DAY 1 - TRAVELING

The planes took off on time. The flight to London was a long one. Food was good. Heathrow was an experience. Wow. But the people were very nice and helpful in getting us to our gate on time. Now the rental car experience was one of a kind! First of all, one guy working with about 8 people in line. Then, the walk to pick up the car was almost to the hotel in another town -- or so it seemed. No markings to tell you where to go. The guy said, "Go outside and turn left and go the end." We didn't know he meant the end of Italy! When we finally found the hut an hour later, the rental guy gave me a key and said here you go. No conversation. No verification of damages or dents. Signed the sheet with backpack on and said, "Now we can both get on our way!" The drive -- well, the Autostrata was a NASCAR experience! People cutting within inches of our bumper, doing 100 mph, flashing lights at us while we were in the slow lane and going 80 mph! No horns, though! And thank God for GPS! Erick, never thought I'd say this, but GPS saved us from getting lost several times. I'm converted! The hotel is small but lovely. The live music was so loud in the lobby that we could barely hear the clerk upon checkin, but we got it done. The elevator holds 2. The bathroom is almost as big as the bedroom, but both are small yet clean and tasteful. Internet is in and out. The cold dinner was delivered to our room and lovely. Perfect after the long day. The highlight of the day was our midnight (our time) stroll, in the fog, around the town. Piazzas, parks, shops, bars with live music -- really amazing and kind of chilly! Perfect end to a long day. Haven't figured out how to download the pics on the iPad yet, so will try to post some tomorrow. We are off of our first jaunt around Padova, Verona, Parma, and Bologna today. Can't wait to tell you about it! Ciao!