Venice continues to lose real residents while gaining tourists. Asians are famously buying up and running the shops and locals now admit that no restaurant can survive without being “touristy.” Sexy Piero is no longer quite the playboy. He’s grown a full head of hair, but his voice is as sonorous as ever, and — with his partner Robbie — still seems to get great joy out of running their wonderful Hotel Guerrato.


My buddies Roberto and Manfredo are well. Their conversation was the greatest fiction of this book. All the sentiments and quotes were true — but taken from isolated times with them and they never actually got together until after this book was published. Roberto is the hardest-working guide in Siena and a big help with any projects I have in Tuscany. Manfredo burned out of the hotel business and has gone on to other things.


My Roman friends, Stefano and Paola, who contributed the sweetest romance to this book, are sadly no longer married. Stefano is still my Rome buddy and with each year, his hotel gets better.


Gene, my original travel partner back on the high-school grad trip, remains a key collaborator — co-authoring many guidebooks with me and contributing mightily to our teaching program at Europe through the Back Door.


In Vernazza, Monica and Massimo are happily married with a lovely child and Grandma still makes the pasta at the family restaurant. Vittorio (which is a pseudonym because of my portrayal of him as a playboy) is now too old to effortlessly sweep tourist women off their feet. His story saddens me as my guidebook lets many business owners repeat the sentiment of Sr. Sorriso (who said, “Rick Steves make me a rich man”). Vittorio still shuttles around from restaurant to restaurant, serving anchovies but never really getting a piece of the pie.
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no contract data card
cv writing

 

Good god the Mc12 is one of the sexiest supercars ever.

 

That is quite a nice collection of cars