The fun began Thursday evening. I picked up Charis and Elizabeth at the Pordenone train station; then Shaun joined us for dinner and gelato. We knew the next few days would be busy, so we called it an early night. The next morning, we took the train to Venice.
The best stuff to see in Venice is Venice itself. The canals and architecture and layout of the city combine in such a unique way, you can't help but be taken in by it.
We took them on a quick walking tour of Venice, hitting the major spots, including the Bridge of Sighs, which I hadn't seen before. After Venice, Shaun had to get back to Aviano, so the girls and I headed to Verona.
Verona was the first big place I'd visited in Italy after Venice, and it had a totally different feel. It was easier to navigate and seemed much less hectic.
Verona has its own colloseum, which, though it's smaller than the one in Rome, it's more intact. They still use it during the summer to host opera performances, which is something I'll definitely look into.
The shopping was great, and we spent quite a while strolling through the market.
If you know your Shakespeare, you'll know that "Fair Verona" is the setting for Romeo and Juliet. We went to Villa Capuleti to see the balcony featured in the famous scene.
Beneath the balcony is a bronze statue of Juliet. Supposedly, it's good luck to touch her breast, and who am I to pass that up? (Hell, I doubt I'd pass up touching a breast, even if it was bad luck.)
After all the walking, we headed back to Shaun's place in Aviano for a barbecue and an extended game of Taboo. We also did some planning for our next day's adventure to...
Florence! The trip to Florence takes a while, so we played cards on the train. It made the ride go really quick.
By the way, we played guys versus girls in Spades, and the guys totally kicked butt.
Florence was really amazing. It was kinda crowded and dirty, but you could see the rich history of the city in the eyes of its people.
In the middle of the city is the cathedral, which is probably the most intricate structure I've ever seen. It was completely covered in etchings, carvings, and statues.
Near Il Duomo was Piazza della Signoria, where there were tons of statues, including this one of Perseus holding the head of Medusa.
At the adjacent end of the square is Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace). In front of it is this replica of Michelangelo's David, where the original once stood.
Next we went to the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. I'd seen countless pictures and several replicas before, but nothing could really prepare me for seeing the original sculpture. So much detail and precision went into this piece, it's easy to see why Michelangelo is considered one of the greatest. Pictures weren't allowed, which didn't bother me. There's really no way any photograph could capture the beauty of this marble in the form of God's greatest creation. If I didn't see anything else the entire weekend, I'm glad I saw this. Truly magnificent.
After more walking, we had lunch at a little restaurant recommended by Charis's travel guide. It was tucked away in an alley, and we all agreed it was the best meal we'd had all weekend.
It was another fun, yet exhausting day, and we made it back to the station just in time to catch our train back to Aviano (which, of course, included more card games).
Sunday, Rachel joined us as we drove up to a small town in Austria called Millstatt. It rained the entire trip up there, but soon after we got into town, the rain slowed down, allowing us to walk around without getting drenched.
It was a neat little town located alongside a scenic lake. We stopped in a little restaurant for lunch, and spent some time walking through a park by the lake.
It's strange how two places that are so close can look so different. Millstatt is only a few miles away from the border, but the scenery was nothing like anything I've seen in Italy.
Our main reason for driving to Austria was to see Schloss Heroldeck. It's a big castle that was built in the early 1900s, but was bought by the Nazis and used as a training facility. Ironically, it's now used as a Christian retreat and missionary training centre.
Shaun has lots of ties to missionaries throughout Europe, and was able to pull some strings so we could walk through the castle. It was a really neat building with a lovely view of the lake and the town below.
Since we weren't dictated by the train schedule, it was a more relaxed day. It started raining again as we drove back home, but the trip through the mountains was gorgeous. We hit some traffic in Pordenone due to a new mall opening, which made us a little nervous because the girls had to catch their train back to Paris to fly out on Monday. By the time we got back to my house, the girls had to cram everything in their suitcases as fast as they could. We sped back to the train station and said our good-byes (quickly). You know how sometimes you have guests and you enjoy being the host, but then by the end of the visit, you're glad to have your house back to yourself? I didn't feel that way at all.
I posted most of the pictures, but if you want to see the whole photostream, go here. Thanks to Shaun for being a great tour guide. And thanks to Charis and Elizabeth for being wonderful house guests, and keeping Shaun and I in stitches. I haven't laughed that much in a long time. You guys are welcome back anytime.
1 comment:
I am so jealous. Austria just looks amazing. I can't wait to come stay with you. ;)
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