Okay, It's Official!! I'm swamped.

I have just been taking pictures and not having any time to even look at them and do a fast edit for the ones I think will be worth working on in HDR, or something else. I have a s@#t load of files to go through!!! Something for the rainy (I hope for SoCal) winter days.
Last time I was able to post was after Milan, then there was Venice and now I am in Lucca and tomorrow I am off to Cinque Terra and then into Siena before settling in to Florence for an extended period.
I am beginning to see that I am drawn to places with or around water. The Lakes in Italy - Como - Venice, where everything goes by boat, and the ocean of course. The one thing I am tired of is fighting with the tourists for position for taking a photo or getting in line to go through an attraction. I am saving my 'indoor' jaunts for Florence.
Venice was great to be out on the water. The convenience of the water "buses' was even relaxing. I took the tour around Venice a couple of times just the see it from the water.
I have noticed a subtle difference between the French and the Italians. Both their languages use a lot of letters to spell their words. The French realize this and drop letters in speaking constantly. You look at a word spelled out and hear it spoken and it's "how did they come to that??!" Now the Italians also know they have way too many letters in their words, but they insist on pronouncing each and every one. An Italian can be telling you something and you can go to the restroom and come back and they are still telling you the same story.
Why Lucca?, you may have said. Well it is on the way to the west from Venice and it is a small fortified city that Napoleon took a fancy to and didn't have it torn down, and there was no military presence here in the war, so no Allied bombing, and that means there are plenty of very old - original - churches and murals and buildings. AND there are not a lot of tourists. Some but no crowds.

Just so you know I was in Venice

Where are all the boats? Simple - 10 stop ND at 15 sec and puff - they're gone. Levels the water too.

Storm eating the sunset. Followed by marble sized hale.

Oh! Not to forget - a great dinner last night at one of +Rick Steves' recommendations - Osteria Via S. Giorgio. Had a pasta with a light gorgonzola sauce with small pieces of melon. Yum! and then I went all out for the Fiermente steak that was a T-Bone and the juiciest piece of meat I have had in years. I'm still full.

Ciao