Venice, Italy

Ah Venice... I think it's safe to say that Venice is the most interesting city we've ever been in, and probably will ever be in. For those of you who don't know, Venice is an Italian city unlike any other because the main portion of the city is built on 117 islands made by 117 canals. It contains 455 bridges and is Europe's largest urban car-free area. Transportation in Venice consists of boats and feet. Additional trivia: well known children of Venice include Marco Polo and Antonio Vivaldi.

Our three days in Venice were an adventure. We would set out in one direction, walking down small streets and over bridges, hoping to arrive at a certain desired destination. We would soon realize that, despite the map in hand, we were now heading in a totally different direction. It was fun trying to navigate some of the less busy streets. We found Venice to be a great city, with new and different buildings and scenes around each corner. We had a few things that we wanted to see and do, but mostly we were glad to simply walk and see. We took about a thousand pictures, each one of something different from new perspectives, each one great. We enjoyed walking through the tourist filled streets complete with numerous shops displaying Venetian Glass, theatrical masks, and dozens of trinkets and souvenirs. We also experienced some terrific pasta beside a perfect small canal from a waiter with a fantastic moustache.











Piazza San Marco

San Marco Basilica



Enjoying dinner!




Venice's Grand Canal

A real boat party

We spent three full days in Venice, and it's good to move on, but we do so knowing there are hundreds of unique streets that we didn't see and hundreds of pictures that we didn't take.

Now, we move westward to the coast on Italy's other side to visit Italy's Five Lands (Cinque Terre).

Milan, Italy

Milano. Our first Italian city. We have looked forward to being in Italy for a long time, and it's good to be here. Milan is not on the top of our Italian city list, but it was a good stop. We stayed in an apartment that we had all to ourselves for three nights. It was really great. The only negative was that it was about forty minutes to the centre by bus and metro, but it gave us a chance to see more Milan than we thought we would. Milan, overall, is a fairly nice city. It's quite big and yet there is not a lot of sights to see. There are some nice churches, a lot of stores, and a Last Supper. Da Vinci's Last Supper is in one of the churches here, but we did not see it because there is a two week waiting list. We know what it looks like though. We spent a lot of time walking the streets looking at buildings but not searching for many things in particular. One highlight was the fact that the UEFA Champions League Final for European football occurred on Saturday night while we were there. One of Milan's teams, FC Internazionale, was playing Bayern Munich from Germany for the championship of Europe. It was quite the mob Saturday night in the main square. They were showing the game on two huge screens there. We opted to watch the game in a local pizzeria located away from the intense fans and air horns. A great atmosphere there as well though. Milan won and it was fun to be a (small) part of it.

The main attraction of Milan: the Duomo

The Duomo

Gallerie Vittorio Emmanuelle - The mall to end all malls with names like Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton lining its two corridors


Italy's best Gelato! According to TripAdvisor.com, anyway.


Piazza Duomo before the game started

San Siro Stadio - Inter plays here

Leonardo Da Vinci's Horse



Now, we go on to Venice!

Cote d'Azur (Nice), France

We write to you one of our two posts that will ever come from France. Unfortunately, we only have Paris left that we had planned on seeing in France, after Nice, the city we are in right now. Nice has been a truly wonderful stay. The weather cooperated very willingly. We stayed two full days, and both days, the second especially, were quite Nice. We were able to be at the beach all day our second day and we have the colour to prove it. Nice is a city with lots of roller bladers, palm trees, crepe restaurants, and topless sunbathers (men and women - young and old...mainly old). We enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere. We didn't do a lot of sightseeing or any tours, but we got a chance to see what summer is like in the French Riviera!







The next time we update this, we will be in Italy!

Switzerland

Hi everyone! We are in Switzerland and on the verge of France. Tomorrow we leave for Nice and emerge from cold and German. We have been in German speaking land for about a month and are looking forward to trying to figure out other languages. It has been cooler than we have liked the last while and it's Nice to know that warm weather is on the way.


Switzerland is really a beautiful country. We can say that about every country we have been to so far, but the Swiss do the mountain thing well and great Alp scenery is like nothing else. After our first Swiss night in St. Moritz, a mountain resort town, we hopped aboard the Glacier Express bound for Zermatt, another mountain resort town. The train ride was eight hours long, but felt much shorter. The Swiss Alps are incredible and seeing them by train is the best way, we think. We went low through river valleys, high through snow covered peaks, and many levels in between. It really was a great ride, complete with a three course lunch and some Swiss wine and cheese.








Zermatt was an interesting stay. We were in the small mountain town for three nights, staying in an old, cramped, and somewhat dirty hostel. It forced us to rough it a bit more than we are used to. Character. Night three was our most interesting night that starred a somewhat drunk German staying in our room. When he was awake, he exhibited some clumsiness, some awkwardness, some bum crack, and some interesting conversation (if you call it that). When he was sound asleep, however, he exhibited loud (and we mean LOUD) and consistent snoring with the occasional (sometimes not so occasional) fart. He definitely made the night one that we won't forget, considering we were awake for most of it.

Even though our hostel stay in Zermatt was less than ideal, we tried to make the most of the days. We got in some hiking one day and some snowboarding the next. Apparently, Zermatt has some of the best year-round skiing in Europe and so I was able to rent a board and head up to the top to meet some snow. Ang decided it wasn't worth the money, cold, and effort, so she stayed on the ground and enjoyed a day of cafes, including reading and coffee. The snowboarding was awesome. It was very foggy and blowy at the top, so I only managed to get in about four hours in because they opened the hill late. My face was grateful that I wasn't out there longer because I received a fairly intense wind/sun burn despite the heavy fog. The experience of snowboarding the Alps is one I will always remember.

Zermatt had some pros and some cons for us during our time there. Pros: great scenery, hiking, and snowboarding and a lovely mountain town atmosphere. Cons: weather that hovered right around 2 degrees, the steapness (of the price, not the trails), and the lack of the Matterhorn. Zermatt apparently sits right underneath of the Matterhorn, but due to some low clouds during our stay, we're convinced the mountain is a hoax.


All we saw of the Matterhorn


Zermatt from above

Snowboarding. This was one of the more clear moments of the day.

The last stop in Switzerland was flatter. Not in experience, just in terrain. We ended in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, and stayed for two nights. It is a very nice, small city with great buildings and streets. Because of its size, we didn't need a lot of time to see many sights, but enjoyed a couple of days just taking in the character of the city and relaxing in its parks.





Bern's Bear Park including two full grown bears and two cubs. A great, free half hour of entertainment. Bern's official animal has been a bear since it was founded in the twelfth century.


The Aare River



Now, our trip turns southward to the French Riviera and then on to Italy. We are looking forward to some sun, some sights, and some Italian cuisine!