Day 3 Venice

Crunchy, gooey custard, powdered sugar goodness was the best way  to spend time hanging out at the train station.  Rome was awesome and we were very excited to head north and experience Venice. 

No cars just water buses, water taxi, boats, and gondolas. A beautiful city on water.  Big and little bridges everywhere connecting each part of the city. Something fun and unique to see around each corner and down each waterway.  Getting to our hotel with luggage in tow was an adventure with all the steps on the big bridges, and a map in hand as we tried to not get lost.

Our hotel was quaint and pretty even though Aaron's head almost hit the ceiling!

Everything was unique in Venice! Boats drive up to the houses, little waterways and walkway that are easy to get lost in and delicious gelato! 

We walked to the Rialto Bridge and stopped by for lunch on the way. Pizza, sandwiches and blood orange drinks that were so yummy! The bridge was absolutely amazing. Beautiful glass, leather, and jewelry shops everywhere.  We also loved watching the gondolas! So cool!! 

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Here we are at Saint Mark's Basilica. Another amazing beautiful over-the-top church! The Campanile - bell tower is 323 ft high. Really cool! 

This butcher shop was crazy good! There were so many meats and cheeses that it was hard to decide which ones to try. We finally got Proscuitto, Asiago, crackers, blood orange Powerade and took it to the waters edge for a picnic. We also got our feet wet and enjoyed a fantastic view around the water. As it got dark we wandered through St Mark's Square and heard some bands playing their music. We wandered around our neighborhood and finally found our hotel.  

Day 2 in Rome, Piazza Navonaa, Vatican City~ August 13, 2011

Early in the morning we went to the train station to get our tickets for tomorrows train ride to Venice.We would be leaving early and wanted to know the layout of the trains and have our tickets ready.  It took awhile and it was crazy busy, but we were all set.  Next we went to visit a church called Basilica Di Saint'Andrea Della Valle. It was beautiful and had many detailed paintings on the ceiling. 

This was a beautiful public place and market square.  The church in the background is called Church of Saint Agnes in Agony. The main fountain in the middle of the square surrounding an obelisk is called The Fountain Di Fiumi and is amazing.  There are two other fountains on the north and south ends of the square.

 

This shop had so much delicious looking food it was hard to decide what to buy! These rice balls had meat in them and were awesome.  Pizza, sandwiches, meats and cookies to choose from!

We are walking towards the Vatican along the Tiber river. We first came upon the Castel Sant'Angelo. This place was used as a fortress and castle for many popes, but now its a museum. 

We loved finding the drinking fountains, especially because it was so hot.  Next we made our way to Saint Peters Square. It was just amazing! The statues, architecture, columns, domes, we couldn't wait to get inside. We continued to the Vatican. 

Walking to the Vatican was interesting and HOT. The wall surrounding the "city" was huge and tall, as you can see below. We arranged for a personal tour guide to escort us through the Vatican. The line to get in was insane and we were so glad we would not have to wait in it. To escape the heat we went into the Caffe Vaticano and had a huge gelato to stop us from melting.

Our tour guide was very nice and did a great job guiding us through the Vatican. We learned so much and saw beautiful art, sculptures, rooms, ceilings and much more.

For dinner we found a lively pizza place where the workers were competing for customers that made the night very entertaining and fun!