English Spoken Here

English spoken here....this was all I could think of in Venice as we were surrounded by more Americans than Italians (or so it seemed anyway). There were so many people from the U.S. I felt like I might turn a corner and run into someone I know. The city is packed with people and you're so crammed in you begin to hate it....but then you wind up on a quiet street and the magic of Venice is back. It truly is a beautiful place.

We're in Barcelona now. This is the last leg of our overseas journey. It's hard to believe it's almost over! Truthfully, we are anxious to get back. We've been on the road for three months (plus the two-and-a-half before this trip) and the constant moving around is starting to wear a little. (And we really miss our Sophie dog.) But don't think we won't enjoy these last few days - Barcelona is my favorite city in the world and I can't wait to show Matt around!

Anyway, you're here for the Italy update. It's going to be the abbreviated version since I couldn't keep up with the blog while we were there. The key takeaways are: we drank a LOT of red wine, ate a LOT of delicious food and saw a LOT of beautiful scenery.

June 14-25 - Italy

We arrived at Marco Polo airport in Venice where "Zago Tours" was supposed to pick us up. Zago Tours refers to my Uncle Giovanni and his "entourage." My uncle has brought so many people back to his homeland that it is now a family joke that he runs a tour company. The entourage on this trip included Aunt Carol, my parents and my brother's girlfriend, Julie (others joined up later). Anyway, they were running on Italian time so we had to wait a few minutes. No bother, it's rather amusing to watch a cargo van full of Americans pull up.

We spent the next couple days in and around Padova where we visited St. Anthony's Church and the University. We took a canal cruise where we stopped at several villas between Padova and Venice. We ended up in Venice that night and had a great meal at Tosi's. One night in Padova Matt, Julie and I had a little too much wine and a whole lot of fun. The great thing about Italian wine is that it doesn't give you a hangover - what a great invention!! But, it is possible to still be a little tipsy when you wake up in the morning if you have overindulged (not a good feeling). Our crowning moment in Padova was when we took the wrong train from Venice and ended up in city 20 miles away....I'll always remember the conducter guy tapping on the window (we were all sleeping) and telling us it was the end of the line. Oops.

After our exploits in Padova the Don (Giovanni - you'll remember him from our China trip) steered us north toward his home in Vigo. Vigo is a quaint little Italian village that feels like it is stuck in time - it is wonderful. And the views are incredible. It's up in the Alps so we had a nice drive through the countryside, alongside picteresque Lake Garda and into the mouuntains. The days we were there are a blur (the wine started flowing at lunch) but I can recollect the following: we did a challenging but great hike to the summit of Mt. Tudaio (and have pictures to prove it), we went "Fun Bob-ing" (like a bob sled/rollercoaster down the mountain), played a few competitive games of Monopoly, complete with trash talking, and took a drive to Tre Cimes, where they filmed the movie Cliffhanger. The wine was great....it came by the gallon+ jug and we would go down to the wine store every day or two to have the jugs refilled for only $10!!. We also ate copious amounts of food. There is a pizza place near the house that is absolutely amazing. We found a pastry shop that did fabulous cream puffs. There was pasta nearly every night. I think both Matt and I have put on at least 10 pounds. Not good. Anyway, we truly enjoyed ourselves and the company of our family, Julie (practically family) and our new friends Peter, Kate and Maria (distant family).

Our last few days in Italy were spent in Venice. I've already summed it up I think...too hot, too many tourists and too expensive! However, when you find yourself in the right neighborhood or in that perfect street it is an enchanting place.