Tuscany!¡± That got the ball rolling and we¡¯re off¡­
• #5: In Rome we visited: Colleseum, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Vatican, St. Peter¡¯s Square/Bassillica and MonteCassino. Then down to Pompeii
• #7: From Rome our home base was Maiori. We visited Paestem, Pompeii, Amalfi: While in Amalfi we got a chance to see a wedding at the church. And went to Capri and AnaCapri
• #9: Then onto Florence, Chianti,Pisa and Lake Como¡­and home! What a whirlwind, but exhilarating 2 week trip.
• #10: 2009: I checked my frequent flyer miles and I had enough to go to Europe¡­I always said I wanted to return to Florence.
• #11: My apartment was through Homeaway.com and was in the neighborhood of Piazza Santa Croce. We had 2 floors¡­the apartment on the 2nd floor and a terrace that overlooked the market on the 3rd.
• #12: The market was right in back of the apartment, so it was a convenient place to shop as well as eat. There were markets through all the neighborhoods including San Lorenzo Market! As you can tell, we were very happy to find the wine shop!
• #13: By being a traveler, we made our own schedule, stayed as long as we wanted and leave when we were ready. So we meandered¡­Santa Croce, crossed the Arno, to Piazza Michaelangelo to view Florence from a different perspective and found a mailbox¡­of course we were looking for something that stood on the ground.
• #15: Our hangout was the Piazza Signoria, where the Palazzo Vechio and the Uffizi are located.
• #17: Piove y vento (rain and windy): St Marc¡¯s Square, the Grand Bridge, the gondolas, the canals
• #18: A friend of mine lived at this school for a few years and wanted me to deliver a gift to the caretaker. So we had the opportunity to buy bus tickets to downtown and then buy tickets to Sesto Fiorentino. Beautiful grounds. I found this was the best way¡­to be a traveler¡­to be a part of the neighborhood¡­to interact with the community¡­to be a part of everyday life. While I was in San Diego a few weeks ago, I read that Frances Mayes was doing a book signing.
• #19: In La Jolla, I got the opportunity to meet and talk with Frances and Ed Mayes along with the photographer of the new cookbook¡­I¡¯m ready to go back! This time to stay for a month! My biggest discovery, as a traveler, is:
• #20: ¡­That everyone smiles in the same language!
• #21: Michaelangelo, at the age of 87 was quoted to say: Ancoraimparato¡­I am still learning¡­¡­Anch ¡®IO!!! Mille Grazie!