STOP THE PRESSES!!

No, I'm not buying a return ticket and coming back home.  I am now in Vicenza and I think if and when I do another trip to Italy, I will want to visit here for at least a week or so.  It doesn't have the Duomo but  it reminds me in a way of Florence and I've had one relatively good actual food cooked for me and a really amazing pizza today.

I'm staying at a B&B called Casa Belfiore on the outer edge of the historic center of Vicenza and I cannot believe this place.  It's right up there under whatever that one was where I stayed in Bologna.  Back then it was my most expensive stay at E62 and I've checked a time or two and it's worked its way out of my price range.  Casa Belfiore on the other hand will cost me a bit less than $50.  My pictures will show you why this is amazing.

The kitchen is very new, very clean, nicely supplied (even tea bags!) and I probably won't make use of any of it except the teabags since it's just 2 days. But I sure do like it.

The bathroom compared to the first 2 places is like being in the Ritz or something.  Still smallish but very stylish too.

The bedroom is fairly plain but those two little black things on the wall are the brightest by the bed lights I've encountered in my travels and I need bright light more and more.

A big, big closet and then...

My little desk and see that curtain at a door?  Below is what it goes to.

By this point I was pretty much speechless which didn't really matter because the father of the young man I had dealt with arranging things was showing me everything and he didn't understand English and I didn't understand Italian, so it was a hoot.  But isn't this incredible?!

 A little grassy area after the paved patio...

 I walked a little nearer the back and took this picture - a nice shady glade with bench.  And below, a little grape arbor with grapes!!  I am livin' the life.

The father told me about a restaurant that is maybe a block and a half away that had good pizza.  I was by then starving and it was close and he said it was good so off I went.  It was very Italian - a big group of people at one table having what appeared to be a jolly argument and a few others who weren't noisy but had kids that would run up to the counter and then back to the parents.  I'm sure it almost totally regulars there except for us furners the B&B sends up.  But I branched out on my pizza - they had one that said Mozzarella (of course), then buffalatta Mozarella with two words after it I can't remember and a few little shrimp scattered here and there and slivers of zucchini.  I took a picture so you could see how they did the crust.  And the crust was so flavorful- I don't know if they salted it lightly or maybe salted the dough a little more than other places, or what but man, oh man it was tasty delicious.  They didn't speak English either but I did manage to tell them "molto delicioso" and they understood that.  I'm still  not sure what buffalatta Mozarella is but that's all right.  Now I know I like it :) And I just managed to think "go look it up dummy, and it's Mozarella made from buffalo milk.  By the time I left we had communicated off and on without understanding each other and so there was lots of by-by-ing or I should say "ciao-ciao-ing" which always makes me happy.  I'll go tomorrow night and maybe try an entree.

Strangely enough this place served red wine cold from the fridge just like I was served in Padua and Verona.  I have to say I don't like it nearly as well but I drank it with no real problem. (tee hee)

And I will now go back to finishing up my sightseeing in Verona and don't know how much sightseeing I'll get done here.  Good grief!  It's 6:00 already so gee, I imagine I'll just have to not do any sightseeing today.  :)

Maybe I'll do another trip next year instead of waiting 2 years like I have on all the others with no actual plan to do it that way.  I could take an Italian course and stay a month or two.