March 25th.

From my last correspondence, I have been from the top, to the middle, to the top again and down to the lower end of Italy. This is one of the most beautiful countries on earth. There are a few things that I have learned while here that I will share with you before I go into the places I have been. A lesson learned about Italian Culture: They do not care. When I say they do not care, I mean they don't give a shit about a thing. They will cut you in line, and look right at your face while they do it. They will talk on the phone when you are waiting for them at a cash register. They hardly ever check your tickets on the train. And on and on. This has not effected my opinion of this country, it is just an observation. A funny observation.

Florence was much fun, mostly because I was spending time with my uncle. Fud has been studying sculpture there for the last three months, and when I saw him he was more then ready to get back stateside. As many of you know, my uncle knows how to have a good time. I ate better in Florence then I have in years. He had wine with every meal but breakfast. It was a pleasure to be there and spend time with him. When we walked the streets, the locals must have thought us for Father and Son. Fud has two tired knees, and I was still re-learning how to walk from my fall in Switzerland, so our paces we well matched, and I am sure, very funny to watch from afar. Unfortunately for me, I caught Fud at the end of his trip, after three days in Florence, I jumped a train bound for good old Venice.

Venice..... I have a hard time telling how amazing Venice really is, though I will do my best. For those of you that have been, one are one step ahead of the rest. Lets start with the best things about Venice: No Motor Scooters, and no cars. Now I love all the Vespas here, but after a week you get tired of the smell, sound, and danger they confront you with on an hourly basis, these suckers will hit you and be happy about it! So you are in Venice, an ancient Maze, and all you hear are birds and annoying tourists. I arrived around six in the evening, and promptly dumped my bags in my hotel only to venture out and get myself as lost as I possibly could, on purpose. In my first hour of walking, I had passed by many of the same things three times. After a few hours, I started to realize that I could not get my bearings because you cannot see any landmarks or the Sun because the buildings are so close together that you have a hard time seeing the sky in some places. What can I say, I love it in Venice. The water in many of the canals is a mix between lime green and marble grey, this causes the reflections to be amazing when you walk and walk and walk. On my second day there I went from one end of the city to the other, completely forgetting that my rear end was still hurt. I think only Venice could have taken my mind of the pain in such an amazing way, I did not think about it until I crawled back to the hotel in agony. On the third day I was ready to leave.

Off the Ravenna, South of Venice and on the same Eastern Coast. While in Florence, Fud told me that if I had the time, go to Ravenna to see the Mosaics there, and that they are some of the best in the world. Guess what, Fud knows his stuff, they are quite amazing. I spent one night there and saw just about all that there is to see. Going from Venice, a Crazy tourist town, to Ravenna a small tourist town was very refreshing. This contrast made me appreciate them both much more. After the night in Ravenna, I was off to the South of Italy to an amazing little town called Sorrento.

Sorrento is about forty miles South of Naples, just across the gulf. This being my second visit to Sorrento, I was looking forward to being in a place like my home town. Sorrento is the Newport or Key West of Italy. In the summer, the city is completely overrun with loud, young, obnoctious Italians. Being here in the off season is very nice as many can imagine, empty streets, cheap prices, with the views just as good in the off as they are in the on. I am sitting here, writing this e-mail from a park bench, in the sun, looking out at the Med. If I had a rock, I would only have to through it about ten feet to have it land in the water. There is a wild dog, like the many here in Sorrento, that is sitting at my feet soaking in the sun, just waiting to see what I may give him for food. Tough shit for him. Or her for that matter.

So from here I am off to Rome to spend time with my Sister who is flying in for three days. She thinks that Paris is her favorite city in the world, and I hoped that offering to hang with her in Rome would change her opinion a bit, not the hanging with me, but the being in Rome if you know what I mean. After that, I goto Greece to see a friend on the Island of Rhodes. SUN!!!! Looking forward to that.

I would be lying if I did not tell you all that I am starting to get antsy out here not getting any work done. My mind is starting to tell me to get my ass back in gear and get a job. Furthermore, My body is starting to tell me that it is time to get back to working out on a regular basis. As most of you know, I am very picky eater, and Italy offers nothing but the exact opposite of my standard diet, Pastas, Bread, Pizza, Gelata, you know the program. So that said, I am thinking of returning to the States in Mid April, this only about two weeks earlier then planned, but earlier none the less. We will see what comes. I hope that you are all well, and please enjoy the pictures. Take Care.. //db

The Newport of Italy.