I agree, and I think the same goes in reverse. Now, I guess I'm
making a point since I have nothing to lose here. Its already lost.

Florence is very nice and I got a beautiful leather coat there.
Seeing your posts brought back memory
of my trip to Italy more than 10 years ago. We went all over Italy,
from Sorento in the south to the Italian lakes near the Swiss border.
Unfortunately we didn't get many good meals until we ate at a small island
near Venice.
I remember my gelato in Rome near Spanish steps readily melted in the heat
during Siesta :(
Maybe I should take a trip to little Italy in town.

Winnie

If you go, go in the spring and fly into Paris, to Orly airport, Spend
at least a few days (a week is better) in Paris, (the left bank is the best,
it is older and more medieval, though all the big grand stuff like the
Eiffel
Tower, the Tuileries, and the Louvre are on the right bank) then take a
slow train to Florence Italy that goes along the coast of France near
Nice. (The express is NOT what you want. Put your foot down, if
you don't speak French well, as the worst thing in the world about
France is the guys who work at the train stations! They are just very
intimidating. I speak a little French and can understand it and Italian
very well from my Latin and Greek years.)

The reason I say go in the spring and fly into Paris--because that
way you get the whole treatment. It may be cheaper to go in the
winter and fly into London, but I'm telling you, the price difference
is not big enough to make it worth it. Late April to early May--in
Paris--is heaven. I walked around crying part of the time just because
every thing is so beautiful. Then you get to Florence and every thing
(in my opinion) is even more beautiful. And believe it or not, there
are safe, clean places where you can stay that cost $50 USD a
night--both on the Left Bank in Paris and in Florence.

It's not everyone's cup of tea--you have to be kind of a
"culture vulture," to be wowed by old stuff and beautiful
stuff, and to like museums and gardens. I had a rail pass
so I could go anywhere on the train. I found markets and
lived on the cheese and fruit and bread I bought there the
first time I went. And--wildest of all, to many people--I
went alone. It was wonderful, as I just did whatever I wanted
and did not have to consult with anyone. (I was neither married
nor in love at the time. Had I been, I would have gone with him.)
Everything is just so different. You would love it. I hope you
decide to go one day. It is expensive but you can do anything
if you really want to.

so

Yes, it is very sad, but we can't control other people.  I wish those
types of posts would never be made but have no way of stopping it.
Only thing you can do is filter it out in your head and think of all
the many positive posts and wonderful people.
--
Britta
"There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast." -- Unknown
Check out pictures of Vino at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album

To put another spin on it.  I had two grandmothers.  One I called the kitty
grandmother and one I called the birdie grandmother.

The kitty grandmother always had cats about and sometimes a new litter of
kittens.  She lived in the mountains on the edge between a small town and
wilderness.  And she didn't have much use for birds.  Mostly I suspect
because she was very superstitious and considered birds to be bringers of
bad luck.

The birdie grandmother lived on an acre in farming country and the bushed
and trees in her yard were full of birds. Most every year there was at least
one nest I could watch from building and eggs to fledglings learning to fly.
She taught be how to tell the different birds apart both by their looks and
their songs.  I still get a small thrill when I happen to see a bird that
was one of her particular favorites.  A cat stalking in her yard would
likely have been met with a pan full of dishwater.

Now I firmly maintain it was good for me to know and love them both.

Jo

Hijacking Adrian's post because I am getting lost.

Sending purrs to Seanette for whatever is going on to be resolved
happily.

Ginger-lyn

Home Pages:
 http://www.spiritrealm.com/summer/
 http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats)
 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~summer/index.htm (genealogy)
 http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against
                        Animals in Movies Website)