Venice

The last city we would visit during our trip to Italy was Venice. We got to Venice after it was already dark outside, but immediately after exiting the train station we felt like we were in Neverland or Disney World. Straight across from the train station was the Grand Canal and a large bridge. We walked along the cobble stone streets passing open markets and stores with lots of Venetian Glass. We checked into the cutest hotel we had stayed in all week and left our luggage to treat ourselves to dinner.

The hotel worker suggested a Trattoria around the corner so we went there for dinner. I ordered lasagna and mom got a calzone. We ate and talked with the people next to us and compared travel stories. For dessert mom bought a apple pastry from a bakery and we split it while we watched a movie on her laptop. This was our routine for the week to walk all day and watch a movie at night.

We were so excited about being in Venice that we woke up at 7 to be downstairs for the continental breakfast at 8. Everything seemed to be going to plan with only a light rain outside. The owner of the hotel served us cappuccinos wearing waders and I knew something was up. Mom thought I said the word "waiter" and didn't understand what I was puzzled about. Then, we heard the sound water makes when someone is trying to walk through it. Yes, Venice was flooded all over with several inches deep of water. We had no rain boots so we were stuck in the hotel until the water receded from the tide.

To make the most of our morning, we drank another cappuccino and played travel scrabble. The game last about an hour which bought us enough time to tip-toe over a puddle and make it to the main street outside of our hotel. The rain continued so we would walk a in between shops making our way down the street.

Finally, we made it to the water taxis and bought day passes for the water boats. Luckily, the boats were covered and slightly heated so we rode around the island and up the Grand Canal. We stopped in Piazza San Marco which is the main square in Venice. We walked through Duomo number 4 of the week. We followed a small street off of San Marco to an Italian restaurant for lunch and ate mushroom pizza and salad one last time. Mom bought temporary ran boots, which were plastic bags that went over your shoes, but I opted out since the rain had stopped.

I had researched Venice and new that a small island made most of the Venetian Glass that Venice was famous for. However, since it was Saturday most of the factories in Murano were closed so we mostly just looked in the shops.

To finish our stay in Venice we walked up and down bridges, shopped, and watched one more movie. On Sunday morning we said our good-byes at breakfast. Mom had a small melt down because she was leaving me. I cried too of course. No one cries alone. Our plan was for her to fly from Venice to JFK and I would train from Venice to Regensburg. I only have 3 short days left in Europe!

I am so glad I got to experience Italy with my mom. There is no one I would have rather traveled with and I am so thankful we were together. I missed her so much over my semester and am ready to be home in the states.

Verona & Juliet's House

We stepped off the train in Verona and got on a bus that would take us to the city center of Verona. In the main square, Verona has an Arena similar to the Coliseum in Rome. We just took pictures of the outside since we had already heard about the activities that went on the arenas in Rome.

When we were near the homes of Romeo and Juliet, we found an open market similar to the Christmas markets in Germany. The architecture and 'feeling' of Verona is enchanted. There are colorful buildings with paintings on the sides and towers. On the map there was a "Well of Love" so we found it before Juliet's house.

I was most excited to see Juliet's house and balcony. We took our picture with the statue of Juliet in front of her wall and balcony. We paid to tour Juliet's house which was several floors. I got to stand and take my picture on Juliet's balcony! I read Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet, several times over my years in school so this was a neat experience for me.

Evidently the historical society is not concerned with Romeo's house because we could only view it from the outside. After our fill of Verona, we loaded back on the train to Venice, our last stop in Italy!

Bologna

When we got to Bologna after Pisa, we tried to check into the hotel but the B&B had selective check in times. To make the most of our evening, we brought our luggage around the old town of Bologna. We went to Piazza Maggiore, which is the all pedestrian square in Bologna. The square has several large brick buildings that were similar to Siena's. We saw the Fountain of Neptune and walked the narrow streets with shops just past the square.

We bought cheese from a shop and had cheese and crackers for dinner. The most interesting part of Bologna were all of the arches that covered sidewalks on both sides of the streets. It was one arch after another for the entire city on all streets. We didn't have much time for Bologna, but we still saw the town by foot. We walked around that evening and finished our list of sights the next morning before we left on a train to Verona!

Castello Il Palagio

When a person goes to Italy, they must take a vineyard tour while in Tuscany. My mom and I took a public coach bus 50 minutes away from Florence and got off at the Mercantile stop...which was about 3 stops too soon. In the countryside of Tuscany, few english speakers can be found.

We asked two men in the city center how to get to Castello il Palagio and they said it was a 4 km walk. We had only one choice so we started in the direction they pointed. Within minutes we came to a fork in the road and asked an old Italian woman where to go from there. She spoke only Italian and kept saying "Quatro Strado." She made us go down the right street of the fork. We kept walking up hills and back down. For the entire 45 minute walk, all we could do was admire the countryside in Tuscany with rolling hills of vineyards and villas while saying "thank goodness it's not raining" repeatedly.

All of the sudden, we came around a corner and saw the vineyard we were looking for, Castello Il Palagio! I had booked us a tour of the vineyard and a tasting of wine, cheese, bread, and salad. Since we arrived a little later than planned, we got a private tour of the castle which was built in 1252. The castle sits between Florence and Siena and served as a military structure until 300 years ago it became a vineyard. We learned that one olive tree produces only 4 bottles of olive oil. Our guide, who was a small, young Italian woman, showed us the wine cellar which previously served as the castle's underground prison. After the tour it was time to eat!

We walked upstairs and found a table waiting with toasted garlic bread and olive oil, wines, and salad. Our guide also gave us almond cookies for dessert. We loved our tour and decided it was our favorite thing we did in Italy!

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

To get the most of out of our Italy Eurail, we trained from Florence to Pisa, Pisa to Bologna in one day. Pisa was our "train break" that lasted about 2 hours. When we got off the train, I looked at a map and the leaning tower of Pisa looked like an easy fifteen or twenty minute walk. We walked over a bridge in Pisa that gave a great view of the city.

When I planned to visit the tower, I wasn't sure I wanted to see the tourist staple of Italy. My opinion changed when we saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person. The white tiled tower began to be constructed in three different phases around 1173. We did not go up the tower, but took lots of pictures from below.

We went inside Duomo number 3 of the week which was right next to the leaning tower. Mom tried to light another candle like we did in Florence, but this time she put someone else's out on accident.

I am glad we saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa for a couple of hours. We both agreed is was a highlight of the trip!

Florence

We woke in Florence to rain, but not even weather could keep us inside. We grabbed the umbrellas and started walking to old town. About twenty minutes into the walk it started to pour rain, so we ducked into a coffee shop for cappuccinos. By the time we finished our drink and looking at the window displays, the rain had calmed down enough for us to go outside. Our next idea was to walk through Florence's Duomo. My mom and I lit candles in the church, which was neat. Down the street from the church we found outdoor markets. I bargained for a gray hat and mom found a neat ornament.

We didn't see as much of Florence as I would have liked that morning because we took bus ride through Tuscany to Castello Il Palagio for a vineyard tour. However, the next morning we woke up early to the best day of weather we had in Italy and saw more of Florence. We did an hour loop around the main old buildings. My favorite was the large bridge over the river with lots of shops on the bridge. Mom kept saying, "They just don't make them like the use to." She is completely right. In Florence it is easy to tell of the of different styles of architecture through the years because all of the buildings are so different. Italy has so many beautiful cities with colorful buildings, cobble stone streets, and great shops!

Siena

To avoid carrying our luggage around Siena, we went to Florence and left our luggage at the hotel. I got a little turned around in Florence so the luggage drop took longer than expected. We got back on the train and went to the medieval city in Italy.

The temperatures were cooler than Rome so we walked around for a couple of hours before getting back on the train to Florence. We saw Piazza del Campo which is a shell shaped piazza in Siena with old brick buildings surrounding the center. Siena also had lots of cute shops with Tuscan theme ceramics inside. We stopped for our daily cappuccino while we warmed up. Italy is interesting because it charges almost double if you drink a cappuccino at a table instead of standing up at the counter. In Siena we walked around the first Duomo church of the week. Italy has many Duomo's in every city. The cathedrals are white and blue striped on the inside and outside.

We made it back to Florence and ate dinner at Trattoria. We had lasagna instead of mushroom pizza. Lasagna became my favorite food to order in Italy. I never even ate lasagna in the states, but now it's a must!