London, London, London!

Oh man, there's so much to tell you all about this trip, but since I'm back at Lianne's with a moment to get online, it would be very rude for me to stay on the computer for much longer. But let me at least tell you about some of the places I've seen!

We started in London, and then flew to Parma where we rented a car and travelled to Milan. Let me tell you, there are some mighty skinny women in that town, I'm talking matchsticks on high heels, but anyway. And it is true, Italians are beautiful, and the men sure do appreciate women. My little ego has been boosted, I can tell you. And the Duomo cathedral is apparently the 3rd largest in the world and took 600 years to build. It's hard to believe people can construct things like that. Absolutely gorgeous.
I'm having a blast with Mom, she's a lot of fun. The best part of this trip is getting to spend time with her, and considering how amazing this trip is, that's saying a lot.

Then after we went to Milan, we went to Venice, which was stunning. I mean, it's like seeing a 1950's starlet, sure she's getting on in years, but boy, she's still got it. You know what I mean? After that, we went to Tuscany and stayed in this village called Tavarnelle, which has records dating its existence back to 780 B.C. It is easily the most beautiful country I have ever seen or imagined, and no pictures can prepare you for it. Afterwards we went on to Pisa, and of course saw the tower, but the real treasure is the Cathedral. I don't even have words for it. I was so overwhelmed, I actually wept. I really get why Italians have so much national pride, and why so many of the greatest artists come from there. The natural beauty of the country offers a lot of inspiration.

Afterwards, we went to Cinque Terre and chilled at the beach for a couple of days (I've got a bit of a tan-hooray!)

And then there was Paris. Whoa. I saw everything you could possibly see on foot in 13 hours, and believe me, it's incredible! I went to the Louvre and saw the permanent collection (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, etc.) and it's very powerful when you see them for yourself. There was so much to see in town, and I can't wait to come back. I think if anything could motivate me to take saving money seriously, it would be the prospect of returning to Paris to spend a week just walking and exploring. Also, I met Aaron Eckhart-well, bumped into him on the street. He posed for a picture with me and was very sweet about it all.

Now I'm back in London at Lianne's house. Last night, we went down to the pub and enjoyed fish and chips, irish stew, potato & leek soup with soda bread (all homemade). And I had Black Velvets. I met these great people originally from Ireland and we chatted outside, talking about travel, and all kinds of things. They said they liked London because everybody didn't know your business like they do back home.

I'm going to be really sad to leave Lianne and Mom when I go back home, but I'm also looking forward to seeing everybody. Man, it's been awesome being on vacation. Now I get why people have them.

I'll be moving closer downtown next month, which means more sleep! Hooray! Anyway, I gotta go. Bisous to all of you (well, to you if you're the only one reading this, then.)
Ciao 4 now!