Re-Cap Time

We are taking a little trip back to June 6th, 2011.  Okay, so it's only 2 months ago, but I've missed so much on the blog, it feels like much longer.  This would be the exciting day that my family showed up in Venice ready for their jam packed two weeks of travel and fun.  As I mentioned before, my Mom did an excellent job journaling the trip in emails, so I am going to cheat a little and include her emails in the update.  Or I guess I could say, I'm going to have a "guest blogger" join us to put in her two cents on Europe 2011 trip!  My guest blogger today is the fabulously talented, Jenni Peterson.
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Day 1:
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We all arrived at the same time to a solid day of rain.  We went to base, visited the Youth Center, went to the BX, and got our first Monopoly money from the machine.  Funny - it was $450 for $300 of Monopoly money.  Katie is a tyrant - she won't let us go to sleep until at least 8:00 tonight.  We have driven through San Quirino and it is charming - just like you would imagine an Italian village to look.  We are going to dinner tonight at an osteria - which serves local food - our first Italian meal.  Katie thinks that food might keep us awake until a proper bedtime.  Her place is fabulous and spotless - now we can start the fun.

The Osteria in my town.

Note from the editor: Mom, Kelly, and Aunt Joyce were all flying stand-by and I was fairly certain it would take at least 3 trips down to the airport and four days for everyone to arrive in Italy.  Much to all of our pleasant surprise they ALL made it on the first flight, and they flew business class.  Doesn't get much better than that!
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Day 2:
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Dinner our first night was at a local place. We saw on the sign that they opened at 6, so we got there at 6:30. They didn't serve hot food until 8:00! So Katie took us on a hike around San Quirino. The waterways were so interesting - they channel the local streams into concrete water lines that look like "lazy rivers" around the town - they are beautiful. There are evidently no zoning laws here, so there is a spectacular house that overlooks a rundown shack, but it is kind of like driving through Georgia on the way to Florida with the azaleas in front of the shacks. There are flowers everywhere - Joyce was amazed by all of the shutters on the building and the fact that they shut them every night.


Dinner was delicious - we had a little bit of everything and shared. My favorite was the gnocci pasta- potato pasta- no wonder I loved it.
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Day Two - Katie could hardly pull us out of bed. Kelly thought she was dreaming when she heard the "Good morning little sunshine" song. I talked Katie into another hour of sleep and she used that time to drive to Pordenone to visit Rosario in the hospital. Taylor and Katie had been worried about him because his mail had not been picked up for two days. She went to his son's house in town several times and no one was home. Then the mail was gone and Katie thought he had just been visiting one of his children, but another neighbor said we was taken by ambulance to the hospital. She did not get into see him because visiting hours are only 10 - 12 and 4 - 6. She said the hospital looks like it is straight out of a scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - with the pale green walls and everything. She will try to go again tomorrow.
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We took the train to Venice - wow. It is absolutely amazing. We got there about 1:00 and got home about 9:45 this evening. We walked forever.....and couldn't get over the gorgeous balconies and the flowers and plants everywhere. We splurged for a gondola ride and it was well worth the 80 euros (not apiece - all of us together). We have pictures from the Rialto Bridge and San Marco Square. Katie took us in every church that was open - they are all beautiful and so different. One of the churches had a clock tower with a 24 hour circular clock - I have never seen that before.

Our Gondola ride with Marco.

In St. Marco's Square in Venice

On a bridge over the Grand Canal in Venice.

We had pizza and wine for lunch. The wine comes out of a beer tap at the restaurants and they pour it into pitchers. There are shops with beautiful masks everywhere. Joyce and I bought Christmas ornaments and Kelly and I bought magnets. Katie inspired us because they have magnets from everywhere they have been. Their freezer section is almost full already. They are planning a trip to Ireland on the Fourth of July because they will each have an extra day off. Paris is still on the list and it looks like Thanksgiving will be a ski trip to Switzerland - rough life.
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We were very fortunate to have our own personal tour guide. It is wonderful going with someone who knows how to get on the train - how to validate the tickets - and where to get off the train. We are all impressed with Katie's ability to speak Italian. She definitely knows enough to get around everywhere and enjoys speaking to people. It is off to bed because the local market is tomorrow morning.

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Day 3:

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Today we went to the open air market in Sacile. What an experience! This gives the true local flavor - Katie bought us more cheese from the market. They sell clothes, purses, housewares, scarves, fresh produce, and lots of fresh flowers. The local markets come to each town once each week on a set day. We missed the San Quirino market because our flight didn't come in until noon.

 

At the cheese stand (formaggio) and personally my favorite part of the markets!

Leaving the Sacile market with some fresh flowers for Rosario.

The "SQUATTY POTTY"!!!!

Note from the editor:  I don't know that I have spoken of the "squatty potty" on the blog, and I'm certain I've not posted a picture of it.  This lovely contraption is what you find in about 30% of the public bathrooms you enter, whether it's a restaurant, amusement park, or store.  And I warned the family about these wonderful toilets in the ground, and Aunt Joyce ran into her first one in a cafe off the market.  Needless to say, she took a picture so others could share in the craziness and proceeded to do her business elsewhere.  Why these could EVER be a good idea is beside me, but it's quite common over here.  I can't help but wonder how the grandmas handle the "squatty potties" when they come upon them...
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Katie dropped us off at a cafe in Pordenone to get a drink while she went to visit Rosario in the hospital. We had to order Cafe Americano. They give you the regular Italian espresso with a small pitcher of hot water. It is still strong coffee and one is enough. Joyce got carbonated water for the second time. Katie told her that she wanted to order "naturale." At the cafe she did pick up a "naturale" but it was effervescent - still bubbly. We are learning. Katie said that Rosario was very glad to see her and he was so sorry that he couldn't meet the family. He was hoping to come home today - Katie does not know what was wrong with him - translation issues. Hopefully, he will be home soon. I hope the Loud Family isn't too much for a recovering neighbor.
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We had lunch in Aviano at a local cafe next to base. It was adorable. We had spaghetti carbonara which is spaghetti with eggs, ham, bacon, and cream sauce. Joyce and Kelly loved it. Katie and I had lasagne, it was way creamier than our lasagne, and absolutely delicious. Katie ordered us bruschetta and they bring toasted bread with a sauce in a bowl in the middle - olive oil, herbs, parmesan - a creamy mixture. It was too strong for Joyce but the rest of us enjoyed it. We had way too much food again.
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In the rain we drove to Katie's personal lake, Lake Barcis, in the Italian Alps. It is a 20 minute drive through windy roads and long tunnels. Katie and Kelly used to hold their breath in tunnels, but it didn't work here. Kelly would have passed out. The lake was a beautiful turquoise green color. It changes color based on the minerals that are washed down from the mountains. It is fed by a beautiful river - it looks like the Black River Bank but with blue water. This is where Katie and Kika like to go hike and hang out for the day. There is so much natural beauty here.

My crazy seeeester.

A beautiful day for a visit to the lake.  Our schedule was so full of things to see we had to go in the rain!

Day 4:
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Today we had an easy morning - sleeping late and then a local lunch in town. Wonderful pasta again. We went to the Antonio Gelisi Winery, right next to Katie's house, for a tour. We did a tasting, bought some wine, but we were unable to see the inside where they make they wine because they were in the middle of the bottlling process. It was a beautiful day and the winery is at the base of the mountains - in the magic valley where the mountains protect the grapes.

Afterwards we went to Aviano Air Base to see the Thunderbirds. They are a group of F-16 fighter jets that fly in precision formation - they are here doing a show in Gesolo Beach tomorrow. Kika was there and is totally a Thunderbird fan. Greg and Taylor were there also - talking about how cocky the pilots are. They have to shut down the gym facility so that the pilots can work out by themselves. The guys talk about how their jumpsuits get painted on their bodies and that it is truly like "Top Gun" with their cockiness. Today they did a ground show where the mechanics work in precision checking the planes, the pilots arrive, and there is a whole ceremony "show" surrounding the take-off. I must admit it was pretty impressive - I've never seen anything like it. There were six jets taking off - evidently even a rock in the engine can be very dangerous. The maintenance crew walks around the planes shoulder to shoulder looking for stray rocks on the ground. Greg said their engines are like tornadoes and suck up anything around. People on the fllight line cannot even wear hats because they can get sucked into the engines. I am guessing these things are not fuel efficient! It was incredible when they took off today.

We were all amazed when we saw Taylor in full work gear today. He has an 80 pound pack that he has to wear at work - bullet proof armor front and back, a pouch with a gas mask, three containers of ammo, a M-16 rifle, a "man purse" for his extra things (like a leatherman, sunglass case, ID), canteen, radio, and handcuffs. We took pictures of him!

We just came back from dinner at Masiere, a restaurant in Aviano, with another beautiful view of the mountains. Kika joined us for dinner and we thoroughly enjoyed trying all of the different meals - several were a surprise even when Katie and Kika thought they knew what we were ordering.
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Tomorrow morning Taylor is coming with us to Florence. We are staying Saturday and Sunday. Taylor has to go back to work and is taking a train home on Monday morning. Monday we are going to Chianti to take a wine tour in the morning and then we will drive to Rome in the afternoon. We will be in Rome Monday evening until Wednesday, when we will drive home. I can't wait to see all of this history. Ciao!
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Day 5-9:
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Saturday Taylor drove us to Florence. We felt like we were walking through history. We went to the Duomo, an incredibly beautiful church from the outside and incredibly simple on the inside so people could focus on worship. The Baptistry, another beautiful building with doors with twelve panels depicting the life of Christ. Then we went to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, the only bridge to survive the bombings of WW II.

The Duomo.

Ponte Vecchio- a bridge full of shopping on the inside.

There was great shopping in an open air Florence market..especially leather. We had dinner in the Piazza del Republica and had Bistecca di Fiorentina at Katie's suggestion. After dinner Katie was sure that this was the same restaurant Drew and Megan ate at on the fateful Dancing Queen night!!




Florence daily open air market.


Another highlight was the tour of Palazzo Pitti and the Bobolini Gardens....we felt so at home...obviously we were meant to be rich.....it was an oasis in the middle of Florence.

Kelly found herself a date in Florence!

Exploring the gardens.

Day two in Florence we went to the Uffizi art museum. Joyce and Kelly got mad at me because I wanted to read everything. We saw Michaelangelo, Botticelli, Raphael, and so many others. We ate every meal at an outdoor cafe. There was a huge replica of David in the Piazza del Signoria. Katie insisted that we still go to the Academia to see Michaelangelos real David...especially since we grew up with a bust of David by our front door. It was truly incredible to see the real statue carved from one solid piece of marble.

The David statue in the Piazza.  The one in the Academia is even more stunning.

Hanging out on the steps of Santa Croce resting our legs.

Then we went to the church of Santa Croce, but it was closed. Early the next morning Taylor had to go back to work and took the train back to Pordenone. Katie drove us to the Chianti region in Tuscany. We had a private tour of the winery, had a tasting and bought some wine and olive oil at Casa Emma. The young guy giving the tour said that he would never live in Chianti's because it was SO boring...he drove in to work from Florence. It was a gorgeous place.

Then we drove to Roma...kudos to Katie for her driving skills in Rome with crazy drivers and motorcycles....Our hotel has two small beds and two Murphy bunk beds...guess who slept there? We headed out to the Colosseum and Palatine Hill. We had a great tour guide..you could feel the history in the Roman Forum. We had dinner and then went to the Trevi Fountain. We all threw in a coin to insure our return to Rome.....except Katie because this was her third trip to Rome. We were so tired that we could hardly walk when we got home.

After our tour of the Colosseum waiting for our tour of Palatine Hill and the Roman Ruins.

Overlooking the Roman Ruins.

Tossing their coin in Trevi Fountain to ensure their return to Rome!

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Tuesday in Rome we took the subway, Kelly's first time in a subway...in Florence we took a bus. We went to St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica...All of the marble there was taken from the old Roman Palaces. At one o clock we met our tour guide from yesterday to tour the Vatican museum. We had only six people on our tour including us..it was so amazing..he was an ancient history major from London and had been in Rome giving tours for three years. We ended with the Sistine chapels looking at Michaelangelo's ceiling. We had another wonderful pasta dinner.



Michaelangelo's Pieta sculpture of Mary and Jesus.



Gallery of Maps in the Vatican Museum





Inside St. Peter's

Today is Friday - we are getting ready to leave for Lake Bled, Slovenia for the weekend.  Taylor has to work tomorrow, so he can't join us for the trip.  Lake Bled is listed as one of the ten most beautiful lakes in the world.  Yesterday we stayed at Katie's house all day in our pjs - Katie had to go into work to catch up because their summer program kicks off on Monday.  After all of the walking and touring for five days, it was very nice to sleep late and rest.  Rosario brought his famous homemade spaghetti and breaded veal chops, and wine that his friend makes for him.  He joined us for a dinner.  He obviously adores Katie!  He is going to buy pizza for us Sunday evening from the local San Quirino pizza parlor.  Unfortunately Taylor was working late - he had an event where he had to wear his "dress blues."  Joyce got a picture of him in his "wedding attire."  Ciao!

With Rosario for dinner at my house.

The delicious homemade spaghetti dinner he made and brought over for us!

And Taylor finally arrived home after a formal dinner on base...in his penguin suit as he likes to call it.

And the final portion of the the trip, the last weekend, was spent in Lake Bled, Slovenia.  It was an incredibly relaxing weekend full of shopping, bike rides, train rides, boat rides, swimming, massages, and good company.  Here are a few pictures from the trip.

On the tram ride around Lake Bled.

Taking a boat ride to the island in the middle of the lake with the pretty church!

On the steps from the water up to the church on the island.  There were wedding pictures taking place on the steps while we were there overlooking the water....beautiful!

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On our bike ride.

Lunch overlooking the lake.

Thank you Mom, Kelly, and Aunt Joyce for wonderful company and a fabulous trip.  I love you all!