One more post to wrap things up. I had read that you have to be careful about getting licensed taxi drivers in Rome. All of the cabs have the fixed rate fare to the airport posted on the door of the cab. We did some math and decided it would be worth the few extra euros. We asked our hotel to arrange for a cab to pick us up at 8:00 am the following morning. "Si Seniore, I'll call my cousin. He's in the business." The next morning, sure enough, we are picked up by a handsome young man, dressed in a suit, and driving a black Mercedes. We were well under way before I noticed that there was no meter in the cab. Unlicensed cab!
I have to stop here and explain our understanding of the metric system. Our Canadian friends taught me how to translate Celsius to Fahrenheit. Roughly, (Celsius X 2) + 30. It was Larsen's job to remember kilometers vs. miles per hour.
Back to the story: Everything was fine at first. Then for some reason our cabby starts to drive really fast. As we speed through a tunnel I'm channeling Princess Diana. I looked at the speedometer and it's reading 170 kilometers per hour. Yikes! I look at Larsen and he seems not to notice anything amiss. How fast are we going? I try to remember the calculation. All I can come up with is TOO DAMNED FAST! Larsen remains calm. Somehow we arrive at the airport alive. Larsen pays and as the cabby drives away he says, "Holy Sh* t!!!!" I get out my phone and google the calculation. 170 kph = 106 mph!
Best Flight Ever
Such a difference from the flight over. Wine, Black Jack, and Chick Flicks. The 2-4-2 seat configuration means We don't have to deal with seat mates. Yea!
Say what you will about TSA but we were impressed. The wheel of Pecorino seemed to cause concern all the way along the route. Rome pulled us out of line for special inspection and in Charlotte, Customs confiscated Larsen's sausage (?) and TSA inspected the cheese several times. I got patted down twice. We were just glad to be home before the government shutdown. Jet lag seems to be hanging on. We're in bed every night by 8:00 a.m. This must stop!
The European Diet
This is the best part. Seater spent a month on vacation and lost four pounds! How is this possible? Well, we walked all day, every day. I may have mentioned the stairs everywhere we went. And in Tuscany, they don't call them hill towns for nothing. All of that was just to get us in shape for Amalfi. Good thing we didn't start in Amalfi.
I don't think I told you this: Everything in Europe, and especially Italy, is ala carte. Water (1.50), the bread basket (2.00) per head, the salad (4.00), the vegetable (4.00 - 6.00), the pasta course (6.00), and the main course (8.00-12.00). So if you tell us our entire meal is $24.00, we're o.k. with it. (Wince). But if you try to ding us for everything individually, well.......we're seriously dehydrated and it's been a month since we've had salad or a vegetable. If not for Limoncello, I'm sure we'd have rickets! Sadly, at 100 calories per ounce, there is no more limoncello in my life. Tragic.
Cold Furry Shoulders
The morning after we got back, I couldn't wait to go collect the cats. They didn't meet us at the door. In fact, we had to fish them out from under Rose's bed. Bogey had a brief lapse where he was all over Larsen but then he remembered himself. They both spent two days under our bed. Point taken.
Just What We Needed
Larsen picked up a month's worth of voicemail messages from his phone. The County called to say that our new smart meter alarmed and they think we have a water leak. Our water bill for the month we were gone is $387.00. The plumber verified the leak and explained that all of the houses in our area have copper tubing laid on construction rubble and covered with a coorosive cement slab. Genius! This is a $4000.00 repair.
I'm particularly upset because I had planned to call David (our money guy) to see if we could buy an organic winery in Tuscany. I'm thinking this may influence his decision.
Happy Pigs
A little research while the house was overrun with plumbers turned up a farm not far from here (Eland's Eden) that has certified happy pigs, cows, and chickens. We'll be going up to visit the farm next week. You may be surprised to know that Larsen is fully on board. Happy animals, raised in spa-like conditions, legitimately cost more. We plan to make up the difference by just eating less and mabe a meatless Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday............
O.K. That's a wrap. The Bickersen's final blog. Thanks again for following us on our big adventure. Oh, did I mention that I lost four pounds?
The Bickersens