We Heart Venice

Kee & Dani waiting for the train into Venice

Gondola - Venice

 One of the MANY beautiful bridges in Venice.

 Basilica of San Marco

Breakfast at the hotel

Every corner we turned was another beautiful picture.

 Some German boy scouts visiting Venice.

 The kiddies admiring the scenery.

 The whole fam.

Dani & Kee on a Gondola in Venice. Cool stuff.

 Me and the man responsible for this amazing trip. I love him.

So many beautiful food/treat displays in the store windows.

We woke up and had breakfast at our little hotel. It was a typical European breakfast. Bread, rolls, jams, cheese and "tea, coffee or hot chocolate". They always act surprised when Jeff and I order hot chocolate instead of coffee. The hot chocolate was divine. It was so thick and rich. The kids were in heaven.

We got everyone ready and walked to the train station to head in to Venice. It was a 10 minute train ride on a double decker train. No one will be surprised to know that Jeff was giving all the kids safety lectures as we waited for the train. Some of that advice included, "don't stand too close to the tracks because kids start monkeying around and someone could get knocked down onto the tracks. Some kids just spontaneously spaz out.  If you fall on the tracks, you'll get cut in half." I've always loved how subtle and sensitive Jeff is. (B* later pointed out that technically, you'd get cut in thirds because there are two tracks)! Hopefully none of the little ones will be having nightmares tonight about getting cut in half.

Venice was AMAZING!!! We felt like we were in a dream needing to pinch ourselves the entire day. Of all the places I've ever traveled, I think Venice is the most beautiful city I've ever seen. Every corner you turned was another picture waiting to be taken. And each looked like it could be a postcard. As we wandered through the streets, a gondolier approached us about taking a gondola ride. We said, "no thanks" until he offered a price we couldn't refuse. So all 12 of us hopped in two separate gondolas and headed down the grand canal and then into some beautiful narrow canals off the beaten path. We were on gondolas......in Venice! It still seems like a dream. A really, really good dream! :)

We had lunch in a quaint little Italian restaurant where they put us in a back room lined with beautiful wood paneling and a restroom that looked like a little hobbit cave as you entered. I'm quite sure they stuck us back there, in fear, when they saw the sheer number of children in our party. They hoped we wouldn't disturb anyone if we were banished to the back room I'm sure. Of course, we preferred to think of it as the V.I.P. room they save for parties of 12 with very well behaved children. We had amazing pizza, lasagna, and salads and then headed out to find gelato of course.

After our gelato, we headed to Piazza San Marco and the Basilica of San Marco. Stunningly beautiful! I have never, ever taken so many pictures in a single day. Thank goodness for digital cameras!!

The girls have been absolute troopers. We literally walk all day long and they don't complain at all about being tired. They've been so good on this trip. Jeff has been extremely patient with the 1,000 stops a day at souvenir stands and shops while the girls try to find the perfect souvenir for themselves or a friend. He is also the master navigator. Wherever we are, he is standing there with his map navigating our next turn. He is so much fun to travel with. He keeps us all laughing too!

After a very full day in Venice, we headed back to the hotel on the train and then stopped at a grocery store to buy dinner. We made Prosciutto with Swiss cheese sandwiches in the hotel room and enjoyed some delicious Italian apples and grapes. 

Observations about Italy:

• It is breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL here.
• Italians are very expressive when they speak. They use there hands/arms when they talk. It's fun to watch them.
• People stare at us A LOT because they're not used to seeing big families. (Funny, because I wouldn't really consider us a big family)
• The majority of the people here smoke. And they smoke A LOT....incessantly, constantly, everywhere. I didn't realize how good we had it in California.
• Many men here wear scarves (for style, not warmth). 
• Italian men are snappy dressers. Jeff says we have yet to see a European man who could beat him up. Hopefully he won't be challenging anyone to a duel. 
• There are a lot of beautiful churches in Europe with more tourists than worshipers visiting them. It's pretty sad.