:: Clark Griswold, Take 2 ::

Onward we go! From Switzerland, we split up for a few days. Lucas went on to Austria with my dad, stepmom and brother (Liesl had to head back home), and J and I went to Italy for a couple of days. Freakin' ITALY. Crazy. So back in the family truckster (FORD!) and down through Switzerland. The interesting thing about the Swiss is they don't seem to have their own identity. I don't mean that in a negative way, just that they kind of live up to that whole neutrality thing. When you're up north, they speak German. As you head south and a bit to the west, they speak French. And then to the south and east they speak Italian. It's very interesting. I know A LITTLE high school French, but that's about it. I was learning on the fly (or more accurately, drive). The ride was absolutely stunning, even though it rained most of the way. The weather, in general, was kind of crappy for the entire 2 weeks. However, it seemed that whenever we were getting out to do something, it stopped. We were extremely lucky in that regard. So...Hallo, Bonjour, and now Ciao. I need to learn Italian. It just sounds so cool!! Fortunately, a lot of people in Europe speak at least a little English, so we could get by with Jason's minimal German and the few words we learned in Italian. Driving through the little towns in the Dolomites (part of the Alps) seemed other worldly. Especially because we were up so high and the clouds hung so low. Breathtaking. Our first stop was Rapallo, on the Italian Riviera. Not too shabby!! Here's one thing I learned about Italy...driving on the highways, perfectly fine...driving in towns, you might not make it out. I now understand why they drive motorcycles and Vespas everywhere. Think of the smallest one lane road you can, park cars on one side, make it super curvy and probably on a hill, and then set it as a two way street. No joke. It was terrifying!! Thankfully, the place where we stayed was within walking distance of the town, otherwise I would have had to find the nearest farmacia and demand some Xanax!! I did feel like the people, at least where we were, were much more in your face than the people in Switzerland. They were all kind, it was just a different mentality. Rapallo is beautiful. Just what you would imagine an Italian town on the water would look like. We only spent one night there, but it was well worth the drive. 

even the manhole covers are awesome!

this was the street we stayed on...I had to include it because we laughed hysterically every time our GPS tried to pronounce it. We found she was much better at German than Italian

see what I mean??? Gorgeous

this fortress was originally built in 1550 to protect the city against pirates! Can you even imagine???

So the next day we were supposed to take a ferry down to Portofino...a place I REALLY wanted to see. Unfortunately, the wind was too strong and the water too choppy, so they weren't running that day. BUMMER!! But guess what??? I called an audible. We were staying in Verona that night and an hour past Verona is, wait for it...Venice! Hmmm...wonder if we should make that drive. DUH!! How can you pass that up??? So back in the FORD and onto Venice. Surreal. 

these beauties were all along the roadside. Of course I had to stop!

everywhere you look...something that just screams I'M IN ITALY!!

I don't know how many of you are step counters, but I had my Fitbit on for the entire trip and logged LOTS of steps. However, no day compared to the Venice day. We parked about 8 miles away (not really, it just felt like that on the way back) because, you know, we didn't have a boat. By the time we were to our hotel in Verona I had had over 20,000 steps for that day! 

Venice. My mother told me that I was not to pass up an opportunity to experience Venice because, 1. It's extraordinary, and 2. it's sinking and won't be around forever. I have to admit, I was quite disheartened by what I saw. Not the city itself, it's truly one of a kind. What shocked me was the amount of trash and graffiti all over the walking parts of the city. Who could do that to something so special? Really broke my heart. The buildings and the water and the gondolas...THEY did not disappoint. I've never seen anything like it in my life. We just kept looking at each other saying "we're in freaking VENICE".  Like any good tourist, we of course had to take a gondola ride. Our lovely guide spoke some English, I think. I couldn't really understand much of what he said...I just nodded and smiled with the occasional "WOW!". 

(from my phone)

yes...I was dressed like a gondolier

Now...for what the camera got...

you know I love me some details!!

again...OMG WE'RE IN VENICE!

I just thought this was so cute

everywhere you turn...postcard perfect (aside from the trash and graffiti)

I wish we had more time to explore, but we were on a pretty tight schedule. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to see as much as we did!

Our second night was spent in Verona. You may recognize the name...good ole Willy Shakespeare used it as the backdrop for Romeo and Juliet! Like I've said before...the history over there is like nothing I've ever experienced. Again, being on such a tight schedule, we didn't get to explore the way we would've liked. The one thing we wanted to be sure to see was the Arena di Verona. It's a Roman amphitheater built in the first century. Let that sink in for a moment. It was built in the 100s. BEFORE the one in Rome. And they still use it!! In fact, they were setting up for a show when we went. 

this was one of many pieces waiting to be brought inside for the show they were setting up for

I intentionally got the stone from the Arena in this picture because I thought the contrast between something so incredibly old and then the more modern buildings was interesting. Modern, of course, being a relative term.

Here's a crazy thing about driving through Italy, there are castles everywhere!!  Seriously, there were so many of them! You have to be on the lookout!

From Verona we traveled back north toward Austria. Lucas and Jason had read a long time ago about Otzi the Iceman who was found between Italy and Austria in 1991. We knew that we'd be driving somewhat near the museum so we decided to have the rest of the family meet us there. I can't even explain how crazy the experience was. This man was found extremely well preserved...it is estimated that he lived 5,000 years ago. Older than King Tut! He's actually on display in the museum...it's AMAZING!! He's behind glass and you can't take pictures, but to be standing so close to something THAT old is unbelievable. He's in great shape for such a geezer. His feet look like yours or mine!! Actually, that was a little freaky. The rest of him was skin and bones. You should read about it sometime. It's fascinating. The town of Bolzano, Otzi's current home, is really cool.

I liked that you could see the statue in the window

That's where I'll leave you for today. You've almost made it to the end!!! I'll probably combine Austria and Germany in the next one. Lucky you!!