Another Trip to Verona

We went to Verona today. Yes it seems when we want to do something that is the place we end up going to the most. I love Verona. There is always something to do and see. This time, we just walked around, went places we hadn’t seen yet which was really nice! The kids did great, got a little tired at the end of it but we walked for 2 ½ hours so I kind of expected them to get a little tired! It was also our first big outing without the stroller and that was a great feeling. I can’t believe our kids are growing up so fast but it is nice not to have to deal with all the “baby” stuff anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I love babies, but I so do NOT want another one EVER! Sure I’ll babysit and all that, might even work at a daycare or something, but there will not be another one living in our house again. Anyways, back to Verona, I know I have posted pictures of Verona before, but these are some pictures that I haven’t posted because we haven’t walked/been to this area before.

We found this fountain thing, the kids absolutely love playing in water! On our way back to the van we let them get more wet then the 1st time but it was only to cool off a little. The water wasn't too cold either!

I don't ever get pictures taken of me but today I was feeling kinda pretty so a picture was ok :) I must say, it turned out kinda cute too!

I wonder what is up there??? May be our next adventure.....

I love taking weird pictures like these two. Once we leave here I'm probably going to print these out, write on the back when and where they were taken and frame them in my craft room :)

The locks are there because it's Verona and it's supposed to symbolize true love. You put your lock on and throw the key in the river. As long as it stays locked your love will last that long. We STILL have not done this! But we have seen it in more places then just Verona!

OK this is genius. This is how Italians move in and out of their houses. The truck pulls up to this machine thingy, the platform comes down and they load it up and send the platform back to the top. There's a guy up top that unloads it and sends it back down for more. Genius right? Makes carrying stuff up and down stairs null and void! LOVE that idea!!!

There's so many bridges in Verona but this is the only one that had statues on it. I love horses so I had to take that picture too :)

We told the kids we would see the castle last and then head back to the van.....this.....is the castle!

Looking out over the river...

You can go inside the castle, it's a museum. You can walk all along the top and it really is neat to do all that but with the kids already being tired we didn't want to go through it all. But you should if you make it there. Well, that's our other side of Verona. We are waiting on word of when we are leaving here so I'm not sure what we are going to do next but no matter what it is, it'll be fun!!!!

Genova

Oh Genova, what do you bring. Never have been north of Camp Darby so this was an experience for us all. The roads were very windy as we made our way to the cost. Lots and lots of tunnels which the kids loved and every second of it was amazing. Once we got to the coast the views were just breath taking. Again pictures don't do any of this justice it's a MUST see if you come out and visit. We didn't go into the Centro of Genova, just went down to the water and played a while. Maybe next time we'll get into the Centro to check it all out.






This is Marble. Real Marble. I know, Crazy right? It was awesome! All over the coast there were huge rocks that had marble in them. We found several pieces to bring home with us. Think we can make anything out of them???

After playing a while I of course wanted to take family pictures of all of us and there was a perfect sitting rock right in front of an awesome view so why not use it right? Would have been great to get a family picture now that I think about it but huh, wasn't thinking about it then I guess.




We couldn't have asked for a better day. The sun was shining, the wind was warm, the kids were happy and we loved what we were doing. I couldn't imagine living on the Upper Western Coast of Italy, seems like a great place to live! Friendly people, crazy streets and awesome views! Will most definitely be going back there some day!

So, What's Next????

Lightning...

Have you ever wondered how to take pictures of Lightning? I have, and guess what, I figured it out! I can't wait to do it again! It was amazing sitting outside in the warm breeze at Camp Darby and watching the bright flashes in the distance! Once I decided to take a picture of one, I couldn't quit taking pictures! The only reason I quit was because my battery on the camera was almost dead and we still had a whole day of travels to do. So hear you go, Lightning pictures taken by ME!!! :)

Florance

So on a last minute decision we ended up going to Florance for the day! It's only a 3 hour drive so it wasn't too bad and we stayed at Camp Darby for the night so that helped alot. Getting to Florance was easy. We've been down that road a million times before and knew what it was like. There was no snow this time so that was a bonus :) Once we got into Florance however the GPS decided it wanted to take us the "scenic" route. Man it's kinda neat when it does this but I swear it needs to know how big our van is because there's no way it was going to fit down some of those streets it wanted us to.

We finally made it to the Centro of Florance and found a great parking spot right along the river. I was worried we weren't going to find things once we got out of the van but it's hard not to miss the churches and Italian culture all around you.


One of mine and the girls' favorite stores was this bridal shop. Now when you think of Italy I guess it's safe to say you think of Florance. Everything was done up for the tourists and it just felt safer there for some reason. These wedding dresses were in the windows of this little store and they were done up with flowers and sashes of Green, White and Red (the Italian flag colors). They were beautiful dresses. I didn't look at the price tag or go into the store but if we go there again I'm definitely going to take a look :)



Of course when you are in Florance the MAIN thing you have to see is the Pizza Del Duomo, the Cathedral, the Baptistry, and Giotto's Bell-Tower. We were using a map to get around and when we stopped to look at the map and see where we were I turned right and saw this....

I'd say we found what we were looking for! We started walking around it and saw the Baptistry. This door is is called Ghibrerti's 'Paradise'. It is a series of ten panels depicting stories from the Old Testament. It was beautiful!

Walking around the church was incredible. It is HUGE!!! The pictures sure don't do it justice but they are the best I could get.





After walking around the Church we decided to head to the famous Bridge that is made of shops. You can't be in Florance and Not see that. On our way we saw a carousel so we let the kids have a ride. It only cost 1 Euro each, the cheapest one they've been on since we got here!



On the streets were all kinds of performers like always. I've never seen sidewalk painters yet though so this was neat to see. It really looked like the picture, he did a great job!

Once we made it to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge there were a ton of little shops, mostly jewelry. Prices were high of course but tourists pay it so why not right. It really is amazing to see. So far out of everything we have seen in Italy, this is the place that reminds me of Italy the most. It's a must see if anyone is ever going to make it to Italy.



Locks of Love were hung everywhere they could put them! We'll have to get one hung up before we leave.
Florance, A must see place and wonderful atmosphere of Italy.