The French Rivera

The next morning...not a very early morning for all of us...we went to see the beach...I set my feet in the French Rivera and off we went back to Frome UK. The trusty Queen Air got us back in 4 hours 45 min flat ...

I must admit she is a very nice Queen... thanks to her and our trusty pilots... she made another "M&M adventure flight of a lifetime" possible.

My thanks go out to Chris Vincent for his hospitality making us feel at home in his castle. Thanks again to Chris for letting me share his dog Jack and hopes for his full recovery.

Thanks to Sam and all the office help for putting up with me doing this blog in or near their wireless internet !and to Eve or Alice or whatever her name was who copied the pictures for us and for the laugh we had !

Thanks to Matt the cook who fed us when we needed food !

My thanks to Mandy for her friendship on the first leg of the trip to the UK...We were great

flight attendants together!

I can't say enough to all the people we met...but may God bless you all ! We had a wonderful time there and We will never forget you !

I must also thank my new found cousin, Grazia, for making our trip to Italy one of special heart felt time that I will never forget...beautiful ! Very beautiful ! bellissimo...Thanks Grazia!

Stay tuned for more M&M adventure flights!

Cheers .... Chow ....and goodbye for now...M&M(Mell and Mary)

Beautiful Evening

We found a place to park and took a walk on the harbor. We had dinner their in a sidewalk cafe and watched the moon come up.

We walked around the harbor and looked at million dollar yachts.

Well....we had no place to stay the night...and decided Cannes would be a better choice of hotels...so we take off for the highway.

We got back to Cannes much faster this time...but the choice for hotels was slim ! Everywhere we looked they were full. Again Chris got out his GPS...it will give you the names of hotels...so he got on the phone and called until we found a place that had rooms for the night. It was 1 am before we hit the sack...it never felt soooooooo good.

Monte Carlo Casino

It was still light when we arrived in Monte Carlo...we passed this massive casino...looks like some kind of palace !

Leaving Venice

We left Venice on the water taxi to the island of Lido...

We flew only part of the way back to UK stopping for

the night in Cannes France. We arrived around 6pm.

The guys just had to see Monte Carlo... one hour away...so off we go ...rented a car...well none of us spoke French...we thought we were following the sign to the interstate...when my gut said "we are going in circles" I looked back and can you believe it? Maryln Monroe passed me by for the 2nd time ! European vacation all over again!

But hey ...finally Chris got out his GPS and we found the interstate ! It was a very exciting time for all of us ! Mell was driving and Chris was navigating...

Sam and I decided we thought they did better in the air !

Rowe Gondola,Taxi Boat, Supply Boat

The guys on the Rowe Gondola...just out for their morning exercise.

We never rode the water taxi...they had water buses...you paid one price to ride all day.

Check out the supply boat...mostly beer kegs.

Dinner on the canal

We were serenaded by this nice Italian accordion player !

Taking a break

Streets of Venice

This was the smallest of the streets we saw.

You can only walk through Venice. No cars

Not even bicycles ! Only boats...

The Front of St Marks Cathedral

This is just a portion of the mosaics and statues on this building !

St Marks Square and Cathedral

We are starting to be tower climbers... except this one had a lift.

We are up in the St. Marks Bell Tower. It was the only way to

get a picture of this place !

The Gondola Ride

Rialto Bridge

The oldest of the three bridges in Venice on the Canal.

Was originally made of wood and caved in in 1440. It was rebuilt of wood but added shops along it. It wasn't finished until 1592.

It has a 90 ft span and 24 feet high in the middle. It was built on

12,000 pylons.

Thats the way Venice was built too....on pylons !

The Bridge of Sighs and Gondalier

The Gondalier must be a Venitian, he learns his trade from his father or Uncle or some family member.

The bridge of Sighs gets it name because everyone who crossed it was on death row...it was their last sigh....

View from the top of the Hotel

The Ferry Ride

We took a taxi to the Ferry and the Ferry over to Venice.

Lido Beach

We returned back to our hotel in Lucca said our goodbyes to Grazia and Giacomo and left the next morning for Venice.

This is where we landed, but not on the beach !

Sounds of Florence

At the top of the Tower

The Cathedral of Florence

Originally built in 1310 and finished in 1436, demolished in 1587, for unknown reasons. Rebuilt in 1887 to the way it is today.

Giotto'a Bell Tower

We climbed 414 stairs to get

to the top of this tower.

Neptune Fountain

This sculpture was made between 1563 and 1575.

Opposite the fountain is a marble circle to remind us

that it is the place in which Girolamo Savonarola was burnt on the stake on May 23, 1498.

Piazzale Michelangelo

We walked up and up to the top of this hill overlooking

Florence. There is a statue of David at the top in the

center of the square.

Florence

We hopped on the train in Lucca and headed to Florence.

This is Ponto Vecchio, the old bridge,on the Arno River, the most ancient bridge in

town. It was first built in wood, then in the 12th century was rebuilt in stone. In 1333 it was demolished by floods. Then rebuilt in 1345 as it is here. The shops here were first used for food.

But since the 16th century have been used for goldsmiths and silversmiths. All the shops today have mostly jewlry.

Roman Anfitheatre in Lucca

Via dei Fossi

Further down this street are Medieval walls,
gates of some sort. Due to dead batteries I missed the
shot of the Walls !

At the top of Guinigi Tower

This is Lucca from the top

of Guinigi Tower

Church of San Michele

This church is in Lucca...There are many churches in Lucca

This one was really close to our hotel and opened up into a very

large square, one of the centers of town.

There is a large bell tower on the side which was started in the 12th

century and ended in the 19th century.

The Garden

This was one of the awesome views on the Wall of Lucca.

Basilica of San Frediano

This is a mosaic...consacrated by Pope Paul III in 1147 ... this church was founded in the 6th century....awesome!