Elba Island

We are currently in Florence, at the Hotel Albani, in a room that is distracting in a very brothel kind of way....but let me catch you up! We spent the day on Elba Island, Napoleon's home way from home for about a year. He kind of chose his own exile there, fixed the place up, then left for his second round of conquering the world before messing up at Waterloo and being sent to far away St Helena where he couldn't get into too much trouble.

But you know all that.  These days, Elba is like an Italian Ft. Lauderdale, only older.

View from near Napoleon's villa

Well, and the views are better.  In an apparently typical Italian disregard of schedules, neither Napoleon's villa, nor the fortress were open, but we did get into the theatre.

Doesn't look like much from the outside... 

This theater was one of the first horseshoe-shaped designs. This is a view of the boxes. 

A few more shots of our walkabout

Bob, me and nephew Al

Dipping my toes in the Mediterranean. It was cold! 

We also had a "home-hosted lunch", which was pizza, salad, lasagne and ice cream. And then they brought out the alcohol. 

From left to right: grappa, water, homemade limoncello, grappa, grappa, wine and grappa

We were late getting back. Our van driver loved us! We sang Volare, loudly, all the way home.