Show No Fear! DIS Exclusive Viva Italia+DLP TR Sept 2014*COMPLETE* New TR link added 7/3

[khertz]

Wow, great photos of the Leaning Tower! I LOVE the ones of you guys holding it up, as well as all the other creative ones!

The bus ride sounds so fun! I'm glad it was worth taking the trip to Pisa.

Thanks! Pisa was so much fun! It was absolutely worth the long bus ride there and back to get to say we saw it.

Well, her was right and there were Shoo-Shoo Trains waiting for you! Those are cute.

Sounds like the bus rides really made the trip - I am sure there are a ton of stories of servers/workers in EPCOT that don't know American slang/terms and having funny mix-ups. Actually would make for a good book!

Definitely think it made sense to make the trip to Pisa while you were there to see such an iconic picture and you have to get the picture of you trying to hold it up.

Pete and Dustin are two wild and crazy guys!

The shoo-shoo trains were a lot like the ones you might rent for a kid's birthday party. It was definitely an experience!

It probably would make an awesome book! I have to imagine Marco is not the only International Programer with similar stories, and he had us cracking up.

I almost declined getting the picture, but Dusty convinced me I would regret it if I didn't. I'm so glad we both have that iconic photo!

The leaning tower is important to see at least once. It's one of those things that there is nothing else in the town worth seeing, but it has one of the most well recognized icons on Earth. We saw it years ago before kids and then again a couple of years ago when my oldest son requested to see it. I made the climb up the bell tower this time. It was fun. However, next time I'll be in the leather jacket shop.

I kind of like that jacket Dustin got. Good color. Very cool

Haha YES, there was nothing else worth seeing outside of that little square! But it was absolutely worth the long trip there and back to see it. We both really enjoyed it, and felt like it was something we just had to see while in Italy. Hopefully if we ever made it back we will be able to climb to the top of the bell tower. I bet that is a pretty cool experience.

They made some great purchases at that leather store!

Google+ just Auto Awesomed a few on my pics from the trip.

I miss Cristina!!!!

Fell waaaaaaayyyy behind but just caught up on about 2 months worth of posts. Continues to look like you two were having a wonderful time. The food looks so good. I am going to be coming back to this thread if we ever get to Italy on our own for tips! (ABD is unrealistic for our budget.)

Pretty much everything we did on this trip is totally doable without ABD as long as you plan in advance. I sincerely hope you are able to get to Italy at some point. It is so beautiful and amazing. Plus, the FOOD! I mean, how can you go wrong??

Cracking up over the shoo shoo train and the rooster story!

The leaning tower of Pisa is so absolutely cool! So glad you were able to go there and get those amazing pictures of everyone trying to hold it up (like that's never been tried before ) Sorry you weren't able to climb it, but I am glad you were able to get into the church since it was Sunday. Was a magnificent ceiling.

I don't remember the hedge hog story. Boo! I need to pay better attention.

Another great update with amazing pics!

I don't know that I have laughed that hard in a LONG time! It was great entertainment to get us through rush hour traffic, that's for sure.

It was a great experience getting to go to Pisa and see that iconic tower, even if we didn't get the opportunity to climb to the top. We totally enjoyed the little side trip.

Thanks, Mary Ellen!

Ok... I need to go back and catch up on your recent updates still, but I just wanted to stop by and say that I had to go back and look at your Florence updates. I had some books downloaded onto my phone before our trip to California, but since I broke it and wasn't going to have it for my flights and our 4 hour layover coming home this weekend, I stopped to grab a book in the airport.

I picked up Inferno. And I've had a hard time putting it back down.

Thank you for all the pictures.

Inferno is a GREAT book! I remember reading it when we were just kind of talking about taking an ABD and it got me so excited about possibly visiting Florence! I just wish I would have re-read it again closer to the trip because there was a lot we saw that was from the book but I didn't remember all of it as clearly as DH who had finished it right before we left. Good choice.

The Pisa trip looks well worthwhile. I agree with you 100%, I'd hate to be so close and have an opportunity to see something so iconic and not do it.

And at least you had some quality comic relief for the rides there and back!

That really was great that ABD went the extra mile to provide transportation for an extra excursion and the guides went along with you.

Pisa was definitely worth the time we invested in making the side trip. We had so much fun and we got to see something so recognizable and famous.

Marco's stories made sitting through Italian traffic TOTALLY worth it! I haven't laughed that hard probably ever.

I don't know how that happened, but it was a great surprise that the Pisa trip was taken over by ABD and we didn't have to pay anything extra.

 

[khertz]

Wow, somehow it has ended up being two weeks since I have updated! I really do apologize. The evenings have been tough on me the last couple of weeks. I have been going to bed crazy early every night and not having the energy to even open my laptop. Hopefully I can remedy that in the coming weeks since weekends will be busy now that Mardi Gras season is upon us, but I won't make any promises I can't be sure to keep! I hope my absence hasn't driven anyone off. I am absolutely committed to finishing this TR! Okay, on to the update...

Day 7 Continued: Sunday September 28th

After our fun side trip to Pisa, we got back to the hotel and freshened up before heading out for our last night in Florence. We ended up wandering around while DH took some nighttime shots and shopping at some of the street vendors while we did.

07-251 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-252 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-253 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-257 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

It was here in the piazza outside of the Palazzo Vecchio while he was setting up for these photos that the band outside started playing an instrumental version of Beauty and the Beast!

07-258 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-259 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

We tried to head over to Grom to get gelato for dinner, but the line was out the door and down the street. So instead, we headed back to our old faithful in Florence (and for the second time that day!), Venchi.

07-260 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-261 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-262 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

We wandered across the Ponte Vecchio, and had the most frustrating moment ever when we came across a little store with a window display full of fleur de lis stuff that was EXACTLY what we had been hoping to get while in Florence, and they were closed! Unfortunately, we were leaving the next day too, and they wouldn’t be open before we had to be on the bus. I was really disappointed that we hadn’t found it earlier.

DH walked me back to the hotel at that point, and then wanted to go down to the spot in the water of the Arno where we had seen people sitting to take some photos. So while I was in the room packing, he was out taking these.

07-264 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-265 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-266 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-267 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-270 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-271 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-273 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-274 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-275 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-277 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


07-280 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
Our beautiful hotel!​

When DH got back, we had to move some stuff around in our suitcases because we had to bring as little as possible with us. The next morning, we would be taking the train to Venice and starting our walking tour immediately, so anything we didn’t want to carry with us had to be ready to put outside of the room in the morning! And that ended our last day in Florence. It was already time to head to the last city we would experience with ABD!

UP NEXT: High Speed Train to Paradise

 

[Dugette]

Wow, gorgeous pictures at night and gelato - couldn't ask for more from this update!

And yay for Venice!! One of the places we went on our honeymoon (northern Italy) and probably one of my favorite places in the world!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

OMG that carousel in motion photo is wicked!!!! And oh yeah... I also just love that there is a carousel there.

An instrumental version of Beauty and the Beast? I kinda got chills a little bit. What a great treat when on an ABD excursion.

Oh dear, that would be so frustrating to see exactly what you want, right there, and you can't get it. I bet you wish you never saw that store (or at least saw it earlier).

You were packing while he was taking those glorious photos. I think he came out ahead on that deal.

 

[Imagineer5]

Beautiful photos and a wonderful last evening in Florence (with gelato!). Love the carousel! I don't remember seeing it. That is really nice how they transport your luggage for you - for Venice especially that would be a HUGE advantage. I remember schlepping our stuff through the cobblestone streets trying to find our apartment, that was NOT fun and super stressful! Can't wait to see your photos of Venice though, I definitely want to return in a few years.

 

[missangelalexis]

So many beautiful nighttime shots. So sweet that the band played Beauty and the Beast!

Yay can't wait to hear about Venice!

 

[afwdwfan]

Love the evening pictures. Florence looks like a beautiful city.

You can't go wrong with more gelato. Too bad your fleur de lis store was closed though. Always seems to work that way for us too when you go somewhere looking for something in particular. By the time you find what you've been looking for, you've missed out.

 

[kristilew]

Loving this report even more now that we are back from our own Italy ABD and can compare and contrast! (We were lucky enough to have Dusty as a guide! )

Take your time - I keep telling myself that I don't want to start my own report until you are done with yours! That's why I haven't gotten myself organized yet, really

 

[TheMaxRebo]

wonderful night pictures! Especially love the carousel ones!

And for consolation gelato that looks pretty darn good

 

[hokieinpa]

Amazing night pictures! The carousel picture is so cool!!

And gelato for dinner sounds like a perfect way to end the night!

I was a history major and took an entire course dedicated to the History of Venice (and it felt like we barely brushed the surface!) so I'm really excited to read your next update! And to see pictures of all of the amazing sites I learned so much about!

 

[MEK]

I knew your night time pics were going to be fabulous! Wow! What a lovely evening to take some pics. Sorry you got stuck with the packing!

Lovely!

 

[saintstickets]

Wow Kristy!! I'm away from the DISboards for a few months due to family health issues and you've posted so much! It took me 2 hours to catch up but it was well worth it! DH and you have done such a spectacular job of combining pics and narrative. Since I last posted you have been to the Colosseum, Pantheon, Vatican, St. Peter's, Orvieto, Florence, Pisa and visited so many beautiful churches. And of course we cannot omit the great fleur-de-lis pics!

I'm glad silmarg found his way to your report and it looks like he and his family are going this summer!

It is obvious that this TR has been such a labor of love for you and fortunately for us, we get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. This has been my kinda trip with the history, the gorgeous structures and the scrumptious food. Having been born in Natchez, MS and you from the NOLA area, our cities will soon celebrate their 300th anniversary since their founding with such fanfare while the places you visited would think 300 years is like the blink of an eye! It boggles the mind. I can't wait to see more of your TR.

 

[khertz]

Wow, gorgeous pictures at night and gelato - couldn't ask for more from this update!

And yay for Venice!! One of the places we went on our honeymoon (northern Italy) and probably one of my favorite places in the world!

It was really one of the nicest nights we enjoyed in Florence, just wandering around and taking in the sights of the city at night. So beautiful!

Venice was AMAZING! I really need to get to work getting those photos uploaded because I can't wait to share it.

OMG that carousel in motion photo is wicked!!!! And oh yeah... I also just love that there is a carousel there.

An instrumental version of Beauty and the Beast? I kinda got chills a little bit. What a great treat when on an ABD excursion.

Oh dear, that would be so frustrating to see exactly what you want, right there, and you can't get it. I bet you wish you never saw that store (or at least saw it earlier).

You were packing while he was taking those glorious photos. I think he came out ahead on that deal.

It was pretty awesome to see that carousel all lit up at night after seeing it during the day so many times. But it was one of those things that made me REALLY miss Paxton!

It was so beautiful and what a great surprise! It was one of those moments where we both heard it and realized what it was at the same time. A little pixie dust from the locals, I guess.

Both of those things were exactly what I said to DH when we saw that storefront!! I was first cursing myself for not exploring here earlier to find it while it was open, then just wishing we had never found it in the first place so I wouldn't know what I was missing out on.

He did get the better end, but I was not thrilled about his idea of walking out onto the narrow walkway in the middle of the Arno river in the dark either, so I let DH take that on himself. And I asked him please not to fall in and drown!

Beautiful photos and a wonderful last evening in Florence (with gelato!). Love the carousel! I don't remember seeing it. That is really nice how they transport your luggage for you - for Venice especially that would be a HUGE advantage. I remember schlepping our stuff through the cobblestone streets trying to find our apartment, that was NOT fun and super stressful! Can't wait to see your photos of Venice though, I definitely want to return in a few years.

It was a GREAT evening, one we thoroughly enjoyed just strolling around. The luggage fairies were one of the best things about ABD. You are right on the money with Venice. We saw so many people hoofing it around dragging their luggage around and up and over those many MANY bridges looking miserable!! I can't imagine that would be very fun at all.

So many beautiful nighttime shots. So sweet that the band played Beauty and the Beast!

Yay can't wait to hear about Venice!

Thanks! That was a really great surprise to cap off our last night in Florence with a little Disney touch.

Love the evening pictures. Florence looks like a beautiful city.

You can't go wrong with more gelato. Too bad your fleur de lis store was closed though. Always seems to work that way for us too when you go somewhere looking for something in particular. By the time you find what you've been looking for, you've missed out.

Florence is definitely beautiful, but I just can't wait to get to Venice because you wanna see beautiful?! Venice is hands down the most beautiful city I have ever seen.

Gelato can never steer you wrong. Made a great light dinner after that huge lunch we had eaten earlier in the day!

Finding that store was such a disappointment. It was frustrating to finally find the stuff we had been keeping our eyes open for the entire time only to find we were too late!

Loving this report even more now that we are back from our own Italy ABD and can compare and contrast! (We were lucky enough to have Dusty as a guide! )

Take your time - I keep telling myself that I don't want to start my own report until you are done with yours! That's why I haven't gotten myself organized yet, really

So glad you had a great ABD! And REALLY great that you had Dusty. He is just the best!

I have definitely had trouble keeping up the momentum I had at the beginning, but I am determined to finish! I look forward to reading about your trip! You went around Christmas, right? That had to be amazing!

wonderful night pictures! Especially love the carousel ones!

And for consolation gelato that looks pretty darn good

Thanks! I had such a hard time picking a carousel one to post. DH took several great ones. He spent a lot of time on this trip doing night photography on his own, so it was nice to spend that time with him that night instead of hanging out in the room by myself on our last night.

Oh, I can assure you, it was HEAVENLY!

Amazing night pictures! The carousel picture is so cool!!

And gelato for dinner sounds like a perfect way to end the night!

I was a history major and took an entire course dedicated to the History of Venice (and it felt like we barely brushed the surface!) so I'm really excited to read your next update! And to see pictures of all of the amazing sites I learned so much about!

Thanks! I love the carousel pic too.

One last gelato from Venchi was definitely the most appropriate way to end that night. We absolutely loved that place!!

I am excited to get started on Venice! I am working on uploading the pics from our first day there so I can get to work.

I knew your night time pics were going to be fabulous! Wow! What a lovely evening to take some pics. Sorry you got stuck with the packing!

Lovely!

It was a beautiful night! I didn't mind being set the task of packing. DH was busy walking out onto a narrow strip of concrete in the middle of the Arno river, and the idea of doing that myself terrified me! lol

Wow Kristy!! I'm away from the DISboards for a few months due to family health issues and you've posted so much! It took me 2 hours to catch up but it was well worth it! DH and you have done such a spectacular job of combining pics and narrative. Since I last posted you have been to the Colosseum, Pantheon, Vatican, St. Peter's, Orvieto, Florence, Pisa and visited so many beautiful churches. And of course we cannot omit the great fleur-de-lis pics!

I'm glad silmarg found his way to your report and it looks like he and his family are going this summer!

It is obvious that this TR has been such a labor of love for you and fortunately for us, we get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. This has been my kinda trip with the history, the gorgeous structures and the scrumptious food. Having been born in Natchez, MS and you from the NOLA area, our cities will soon celebrate their 300th anniversary since their founding with such fanfare while the places you visited would think 300 years is like the blink of an eye! It boggles the mind. I can't wait to see more of your TR.

I hope your family is doing well.

It was definitely a jam-packed trip! So much to see and do every minute of the day.

Very cool that my TR inspired someone to pull the trigger on their own ABD trip. It's truly one of those things you can't understand fully until you do it yourself. I thought for sure we would be one and done because they are so expensive, but you get what you pay for. Now we can't wait to take our next one!!

Man, to think 300 years is not even a blip on the radar in these ancient cities is so fascinating. I loved being surrounded by all of the history!

 

[WebmasterMike]

I smell a trip report update and a city change...

 

[silmarg]

Wow Kristy!! I'm away from the DISboards for a few months due to family health issues and you've posted so much! It took me 2 hours to catch up but it was well worth it! DH and you have done such a spectacular job of combining pics and narrative. Since I last posted you have been to the Colosseum, Pantheon, Vatican, St. Peter's, Orvieto, Florence, Pisa and visited so many beautiful churches. And of course we cannot omit the great fleur-de-lis pics!

I'm glad silmarg found his way to your report and it looks like he and his family are going this summer!

Bill I hope all is well with you and yours - and that the health issues are resolved.

I can't believe how this season ultimately worked out. I am very eager to see how the NFL treats a team that actually cheats... and how the punishment will compare to what the NFL did to the Saints (and lets face it, the Saints were made an example of because of the concussion lawsuits from former players could bankrupt the league).

And yes, we are doing ABD Viva Italia this summer. I can't wait.

We are also discussing another NOLA trip... to see the Cowboys... gotta see how the schedule works out...

Be well my friend.

 

[leshunlenese]

Many times, I see myself just scrolling through looking at the pictures. These are so amazing!

 

[khertz]

I smell a trip report update and a city change...

I wish I could have gotten to it last weekend, but I was behind on uploading pics. Coming up now, though!

Many times, I see myself just scrolling through looking at the pictures. These are so amazing!

Thanks!! DH was definitely in heaven taking all those photos of such beautiful cities.

 

[WebmasterMike]

I wish I could have gotten to it last weekend, but I was behind on uploading pics. Coming up now, though!

 

[khertz]

Day 8: Monday September 22nd

Our last morning in Florence, we woke up at 8 am to the news that the Air France strike had been extended, and unfortunately, that started off our day with a rain cloud of anxiety over us. Our flight from Venice to Paris was on Air France, so we immediately started trying to figure out if our flight was going to be cancelled, and if it was, what we were going to do about it. Eventually we went down to breakfast and found several other of our fellow travelers dealing with similar situations, but they were generally able to get it taken care of because their Air France flights being operated by Delta so they were able to switch to other Delta flights.

We still had to get on with our day though, so we had some breakfast, then went up to the room to finish getting our stuff together. We ran into Dusty in the lobby, and because the guides knew our flight info, he asked if we knew what we were going to do yet. We told him we hadn’t made any progress with phone calls to Delta or Air France, and I’ll admit, I teared up a bit talking about it with him. But he made us feel totally at ease and told us Marco was working on it and not to let it ruin our day. So that comforted us quite a bit, and we tried to relax as we made our way back down to the lobby to get on the bus.


We said goodbye to Florence and to the AMAZING Westin Excelsior that had been such a wonderful place to lay our heads at night while we were in such a beautiful city.

ABD 08 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Soon enough, we were loaded up on the bus for the last time and on our way to the train station. It wasn’t long before we were gathering in front of the bus to take a photo with our wonderful driver Domenico!

ABD 08-001 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

There he is in the front, holding an ABD sign!


We headed into the train station and had a little bit of time to kill until we needed to be on the platform to board the train. There was a little mall of shops down a level underneath the train platforms, so DH and I went down there to wander around but didn’t find anything that interested us to buy. So we made our way back up to the meeting place, and found Marco waiting with our bag lunch to eat on the train.

ABD 08-005 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Then, we had to play “wait and see.” See, the European train stations don’t like to post which platform you need to be on until sometimes minutes before the train is set to depart. So we were literally all standing there just watching the board and planning to make a mad dash to the platform if needed. At least we didn’t also have luggage to drag along with us!

08 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Luckily, once our platform was posted, it wasn’t a long walk to get over there…considering our platform number was posted at 10:53 and our train was to depart at 10:55!

08-001 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

DH and I were in our own row, sharing a car with Dustin, Pete, Kathy, Kevin, John & Marco.

08-002 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Pete caught DH taking this photo and said he needed to get ready first.

08-003 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Once we got settled and the train took off, the guides came around to ask us what we wanted to eat at our farewell dinner the next night. *TEAR*

ABD 08-019 by disneymom1024, on Flickr



ABD 08-023 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

The little bag lunches were pretty good! I got a chicken sandwich, and I think DH had the ham and cheese. We also got chips, a bottled water, muffin, and the guides came around with their box of goodies, so I snagged a Twix bar.

08-004 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Marco spent a huge part of the train ride making calls for us to the airlines and using his cell phone data (the wifi on the train was terrible!) to do searches for alternative flights or train itineraries for us to get us to Paris. Marco had already impressed us on this trip, but this instance really went above and beyond, and we were so thankful for the work he was doing to take some of the strain off of us!


A little more than an hour on the train, and we had made it to our last city on the ABD portion of our trip, the breathtakingly beautiful city of Venezia! It was truly incredible to walk out of the train station and just immediately be on the water with a gorgeous landscape spread out before us.

08-005 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Of course, the guides led us over to the water so we could take some photos! DH and I were still a little anxious about the flight issue, DH even more so, and he wanted to skip the photo. But I convinced him not to let himself miss out on something that he would regret later just because he was upset in this moment.

08-006 by disneymom1024, on Flickr



ABD 08-043 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Once everyone had taken their picture, we started walking towards the dock where we would take our gondola ride! Unlike in Florence, we were not going to the hotel first. After our gondola ride, we were immediately starting our walking tour of Venice.


In such a photogenic city, it’s hard not to snap pictures of the gorgeous scenery as we were just walking along.

08-008 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

When we got to the dock, each of us was handed a ticket with a number for which gondola we would be on. We had to split up into two groups to two different docks, so DH and I headed over to ours with only Chris, Chuch, Mike, and Rick with us. They all had a different number on their tickets than ours, which left DH and I with a gondola to ourselves! We were thinking this was some major pixie dust as we took off!

08-011 by disneymom1024, on Flickr



08-012 by disneymom1024, on Flickr



08-013 by disneymom1024, on Flickr



08-014 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-015 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

However, our excitement over our pixie dust was short lived. As our gondola was passing the second dock where everyone else was loading, the guides were flagging us down. Turns out, Jean and Rosemary were supposed to be on with us, but they hadn’t realized they were supposed to go to the other dock! So while our private gondola ride was short lived, we were happy to have them aboard.

08-016 by disneymom1024, on Flickr



08-017 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

​

They made a joke about suddenly being stuck on a gondola with our mothers! Lol Finally, we were off for real on our 20 minute or so gondola ride through Venice to the Grand Canal!

08-020 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
Our gondolier



08-021 by disneymom1024, on Flickr



08-022 by disneymom1024, on Flickr



ABD 08-078 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

 

[khertz]

Day 8 Continued: Monday September 22nd

ABD 08-113 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
There goes our luggage!

08-023 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-025 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-026 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-027 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-028 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-030 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Too soon, our gondola ride was over. The weather was perfect, and it couldn’t have been a better day to take a picturesque ride through such a beautiful city. When everyone was unloaded from their gondola, we met up with our local guide, Rosana, to start our walking tour of Venice. Of all the cities, DH and I found Venice to be the most tricky to navigate on our own. We were given a city map, just as we had in Rome and Florence. But in Venice, most of the “streets” are really just narrow alleyways with no names. Rosana did point out that there are lots of landmark signs posted with arrows that will say “Per S. Marco” or “Per Rialto” and that means you are heading toward that landmark (in those examples, St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge). It’s really easiest to navigate and orient yourself by knowing the relation of those landmarks to whatever you are trying to get to and following them, as they are everywhere!

08-036 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Rosana also talked to us about the flooding of the streets, which can happen anytime of the day. To be able to still navigate the streets on foot (no vehicles in Venice besides boats), they have raised platforms that they use to make walkways. They had been in use just that morning, but since the water had receded they were in the process of picking them up.

08-037 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

It was a good place to stop for Rosana to give us the history of how the city came to be built. Dusty was working as a good assistant.

08-038 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

As in the other two cities we had visited so far, Venice is full of piazzas. This one we came to was home to a less well-known leaning tower than the one we had seen the day before in Pisa.

08-040 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-041 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-042 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

It was here that Rosana told us about the water cisterns where they collect the rain water to have fresh drinking and cooking water. They kept them locked so that the water couldn’t be poisoned or tampered with, and the women of the household would go out to them twice a day to collect water, and while waiting for the person with the key, they would get together and gossip! The women in the group were happy to demonstrate gossip hour for a photo.

ABD 08-142 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

08-045 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
Just walking around…how beautiful is this?!
​

Next we ended up in the Campo Manin, which is home to a large sculpture of Daniele Manin, a great patriot and politician in Venice in the 1800’s. Also here is a sculpture of the winged lion, a symbol of the city of Venice. When Rosana stopped to tell us about this bit of history, she brought out the Venetian flag and we stopped to take some photos.

08-048 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-049 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-050 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
Daniele Manin

08-051 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
​

Next Rosana took us to a beautiful little courtyard that had some cool architecture she wanted to show us.

08-052 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-054 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

08-055 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

Dusty surprised us here with a welcome refreshment, peach Bellinis! Of course, it was relevant to the history of the tour we were taking. It was created by Giuseppe Cipriani, the founder of the famous Harry’s Bar in Venice.

ABD 08-156 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

ABD 08-157 by disneymom1024, on Flickr

ABD 08-158 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
​

Continued in next post...