FAIR VERONA......

Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life.

We all know those words, we all know the story, and I got to see where it all happened!

Today we spent the day in Verona! Brandon said he liked it so much better then Venice because there is more to see but the truth is, we had a map of Verona, and didn't have one of Venice! There are a lot more people, the roads are more rough then in Venice, but I think he's right. I liked Verona better too. Why? Well, even though there might be more people, it's not as crowded as Venice was, there was more to see in just the walkig that we did without a map, it was easier to find your way around (probably because you're not surrounded by water at every turn) and you could just drive. We drove around and got lost for the most part so that was fun!

Here's a rundown of the day: We drove into centro and parked right along the "Walls of Verona". It's only a two hour parking place but I figured that would be enough time to just go and walk around.

From the Walls we just started walking and saw a ton of cool things. First was the coluseum/theater. They had all the stuff out of the theater and we didn't pay to go inside because it's not really a place for strollers but you can go inside it. There were a ton of people dressed up as spartans and some wearing masks and stuff that would take pictures with you (as long as you paid them a tip).

We saw Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II (1st King of Verona Statue)

Fontana di Madonna Verona (Fountian in the Centro)

Casa di Giulietta (Juliets Home) to go into her house, it's only 1 Euro but there again, not a place for strollers!


Portoni della Bra (Gateway to the city)

All in all, there are a lot of people in Verona, expically on a Sunday. A lot of the stores are open but not all of them. They had everything from Rolex and Gucci, to Foot Locker and Blockbuster! There of course are little shops to stop at as well with tourist stuff like postcards and keychains. Once you got out of the hustle and bustle of the Centro it was quiet and easy to walk around. We drove for a bit just trying to see where the road would take us. We had also bought a map to find somethings we wanted to see. We stopped along the river and just watched the ducks floting by too. The girls really liked the bridges. This one is Ponte della Pietra (the "Stone Bridge").

There are a ton more pictures that I'd love to put on here but of course, I'm just going to put them on my facebook and MySpace! We ran out of time to do it all in one day because the kids were getting kind of cranky so there will be more pictures of Verona another time. Ah, I love living in ITALY!!!!

VENICE

Today we finally ventured into the unknown. We went to Venice!!! It was shuch an incredible experiance. I can't wait to go again!

We started the day off with 100 Eruo and actually came home with about 20 euro left over! We also packed a picnic lunch made up of stuff for peanut butter sandwiches.

I figured we could hang out at a park and sit in the grass and eat. The girls were so excited about doing this too so why not right! Saves a ton of money on food!!!

So the unknown wasn't so scary after all. Granted I turned the wrong way through the round about and we ended up having to go back the way we went but it was alright because there were two tunnels and the kids enjoyed going through them so many times! Then it was a straight shot. Never having driven on these roads before I was a little nervous, but it's really not that different then in the States. On the side of the Autostrada (Interstate) they have places to stop, gas stations, etc. We saw one that had some stuff about Venice on the sign and were going to stop but decided last minute not to. When we went by we were kicking our selves really bad. Sitting in this gas station were about 30 Farrari's!!!! All colors but the same models. Newer, not sure what year but man I would have loved to stop and see them!!! But we kept going, mainly because there is no way to turn around what-so-ever once you are on the autostrada, but it was ok. I was ready to see Venice. Now bear in mind I have been told nothing but bad stuff about Venice. How it's not kid friendly, how there are stairs everywhere, how it's a ton of walking, absolutely no railings near the waters edge and not worth it if you have little kids. So needless to say, I was ready to have a rough day but it wasn't like that at all. There is only one road into and out of Venice. This road takes you in right to the cruise ships where you can park and take a Water Taxi to many different stops on each island of Venice. Thats what we did. We paid 16 Euro each for me and Brandon, kids were free, for a 12 hour pass. You can get on and off however many times you want to at any stop you would like to go to as well.

We took our Water Taxi clear to St. Marks Square. There were several stops along the way and we got to see a ton of incredible buildings. There were also Gondola's everywhere! I couldn't believe how many of them there were. And there really is no right way or wrong way when it comes to driving a boat. They just go wherever and stay out of each others ways. They have Polizia and Ambulance boats as well. Kinda neet to see all those.

At St. Mark's Square we decided to find somewhere to go the bathroom. Now, that's expensive!!! It cost Brandon 3 Euro just go pee for 10 seconds! How crazy is that. I didn't go in because I stayed out side with the stroller and the kids. After that experiance we went to find a place to eat but we noticed that there isn't really any grass to sit in so we made our sandwiches on the sidewalk! Best place as any right. The only problem we had were the hungry pigeons!!! They are crazy. They eat food right out of your hands and land on you whenever they feel the need. I had one on my head for a little bit. Brandon couldn't get the camara up fast enough though. It was fun.

After we played with the pigeons for a while we walked some more. Bella took a lot of pictures too. Here are some of the ones she's took.

She's such a good little picture taker!

Along with all the sights to see there are a ton of little vendor places to buy anything you could ever want as a souvineer. They had a lot of shirts, hats, key chains, shot glasses, masks and everything else. There are also Gucci stores and those types of shopping places too. After all the looking around we finally decided it was time to head back to the boat. The kids were getting hot and cranky and we had seen quite a bit. On the way back we ended up getting on the wrong boat to begin with so we had to get off at the next stop and get back on when the right boat got there. I was able to ride on the opposite side then when we headed up to St. Marks so I got lots of different pictures.

All in all today was the best day yet since we have been in Italy. It took us less time to drive from our house to Venice then it took us to go from our home in California to the Mall in Victorville!!! I can't believe that we can just "go to Venice whenever we want!" it's crazy! I'm not sure what is next on our list of places to see but maybe next we will head out towards Verona or maybe farther West. For all those who are going to come visit, I WILL take you to Venice so make sure you bring a little extra money for the Water Taxi!!!!

Our Retreat

So I signed us up for a retreat on June 10th and 11th. Brandon got a call a couple days ago saying that we get to go. They might even have found a babysitter for us (because kids can't go) but if not then we have to find someone to watch them. I don't mind that though, I'm so excited to go. We are staying at Castel Brando just north of us about 2 hours or so. I'm not really sure how long it is. But I do know it's still in Italy! It overlooks the ancient hamlet of Cison di Valmarino.

There is a refined "Sansovino" restaurant that has antique plaster-work and also another restaurant called "La Carte".

There are also eight bars located all ofer the Castel. Not only that there are three museums in the interior and a Beauty Centre (Spa). The rooms are all decorated in different styles. They are all painted exquisitly and all are unique and original.

I can't even believe we get to experiance this and it couldn't have come at a better time! Believe me, once we get there and back again, I'll have a ton of pictures and things to say about it.

Just thought I'd share what we are doing with ya'll!!!

Oh and did I mention, IT'S ALL FREE!!!! FOOD, TRANSPORTATION, EVERYTHING IS FREE!!!!

Learning Italian

So, I started my Rosetta Stone Italian 1 last night. They say it's a lot like Spanish so if any of you know that then it's possible you already know some Italian. I do know they roll their R's the same as the spanish language. It's kinda fun actually. I've always loved learning, no matter what it is. It's wierd though, they don't teach it the way I figured they would. I thought they'd start with hi and bye, how to tell time, travel and that kind of stuff. They don't though. They actually start with Il bambino and Le bambini, boy and girl. Anyways, thought it might be kinda fun for everyone to get to learn a little bit of it with me so here's some of the stuff I learned.....

cavallo - Horse
panini - Sandwhich
penne - Pen
una Mela - Apple
il riso - Rice
mangia - Eat (pronounced man-ja)
un gatto - Cat
un giornale - Newspaper (pronounced ger-na-le)
un cane - Dog
biciclette - Bicycle (pornounced bitch-a-let-a)
Che cos'e - What is this/that?
Questo e - That/this is.....

now a couple sentences

Loro hanno un cavallo. - They have a horse.
Loro mangiano i Panini - He's eating a sandwhich.
Loro hanno le penne. - He has a pen.
il riso e unal mela - rice and an apple
Il cane mangia - The dog is eating.
Il bambino ha una penna. - The boy has a pen.
Lui ha un gatto. - He has a cat.
Lei ha un cane. - She has a dog.
Loro hanno un gionale. - They have a newspaper.
Il bambino ha un cane. - The boy has a dog.
Il bambino non ha un cane. - The boy does not have a dog.
Le bambine hanno delle biciclette. - The girls have bicycles.
Le bambine non hanno biciclette. - The girls do not have bicycles.
Che cos'e? Questo e un gatto. - What's that/this? That/this is a cat.

So that's what I've learned so far. I'll keep you all posted and maybe we an all learn this together for when you come visit!!!!