Wherefore Art Thou, Romeo?

Hi Everyone,
Verona is awesome! We arrived yesterday after two nights in VERY expensive Venice. After checking in to the lovely guesthouse we are staying in, we walked down to the centre of town and Juliet's house (of Romeo and Juliet - Verona is where Shakespeare set his play.) We saw the famous balcony, toured the house and took lots of photos! We also visited Juliet's tomb. Romeo and Juliet is everywhere here - half the souvenirs you can get have the lovers on them.
Today we have visited the Arena of Verona, a gorgeous outdoor Roman ampitheatre which is Verona's opera house. You can go in and right out to the middle, where Dave had a good time pretending a crowd of 20 000 were all screaming his name!!
We go to Innsbruck in the Austrian Alps in two days time.
Hope everyone is well.

Italy Still

So due to unavailability of accomodation in Venice and Verona at the time we wanted it, we have made an unscheduled two night stop in the town of Bologna, birthplace of bolognaise sauce and said to have some of the best food in Italy. Bologna has two leaning towers, and we decided, since it was about a quarter of the height of the Eiffel, that Bec would be OK if we climbed one. Apart from some nervous moments on the way down the narrow staircase all was OK and everyone is in one piece!

From here we go to Venice and Verona, then on to Austria which we are both looking forward to very much.

In Italy...

Firstly, a very happy birthday to Ophelia.
Welcome with us to Florence, Italy. Even though it is November Florence is still packed with tourists, the crowds are insane. Now that the weekend is over it should calm a little hopefully. We arrived here yesterday morning on an overnight train and spent yesterday just walking around the city and doing some laundry (how exciting). We came via Nice on the French Riviera, where we spent one night. The coastline is so beautiful - the days we were there were perfect, blue skies with not a cloud to be seen. The water is so blue and so clear - in the shallows you can see the rocks on the bottom. We spent the first day exploring Nice - the second day we were both getting a little tired so we went to an Irish pub to watch Man United v Arsenal live on the telly.
One of the first things we wanted to do in Italy was have some gelati - and it did not disappoint! Don't worry though - we won't eat too much! Bec is also enjoying window shopping and has already found a pair of shoes she would like! We have decided, instead of going to Pisa to see the leaning tower, to do a day trip to a little town called Siena tomorrow. After here, the plan is to move on to Verona and then Venice, and on into Austria.
Highlights of the trip so far have been the tapas bars in San Sebastian, the palace at Versailles and the coastline at Nice. We are both well, having a great time and not getting on each others nerves too much!! We are managing with the language OK, although Dave is getting muddled and speaking Spanish in France and French in Italy!! The weather is still mild - most days are no colder than a Sydney autumn or winter.
So what's happening back home? Anything exciting?