Sirmione/Lake Garda
The Fortress at Lake Garda--we had a lot of fun in this.
Cannon balls and lizard friend
How to get to the castle
VERONA
a tribute to Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet
The "final resting place of Juliet"--as we were explaining the story of Romeo and Juliet the kids wondered how we could be going around Verona looking for the fictional character's houses and burial spots. Good question! They do have them though! Juliet's house was on a street under construction so we couldn't get pictures of the famous balcony or statue and for some reason didn't get pictures at Romeo's house. The question remains-- Who is buried here in Juliet's grave??
The 2nd largest Roman Coliseum. I love the mix of old and new architecture. How would you like to live next to that??
The acoustics are absolutely amazing in this place. The Verona Opera still regularly performs here. We saw flyers of a very Broadway-esque production they are doing this summer. Wish we could have seen it.
On the shores of Lake Garda (sorry the photo was mis-placed but I am too lazy to fix it!)
The "final resting place of Juliet"--as we were explaining the story of Romeo and Juliet the kids wondered how we could be going around Verona looking for the fictional character's houses and burial spots. Good question! They do have them though! Juliet's house was on a street under construction so we couldn't get pictures of the famous balcony or statue and for some reason didn't get pictures at Romeo's house. The question remains-- Who is buried here in Juliet's grave??
The 2nd largest Roman Coliseum. I love the mix of old and new architecture. How would you like to live next to that??
The acoustics are absolutely amazing in this place. The Verona Opera still regularly performs here. We saw flyers of a very Broadway-esque production they are doing this summer. Wish we could have seen it.
On the shores of Lake Garda (sorry the photo was mis-placed but I am too lazy to fix it!)
Venice
Amelia and Craig
Morgan and Gabrielle
The Water Bus
a Water Ambulance
The fancy Gondola's go the length of the canal and costs about $100 an hour. . .
the plain gondola goes across the canal and costs 20 cents
Morgan feeding the birds. The kids were amazed that the birds would land on you and peck the seeds right out of your hand. What a weird sensation.
Morgan in front of St. Mark's Cathedral. All of the golden areas is actual gold. Lots of gold and jewels on the inside.
Morgan and Gabrielle
The Water Bus
a Water Ambulance
The fancy Gondola's go the length of the canal and costs about $100 an hour. . .
the plain gondola goes across the canal and costs 20 cents
Morgan feeding the birds. The kids were amazed that the birds would land on you and peck the seeds right out of your hand. What a weird sensation.
Morgan in front of St. Mark's Cathedral. All of the golden areas is actual gold. Lots of gold and jewels on the inside.
a side "street"-I guess mowing is not an issue. . .
St. Mark's Cathedral and Bell Tower (Campanile) in San Marco Square in Venice.
Mia watching the birds. Her favorite part of the entire Italy trip.
A lonely gondola.
What happens at high tide? This building just rises out of the lagoon.
The cemetery island of Venice. One of the few parts with trees. . .
Morgan on the Water Bus.
Who needs solid ground to display a statue?
Craig and the kids on the water bus
A gas station in venice (note: the prices are in euro per liter so about $7-$8 a gallon)
A water taxi stand--taxis are much more expensive than the water bus. Basically private speedboats.
One of the outlying islands of the venetian lagoon is called Murano. They are famous for glass making and blowing. Here is a display window of vases.
Fire statue
a cute little lighthouse
Glass statue
Grand canale di Murano
FLORENCE
In the Loggia del Signoria. A covered patio full of statues.
The loggia was packed during a rain shower but here it is starting to open up again. Popular meeting point for groups and tours. We saw several drawing classes going on.
Believe it or not but cars do go down this street. It is not even the most narrow we have seen. We went down one once where we had to pull the mirrors in in order to go through. Parking?? a tiny garage door set into the side of the building--usually leads to a small inner courtyard.
Piazza della Signoria with statues
Mia watching the birds. Her favorite part of the entire Italy trip.
A lonely gondola.
What happens at high tide? This building just rises out of the lagoon.
The cemetery island of Venice. One of the few parts with trees. . .
Morgan on the Water Bus.
Who needs solid ground to display a statue?
Craig and the kids on the water bus
A gas station in venice (note: the prices are in euro per liter so about $7-$8 a gallon)
A water taxi stand--taxis are much more expensive than the water bus. Basically private speedboats.
One of the outlying islands of the venetian lagoon is called Murano. They are famous for glass making and blowing. Here is a display window of vases.
Fire statue
a cute little lighthouse
Glass statue
Grand canale di Murano
FLORENCE
In the Loggia del Signoria. A covered patio full of statues.
The loggia was packed during a rain shower but here it is starting to open up again. Popular meeting point for groups and tours. We saw several drawing classes going on.
Believe it or not but cars do go down this street. It is not even the most narrow we have seen. We went down one once where we had to pull the mirrors in in order to go through. Parking?? a tiny garage door set into the side of the building--usually leads to a small inner courtyard.
Piazza della Signoria with statues
Don't know what this was all about but next time? I want to join this tour!
Walking in the drizzle of Florence. The building behind us is the Palazzo Vecchio, next to the Uffizi Museum. We did not go into the museum (close to closing time, long line, and zero interest from the kids) but enjoyed the statues displayed on the outside. 
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or the Duomo of Florence
Inside the duomo
The ceiling of the dome-sorry, lighting is poor to protect the paintings . We are on a narrow, yet safe, ledge going around the dome.
The Bell Tower. We are actually taller than the top of the tower. We are standing on top of the duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) in Michaelangelo's Lantern. The duomo is also built in the pink, white, and green marble of the bell tower. When the cathedral was started (1296), the technology for building the dome hadn't been 'invented' yet. 140 years later. . . it was finished. The dome actually has in interior and exterior shell. The stairs go right up through the middle. The builders had bathrooms, restaurants and beds up there so they wouldn't waste time going up and down. We went up an amazing amount of steps. Funny thing is we thought we were just walking through the center of the church like others we had been in. We paid our money and went in a door and started going up steps and up and up and up and up and up and round and round etc and then we came out right on top!
The red roofs of Florence--amazingly enough there are very narrow streets through all of that mess.
Over on the North-West coast of Italy
a 'farm'
One of the Cinque Terre-5 cities-that are built into the cliffs on the edge of the sea. Amazing!
Stepped farming and one of the Cinque Terre.
Walking in the drizzle of Florence. The building behind us is the Palazzo Vecchio, next to the Uffizi Museum. We did not go into the museum (close to closing time, long line, and zero interest from the kids) but enjoyed the statues displayed on the outside. 
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or the Duomo of Florence
Inside the duomo
The ceiling of the dome-sorry, lighting is poor to protect the paintings . We are on a narrow, yet safe, ledge going around the dome.
The Bell Tower. We are actually taller than the top of the tower. We are standing on top of the duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) in Michaelangelo's Lantern. The duomo is also built in the pink, white, and green marble of the bell tower. When the cathedral was started (1296), the technology for building the dome hadn't been 'invented' yet. 140 years later. . . it was finished. The dome actually has in interior and exterior shell. The stairs go right up through the middle. The builders had bathrooms, restaurants and beds up there so they wouldn't waste time going up and down. We went up an amazing amount of steps. Funny thing is we thought we were just walking through the center of the church like others we had been in. We paid our money and went in a door and started going up steps and up and up and up and up and up and round and round etc and then we came out right on top!
Family shot in Firenze (Florence)
Mom and Amelia
Mom and Amelia
The red roofs of Florence--amazingly enough there are very narrow streets through all of that mess.
Over on the North-West coast of Italy
a 'farm'
One of the Cinque Terre-5 cities-that are built into the cliffs on the edge of the sea. Amazing!
Stepped farming and one of the Cinque Terre.
I love how packed in and isolated these little towns are.
This drive was gorgeous even in the rain (NW coast of Italy up to Switzerland). What we didn't get pictures of are the vast amounts of tunnels going through the mountains. We spent more time in tunnels than on the mountains! Gorgeous bridges and amazing roads built off the sides of mountains. I'm glad I wasn't driving because I couldn't keep my eyes on the road in front of me!
SWITZERLAND
Swiss Alps--we were at about 4500 feet.
town in the alps 
The border of Switzerland and Lichtenstien
Lichtenstein--BTW gas is about $12 a gallon here
I hope you enjoyed our Italian vacation. We are definately going again. So much more to see and do! Want to come with us??
