Days 7 & 8

As I think back to the wonders of last week, it is like a dream-a dream that we were abruptly woken up from on Wednesday morning as we both drove to work. I am so grateful that we experienced that dream-I know another trip like that will be a long time coming.

I did not fully hit on the wonders of Italy. We loved Italy-it is dirty yet so beautiful and romantic. Rome is a city full of rich culture and history. It was amazing. We are both not accustomed to the fast-pace of a city like Rome, so it was a breath of fresh air when we made our way to Florence. Scott and I LOVED Florence. We loved exploring the streets at night and wandering along the bridges. The bridges in Florence are perfect. There are SOO many tourists crowded onto the main bridge, so we made our way to the next bridge over. It was ideal. We were the only people and did not have to fight for a good view. Tourists are so funny-I think that many tourists don’t know why they go to certain places, except that it’s “famous.” I think the best places are usually the next door over.

After Florence, we took a train to Venice. We were amazed with the unparalleled and beautiful city. Let’s get serious-people really live there??!! So many people say that Venice is dirty, crowded, and stinky. Although I agree, Venice is all of those things, I love Venice. I don’t love St. Marco’s square-another one of those tourist traps-but I do love the concept of life in Venice and all the islands that are “next door” to Venice. If you ever go to Venice-make a quick trip around the actual Venice, because you have to see the hot spots, and then hop on a city boat, yes their busses are boats, and explore the islands around Venice. They are amazing. Burano was the first island we visited. It is a dream. People drive boats instead of cars there, and the streets are connected by bridges, just like Venice. The upside? There are 1/100th of the tourists there. When we went to Burano, there was a party going on with all the locals hitting piñatas and playing soccer. We loved seeing the real culture of Burano, Italy. It is hard for me to imagine what it would be like to live in a place surrounded and intertwined with so much water!

The next day we went to Murano, Italy-another little island off of Venice-and enjoyed the crowdless streets of Murano. They make a lot of glass in Murano, so it was very fun to watch a demonstration of that and see all of the beautiful glass that the folks in Murano create. Scott bought me a beautiful necklace while we were there. I love it.

After Venice we took a train back to Zurich-I wish we had more time there, it was beautiful. The next morning we flew out of Zurich and back to the blessed land of the United States. We loved our trip and loved Europe, but when all is said and done-boy is it good to be an American!

Ps, the taste of free tap water is unreal.