We spent the last two days in Milan and just arrived in Florence this afternoon. So far, all of the Italians are really nice people. From the subway operators, to the security guard who joked that we needed tickets when we really didn’t, to the old guys on the train to Florence who gave us a “cheers†with their sandwich before eating—everyone here is nice (even though we don’t speak the language). Milan was fun, especially b/c there weren’t many tourists. We saw everything from DaVinci’s “The Last Supper,†to Marconi Radios, to the roof of the Duomo Cathedral.
Florence is a little different. It’s a very nice town, with nice people, and lots of American and Japanese tourists (and lots of English-speaking locals). We haven’t seen much yet, but with the heat we’re taking advantage of siesta time (not much choice about it). There have been a few real stories so far, so we’ll have to see if there’s a better Internet connection here or in Rome to tell about our near transportation disasters, etc.