Italy...again

With our time in Europe quickly coming to a close, we started to worry that we may never get back across the Atlantic, and we needed to see a couple other places before we go home. We tend to always head south. Maybe the promise of warm sunshine has something to do with it, but any how, we took a long weekend and headed back to Italy, first to Verona and then Venice.

After finally finding the B & B we were staying at in Verona we headed to the center of town to grab dinner. This is the Ponte Pietra over the Adige river.

Sunset over the Adige

One of many "al fresco" dining experiences. The restaurant next door to ours had live music, which made eating outside even more enjoyable. Love this about Italy!

The girls after filling up on Pizza

The next morning we explored a little more of what Verona had to offer, which included some cool cars and lots of scooters.

Outside of Juliet's house.

Juliet's balcony...

"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? 

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun."

It was really hot, and Lore Mae was begging to be allowed to get into the fountain.

Instead of the fountain to beat the heat we went with gelato!

Venice as seen from the water bus.

Cyrus could not believe that there existed a city that did not have cars.

Fruit and vegetable boat

Gondola

While Sarah and I were shopping, Tommy saw a group of musicians outside the shop. He videoed them and when they finished they "convinced" him to buy their CD. I walked out of the shop at the precise moment they handed him his CD, and jokingly, Tommy gave it to me and said, "Happy Birthday." Before we could explain that he was joking and it was not my birthday, they had started to serenade me first with the Happy Birthday song and then with Sinatra's "My Way". It made me feel pretty special, even if it wasn't my birthday.

Lunch, once again outside, where our waiter looked like Dean Martin. Food was great and the kids had a blast. Here is Lore Mae thanking her Daddy for bringing her to Italy where she can have pizza and ice tea when ever she wants it.

Happy kids!

This was not our meal (I am not a fan of mussels), but our neighbors, and I thought it was so beautiful that I asked if I could take a picture.

If there is a draw back to a city as beautiful as Venice it has to be the amount of people. The main part of the city was packed full of tourists. Luckily we stayed in a section of the city outside the touristy parts, and after a morning of fighting the crowds to see the sights, we headed back to Sestiere Castello to have ice cream and coffee.

Cyrus studying the ice cream choices.

One souvenir all of the kids wanted was a Venetian mask. We had read to be careful of imitations that are sold in the more touristy shops. We were lucky to find a great little shop not far from our apartment where the lady took time to help each of the kids choose the right mask and to make sure it fit properly. After making our purchases we headed to one of only two parks in Venice to let the kids play. Lore Mae wanted to try on her mask and have her picture made, Cy played soccer with some Italian kids, and Tommy took a nap on a bench.  In all it was a good day!