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

Milan, Italy ~ Celebrating Brandi!

When I look back on my time spent here in Belgium, one of the things I will treasure most is the friendships I have made.  I attended a "friendship luncheon" given by my friend Amy who will be leaving this little country very soon.  It was so emotional.  I looked around the room and gazed upon all the people who have been touched by her presence in Belgium, and I certainly hope to have that kind of connection with others while I am here.  It was a really special afternoon, and I felt very honored to be a part of it.

Speaking of friendships, last weekend, I had the honor of celebrating my friend Brandi's birthday with four terrific gals.  It was such a relaxing weekend filled with laugher, relaxation, shopping, and maybe a little wine and limoncello. :)

Starting the trip out right with a little champagne on the flight.  We flew Brussels Airlines.  It was so nice to NOT fly Ryan Air for once!

We had a fabulous dinner on Friday night.  We arrived at 8:30 P.M. and left at 1:30 A.M.  Something tells me we might have been the loudest people in this quaint little Italian restaurant.  Oh well, we had a BLAST!

Dinner was delicious and followed by an interesting dessert.  They filled our table with fruit and candy.  The yellow ones were a lot like Peeps.  I won't tell you how many of those I ate. :)

This post is going to go a bit out of order while I touch on my iPhone photos.  Forgive me for not wanting to move 50 photos.  I'm sure there is a good way, but I don't know what that way is....

A shot of the fountain outside of the castle in Milan.  I'm sure it would have been even prettier with some blue skies in the background, but we never saw the blue skies.  Oh wait, yes we did...as we boarded the plane to go home.  That figures!

Shirley made a special purchase.  So exciting! 

The Duomo!  What a beautiful cathedral.  

A shot of the castle grounds from the inside.  Our guide referred to it as a "cas-t-le"...she pronounced the s and t.  So, of course, we called it that the rest of the weekend to sound like we were from Milan. 

One of the highlights of the weekend was to see The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.  Okay, I admit it...I thought it was a framed painting.  I actually asked if it was the original location or had it been somewhere else.  Moron!  It is actually painted on the wall of the dining room in a monastery.  I was smart enough to ask if it was a fresco painting (good thing I've been to Rome and got a little culture there.)  It is not a true fresco painting because it was painted on a dry wall.  Because of this, the painting started to deteriorate just years after it was finished.  When viewing the painting, you are held in three different rooms before you can see the painting.  When you step into the room, it is quite dark except for the lights on the painting.  You have 15 minutes to admire it (no pictures at all) and then you are asked to exit...into the gift shop of course.  I'm just completely in awe of the amazing works of art I have had the opportunity to see.  Pictures or not, they are forever with me.

Our gorgeous view on the flight home.  Wow!

While doing a little shopping, the girls spotted this water.  It's a collectible bottle, but drinking the water is not advised, and it only costs 300 euros.  What the heck???

Okay, on to the camera pictures. :)  We had a tour guide on Saturday.  She took us to the Duomo (above), the cas-t-le, and to The Last Supper.  Between those stops we planned our shopping stops.

 The Duomo was started in 1386 and took six centuries to complete.  This Gothic cathedral is the fifth largest in the world and the largest in Italy!

Shirley helping me get my camera settings right. :)

Thanks to Sara, our guide, we actually got some group shots! 

I had to pay 2 euros to take pictures inside the Duomo. After the first shot, I was asked to show my bracelet.  They weren't kidding!

One of the nails used during the crucifixion is encased in the cross with the red light.  I'm going to do a little more research on this.  Why am I skeptical about that??

St. Bartholomew holding his own skin.
Read about St. Bartholomew and the statue here

The BEST part of the Duomo is the tour of the roof top!  It was BEAUTIFUL!

Just pretend that sky is really blue, and it will be just perfect!

Brandi, Shirley, Claire, and Lucinda

Checking it out. :)

We had dinner on Saturday night in the restaurant you can see just across the way.  It was a mozzarella bar and was very tasty...except for the cheesecake.  That was a waste of calories.

I had the honor of being photographer for the weekend.  It's really fun for me, and my family was happy to have a break from it. 

The tippy top...or as high as we could go.

Making our way back down.

The plaza in front of the Duomo

We saw a few brides over the course of the weekend. 

This gallery was the first place in the city of Milan to have lights.  It reminded me of the gallery in Brussels....only a lot bigger!

I did not shop here.  You're welcome, Chris!

On to the cas-t-le... 

My favorite picture of the weekend!

Da Vinci stayed here in the castle while he worked in Milan. 

castle grounds

This needle and thread gives a shout out to the fashion industry in Milan.  To be honest, I really didn't see anyone that looked all that fashionable.  We did see a crazy lady with the most obnoxious, bright yellow coat and purple tights trying to cut in front of us at the airport...but we were pretty sure she was Belgian.

Making our way to The Last Supper.

Just before going in, we witnessed a motorcycle vs. car accident.  Wow!  That was scary!  Sorry, no pictures of that.

Home of The Last Supper

After a good 90 minutes in Sephora (because we could actually afford to shop there) we snacked on rice balls.  Oh my word, it was the best thing I ate in Milan.  I chose ham and cheese which will not surprise Chris one bit (I have a thing for ham cheese.)  Deep fried goodness!

And, of course we had gelato.  Delicious!

I really liked Milan.  The Duomo and The Last Supper were definitely worth seeing.  I'm not sure it is a city my kids would enjoy.  I'll be sure to take them there to see these two sites and tack it on to another location we would still like to see.  In my opinion, the BEST part of Milan was the company.  I had such a terrific weekend with friends whom I will treasure forever.  Who's birthday is next??  Just kidding, Chris. :)

Happy Birthday, Brandi!!!!

Until next time,

Wendy