A villa in Italy

So first off I must apologize, I am writing these posts a little behind, but it seems even more behind because when I am not in a major city I don't seem to have a good enough connection to upload onto the blog.  I hope you stick with me though because there is a lot left to share!

Here we go...

Day 7:  

We woke up, packed up, and left Venice.  This seems a simple thing to say, but the reality of leaving Venice with three kids, a small duffel, 3 little backpacks and a large pack and play is not easy, even when you are out before he crowds.  Thankfully I had the stoller, which I loaded down with the pack and play and entering else it could handle.  Lillian and Oliver were little helpful superstars taking charge of their little sister.  We had to take 2 water buses to get to the car park, it took us a little over an hour, but we did it.  We were out and on the road a little before 10, so we were even early!  

We had a 4 hour ride ahead of us to get to the villa my Mum and Dad had rented out for a few weeks.  Thank goodness my phone works here with 4G service, otherwise I would never have found the place!  We made it here in 4 hours almost exactly, with a stop for a drink along the way.  No one was interested in lunch, they were just excited to get to the villa and see other people!

It is located up a dirt hill on the slop of a hill, a lovely little 200 year old Italian farm house surrounded by olive trees, fruit orchards, and wine vines a little further afield.  What could be more perfect?  Well, it also has a pool, and a little park for Bronwyn, so it did get even more perfect.  We spent the afternoon catching up with family; my mum and dad (Mimi and Popi) and my mums brother and wife (Jack and Colleen) and my dads sister and husband (Bobbie and Mike).  We are all staying at the villa for the next week.  The kids could be wait to get in the pool, and so in no time we were all relaxing.  It really is a perfect spot.  

Day 8:

We must really like the car because we were back in it the next day to tour around Pisa, it was about a 2 hour drive from the villa.  We went with Jack and Colleen, as mum and dad had already been earlier.  We left Bronwyn with Mimi, so she got a break from being dragged around from one monument to the next.  

The leaning tower was the obvious draw here, so that is where we headed first.  You can go up it now, so we bought tickets to do just that.  There were a lot of people in this big open area surrounding the cathedral and tower.  We had time for lunch before going up the tower.  I am very sorry to say that this was the worst lunch experience we have had.  The food came in waves, and mine never came.  This was after we had moved to a different restaurant because the first one was so rude.  But never mind.

The tower was great, a bit surreal when you walk up it, you feel a little tipsy the whole way up because your balance is changing as you go round the staircase.  The view from the top is awesome, and it is fun to walk around the top and find the high point and the low point.

We also went into the cathedral before heading back home.  What a beautiful cathedral.  They make them so big!  Definitely awe inspiring.  

We decided to take the longer way home, by way of smaller winding roads instead of the autostrada.  When you get off the big road then you really get to see Italy.  We were headed to a town someone had recommended and we saw this awesome hilltop village in the distance.  It got closer and closer and suddenly we realized that is where we are headed!  So I found a parking spot spot and we walked into the town. What a cool spot it was.  Unfortunately it was raining a bit and it was getting late so we didn't spend too long exploring.  But we did stop for the best hot chocolate ever!  It was so think and creamy, just what we needs on a cool rainy afternoon.

Venice, 'the floating city'

Day 6:

A day in Venice!

Greg had to get up early and get to the airport to get back to the daily grind of work... I guess someone has to do it!  Truthfully though I am so thankful for him and this wonderful trip I am able to take with our children.

The kids and I got up a little later and decided to check out Venice.  We headed to see the fish market, and then to St Marks.  We were out and about by 8:30, so there weren't too many people out yet.  

We were told that we knew that be able to catch a gondola in front of the fish market for 2€ that would take us back and forth across the grand canal.  This is a much more reasonable price than 80€, especially with kids.  Unfortunately we didn't find them, but they are there, I saw them the next day when we were getting on the water bus.  Just a tip if you go to Venice!  The fish market is pretty neat, tons of fish and also fresh produce.  The kids thought it was awesom and has a great time trying to guess what different things were.

This is a photo of the kids standing in front of the only wine door left in Venice.  We were staying right above it.  They used to rol wine barrels down it into a cellar back in the day, that is why the bottom is wider.

We stopped and took photos at the realto bridge, which we went over multiple times.  A pretty awesome bridge that is packed with tourists almost all the time.  It is has three lanes of walking traffic and two rows of shops!

After we crossed the bride I wanted to get to St Marks Square, hoping to beat out some of the crowds.  Venice is a maze of alleys and canals, there is no straight way to get anywhere and it is easy to take a wrong turn.  But that is the fun of Venice, and you always end up somewhere, eventually even where you want to be!  

I let the kids take turns picking the direction we would go when we had a choice.  My best advice for Venice is to get lost!  

We did make it to the square, fairly early still.  The square was relatively empty but there were a lot of pigeons.  Bronwyns inner dog came out and she loved chasing them.  A guy came up offering corn to feed the birds, I said no, but kids said yes.  So then I had to give him money of course.  Totally taken, but it has to happen once!  I told the kids afterward to never do that again, because it will always cost us money.  I did get a funny pigeon picture though.

There was a massive line for the church, so we kept walking.  This area has some very petty veiws and lots very things to see.  We bought a water bus ticket that lasts for 24 hrs and gets you wherever you need to go.  We then walked back to the church and went right in without much waiting.  It is beautiful, the ceilings are gorgeous.  It is an amazingly beautiful cathedral.  The kids were is awe, but we just walked through with our any extra add one, which was perfect for us.

Next we went to Murano to see the glass blowing factories and shops.  The kids LOVED this, I believe it was their favorite part!  It was a nice ride out there, fro where we caught the bus it took us 45 min to get out to the other island.  We needed the sit down time to rest, B was a little tired at this point.  We got off at the wrong stop, but it ended up being good because we ran right into a glass blowing studio that wasn't connected to a shop, so we got to watch 3 guys working together to create a vase.  The kids didn't want to leave until the very end.  It is pretty awesom to see then take molten glass and form it.

We had lunch on Murano, so it was cheaper than the main part of Venice, then took the water bus back to the main Islands.  We got off at the first stop and walked our way back to our apartment.  We got back just before it started to rain!  We had another little break until the weather cleared up then out we went again.  I didn't want to waste any time sitting inside when we could be exploring!

It was high tide when we went out again, and the kids thought that the island had sunk while we were inside!  The water domes up over some of the sidewalks.  We found a spot for a nice afternoon drink, then did some more walking until dinner.  It was a relatively early night for us, as we fit a lot into our day and we were all tired at the end.  Venice is a must do, just such a cool city to see.  

Next stop for us is Mimi's and Popi's in Tuscany!