For my 50th birthday, Judith surprised me with a trip to Italy.

We flew into Milano Linate airport after an overnight flight with a transfer in Frankfurt but kept ourselves awake for dinner by wandering about. Our friends Marco and Giovanna had reserved a table for at the restaurant Piero e Pia. Fortunately, to take care of the americanos, they had brought on a waitress who had lived in San Diego,. We were the first to arrive, and were treated to one of our lifetime best meals, including a veal chop with porcini mushrooms, and finishing with a plate of ten cheeses. Despite jetlag, we were among the last to leave.

The next day we rented a car and drove up to Lago d’Orta, also recommended by our friends, as it is off the beaten path. It was a challenging drive, being our first time driving in a foreign country with unfamiliar roads, rules, and signs. And since it was before turn-by-turn navigation apps, it led to the inevitable map reading accusations. Orta is a medieval town with narrow streets that barely allow a car through, so after dropping our bags near the hotel, we parked at the public lot on the outskirts. The town itself is charming and we enjoyed wonderful meals, a trip out to Isola San Giulio, and a walk up to the monastery at Sacra Monte.

One day we drove over to Stresa on Lago Maggiore and took an excursion to Isola Bella one of the Borromean islands. We didn’t trust in finding our way back in the dark over the mountain roads, so we drove back to Orta for dinner. After three days, we drove back to Milano, dropped off the rental car and took the train to Venice.

Getting off at Santa Lucia train station, we lugged our bags over to a gondola for transportation to our hotel near St. Mark’s Square. We climbed St. Mark’s tower at sunset, wandered through neighborhoods, and visited the Doge Palace, and took a day trip to the Lido. As we wandered we would look at each restaurant — rejecting those with pictorial menus or German cuisine, and eventually discovered that Fodor’s Guide was a reliable source.

After another three nights in Venice, we took the train to Florence, where we admired the Duomo and the Uffizi Gallery, and strolled along and across the Arno. The only negative experience was the smoking, as back then people smoked inside restaurants.

One day we took a local train to Pisa, whose famous tower we climbed, and we also admired the Battistero. Thanks to Fodors we found a fantastic restaurant and talked our way into a meal be promising to leave before their 7:30 reservation. It was no problem as we had to catch the late train back to Florence. Alone on the platform, except for two tough-looking guys with piercings and leather jackets. We waited nervously until one of the toughs unzipped his jacket to show a cute little puppy.

The next day, we took a train over to Siena, admiring the Duomo’s alternating rows of blue and gray stones and we were fortunate that some of the amazing floor carvings had had been exposed. We took an espresso in the square, and then climbed the tower with its breathtaking views. Finally getting the hang of Italy we retired to an Enoteca for a three hour lunch before heading back to Florence and then on to Milan.

Our last full day in Milan was devoted to the Last Supper, for which we had requested reservation on our first day in town. We had read Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code, so we were eager to see how Mary Magdalene was represented. You should see for yourself, as photos aren’t permitted, but having spent the last 10 days looking at Renaissance art, and the skill of Davinci, it was clear to us that a red-haired woman was next to Jesus.