Wednesday, June 07, 2006
My Giant
Note: Donna wrote this for Monday, June 5
During the long hours on the bus, Andrew and I tried to pass away the time playing gin rummy and learning Italian from my handy Italian phrase book. For some reason they think it is important to teach you how to say, “I am Bill Gates”; “Is it better than McDonalds”; and “This smells like a locker room” just to name a few. Go figure. I skipped those phrases and spent my time memorizing the gelato section.
Bonny and Stephanie also played a little gin rummy today, although it would have made my dad cry to watch Bonny attempt to remember the rules. First she beat Steph in three hands and only when Andrew started to watch did we realize how she did it so quickly. She was getting runs, but not matching suits. King of Hearts, Queen of Spades, Jack of Diamonds…you get the picture. Second, she continued a winning streak by counting her points in her hand by how many cards she had, 3 cards, that would be three points. We never did figure out why it didn’t throw her that Steph got 17 points, but only 10 cards.
Andrew has affectionately been given the nickname “My Giant” from the tour group. He is by far the tallest person in our group and has a personality to match his height. Today we had another long bus ride on our way to Florence. We actually drove by Florence so that we could take these awesome photos proving just how gigantic Andrew really is. Not only could he effortlessly hold up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but he was also easily able to crush it with one finger. I had much more trouble holding the tower up and had to get several others to attempt the feat at the same time to help me hold it up. Actually Pisa was a pretty little town, but the best part of it was watching about 100 or so adults standing with their arms in the air in order to get their picture holding up the tower. Andrew was quite amused. I hope you all appreciate the sight, as he took a photo. We didn’t do much else in Pisa, although I did find the time to try four more scoops of gelato.
Tonight we checked into our hotel on the outskirts of Florence and finally found internet access, which we both have been in desperate need of for several days. To be connected again! We had dinner out in Florence with the group and then headed in for a relaxing night back in the hotel. We will spend an entire day out in Florence tomorrow. It is supposed to rain, but I hope the weather holds. It is storming like crazy right now.
Andrew 2:33 AM