We traveled all day long yesterday to get from Marseille to Bologna. Once we finally arrived, we rented a car and then the fun really began! Fortunately, our hotel was only a few minutes away--we were both starving and tired, and driving/navigating in a foreign country isn't the easiest under the best of circumstances. We got checked in and there was a restaurant on the premises, thank goodness. Kathi--I was reminded of that time when you and I were afraid to leave our hotel for dinner in case we couldn't find our way back after being lost that day!! The hotel was really nice, kind of a pleasant change from being in an apartment. They had computers for their guests to use, so I spent a bit of time making my memory book from the Majestic Princess cruise. I am so bummed that Travelpod has decided to shut down after 20 years! I swear, my sister and I are the kiss of death for anything we like!! I will let y'all know what website I decide to use to track our travels. Thank you, Kimberly, for doing some research for me. Big kiss and hug to you!! We checked out of our hotel and drove for about an hour toward Florence, or Firenze as it's called here. Beautiful scenery along the way when we could see--we spent a lot of the time in tunnels. One was 10 km long (6.2 miles!!) One little hiccup getting our ticket for the toll road, it would help a LOT if we could read Italian...but we managed and even successfully paid, so it's all good. We found our Tuscany Farmhouse without any problems--we are WAY above the city, gorgeous views, and the building is from the 15th century!! You can feel it when you walk in the door, it was really warm outside, but cool when we came indoors. The couple who met us, Elisabetta and her husband (name later), are the nicest couple. Both speak multiple languages and fortunately for us, English is one of them. :)) They own the property and it's been handed down on her side for a lot of years. They have lots of olive trees and all kinds of vegetables...chickens that lay, so fresh eggs for us and lemons...I'm loving this so far! The wifi isn't the best and there's not a microwave, but seems like it will be a pleasant week to spend in the country.