Clearing the Air and Creating Confusion

As mentioned in the comments, a building in Pompeii collapsed in the last couple of days.  The clear implication of the commenter is that Anne and Mark had something to do with the collapse.  Upon further review, it is possible that this is the case.

Feels sturdy enough...

Clearly visible in the photo above is a shadowy figure who may or may not be Mark (of "Anne and Mark" fame).  This shadowy figure is leaning against a structure in Pompeii.  Days later, a Pompeii structure collapses.  This has international incident written all over it.

But we have not gotten served with papers from the Italians as of yet.  It appears from news sources (http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/11/08/pompeii.house.gladiators.collapse/) that the building that collapsed  was called "House of the Gladiators."  Upon review of Anne and Mark's backward tour of Pompeii, this weblog can confirm that Anne and Mark did not see this building.  "Backward tour" is not a joke by the way - Anne and Mark entered the wrong side of the city and did the entire walking tour in reverse order, eventually leaving through the entrance - just can't do it the easy way, can we?  Anyway, Anne and Mark could not have caused the collapse, so they appear to be in the clear on that one.

Less clear? More Italian signs.

Which way to drive into the sea?  Over here?  Ok, thanks.

This sign we saw in Amalfi may be the best sign we saw the entire trip.  It would be pretty clear what it means if it has one of those circles with the line through it over the top.  Then it would be saying, "Do not drive your car into this Sea."  However, this sign does NOT have that circle with the line through it.  Natural interpretation, then: "Drive your car into the sea - this way."

After that, they got a bit more obvious, but no more clear.  For example:

That pretty much sums it up.

Yeah, I guess it did.  But... what?  Also, this one:

They're not kidding.  It took them 15 minutes to bring the wine.

Anne and Mark took this to mean that the tip was not included in the total.  Fair enough.  The interesting part is that the entire receipt is in Italian, but the "Please give us a tip" is in English.  They saw us coming a mile away...

While in Venice, we stopped at a grocery store to pick up some water before one of our trips.  All of the pasta was selling well, as you might expect.  Except for this one, as you might also expect.

Heh, heh.  Stink-o.