September 24, 2006. This morning, we are on the road to Florence.

Jerry is in the driver's seat with Mark navigating. We said our goodbyes to Venice and made it back to the parking lot, marveling at how easy it was in daylight! Leaving Venice
The drive to Florence was uneventful, although we stopped again at an AutoGrille for a quick lunch. More sandwiches and bottles of water and we were off. Jerry drove well and we got into Florence after a little episode at a circle.
Unfortunately navigating in Florence is not an easy task and it appears, in hindsight, that we circled our hotel for a good 45 minutes. We got settled in our hotel and soon were asking the clerk for a good place to eat. He directed us to a neighborhood trattoria. Shelden ordered a grilled t-bone which I shared with him. Sue, Jerry, Mark and I ordered ribollita, a Tuscan bread soup that kicks butt! Mark ordered wild boar. Vicki got gnocchi with a crab sauce. We had more wine and limoncello. When we mentioned that we were from Hotel Enza, the waiter comped us biscotti and Grand Marnier.
Then we stopped at a bar and had cocktails sitting outside while the guys smoked their cigars. We agreed to meet in the lobby at 8:30 for breakfast. If anyone was more than 10 minutes late, whoever was ready would get going. Those left behind would be on their own!