Auf Wiedersehen Germany

Today it was time to head back home.  My trip was at an end.  I was up early packing away my final items.  Said my goodbyes to Gulçin.  The family was getting ready to go on their own vacation with Bo's parents the following week.  Bo drove me to the airport where I got scolded for having a small liquid container in a gallon bag but rules must be followed - ha!  At the airport, I grabbed a few magnets for my collection and at my last butterbretzel (so yummy!).

It was a smooth flight back with a stop first in Frankfort then to San Juan, Puerto Rico before a flight back to Orlando.  I met a lovely Swiss girl on the plane who was going to Puerto Rico to stay with her boyfriend for a few months (she was able to work remotely).  This was before all the hurricanes ended up hitting!!

This is old San Juan from the plane!

Ritter Sport Trip followed by Güneş Walking

Another rainy day but it was the last one in Germany so we made the most of it.  Gulçin drove the girls and I to Ritter Sport in Waldenbuch, which is a famous German chocolate factory (this was where the company started).  When we arrived, there was a mini BMW that we could take pictures with.  We walked through the ChocoExhibition.  Then, we had lunch in the Café followed by purchasing too many chocolates in their store.  Güneş seemed to be warming up to me more on my last day there!

The weather had cleared so during the afternoon, I started packing and then took the last day to do one more walk around the city.  I went to the store to purchase a few last minute gifts such as wine and German treats.  For dinner, we had Turkish food to celebrate the Turkish holiday Sacrifice Feast.

Ayşe and I had our last tea party with her in her Elsa dress.  During my time there, I read a set of books that they had in English to Ayşe each night and we finished up the series.  To highlight the evening, Güneş walked for the first time (see video of her walking soon after)!!!

Picking out my new car!

In the town of Sindelfingen, there is a Mercedes Benz factory.  It is actually a very large part of the town.  As an engineering nerd, I signed up for a tour.  Gulçin had got a babysitter for the morning so she could run some errands.  She kindly drove me to the welcome center.  I only have one picture of the plant, which was really in the welcome center and my new car (kidding!).  The tour was really cool.  We got to drive around the campus and walk through a few of the buildings with the production line live.   The tour included going through the press shop, where the body parts are given their shape, continued with the ballet performance of the robots in the body shop and ends in the assembly shop, where the bodyshell and powertrain are married together.  These cars are all unique with different considerations such as left or right driver sides, country conditions (such as emissions, rules, etc), and customer specifications.

After the tour, I jumped on a bus to Böblingen to check out their mall.  I got pizza for lunch and then walked around shopping (I don't believe I bought anything though!).  From this town, I walked to Ikea (it was lightly misting but I enjoyed the walk).  Ikea consistency was impressive... it was almost like I was in the states at an Ikea.  After the rain passed, I walk back home.

For dinner, Gulçin impressed again with pumpkin soup and pasta.  Ayşe and I had a tea party in her room before starting our dance party.

Enjoying the Black Forest (Cake)

Bo took off the day and joined us as we went to explore the Black Forest (yes, where Black Forest Cake is from).  The drive was about an hour to Bad Wildbad and very beautiful.  The town had a nice little waterway that we walked along and of course picked up some butter bretzels!  Then, we took a funicular train up into the forest.

We went to a place that was called Baumwipfelpfad Schwarzwald Tree Top Walk.  They have this really cool wooden walkway up in the tree tops that you walk along with different stations that you can climb on or learn about the forest.  Ayşe and I tried all the stations.  After the walk, you approach this really cool spiral walk that gives you an amazing view of the forest and trees from above.  We walked up the view and took some pictures.  Then the spiral walk way has a slide that you can take down.  I was excited to take it down but Gulçin was a little nervous.  I went first and she almost backed out but then became brave and slide down.  It was really fun and Ayşe was calling her on from the bottom.  

We had some pork schnitzel for lunch followed by some Black Forest Cake.  It was very delicious and the cherries well soaked in spirits!  After stuffing ourselves with cake, we headed back to Sindelfingen.  We took a walk down to the city center to listen to some music.  Ayşe was quite the dancer and Güneş was getting in on the action.

We walked over to a Turkish restaurant for dinner and got a variety of items to share.  It was a Turkish holiday this day called Victory Day - from the outcome of a battle in 1922.  We enjoyed the meal and walked back to the apartment after a very full day!

A Day around Sindelfingen followed by a Beach Bar!

The day started with a great breakfast - Gulçin was still spoiling me.  We had hard boiled eggs, toast, and fruit.  Next, we went to the market in Sindelfingen to pick up some fruits, veggies, eggs, and bread.  The market had beautiful flowers and there was couple that did fancy coffees (see the picture of the horse in the foam!).  Then, we walked to the grocery store for some groceries.  Of course, we had to get a bretzel and almond paste dessert.   On our walk, Ayşe wanted to play on the playground... she is part monkey I believe with how well she climbs all over it!

Then, we headed back the apartment where I spent some time writing postcards from Stuttgart and Heidelberg to send to family and friends.  We had a wonderful homemade lunch that was tomato soup, mushrooms and rice.  The weather was really nice that day so I took a walk around the city and looked at some of the other old wooden houses.  These houses are very unique looking.  One year after Gulçin and Bo had moved to Sindelfingen, they sent me a figurine of one of these houses.  It sits in my living room where I see it every day!

After exploring, I meet up with Gulçin and kids for walk in the park.  She brought their bathing suits so they could play at this little water park.  Again, a really cool playground... the Germans know how to have fun for kids!  The kids had a grand time playing in the water and sand.  On our walk back to the apartment, we took a chance to stop and smell the flowers!  There were beautiful gardens along the park.  There was also a pop-up bar in the park that people were enjoying on this beautiful day.  

This night, the ladies got a night out.  Gulçin, Claudia, and I went for dinner at what they call a beach bar.  This is a popular thing for parking lots to be converted to a beach bar.  They put sand all over and have music and drinks along with food options.  We enjoyed some tropical drinks along with German pizzas.  It was fun girls night out and we had a great time sharing the meal.

A visit to Stuttgart with Claudia and Ofelia

The breakfast were always great!  Today, we had eggs, cheese, toast, jellies, tomatoes, and fruits.  The girls loved getting to pick their topping for the bread! Today, we are going to Stuttgart with their neighbor Claudia and her daughter Ofelia.  We meet the neighbor them downstairs and walked to the train.  We had to take two trains to get to Stuttgart.

First, we split up.  Claudia needed to run some errands and Gulçin, the girls and I went to explore the town.  First, we got warm butter pretzels (I was addicted from the start - warm pretzel with butter slathered on it!).  We walked through the Plaza Square (Schlossplatz Stuttgart).  Next, we went to a very old toy store and bought some gifts.  We stopped for a drink and snack (so much eating!) - this time I believe we had a plum cake.  During our exploration, they were setting for a festival.  It was really impressive to see the hardcore construction they were doing to set-up.

Following our walk around town, we meet back up with Claudia and Ofelia for lunch.  Today, we had currywurst and french fries.  The meal was delicious!  We then went into this building that gave us a great view of the city center.  After this, we walked through a mall, where we got these interesting tube doughnuts - Ungarisher Baumkuchen.  They were each covered with different toppings such as nuts, coconut, and sugar.

After the day in Stuttgart, we relaxed in the apartment.  When Bo came home, we drove to have dinner at Brewery.  I had some wine, while Bo and Gulçin enjoyed a beer.  We had very German dinners that included schnitzel, lentils and wieners.

That evening, I put together these really cool wooden puzzles that were from Bo's childhood.  Ayşe now plays with them, but they were quite tough puzzles to put together.  I thought they were both adorable!

Autobahn, Heidelberg, and Explorations

On this Sunday, Bo kindly made us all crepes.  They were delicious!  We spread jams and other sweet treats on them.  After a filling up on breakfast, we loaded in the car to head towards Heidelberg.  We drove along the Autobahn to get there with moments of extreme speed!

We walked through the city and got a chance to check out shops, churches, and plazas.  Gulçin and Bo were fans of a local falafel shop so we stopped for lunch and had an great meal.  We kept traveling along the brick terrain towards the castle.  There is an option to walk up to the castle; however, we had a stroller and took the funicular railway up to the castle.  We walked around the remains of the castle and into some of the buildings.  There was one building with a huge wine barrel (built in 1751, stands 23 feet high, 28 feet wide, holds 58,124 gallons of wine, and has a dance floor built on top of it).

Once we explored enough of the castle, we walked down to the old bridge for a stroll over it.  After walking on the bridge, we were in search of a treat and coffee.  We purchased some Schneballen, which are balls of dough with different flavors.  We got chocolate Schneeballen and headed to cafe for some coffee.  Since I don't drink coffee, I tried a Bionade (Elderberry flavor).  We had walked quite a bit and it was nice to relax for a bit.  After, we drove back.  For dinner that night, we enjoyed the leftover lasagna (continued to be delicious!)

Zbogom (goodbye) Slovenia; Hallo (hello) Germany

Today, we were all leaving Slovenia.  Sammy and his crew headed out early because they had an earlier flight.  Frank was staying behind with the car to spend a few more days with Albin and Majda.  We made sure to show him what the car looked like and how to start it – Ha!  After our last wonderful Slovenian breakfast, we headed to the Venice airport.  

While most of us had plenty of time (actually Elaine and Barbara were staying in Venice with Elaine’s husband Jorge joining them there), Kathy and Hannah were more in a time crunch with an earlier flight.  I had to come up with silly games to keep them distracted from freaking out about the traffic.  We worked on identifying the different license plates within the European Union – let’s just say we weren’t that impressive with our responses! 

Luckily, we made it to the airport with no problems and Kathy and Hannah made their flight back.  I had a bit of time to explore the airport and grab a meal before heading out.  They actually won’t let you get to your gate before a certain time.  Now it was time to head to Stuttgart to see my friend, Gulçin, who I met in Las Vegas in 2008 and then she was a visiting student at Purdue soon after.  Gulçin is married to Bo and they have two girls, Ayşe (4) and Güneş (18 months).  Bo and the girls met me at the airport and left Gulçin at home cooking dinner J

It was so great seeing Gulçin and Bo (he had been in Las Vegas and visited Purdue many times while Gulçin was there) and finally getting a chance to meet the girls.  I had packed some gifts for the girls after finding out that they were Frozen fans.  I brought a couple Elsa gowns and immediately had a best friend in Ayşe.  If we would have let her, she would have spent the whole week in them.  We took a nice walk after dinner to explore the town of Sindelfingen. 

We had a wonderful dinner prepared by Gulçin of lasagna followed by Tiramisu on the patio (the Tiramisu was made by her sweet neighbor).  It was all delicious and a wonderful introduction to Germany and the Hoge family!

Time to slow down in Slovenia

Susan and Sierra were heading out this early early morning… super early!  Kathy and I drew the short straws (okay fine we volunteered) to drive them to the airport.  They were flying out of Ljubljana and continuing their travels to Amsterdam for the day then Berlin for a few more days before returning to the States.  Kathy and I drove a different way back so we could drive along the Soca River and see the blue waters.  It was somewhat spooky as this day had a lot of fog in the morning.  This was my laziest day – I napped and then had lunch at the hotel.  Savannah was finally feeling better after having a not so good day the day before.  The innkeepers kindly let me do some laundry before I packed to head to Germany. 

I walked over to Smartno again to check out some jams that were being sold.  I got a variety for gifts.  That evening, we had dinner with Albin and Majda on the terrace.  Barbara brought her iPad and we were able to FaceTime with Ruth and Connie.  While Albin speaks no English, the love that he projected onto all of us was felt and embraced.  His and Majda’s joy in life was infectious and I was sorry that we had to say our goodbyes.  Can’t wait to visit them all again!

Every dinner should be under a canopy of wine grapes!

The breakfast in Slovenia continued to impress.  Since we had been doing a bit of car riding, today, we decided to stay close by.  A group of us walked around Smartno.  We checked out the local stores (there weren’t many).  I got some gifts from a natural lotions and soaps shop.  Then, the group did an olive oil tasting.  We were told how to properly taste olive oil and got to try it with bread and apples.  I purchased some lemon olive oil to bring back for the family Christmas party.  After our tasting, we headed to the old house that is located in Smartno.  We watched a quick video on the town and then did some jewelry shopping in the lower part of the house.  Finally, it was time for lunch.  We got a variety of dishes to share (and proceeded to eat way too much!). 

Sierra and I wanted to explore more so we asked how to get to a local tower.  Last time, Albin drove us up there and then when we tried to walk up there were wasps up in the tower.  Sierra and I asked the innkeepers how to get up there and off we went.  Well it sounds easier than it was.  We traveled mainly uphill and stopped to check out the wine grapes.  We made friends with some goats that were roaming.  Then got to a section where we didn’t know what to do so we navigated under a fence and arrived to the tower.  We climbed up to the top and snapped some photos.  It was a great view – we were able to see the hotel and the city of Smartno along with most of Brda.  It was a really beautiful view!

Sierra and I made our way back down the hill (or mountain according to our legs).  We had to get ready for a trip over to Albin and Majda's.  It was wonderful being back at their place.  The other family arrived - Sidonija and her daughters and their husbands - and I also met a new cousin named Vladimir.  Vlad brought us wine from the Benedetic Winery (we ended up enjoying it at the Benedict Christmas Party).  Majda prepared wonderful appetizers.  We got to explore the house and listened to some of Albin’s music (not live but on the computer).  We were running out of time to get to our reservation for dinner so we loaded up and headed to have dinner in Gonjače. 

The restaurant was located right next to the tower we climbed up to earlier that day.  At the hotel, Masa (and her boyfriend Matic) and Alja were waiting for us.  These were two cousins I had not met before.  Masa is the older sister of Mija who served as our translator on the 2011 trip.  Alja is a world-class athlete in kayaking in Slovenia and even competes internationally.  The dinner could not have been more special.  We started out the dinner with everyone taking a shot with a soaked cherry in the shot (woah!).  We had this wonderful family style meal and right when you thought you were full, you got another dish to share.  They had asked about food allergies and about 90% of the meal was perfect for Susan (Savannah wasn’t feeling good so wasn’t able to join). 

The young family members sat together and talked about life in Slovenia and life in the United States.  They had a great time getting to know one another and everyone made sure to find each other on Facebook and Instagram after.  I got to spend time getting to know Masa and Matic.  They lived in Nova Gorica.  I am probably going to get this wrong but I believe Matic worked in the Slovenia tourism arena and Masa served as a translator for a company (she was tri-lingual maybe more!).  Oh I forgot to mention, not only was this an amazing dinner but the view was incredible.  We saw most of the Brda wine region from this dinner spot.  We had dinner under a canopy of grapes on trellises overhead.  It felt like a dream.  We ended the evening was a sweet treat of strudel!!!  Strudeling across Slovenia continues.

Caves, Castles, Hotels, Oh My!

Our time in Dolenja Vas went too quickly!  We enjoyed our last breakfast here and spent some time with Jože before heading our way south.  The innkeepers gave us wine and honey and were so kind and sweet that I didn’t ever want to leave!  Some quickly headed to a Skofja Loka bookstore before we left to head to the caves and castle. 

We drove down to the Postojna Caves and the Predjama Castle.  First, we went to the caves, which requires a train ride down into the caves then a tour followed by a train ride out.  Sierra may have been yelled out by a stranger for touching the stalagmites and stalactites.  We then loaded up and headed towards the castle.  Included in the castle admission was a headset so we were able to hear about the castle while exploring it.  After the exploration, we grabbed some gelato (it was turning into a real addiction!) before making our way to Kozana and Smartno.

Barbara and I were in one van, the others were split between the car and the other van.  It was nice to ride along with Barbara for a while.  We had great conversations along our way and loved the scenery.  Our route to this area of Slovenia is along the Italy and Slovenia border so we were in Italy, then Slovenia, then Italy, then Slovenia!  We made our way to the hotel – Hotel San Martin in Smartno.  Oh my gosh – what a hotel!  This place was incredible.  The vista from the hotel was rolling vineyards with mountains in the distance and Barbara and I found our family sitting on it drinking wine when we arrived.  At this place, we had four rooms.

After we got settled, we walked over and explored parts of Smartno, which is a walled city.  It was now time for dinner and they were able to pull some tables together for us to enjoy dinner on the patio.  The owner of the hotel (Vessna) could not be more accommodating and sweet.  We had a wonderful meal before Albin and Madja showed up to surprise us.  It was so great to see them again after the past six years.  They exude such love and kindness. 

Vessna helped us do some laundry since some of us where traveling for such long periods of time.  Elaine thought we were visiting some younger cousins and had packed an Elsa doll.  We found out that Vessna’s daughter was a huge Frozen fan and presented her with the doll.  She was beyond thrilled.  I cannot say enough about this hotel and the owner and the employees.  Another place I was hoping I wouldn’t have to leave!

Ljubljana Tour, Hiking, and Cookout at Jože's

Another wonderful breakfast to start our day.  Today, we split up.  The gals minus Sierra went to Ljubljana and the guys plus Sierra went hiking to an old church in the Dolenja Vas area.

We loaded up in the car and one of the vans.  The van wouldn’t start… after some finagling, Barbara got it started.  But then we had a warning light on and had to go in search of a special fluid.  We headed for the petrol station and were able to find it and add it correctly! 

Now on to Ljubljana!  We arrived and spent way too long looking for parking.  The van was too big to fit in a garage so after much driving around (down roads that were too narrow), we parked along a street.  It was only two hour parking but Kathy walked over to the parking attendant to explain our situation. They asked where our plates were from and she told them Italy and they said not to worry about it.

We grabbed a quick lunch before we went on a tour of the capitol with Marjana (similar to Mary Anna).  She was in her early twenties and did an awesome job giving us a tour.  She told us about the local architecture and the famous Slovenian architect, about Slovenia’s independence, and the old city, the castle, and much much more.  She knew people in the city that shared their goods (fruits, spirits) with us.  We made a treat stop during our tour and had the best gelato of my entire trip at Vigo! 

After the tour of Ljubljana, we did some shopping and checked out all the shops in the old town area.  We needed to head back to Dolenja Vas because Jože and his family was hosting a barbeque.  A group of us walked down to his house another group drove.  We had a wonderful cookout at Jože and Ksenija’s place.  Jože showed us around his garden and then Daša gave us a tour of the inside.  We took pictures with Matjaž pet hamster and then posted them on Facebook telling him that we were missing him at our party!

The night was a blast with too many shots and funny conversations (I believe there was supposed to be a cook-off at the 2017 Benedict Christmas party).  The girls entertained themselves and made a routine up.  They then performed it for the party attendees.  We walked (some might have been stumbling) back to the gostilna in the dark with our cellphones lighting our way. 

Slovenia Alps, Lake Bohinj, Lake Bled, Toboggan Rides, Birthday Celebrations

Like my previous visit to Dolenja Vas, we had a lovely breakfast provided by the innkeepers – eggs, breads, cheese, meats, cereal, milk, coffee, etc. After breakfast, Jože came to meet us as the gostilna. We decided to take one of the vans and then Jože’s car. We first drove to the farm house to see where our great grandparents were from. We spent some time with Ivan (Johnny) & Majda, who live and work on the farm. We had potica that Majda has made and they walked us around the farm. Majda was in love with Savannah… but honestly who isn’t!

We then started our trek towards the Slovenian Alps. The roads winded through small towns with some sections barely fitting one car. We stopped in Zelezniki to see the oldest preserved blast furnace and kilns with a pyramidal core and square chimney stack – the only one of its kind in Slovenia. The remains of the last mighty blast furnace, used for smelting iron-ore, known to be the only preserved furnace of its kind in Europe. This was located in a cool square with a giant chess set and hopscotch (of course, I had to challenge the kids to a hopscotch race… let’s just assume I won! Ha!)

We climbed up the mountains and went down the mountains and on the edge of mountains! It was quite an adventure… some did better than others in the car! We stopped along the way for photo ops. We saw a lot of people out torturing themselves (this might also be known as exercising) – many of them were on roller skis and bikes – not sure if the downhill or uphill would be worse!

We made it to Vogel Mountain! We took the cable car up to top for an amazing view and enjoyed a lunch. There were too many of us so we had to split up over many tables. After lunch, the kids and I walked around some of the park – they had some neat rock art and fun things to stand on. We of course had a photo shoot with the beautiful Alps in the background!

Next stop was Lake Bohinj! We had driven by on our way to Vogel but didn’t stop. This time we did stop. We quickly parked illegally and ran over to get a photo with the Zlatorog, or Golden Horn, a statue that guards the shores of Lake Bohinj. The water wasn’t too cold and there were lots of people out and about (this is a heavy tourist area).

We got back in the vehicles and headed towards Lake Bled. We found parking and walked towards the area to get on the plenta boat loading area. On our walk, we found this neat heart structure that we just had to get our picture with. The traditional way to reach the lake's island is by a pletna boat, which resembles a huge gondola. The entire trip takes 90 minutes, including 60 minutes of rowing and 30 minutes on the island. Once we arrived on the island, the girls and I went into the church and rang the bell then climbed the bell tower. There was a cute gift store on the island where some of us purchased a few souvenirs. On the boat, Jože tried teaching us Slovenian words – honestly, I can’t remember any of them!

After returning back, we walked over to a toboggan hill so that the kids (which this time included Ashley, Kathy, and Elaine) could ride a toboggan down. We first had to ride up to the top of the hill in a ski lift. This provided one of the best views of Lake Bled. We each had to ride down in our own toboggan that was pulled down by gravity and all we had was a handbrake to slow us down. It was pretty exhilarating. The pictures of us coming down are hilarious with faces from fright to fun!

We then headed back to the gostilna for dinner in their back area – this setting is enchanting. Without Shelby’s knowledge, we planned a little surprise. After dinner, Johnny brought out a cake that had Happy Birthday in Slovenia in it. They even sang happy birthday to her in Slovenian and the rest of us sang to her in English. What a full day it was!

Savannah and I decided to have a sleepover in my room. We watched some television… good thing it was in English with Slovenian subtitles. After the day we had, we quickly fell asleep for a peaceful night.

The Benedicts Arrive in Slovenia

Morning came way too early!  We went down to enjoy breakfast – let’s just say I could have enjoyed all the croissants on the breakfast bar.  We then went out to catch a water taxi back to the airport where we were meeting the Grahams, Shelby, my Uncle Frank, and my cousins Barbara and Elaine. 

Frank, Barbara, and Elaine all flew into Venice that morning.  We met at the rental car place.  The rental car reservations were all confusing with the rental car place having us supposedly arriving the day before and then they had too many reservations.  It was a bit chaotic but we got it all settled.  We had rented two vans and a car… come to find out these vans were huge cargo vans that could site 9 people per van!!  We loaded up and then headed towards Slovenia.  I always get confused by the road signs and didn’t have unlimited data so had to rely on maps.  We were supposed to get on the autostrade (interstate) but I accidentally had turned too early and we were on a smaller road.  Well after a few stops, we got it figured out and made it to the interstate.  We knew this time that we had to get a toll pass for the vehicles before entering Slovenia.  We stopped at a rest stop to get the passes and some snacks for the vehicles. 

Our first stop in Slovenia was the Lipica Stud Farm – home of the famous Lipizzaner stallions (the horses that dance and prance).  This was a new place for me to visit.  Uncle Frank had been there before on a previous visit.  We were all starving so we grabbed lunch and then Elaine and I went to a demonstration show while the others explored the park.  The place was quite large to explore and we were able to see the horse stables and museums around the park.

It was time to head to Dolenja Vas.  We stayed in the same gostilna (Gostisce Pri Zalogarju) from my last trip to Slovenia.  OMG… the hospitality… what nice people.  We had 7 rooms reserved for 13 people so room assignments were given and we were all able to settle in.  I was planning to do some laundry when I stayed in Venice but since my plans changed it was time to wash a few items.  We managed to do laundry in the tub in one of the rooms, which worked out nicely because I was running out of clothes.  

Jože’s family came to meet us for dinner at the gostilna - you can see the family chart and relationships below.  He was joined by his wife (Ksenija), his daughter (Daša), and his grandson (Matjaž).  Matjaž is an elite swimmer and spends most mornings going to training.  He was getting ready to go on a vacation with his dad so this was the only night we got to spend with him.  It was fun to see the young kids interact with each other over the dinner.  We had a great dinner with lots of wine flowing and delicious food.  As the night was winding down, the guys – Frank, Jože, and Sammy – were the last ones standing (or should I say drinking) as the rest of us headed to bed.  

The journey of a great view begins with 463 steps

Today is my last day in Florence. I packed up at the hotel and jumped on a bus. First, I dropped my bag at train station – they have a bag drop where you can check a bag for a few euro over a certain time period. It was really nice to not have to go back to the hotel after spending the day around Florence. First, I went to check out the Ponte Vecchio during the day. I walked along the Fiume Arno seeing a new area of Florence that I hadn’t toured yet. I had pre-purchased a ticket for the Uffizi Art Gallery. I was able to see works by Giotto, Botticelli (The Birth of Venus), da Vinci, Raphael, and Rembrandt. I started to take pictures of all the Virgin Mary and Child paintings and I ran out of space on my phone… okay maybe that is dramatization but seriously there were probably 1000 paintings of mother and child. I had to speed through this space because I had an appointment to climb the Duomo. 

Uffizi Art on left and Ponte Vecchio on Right

A few of the Virgin Mary and Child paintings

I am not sure why I keep doing this to myself but it was another climb up another old building! I had to wait in line for a bit in order to be admitted into the dome. Like the other climbs, you get to see the inside of the dome and then climb up to the top of the dome. The view at the top was incredible… you could see for miles and all of Florence was in view.

After the climb up and down, I headed to find some lunch. It was cute sandwich shop down one of the small lanes. The neat thing about Florence is that you can walk around and be lost but easily find yourself. I was thankful for a map in hand but also loved the since of exploration. Of course not only did I find my way around, but I found something cool and refreshing – a strawberry, lemonade Italian Ice.

Next, I went to the Museum of the Duomo, which was really interesting and provided some great insights into the dome include a neat close up of the stained glass windows, a small replica of the dome, and lots of the neat sculptures. When you go to the very top of the museum, you can see a great view of the Duomo and get a chance to take some pictures.

Now it was time to finalize my time in Florence. I walked around the city some more seeing a few more churches, checking out some of the vendors, seeing all the different types of gelato, and counting the countless number of pizzerias. I purchased a few leather items for friends back in the states that could easily fit in my bag. After exploring, I headed back to the train station to get my bag and grab a quick snack. On the train ride to Venice, I sat across from a young couple.

When I arrived in Venice, I realized that I was in Venice proper and could easily meet up with my family who was staying in the city. I was originally intending to stay at an AirBnB that I had reserved. I kept in touch with the host to let him know that I would either be really late or I would not be showing up. I jumped on a water bus (see some crazy art I saw on the water bus down below) to meet back up with Susan and Sierra and this time my cousin Kathy and her daughter Hannah were with them.

We then met up with Susan’s brother
Sammy Graham and his family – Stephanie (wife), McKenzie (oldest daughter), and Savannah (youngest daughter) along with Stephanie’s cousin Shelby. We had dinner at Sammy’s hotel – it was great! We had a wonderful meal and then ordered desserts. Hannah loves chocolate and asked if they had any options. The waiter said that he would see what he could do. From this we found out that it was our waitress Victoria’s birthday because they brought Hannah a piece of the cake that they brought in for Victoria. So what did we do… we brought Victoria out so we could sing Happy Birthday to her (keep in mind we were eating out on the patio along the piazza) so all could hear! I am pretty sure she was embarrassed but let us do it anyways! She then brought out a bottle of Prosecco for all to share along with her. It was such a special moment and really kicked off the family part of the trip nicely.

After a long day, I decided to go stay with the family (Susan, Sierra, Kathy, and Hannah) over at the Hilton. We took a water shuttle over and the family sneaked me in! They had a great hotel room and it was a beautiful site to look over at Venice. The waves were crashing over the wall and the wind was really picking up. Sierra agreed to share the sofa bed with me. We opened it up and realized that it wasn’t exactly perfect… it may have sloped down in one corner. Sierra and I managed to sleep through the night but I am not quite sure how!

Exploring Florence and Pisa

Today, I had pre-purchased a ticket to see Michelangelo’s David at the Galleria dell'Accademia. I jumped on a bus to get from the hotel to the main part of the city. The nice part about pre-purchasing tickets was that I could skip the lines and easily get in to see the works of art. David is a masterpiece. It was sculpted between 1501 and 1504. My Michelangelo fan tour continues… he was such an amazing artist. I sat for a while and just stared at it. In 1873, the statue was moved from the Palazoo Vecchio and into the Galleria. There is a replica in the original location. After I spent enough time with David, I toured the rest of the Galleria. 

Next stop was Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower (Il Duomo di Firenze)! As I mentioned yesterday, what a place - interesting on the outside but a bit bland on the inside. The cathedral was free except for waiting in the long long line, but I had purchased a ticket to go up in the dome for the next day. This allowed me admission into the Crypt. I toured the Crypt which showed different versions of the modifications to the church and talked about the history of the cathedral. 

Then, I wrapped up there and headed towards my Pisa tour meet up. I figured I hadn’t had enough of pizza so guess what lunch was… okay now I might need to consult an addiction specialist. After lunch, I was starting to freak out because time was running out and the instructions on how to find the Pisa tour bus stop were not very good. Finally, I found the tour stop and we boarded a bus. I sat next to a woman (similar to my age) that was on sabbatical from work and spending 3 or 4 weeks traveling around Europe. She had already done a Mediterranean tour and had hit a few places in Italy. She was heading to France after Italy. The temps continued to be high and it was a warm bus ride. The tour guide provided the tour in two different languages – English and Italian.

Once we got to Pisa, we had to walk to Piazza dei Mirocoli, the main tourist area. In this space, we received a tour of the piazza, which had the Duomo Pisa (Pisa Cathedral), Pisa Baptistery, and the Leaning Tower (which is a glorified bell tower!). I made friends with a mother and daughter on the tour – Bennette and Danielle. We took turn taking the required Leaning Tower of Pisa pictures and then went to enjoy some gelato and fries (they were my new best friends!). They were on a vacation from Hawaii and had actually just made this a day trip from Bologna. The bus ride back wasn’t as smooth as the way to Pisa. There was an accident and we had to wait in some slow traffic, but once we got back on the interstate it was smooth driving again! Bennette and Danielle had missed their train back to Bologna but they were hoping to see about getting on the next one out.   

After arriving back to Florence, I walked around Florence some more. There was so much to see! I went to see the Ponte Vecchio and the gorgeous sunset. I finished up the day with 20,000 steps! WOW :) Headed back to the hotel so I could pack up and explore Florence one more day before heading on to Venice tomorrow.