Day 6: Lido Beach

What another beautiful day in our favorite place, Venice. Although we didnt have much planned for today, having nothing planned was one of the best plans we've had yet. After wandering around and several scoops of gelato, we finally decided to buy a 24 hour water taxi pass. We boarded the boat, and went miles down the shore line to the last island, Lido. Not sure what we would find, we were excited to see what awaited us.

After getting off the boat, we were shocked to see something we didnt think we would see for atleast another day... Cars. Apparently they were allowed on this island. We traveled to the other side where we were happy to find a beautiful beach. Picture perfect. There was only one problem: We didnt bring our swim suits. Luckly the italians think of everything. There were stores on the beach for swim suits. After purchasing them, we spent the rest of our day on the beach, soaking up the hot Italy sun!

For dinner, we decided to switch it up... we went to the only Chinese place in town. It was simply delicious. Especially after several meals of pasta. (Reece wants you all to know he tried super spicy sauce and "Almost died")

Our last full day of Italy was well spent. We're not looking forward to leaving this elegant puddle of decay tomorrow. But all good things come to an end sooner or later, right?

Day 5: V-Town

Yet another wonderful day in Venice, Italy. We started our day with a lazy morning, interrupted with breakfast in bed. You'd be surprised to know that Italians dont eat much for breakfast. Ours consisted of a few small pastries and orange juice, then we were off on the sidewalks again. We didnt wanna waste a minute here.

As Rick Steve (the author of our tourist book) would say, we "soaked all day in this puddle of elegant decay." This statement couldnt be more true. We started our adventure by doing something that anyone should do when they come to Venice- Got lost. We wandered around aimlessly, looking for absolutely nothing but more beautiful buildings and waterways. After a BIG lunch at some small Italian restraunt (yes, we had pasta. How'd you know?) We walked back to our apartment for a siesta (a rest in the middle of the day that mexicans and italians call siesta) before our boat tour. Once we were all ready and refreshed, we walked to the dock located in the Grand Canal and boarded a ship with fellow Americans. Our tour guide brought us through the Canal, teaching us about the history behind Venice. Did you know Venice is made up of over 150 islands? Crazy, huh?

After our tour, we ate dinner at a magnificent pizzeria. The menu was italian, but we had pretty good basic food words in italian. After all, everything in Italy is pretty much made out of the same thing. So we ordered what we thought was basic pizza. To our surprise, we were brought a pizza with a sunny-side up egg in the middle. Yes, you read right... an egg. None of us saw that coming. It was even more of a surprise that we liked it and are planning on having it again some day.

Venice would be the most beautiful city in the world, if it wasnt for us annoying tourists" -Mom... 12 million tourists visit Venice a year.

As of right now, we're back at our apartment for another night. We're all really looking forward to another day in Venice. Tomorrow will consist of shopping, another tour, and a lot more wandering around. Goodnight Washington, we miss you!

Day 4: Goodbye Rome, Hello Venice!

As much as we'll miss Rome, there was no doubt in our minds that we werent going to simply adore Venice. We had done our reading and educating and were ready to board the 6 hour train ride to our new apartment in V-Town.

The train ride wasnt as bad as we first had thought it was going to be. The seats folded down into beds, which provided some extra sleep hours everyone needed. During the ride, though, I found out some very shocking news: Did you know Venice beach is in CALIFORNIA?! I had no idea! Who names a beach in California after a city in Italy? So when I asked my parents when we would be visiting Venice Beach, I got some very confused expressions for a while, then was laughed at for quite a while. Apparently I have a lot to learn still. I also found out that the bathrooms dont store the waste, so when you use the restroom everything is dumped onto the train tracks. After realizing this, my mom soon nick named our train "The Poo Poo Train." (Get it? It rhymes with chu chu)

After we departed our train, we walked out of the train station and saw our first glimpse of Venice. For a second, we stood there in shock. It was the most beautiful thing any of us have ever seen. The streets were paved with, not gold, but water. There was not one car is sight. To go where you needed to go, you went by boat. Everything was water, except for the narrow pieces of sidewalk between buildings. It was nothing any of us have seen before.

Our apartment is nice, the locals are sweet and welcoming, and so far the food is better then what we had in Rome. Although we had a wonderful time sight seeing in Rome, the streets are far more crowded and its way more stressful to get to where you needed to be. Some how, Venice had a more relaxed vibe. Less people, no car or motorcycle traffic to try to work around, and in my opinion, a lot more fun to look at. We have to admit though, there is a lot more to do in Rome then Venice.

After settling in, going out for dinner and gelato, we're ready for another good nights rest so we can explore the water streets of Venice tomorrow.

Day 3: Vatican + Galleria Borghese

Waking up in Rome is a feeling like no other. I think anyone that visits here can agree. Our third morning in Rome was a little more rushed then our previous two for one reason: We had scheduled appointments to attend to. Our first one? The Vatican.

Reserving our spot in the Vatican was one of the best decisions of the trip. Without one, you are forced to wait in a 3 mile long line outside of the Vatican wall in the scorching hot weather. Luckily, mom was smart enough to make our reservations in advance, thus letting us skip the line, and cut right in front of everyone. For those who dont know, the Vatican is a separate country apart from Rome. So once inside, we had to go through security not much different from those at the airport; handing over our back pack shortly after. After paying almost $100 to get inside, we enjoyed ancient Roman history and artifacts. We learned a lot about the Pope and the Catholic religion. The best part, though, was the Sistine Chapel. This is where the Pope is chosen when they need a new one. It is famous for its architecture and paintings. The ceiling was painted by Michelangelo and is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. After oooh'ing and ahhh'ing over the amazing "The Last Judgment" (the most famous painting in the Sistine Chapel) we exited, walked through hall after hall of more artwork, and left the Vatican after re-collecting our stuff.

After our trip to the Vatican, we walked to the nearest subway (which I almost fainted in- turns out I shouldnt be in crowded spaces under ground) so we could travel to our next destination: The Galleria Borghese, a famous museum. The general idea is this: Its a very old used-to-be house filled top to bottom with famous statues and paintings. Our favorite? Paolina. Look her up! A beautiful statue of a laying woman. She almost looked real. We would have never been able to see all the wonderful artwork if it wasnt for our wonderful mom, Tina. Its almost impossible to get into the Borghese without a reservation! Luckily we had one and got to enjoy the beauty of ancient Rome!

After we were sure we had seen enough statues to last a lifetime, we took a long walk home. When we arrived back at our little apartment and were ready to crash, the door wouldnt open. Irritation settled in quickly. We were all ready for some relaxation time. The door still wouldnt open. We eventually called the owner, and had to wait 30 minutes for him to arrive and open the door for us. By the time he got there and opened the door, we were ready to sleep for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow we leave early in the morning for a 6 hour train ride to Venice.
We'll miss Rome, but we're so excited to see whats in store for us in Venice.

Day 2: Colosseum

After a much needed night of sleep, we woke up to the sound of what sounded like laughing birds. The sun was shining, there wasnt a cloud in the sky, and we were all ready to hot the streets of Rome once again. We got dressed, ate some breakfast, and were on our way once again.

We had thought we left our room around 11am, but when we finally found out what time it actually was, we were shocked. It was 8:40 am. Which means we had woken up around 6am. We had a lot more time on our hands then we had originally thought. Taking our time, we crissed crossed our way through the narrow streets until we finally found what we were looking for... The Colosseum.

Even bigger in person then it is in pictures, we were surprised at all the history that goes behind it. For example, did you know that everyone accused Cesar Nero for starting the fire that destroyed a lot of the Colosseum? We learned how/when it was made, why it was made, and what it was used for until it became destroyed because of the fire and natural disasters. Today, 2/3 of the original Colosseum exist. We traveled completely around the 2/3 and took some amazing pictures. We will never forget the beauty of this historic landmark.

We visited the Roman forum shortly after. Exhausted, we wove our way through human traffic and ruins; learning along the way.

Time to prepare for day 3! Vatican, here we come!

Day 1: Rome

Months and months of preparing, packing, stressing, and planning have finally come to its product; the trip of our lives. 3 weeks in Italy. What more could we ask for? This is sure to be a trip we'll never forget.

The plane rides was, well, exhausting to say the least. Flying standby causes a lot of unneeded stress for the whole family. Eventually we found our way to Detroit after 2 flights. Having plenty of time until our final flight to Italy gave us time to re-cooperate, so we checked into the nearest hotel and allowed ourselves a nice long nap. After, we drug ourselves back to the airport for one last flight... we were not looking forward to the 10 long hours to our final destination. But, we were pleasantly surprised to get first class, making the trip so much more tolerable.


After landing in Rome, we ventured to our hotel; a cute little apartment type building in the middle of town. We settled in, got dressed in something a little more appropriate for the hot weather, and took an adventure out in the streets of Rome. We soon found out that not only are the streets thin and narrow, so are the sidewalks which are ALWAYS filled with human traffic. The weather was just perfect, and so was our dinner we enjoyed at a small restraunt we discovered down a small hidden street. With our dinner, we listened to live authentic Italian music. After walking out our dinner, collecting more information about Rome, and sweating like crazy, we're finally back at home after a long day.


We're all looking forward to yet another day in our new favorite city, Rome, tomorrow. I see a lot of soar feet in our future.

-Lacey. :)