The Ways of Venice

When we arrived in Vencie we had a bit of a starling surprise, after wandering around the maze of streets to find the place we were supposed to stay we found out she had no idea we were coming. Luckily, she called a couple of people around town and set up places for us to sleep. We were all very grateful. We actually ended up in a great part of town, with a water us stop just over one bridge and an easy walk to St Mark's square. 

After we got settled, we went out and wandered around to get lost in Venice. We did an excellent job of getting lost! We heard an opera from the backstage doors, saw an illegal fire dancer, listened to dueling violinists on the square, and watched the gondolas bob in the lagoon. We enjoyed our stroll and were thankful for the map!

The next morning was a slow one, we slept in a bit, had a light breakfast at the apartment and headed off to Lido, a regular stop on the waterbus. The water felt great, but it was no where near as beautiful as Capri. We had planned to stay until 5, but by about 3 the kids were all ready to leave. 

After a home cooked meal, a few of us went off for a waterbus ride down the canal. We ended up facing the strong way and took a ride out to Lido and back instead. We saw some amazing lightning over the city and enjoyed the evening.

Our last day was a busy one, with a your of the Doge's Palace and then a boat your out to Murano and the other islands. The boat was packed, so we decided to leave the tour at Murano and take the bus back to Benice. We saw an artist shape glass and did some shopping.

We ended the evening with another tour and our gondola ride, where my gondiet talked on his phone the whole time! Awe well, such is life.

Veni, Vidi, Vici,

Today was pretty amazing, and Gaby wins the tough chick of the day award. 

Eight of us went on a seventeen mile bike ride through the Tuscan countryside, and they have major hills! The Texas hill country looks wimpy compared to what we did today! Of course, we did the easy ride, and the owner and guides from I Bike Tuscany were awesome!

We began our ride in the town of Castelena, stopped for a water break and photo in Ruddo, and finished in Brolio. It was beautiful but I think it about killed me. Maria and I were only able to do 16 of the 17 mile ride, those inclines are intense. Everyone was pooped when we finished though so that makes me feel less like a wimp. (When the boys said it was tough for them and they were tired, it made me feel better about not doing that last mile.)

After our ride, we had an amazing lunch at the Castello Brolio restaurant where the Baron has held that title since 600 (when the Romans were still the envy of the world), the current Baron is the 32nd generation of the ruling family. The family also owns and operates the second oldest producing winery in the world. Our tour operator, Marco, arranged a private tour for us so we could see how they make, bottle, and age wine in Italy. It was awesome!

Tomorrow we head to Firenze (Florence) to see art and see how well the kids do on the scavenger hunt I made! Expect some great pictures from that. 

Tuscan Nights

We arrived in Tuscany today after a windy drive through the mountains and we are I heaven. The stay is part Middle Ages tower and part additions through the centuries, it is all stunning. We do not have air conditioning but with the breeze on top of the hills we should be just fine.

The girls took a cooking class and made a four course meal for the group for dinner, we have enough for dinner tomorrow as well. It was delicious! They said they'd never made such a big meal before, but were very proud of the final results.

Tomorrow we have our bike ride, and frankly we are all a bit nervous after driving the roads today. This place is stunning however and several of the boys have already decided to come back here for their honeymoons. 

Our hosts are wonderful and we are so glad we happened upon it! 

Pizza!

The two days that we have been in Naples have been a blast. My favorite thing about this city is the pizza. Since Naples is the birthplace of the food, it makes sense that it would be the bomb. I was expecting it to be pretty good, but I had my mind blown. 

The pizza we ate here is by far the best I have ever tasted. As fast as I ate it, it is surprising I did taste it. We went to the same pizzeria twice because it is so amazing. 

Not only is the pizza amazing, but the ice cream is fantastic. I just can't seem to get enough of it.

Day 2 in Naples

We went to Pompeii today. It was a great experience! It was amazing being able to see all the ruins. We walked around for two hours and yet we didn't see all of it. Most of us were amazed by everything we saw. We even got to see the bodies that were found in Pompeii a ways after the volcano erupted. We took a lot of pictures and will sure share with y'all. 

Tomorrow we will go to Capri. I know Maria and I are very excited to go! We have been waiting to be able to go to the beach since the beginning of our trip! We will take a hydrofoil to Capri in the morning, spend the whole day there and return to Naples in the afternoon.

 We hope to have a blast and we will keep you updated throughout our trip! 

Traveling Like a European

We left our stay in Rome this morning after a beautiful breakfast of freshly made croissants, coffee, yogurt and fruit. Our supposedly short trip to the train station turned into a tour of the city, but we made it. We ended up having to purchase train tickets for the first class cars so we didn't have to sit at the station for two hours.

While we were waiting for our train, one of the kids' backpacks was stolen, luckily everything in it is replaceable. This is one of those things that every traveler in Europe experiences at one time or another and it is easy to remedy. It did lead to a reminder about keeping track of every bag and making sure when we are in a train station to keep everything together, important documents on their person or with one of the chaperones, and to be aware that theft is real here. Part of travel is learning how the world works and even though the kids were a bit shaken up they had recovered well by the time we were on the way to Naples.

Because we had first class tickets we had cars a la Harry Potter, minus the every flavor beans and chocolate frogs! The kids were lucky enough to have their own car while the four chaperones cozied up to a couple of Italians who made phone calls at every stop. First class in Italy does not always mean private, but the seats are much more comfortable.

Our two hour trip was delayed a couple of times because of another train which had broken down on the line in front of us. While we waited, we were "treated" to a serenade by one of the other passengers...it was amusing. Especially when a woman keep telling him to stop singing. When we finally got moving again we came upon the Gulf of Formia, and got closer to the ocean. There was an obvious change in the scenery and homes, fewer billboards, more green, and shorter buildings to name a few. I image the streets also had much less trash than in Rome.

When we finally arrived we went through a beautiful subway station and into the  historic district where we were greeted by tons of graffiti! It was truly a day of travel in Italy!

A Papal Audience

This morning we all awoke before 5:30 AM to begin our day at the Vatican. We had no real idea of what to expect, aside from the thousands of chairs we saw yesterday on our way out of St. Peter's Basilica. We had planned to arrive at 6AM, hit the market for a quick breakfast and snack purchasing, but we got out of the Castello a bit later than planned. Several of the kids seemed a bit more tired this morning, but they were in good spirits. 

We arrived at the Vatican to find a mass of people waiting to fill the square, we were all glad we hadn't arrived at 6AM as originally planned. After forming our own little people train to push through the crowd, we swept through the metal detectors and into the sections of chairs. From what we were told, the free tickets we had guaranteed us seats. We were lucky and found seats in the first section of chairs. By 7:30 we were all seated and began the wait for Pope Francis...at 10AM. 

Spirits were still good, but a few of the kids took naps in their seats. It was not a place to just wander around. We had been told by the US Bishop's office to expect 100,000 - 200,000 people. They weren't kidding. The seats filled quickly and we pulled out a few games and were awed by the masses. 

The crowds are nothing like those in the states, even thoughthere were tons of police, secret service, and Swiss Guards throughout the crowd, everyone seemed calm and contented to wait. Even the kids understood the significance of this morning. 

When the time came for the Pope to arrive, the crowd climbed up on chairs as he was driven around the square kissing babies. As we watched, our name was announced as visitors today and we cheered louder than I've ever heard the kids cheer! 

The message was simple, and read in six different languages, remember to love one another and do not feel as though your faith has to be outward only. He then bestowed his blessing upon all of us and our families and loved ones before blessing the relics we had all brought. 

As a non-Catholic I'll never be able to truly understand the intensity and importance of seeing the Pope, but as a person of faith and the world I am glad to have this experience. It is moot to ask, "How many people can say they have seen the Pope in person?" simply because there are so many people at each public audience, but that does not make it less of an amazing and unique experience. 

On our last full day in Rome, we are able to experience something many people in America might balk at, thousands of people gathering together, in peace, to join for a few moments of faith, whether we were all of the same faith or not. I did not feel pressure to change my beliefs, purchase everything the Vatican has to offer, or nervous by being surrounded by thousands. This morning was truly a morning of peace, faith, and joy. I doubt I will ever have a similar experience again, and I hope the kids feel the same way.