we arrived home last night at about 10:30 pm. it was a long travel day. i think we were up about 28 hours before hitting the sack last night. it felt great to crawl into my own bed!
we had a good time in venice. we toured Doges Palace and St. Marks Basillica, walked around Mark's square, visited Murano island (famous for it's glass blowing), climbed up and down the steps of the Rialto Bridge about 5 times a day (our hotel was just near by with more steps), and experienced a romatic ride in a gondola at night. venice has a very medieval feel with no cars or motarized bikes, boats constantly running through the canals, and many many worn down old buildings. i'm sure it's a hard fought battle to keep everything maintained against the water. but still it is beautiful. but....full of tourists. wow...after 2 and a half days in venice, we could hardly stand it. so many people - one gets tired of turning, twisting, stepping aside, and josteling to get around people. whew. we were glad to visit and experience venice. however...some day when we go back, we'll skip the tourist towns and spend more time in tuscany. it is definitely the best way to relax -- meet italian people who don't have to deal with crazy tourists everyday -- and enjoy your time. i believe daniel and i would both say we enjoyed Montalcino the most!
and now we're home...where water is served with endless amounts of ice for free, where i can get a to-go latte and where my brain doesn't spin trying to figure out which language i should say thank you in when purchasing something. on our way home from italy, we spent one night in munich. boy, when i got off the train and bought a pretzel at a german snack stand, i couldn't figure out what to say, gracias? no... gratzie? no...oh si, danke. wait ... that wasn't quite right either. whew. it is good to be home.
the world is an amazing place; full of the expressions and cultures of different people. some are wonderful and some drive me crazy. but indeed, it reminds me that i am blessed to have a home, a husband who loves me, a good job, and the provisions to be able to experience different places and people around the world -- i recommend it!
ciao! Check out the following 5 or so posts to see some pictures of our journey!
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Venezia
Daniel and I on the Rialto Bridge in Venice.
Daniel and I acting like crazy prisoners while touring the Doges Palace prison.
Daniel experiencing coffee at Cafe Florian, which is located on St. Marks Square. This cafe opened on December 29th, 1720 and served the first coffee in Europe.
Montalcino
Barbara and Roberto are the owners of a winery and the agriturismo, La Crociona, we stayed at in Montalcino. Barbara gave us a marvelous tour of their winery and taught us all about the special type of wine, Brunello, they make from Sangiovese grapes. They were a delight!
A picture of a meal we cooked in our own little apartment at La Crociona. A little pasta (not in the picture), some tomato and mozzarella salad with fresh basil, and a little Rosso di Montalcino wine.
More Pics of Spain
Daniel and I at dinner.
Dad and Gini at dinner for our last night in Spain.
Spanish Coast.
Janet, Peter, Daniel, and I at a beach coast town in Spain.
Munich
Check out that liter of Augustiner Beer! 
Almut and I enjoying Radlar -- a mix of Beer and Sprite -- pretty good stuff.
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