Florence & Pisa, Italy

Our next destination was Florence. We took a morning train down from Venice and we got to see a lot of the countryside during this time. Tuscany is beautiful and everything I imagined it to be! We checked in to our hotel and then hit the sites while we had decent weather. We went and saw the statue of David at the Accademia Gallery. Then, we walked through a street market while eating Gelato (shocker, I know). Later, we went to dinner at a place my friend Claire recommended to us and it was fabulous! It was the nicest meal we had during this trip and well worth the money and experience. We wanted to walk around some more, but it started raining pretty hard so we called it a night.

The next morning, we took a train over to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. This was a quick visit because there is not much more to see than that. We had a beautiful day of weather to enjoy the short visit there.

Once we arrived back in Florence, we walked around more of the city to see sights recommended by Claire (she studied abroad during college there). This city was refreshing for us because we had been to such big, fast paced places and Florence was more calm and had a small town feel to it. We had great food here and really enjoyed our time in this city.

Venice, Italy

We took an afternoon train over to Venice to stay for 2 nights. We were a little nervous about going there because we had heard about the flooding of the city and were unsure if we could get around to see everything because of it. We got there when it was dark, took a boat taxi to St. Mark's Square and then found our hotel. We checked in and then went to find somewhere to eat. By the time we finished our dinner at a little pub, we realized that many of the streets that we had used before were flooded so Jesse was our navigator and eventually found us a way home without having to get wet.

The next day, we spent walking around the city. Even though it was rainy off and on all day, we really enjoyed exploring the island. The city was so unique and fascinating - surrounded by water with no cars on the island, it was amazing seeing how people live their lives there. It was definitely a place we'd love to spend time in when it is warmer and not flooded, but we still were able to see the city and enjoy it just as it is. And, of course we had gelato - how can you not when you see it in the store window (pic below)?!

Milan, Italy

Our next stop was Milan, Italy! We had another rainy day so we took an afternoon train to Milan and then got on the Metro to the Duomo stop where our hotel was located. We hoofed it in the rain over to our hotel and then dried off our clothes for a bit. We then went out to dinner at Ciao, a fast food pasta place, located in the Galleria that was pretty good! The rain let up for a bit so we walked around the city some and got a few night pictures of the Duomo. Of course, we had some Gelato while walking around!













The next morning, we had a tour pre-booked to see the main sites by bus. We are so glad we did this due to the rain! We had a witty and thorough tour guide named Esther who explained a lot of facts and history that we would not have heard on our own. We went to see the medieval Sfortza Castle, The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, the Scala Opera House, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and the Gothic Duomo cathedral. We really enjoyed it! This completed our visit to Milan after a yummy lunch at Pastarito's! On to the next destination!

Torino, Italy

We were pleasantly surprised with how much we liked Torino, Italy (a.k.a. Turin). We arrived by train by mid-afternoon and checked in right away to our hotel room. This was the start of our rainy days so we were happy to get out of the rain for a short rest. We got a map from our hotel and figured out where all we wanted to visit and headed out to see the National Cinema Museum. The building itself is beautiful and you can go up to the top of the dome for a view of the city - it was awesome! Afterwards, we walked around the museum and saw some amazing things, like the different cameras they have used over the years as well as old movie poster collections and movie sets recreated. They also had costumes used in different movies and stations where you could see how they did special effects (hence why I'm on a bike with a blank screen behind me). Afterwards, we went to dinner and walked around the city some more in the cold while eating Gelato.

The next morning, we woke up to snow (see below - view from hotel window) and slush everywhere. First, we went to see the Shroud of Turin in a cathedral there. Regardless if it is Jesus or not, this is a cool piece of history. The fact that they can make out details of the person (supposedly) from the cloths that they were buried in is a pretty cool thing. We really enjoyed this. Next, we decided to go see the Egyptian Museum - they have the 2nd most artifacts next to the Cairo, Egypt museum. It was neat to see these things, but it wasn't our cup of tea. Overall, we enjoyed Torino and we are glad we stopped there for an evening.

Nice, France

The next city we flew to was Nice, France. Sadly, we didn't get there until it was dark so we didn't get to see any of it during normal day light. BUT, we went down to the Old City and walked around. Oddly enough, it was like being in "Little Italy" with the small streets, tall buildings and cafes everywhere. We had dinner and then walked around the area, ending at the boardwalk along the coast. The difference there is that their beach isn't covered in sand - it's covered in stones of all sizes! We decided that Nice was a place we wouldn't mind returning to during the Summer to be able to enjoy it to it's fullest potential. The next morning, we had a train to Torino, Italy and we were able to see more of the coastline and area during this ride. You are on the beach, but surrounded by the Alps so it was beautiful. Enjoy!

Paris, France

With so many pictures for each day in Europe, we wanted to tell you about where we went divided up by the city we were exploring. So, first up is Paris, France! We arrived in Paris at about 5:30am (Paris time), picked up our luggage and took the metro in to the city to find our hotel (Hotel Home Latin). After a few wrong turns, we found it and were able to lock up our luggage until we could check in to our room. In the meantime, we went exploring. We had a great brunch at a little cafe and then we followed Rick Steve's walking tour in his France 2008 book to see some of the main sights close together. One of the main ones was the Notre Dame Cathedral - this was my favorite place I visited back in 2001. The outside and inside are incredibly detailed. We explored some of the side streets close by and then headed to the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe (so I thought at the time). We then walked around some more and eventually went to dinner. After dinner, we decided to walk off what we ate and went down to Champs-Elysees and walked all the way down it to the REAL Arc de Triomphe! :) We explored the city a little more before turning in for the night.












The next day, we woke up, had breakfast (croissant and coffee) and then went to the Army Museum which was fantastic. Napolean's Tomb was also here so we walked through it as well. It was a museum that we could have spent many hours in, but we were limited on time. We defintely recommend going there if you ever get the chance. After our museum visit, we checked out of our hotel and took a flight to our next destination...

Europe Bound!!

Jesse and I leave tomorrow for a 12 day trip to Europe!! We decided to take advantange of our time off from the Army and go on an adventure together. We plan to go to cities in France & Italy, mostly places we have never been before. Please pray for our safety and smooth travels while we are gone. Pictures will soon follow our return home...