Day 6: Arriving in Florence

August 30th, 2015

Our whirlwind trip continued on Sunday morning, when we made what was maybe our most extensive trek to Sunday church ever - 20 minutes by Vaporetto boat, a few minutes by train, a 10 minute walk, and a 30 minute drive (no, we definitely did not make it on time).  Venice is such an amazing place, and we all loved it.  But bustling Venice in the summer time with toddlers is a different sort of vacation - the sweaty, crazy, cranky, amazing, unique kind.  

Personally, Venice was an interesting place in the sense that it made me a little sad to see it in its current state.  It's a one of a kind city with some of the most consistently stunning, decadent architecture and the most unique city design I've ever seen, and it was once the center of an enormous, thriving business empire.  But as we walked the streets in the early evening, I couldn't help but notice how 95% of the windows were dark, the apartments and buildings abandoned.  I think only 50,000 permanent residents remain, an incredible drop since its peak, and in some ways it felt like just a giant tourist attraction, which I know is a sad state for residential Venetians.  But I guess that's why you travel - to see amazing things, empathize with other cultures and, of course, ride on boats.

Quickly became a natural on the ferry.

Church in Italy!  Always so fun to visit local wards and branches in foreign countries - highlights to previous trips to France and Africa.  This was the local branch in Padova, where we made a splash as the American family shuffling into the crowded chapel half an hour late.  But everyone was so nice and welcoming, and the kids played with little Italian kids and we made small talk with folks depending on their English.  (The American missionaries seemed really excited to speak English.)  I felt pretty proud of myself because a couple people asked if I spoke Italian - I guess I got along ok with the minimal basics.  Someone asked what I do for a living, and so I just guessed and went with the Spanish word, "abrogado", which I guess worked because it sounded close enough to the Italian word, "Advocato", which sounds amusingly like "avocado".

The drive from Venice to Florence was surprisingly stunning.  I guess we shouldn't say that it was surprising that the Italian countryside was beautiful, but more than a few times I looked around and thought, "Am I in Montana?"  Loved every minute of it!

Finally we arrived in Florence, CheyAnn's former Italian home!  For this leg of the trip, we stayed in the family home of our Home Exchange friend, Sabrina, who has two little boys.  Sabrina is an architect and designer, and it was definitely apparent inside of her beautiful home, which was nestled in the hills about 10 minutes outside of the city, with gorgeous views!

Not so long ago, CheyAnn was a young Southern California college girl, whose Jeep was totaled in an accident and decided the best way to use the insurance payout was to pack it all up and move to Italy!  I love that story.  She spent a few months living in Florence as her home base while taking classes on architecture, art history, and photography, and returning to Florence with her was one of the most exciting things we've done together.

Being a designer herself, CheyAnn naturally loved it and couldn't stop taking pictures.

After a week in hotels and AirBnBs, the kids were delighted to stay in a real home and play with the little Italian boys' toys.

The home had no air-conditioning, but was constructed with thick concrete walls that kept it cool.  It had a few of these cool little port windows.

"Welcome, American Friends"

View from the balcony!

In Florence!  First of all, pretty proud of myself for navigating driving in Florence like a pro and finding superb parking, but that's another story.  Our first stop was outside of the Santa Maria Novella, where we gathered with the locals for some street music.

The Perfumeria at Santa Maria Novella, which has been selling perfume for 400 years!!!!

Dinner at Ristorante Vincanto, next to the Santa Maria Novella.  My parents and siblings ate here several years ago and loved it, and insisted that we go there for them, and we loved it too!

Outside of CheyAnn's favorite gelateria in the city, Gelateria Carraia.  When she was a student here, CheyAnn became an expert on all of the gelato places in Florence, and expertly identified this as the best one.  And for good reason.  It was INCREDIBLE gelato!  I think we went there 4 or 5 times in 3 days.  SO fun!

World's best chocolate gelato is best enjoyed - all over yourself.  Go for it, buddy.  Do your thing!

Lovely downtown Florence at night.  So peaceful and beautiful.

Day 5: Glass Blowing and lots of walking...

August 29th, 2015

One of the funny things about our time in Venice was the tiny elevator up to our apartment.  As CheyAnn described it, it was smaller than a refrigerator box.  I think for our entire family, with strollers and luggage, it took about three trips to carry everything and everyone up the five flights.  So a lot of the time we just walked.  But, even when it is a small elevator, you can still have fun cramming in.

The kids' favorite part of Venice, unsurprisingly, might have been the Disney Store, where Boston scored some sweet Cars.  We're seriously cultured.

"Oh cool!  Another gorgeous canal view.  Quick, let's take another selfie!"

Ambulance-boats, parked outside of the emergency room entrance to the hospital.  Pretty cool!

Sometimes we even go for panoramic canal shots!

Venice was hot!  And tiring! 

The Winged Lion, the symbol of Venice, is really cool.  However, as part of his conquest, Napoleon destroyed or removed many images of the Winged Lion, so we were excited to spot this one above a residence.

Chilling outside of the Venetian Arsenal, one of the earliest large-scale industrial enterprises in history, and a one-time center of global power.

The Leaning Tower of Venice?

Up on a roof in Venice!

Chilling in our little elevator box.

Day 4: Venice!

August 28th, 2015

Venice!  What a unique, spectacular, fun, and exhausting city!  We had so much fun on our first full day in Venice, where we continued our crazy pace of non-stop tourist action, and despite the 90 degree heat, we loved it! 

Pretty much every canal bridge is a perfect photo opportunity!  (But it seemed like we rarely passed one up.)

My mom and I started our morning with a nice trip to the local produce market near our apartment.

Out on the terrazza of St. Mark's Basilica.  What an incredible structure!  We were blown away by the size and the era it was built.

Panoramica di terrazza!  St. Mark's Square down below.

Cheerfully doing her best to stay cool.

Boston had the time of his life chasing pigeons around St. Mark's Square.  He was inexhaustible and basically never stopped running.  He would catch a good fat pigeon in his sight and run full blast at it.  As soon as the pigeon ran away, he would quickly spin around, acquire another bird in sight, and run after that one.  It was so fun just to watch him with that motor.

The water front along St. Mark's Square - a classic Venice spot!

Leaving behind the craziness of St. Mark's Square and the bustling walkways of central Venice, we ventured out to the quieter waterfront area called the Zattere.  It had a much calmer, more residential feel, and it was really fun to experience the peaceful side of Venice.  We walked along the water, ate delicious gelato at a 50+ year old gelateria, Gelato Nico, and gaped as a giant cruise ship slowly glided right past us. 

Can't pass up random bridge photos!

I love this photo opp.

One of the most incredible things about Venice is that it is absolutely saturated with stunning, amazing buildings.  In any other city, each building would be like the coolest architectural design around, but in Venice, each and every building is gorgeous.  This one is the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.

While on our way back from the Zattere, we were all too tired to make the long walk back.  So we hopped on the Vaporetto, which is basically a water bus, to take us back to the apartment.  But we hopped on going the wrong direction, so instead of a quick 15 minute ride to the apartment, we got an hour long evening boat tour in Venice!  An accidental, inexpensive, and fun way to see the city!

This is the last known picture of this pacifier.  Boston was pretty attached to it through the trip up to this point, but after a moment, he was empty-mouthed and reaching out toward the water, saying "Oh no!  Pacifier!  Help!"  Us: "Boston, did you throw your pacifier in the water?!"  Boston: "Yes."

So, now Boston's pacifier lies at the bottom of a Venetian lagoon.

Family boat tour!