We've reached the end of our spring break week.  Thursday was our last day touring Lake Como, so we decided to head back to the group fave Varenna.  It was a gorgeous day!

I mean seriously...this was my lunch view.

More gelato of course!

I win for the biggest gelato...when in Italy....

We should have given Menaggio a little more credit.  Once you walked a little further from port, it was super cute!

The drive back to Carate Urio was interesting.  This semi hauling a full load of hay somehow missed hitting us!  I was pretty sure he was coming through the windshield.  The roads just weren't big enough.  I'm not going to lie.  I'm glad Karin was driving.

EEEEEEEK!!!!!

You know you're doing pretty well when you have a house on Lake Como, with your own funicular, and a dog guarding your giant gate!

Mom guilt!  We should have eaten here (Acquadolce) while the guys were still with us.  

It. Was. Amazing!

The food was amazing, that view was incredible, and the company was second to none (even more so if the dads were with!)

Friday morning, we were off to Milan!

The beautiful Duomo...and my beautiful girl. :)

I had one goal...for the kids to see The Last Supper.  Mission accomplished!  No photos inside, so the admission ticket is proof.

Next on the agenda was walking on the rooftop of the Duomo.  This is much more fun than actually seeing the inside.  Which in fact, we did not do.  The kids weren't interested.  They are "cathedraled" out.  I will say though that it is really beautiful inside (saw it on another trip here.)

She is kind of hilarious!

There are beautiful things to see in Milan.  But I'm not going to lie.  It's not my favorite. I think one day is plenty!

We watched Ocean's Eleven when we returned to the apartment.  We had to.  We were George's neighbors for a whole week.  Kids loved it!

Thanks Karin for bringing the Apple TV!

Saturday morning, we started our long trek back to Belgium with a detour.....

The drive through Switzerland was breathtaking!

Here's the detour...we stopped in Liechtenstein!  It is only 62 square miles with a population of 35,000 people.  That is one tiny country!  It is actually called a microstate.

The Prince lives in that castle overlooking the capital city of Vaduz.

Proof we were there!

In researching our stop, we found you could walk out on this covered bridge and be in both Liechtenstein and Switzerland at the same time.  Cool!  We were worried we wouldn't find it....but let's remember just how small this place it.  It was literally the first thing we passed by. 

Standing in two countries!  Where are the kids you ask??  They are in the car watching Spiderman because walking across a covered bridge is lame.  Time to go home.  

That concludes our fantastic spring break.  Blogging just makes me want to go back.  Thank you to the Smith family for sharing it with us.  Stay tuned for more adventures!

Until next time,

Wendy

Spring Break 2015 - Verona, Italy

On Wednesday morning, the dads headed back to Belgium.  Unfortunately, being on the US payroll means very few vacation days.  We were thankful they didn't mind that we stayed for the rest of the week.  Okay, they might have minded a bit.

Chris soaked up the last bit of Italian sun and the amazing view.

What should we do the rest of the week??  I really wanted to visit Verona.  Why?  Didn't you see Letters to Juliet?  Verona looked magical in that movie.  Since we were this close, I didn't feel like we could skip it.  In 2.5 hours, we arrived!

Piazza Brà was impressive!  It is wider than other piazzas we have seen.  Cars are no longer allowed to drive through here, so it is a wonderful pedestrian area.

There is a Roman amphitheater right in the middle of the city!  It dates back to the first century.  It is now half as tall as it was when it was  built.

Thanks to the trusty Book of Rick...we started a walking tour from his Italy book.  It was very informative and free!  Yours truly was the narrator.  I'm sure my kids were thrilled.....

That sun was a little bright for these folks who aren't used to bright sunshine in Belgium.

Below is the main entrance to Roman Verona.  Back in the day, this was a toll booth.  

Look closely...Thomas and Allison are standing in the arches.

Right outside the gate, and between two tables at a cafe, is a tombstone.  The roads outside the city used to be lined with tombstones because burials were not allowed in the city.

Piazza Erbe

Verona was nicknamed "the painted city" because Renaissance nobles showed off by finely painting their facades on their palaces.  Some paintings can still be seen today.

There has been a fountain bubbling in this piazza for 2,000 years.

The House of Juliet

It has never been proved there was a Juliet Capulet.  But, this courtyard and balcony are dedicated to her.  We were amazed by the amount of graffiti.  People wanting to leave a little bit of themselves behind. 

Juliet's balcony!
In the movie Letters to Juliet, there is a group of women who answer letters addressed to Juliet.  In many cases, these letters are from women who are desperate to find love, broken hearted, and need advice. There really is a group of women who do this!  Now, this movie might be the most predictable movie I have ever seen, but oh my word, is it romantic.  Just watch it for fun.  You won't be disappointed.  In fact, we made the kids watch it that night, and they loved it!  Thank you Apple TV!

The courtyard is not as clean and quiet as it is in the movie.  A little more chaotic with tons of tourists.  Just trying to keep Europe real here.  It's not always clean and beautiful.

For luck, you are supposed to "polish" Juliet's breast.  The boys thought that was GREAT!  

Even Flat Sawyer thought so!

We couldn't resist!  It was totally worth the 5 euro each to grab a picture of the four of them on the balcony.  When are we ever going to have this opportunity again???

Moving right along on the walking tour and back to Piazza Erbe.

A wale's rib hanging over a doorway reminding the townspeople there is a big world out there!

Piazza del Signori

The Italian poet Dante

A Renaissance road

Church of Sant'Anastasia

The outside of the cathedral was never finished, but the inside is magnificent!

We loved these poor guys holding up the holy water basins.

This gives you an idea of just how big the columns and church really are.

Love. These. Windows!

A view from Ponte Pietra that is made of stones from the original Roman bridge that stood here.

A gelato stop...of course!

Karin and I went inside the amphitheater, but the kids weren't interested, so we let them wait outside.  It was much less exciting than the Colosseum, so they made a wise choice.  Even though I wasn't willing to admit that to them at the time. :)

Verona was just as terrific as I hoped it would be.  If you are ever in Venice or Lake Como, be sure to find your way over to Verona.  It's worth the trip!

Until next time,

Wendy