Our Italy Trip

I've never been good about updating people on my life events.  When I was growing up, we would talk about our day at school with my mom.  My brother would take about 45 minutes to an hour explaining his day.  Me? About 10 minutes.  I'm just not that much of a sharer.  I can spend a whole day with friends, and then when I tell Anna about my time, not remember more than a few snippets.  It's not like I don't like sharing.  It's just that I don't think about it until something or someone reminds me.  You know what I mean?

So, with that being said, here's my short and sweet recap of our trip.

We left from Seattle at about 8 am. 

That's my dad, Anna, and (of course) me.  FYI, we love using the self timer on our camera.  Our flight was at about 11 am.  It was about a 5 hour flight to Chicago (on United), then a 9-10 hour flight to Munich (on Lufthansa), then an hour-long flight to Venice.  After that, we took a bus to the actual town of Venice.  Then took the Vaporetto (water-bus) to Lido, where out hotel was. 

About 20 hours or so after we left, we arrived.  The flights were a mixed bag.  United sucks.  The seats were fine, but the staff wasn't that great.  And they only gave us one drink service.  For a 5 hour flight.  The rest of the legs were amazing.  I can't wait to fly Lufthansa again!  The seats were great, the staff amazing, and the service was even better.  They gave us drinks many times.  And the drinks could be soda, water, wine, beer, alcohol--all free!  And they gave us a dinner and a snack.  And then, even on the short 1-1/2 hour flight, they gave us a snack.  So, to sum it up: United, on a 5 hour flight, gave us a drink (one drink), and Lufthansa, on a 1-1/2 hour flight, gave us a snack and a drink. I hate US carriers.  No wonder they are struggling.  

Anyway, we spent three days in Venice, enjoying good food and lots of walking (though at a very slow pace, due to my dad's knees and hips).  We even got to attend an Easter Mass at St Mark's Cathedral.

Wow.  What an experience.  For all the differences us Protestants have with our Catholic brethren, they sure do know how to put on a service.  The signs asked visitors not to take pictures or video, but I shot a short one with the intention of posting it here.  Then I saw people taking pictures and got frustrated with them.  Thought they were disrespectful.  So, I deleted the video, and our time in the cathedral will forever live in our own memories.

More Venice Pictures:

Then we went out to Morsano--where my great-grandfather was from.  We even were able to take a quick bike ride to the town center. 

And had a nice Easter meal out there.      

We then went to Rome, and got into the apartment that we rented while we were there.  It was awesome.  It was small, old, the bathrooms were horrible, and it was right off of the Campo De Fiori.  We saw lots of sights there, including the Coliseum, The Roman Forum, the Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, and lots of other sites.

Then it was on to Naples, Pompei, Sorrento, and the Amalfi Coast.  It was a long, good trip.  I really enjoyed it. 

I could (and probably should) post more pictures, but I'm already exhausted with typing up this post (which isn't really that long).  But is was a great trip.  Anna planned the whole thing and it was a really well-run trip.  Even with travelling during Easter (with spotty transit and open hours).  I'd let her plan any trip she likes.  She has such an eye for details.  Of course, there was lots of eating and gelato.  Yum!  I weighed myself (as a spot weigh-in) and didn't do too much damage, though I had been running high leading up to our trip. 

I'll be tracking Calories as of tomorrow and will start my workouts again.  I'm also going to be changing my weigh-in day.  It will now be Sunday mornings.  I've noticed that I tend to go a little crazy on the weekends, so in order to limit that, my new day is Sunday.  One less day of indulging.  That's exciting to me.  

So I'm back and ready for the next year of this journey.  I'll be catching up on all your blogs, but it may take me at least a week, so be patient!