Mom and Dad got to Venice a day before the rest of use.  They say they had to do some

paperwork, but looking at their pictures, I suspect an ulterior motive.  First they saw a bit of Venice.

The next morning, they went to the airport for a meeting at the consulate where

they did their alleged paperwork, then they picked up a rental car.  A Renault

Scenic with navigation system.  It was a 6 speed with a tiny diesel engine that

couldn't get out of it's own way with a tail wind, but did get really good mileage.

They headed off into the Italian country side.

On their way to Maranello, home of the Ferrari factory.  Unfortunately, the only

way to get into the Ferrari factory is to actually own one.  Luckily for Mom and

Dad, they will let owners of German and British sports cars (or anybody else for

that matter) into the museum.  The Torino car is the car that was doing donuts

during the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Next they headed off to Bologna, home of the Ducati factory, where they'll let

anybody in, but you do have to phone first and make an appointment.  They

could only take pictures if a few places, but they said the tour was really cool.