Last stop... Venice

5/11/13 Day Twelve

"Andiamo"... Let's go!

Goodbye Florence... Off to Venice!

We took the "Coach" through the hills of Tuscany and stopped at Verona. The buildings were all brick and so pretty. I love seeing the city walls here. We had lunch at an outdoor cafe and saw the Balcony of Romeo and Juliette. There was a cute couple who just got married there. It was packed with tourists. We shopped a little bit. The stores were mostly the same as we have at home, along with many fine Italian shops. Patty and I had our cappicinos and the guys had their gelatos.

We finally arrived in Venice. We took a boat to our hotel, The Molina Stucky Hilton. On the way there we saw many cruise ships. There was so much activity and so many boats that were all so beautiful!

I had no idea it would be so big here in Venice. We had dinner at the hotel before our evening excursion to what I think is the main island. I wanted to take so many photos at St Mark's Square. We had a little free time before we were meeting the group so we walked the narrow streets a little bit. We spent some time listening to the different concerts in the square. The men were wearing tuxedos. Tom and Patty danced, and so did we.

Since music is my love language and feeds my soul more than anything, I thought I was in Heaven. As I looked around, trying to soak it all in (while trying to take pictures at the same time), I had one of those moments when I remembered... We are in Venice, Italy! I was moved beyond words and had tears in my eyes most of the evening. I have been touched during this trip, watching Larry taking such wonderful care of his wife, Dixie. I have been watching unconditional love first-hand and its almost more than I can handle.

Our group took 3 boat taxis back to our hotel. The ride at night was crisp and chilly, but probably one of the most beautiful, memorable evenings of my life. I want to bottle it up and never forget.

5/12/13 Day Thirteen

Happy Mother's Day!

We took a boat back to St. Mark Square and had a walking tour through town before we toured St. Mark's Basilica. The Rialto Bridge is beautiful! We also saw a glass blowing demonstration and Linc almost bought an expensive glass horse. I found a pretty Marano glass necklace for Meghan. Patty and I bought matching green silk scarves. Linc bought an Italian flag for his new little speed boat.

We went to lunch on another island and I can't think of the name of it now. We had wine, spaghetti with clams and seafood risotto, salad and neapolitan cake with sambuco and coffee. It honestly wasn't my favorite lunch or excursion although it was a neat city with all different colored buildings. We saw some lace shops but didn't find anything we loved. We got back to the hotel just in time before it started raining.

My highlight of the day? I loved connecting with the kids via text messaging and seeing their sweet messages wishing me a Happy Mother's Day! Oh, I also enjoyed taking some amazing photos of the gondolas and watching all of the activity on the lagoons and the Grand Canal. Venice seems like they really rely on tourists and it seems a bit commercial, but it is absolutely beautiful! I think they said they have 26 million visitors per year. They also have 114 churches!

I love following behind our guide, Johnny while he walk with a skip, clasping his hands behind his back. He is so cute and ever-so-jolly! You should see Linc and Tom imitate him! :)

We were all tired, but managed to force (and convince Linc to join us~ Patty sharing her scarf~ha!) ourselves to go out for dinner. It was raining, but we were glad to go for a short walk over three bridges to get to a small restaurant. Linc finally got his polenta and enjoyed it. Personally, I thought it was kind of bland. We walked back to our hotel under our umbrellas. It was windy and freezing! After dinner we went up to the top of our hotel for a drink before heading to bed.

My favorite time in Venice is at night, with all of the lights!

5/13/13 Day Fourteen

Our last full day!

We had a relaxing morning, then had the day to ourselves to enjoy and try to get lost in Venice. Linc and I considered taking a train to try to find some of his family, but it was too complicated and he wasn't able to find out the exact details from Larry. We walked the streets on our own for a few hours, then met up with Patty and Tom for our last meal together. We found a cute restaurant on one of the back streets and had some amazing lasagna. I was able to get one more cork to add to our collection from our last bottle of wine. We ended our lunch with one last cup of cappuccino. :)


We navigated around the streets, up and down stairs, over bridges until we got to the boat taxi. We were snapping our final photos before getting back to our hotel, just in time to quickly get ready to meet the group for our "Gondola Serenade" and "Farewell Dinner."

Our Gondola ride was incredible! We sipped on champagne and took many pictures of each other, trying to get the perfect one. My camera had 8 megs of space and I used every bit of it!

It's amazing how we bonded with all of the group during these past ten days together. Watching all of the guys helping lift Dixie's wheelchair up and down stairs still brings tears to my eyes. They were so appreciative. We all sang songs lead by Mike from Australia.

We said our goodbyes; checked out of the hotel; printed our boarding passes, then the four of us sat at the bar and had one more limoncello together. We reminisced about all of our favorite moments together before heading to bed.

Highlight of Venice for me? Hmmm... It's hard to decide. I loved everything about it! I would probably have to say enjoying it with Lincoln and creating more memories with our very dear friends! We had the best time together and it made our friendship grow even deeper! We had a blast together! I also loved competing with Tom to get the perfect photos. I am pretty sure he won! Yes, Tom... you win... I think! ;)

5/14/13 Day Fifteen

Ciao, Venice!
Ciao, Italy!

We are homeward bound and I am ready! We cannot wait to connect with our kids. This was a trip of a life-time and we will cherish these memories forever!

p.s. None of us were pick pocketed. No one lost their purses or cameras. :)

Thank You, God!