Vienna - Salzburg - Venice - Pisa - Florence

Well Amanda has filled you in a bit I think on our travels to Vienna. We stayed with my Grandmas cousin and his wife who were absolutely wonderful hosts. They had a great house and even a pool!! After arriving we went up this tower (which was 180 steps) and got to see the city of Vienna, as well as the countryside. It was really pretty and kinda weird b-c you would look out one side of it and see the city (really beautiful) then turn about 180 degrees and BAM suddenly country side (possibly more beatiful)! So it was pretty cool! We then went to this winery and had Austrian cuisine! yummy yummy! We then spent the night watching an opera show that was to honor the Opera Houses director. The three of us felt very culturized!

The next day we went into town and saw the various churches, parliament building, Opera House, and various other places. We also walked around the Hofsburg Palace which was--shocker--HuGE!

That night our hosts suggested to us that us three young people go check out the Vienna Musical Festival. So we did. It was really neat...we were told that about 3 million people go there between the two days. It had 21 different stages and tons of bands that played throughout the day. We found one that we really liked--I like fell in love with hte band and am determined to youtube their songs and learn all of them...regardless of the fact that they are in German. Yes, I was THAT impressed with them. The band was just a really fun, got you moving type of group. I think we all enjoyed it. On the way home we had a little trouble. We left the concert about 11 30 and we were supposed to just be able to take one line all the way home...straight shot no problem. Well...for some reason, that line decided not to run the whole route, but instead stop in the middle of no where. Then our very helpful (NOT) conductor told us to get off with no help whatsoever with what to do next. Oh well...no problem--see the three of us have gotten quite good at navigating the public transportation. So street car failed us...no big deal. We decide to just hop on the metro...problem is we have to find one first. Somehow we manage to do so pretty quickly. We get there and know we need to get on U3 I believe. But when we got there, for some reason it was closed. We arent sure why it wasnt running but there seemed to be LOTS of people also really confused about this. So then we went outside quite at a loss of what to do. WE hadnt brought a map with b-c we feel it was pretty dummy proof getting back and b-c we didnt want to carry much at the music festival. So we go outside and try to get a cab...but we dont know the full address of where we are going....BUT....we eventually got back. Throughout this process for awhile I really didnt think we were getting home. but we did :)

The next day we went and saw the Schonburg Palace. This was soo cool. We learned a lot about the history there and saw all the rooms that they used. The best part about it though I think was getting to see the gardens behind the palace. They were huge. I really cant get over how big and amazing they were. That took the majority of the day. We then went back and Heinzs daughter, husband, and kids came over and we all had lunch together! Amanda and Eric took a dip in the pool to cool off a little. Then we went to the market area and walked around. We did stop at the Sacher Hotel which serves Sachetorte and is one of only 2 places that can serve this. It is a really rich chocolate cake which was delicious.

The next day we left Vienna. It was so nice getting to stay in a real house where you werent sharing a room with 20 other people...but it was time to give up our life of luxury and get back to the real world of fun hostels! haha.

So we get on the train to take us to Salzburg, and it is pretty warm. And by warm i mean smoking hot. Well I figure that once the train gets going the air will kick and and the train will cool off and nap time for Mollie will begin. Well lets just say that NEVER happened. Thus, that train earned the name Devil Train from me. It was about a gazillion degrees in there the whole time and I honestly was miserable. I guess it didnt help that I wasnt feeling the best the night before and the morning before we got on the train. But it was NOT fun. When we got off I couldnt have been happier. We were know in Salzburg, a town the size of Sioux Falls. So we were kind of excitd about that. We decided that we were going to just have a real chill day. We wanted to see the sights of the Sound of Music but we had arrived to late to do the tour. So Amanda and I read, and we read, and we read. I think we were both really wanting to get our books finished. Which we did. We did take a few breaks...we went on a walk around the town and decided to grab a little something to eat. We ended up making our decision on one of the most vital aspects of eating in Europe. FREE REFILLS! Yes we broke down and ate at McDonalds bc we could get unlimited pop. In Europe pop is incredibly expensive and you get like 3 tablespoons for like 4 euros. ok im exaggerating...but not by much! We drank like three large cups of Sprite...delicious and refreshing!

The next day we took off for Venice. We had to do a train and a bus to get there. The bus was a double decker and we had the top, front row seats. Nice for having a good view...bad for having the sun shine in your eyes the whole way. Eric said that he was entertained by watching my and Amandas heads roll up and down....us attempting to sleep the trip away. When we got to Venice we took a little boat to our hostel.

In Venice the citys public transportation is all boats. Instead of buses its boats...obviously due to the fact that Venice is all islands and canals. After we checked in and had some pizza for supper I decided to take Amanda and Eric on a boat tour. Yes, I was the tour guide. I actually think I was better than a tour guide for a few reasons. 1--I was free. 2--Lets face it Im entertaining :) and 3--I didnt just tell them the information, I also quizzed them on it afterwards. Overall it was fun and we got to see the city.

The next day we woke up and had breakfast. Which was two rolls, juice, and then your pick of hot chocolate, coffee, lattes, etc. pretty good overall. Amanda was especially happy b-c she could have lattes! We then went and toured St. Marks Basilica. By now you and me both know that we have seen our far share of churches. Im guessing that maybe this thought has ran through your head...wow dont they ever get sick of seeing all these churches? Well, they really are pretty cool to see! WE dont spend TONS of time looking at them, and they normally are free...but its still amazing to see what they look like and fathom how they possibly could have built something like that sooo long ago. At this church they really have a strict dress code--knees and shoulders must be covered. We were ok b-c we had brought a jacket with, but if you didnt you had to buy this little paper goofy thing to wear. It was kinda funny.

We also went to the Correr Museum which is an Art Museum. While the churches are still fun to see....we are getting a bit tired of the Art Museums. To quote Amanda, 'The Correr Museum was as exciting as a piece of toast, ok at first, but needed some jelly.' I thought this was hilarious. Venice (four weeks into our trip) was kind of where we decided that we werent going to make ourselves go to museums just bc we felt we SHOULD...we want to do what will make us happy (yet still enjoying being in Europe). Thus resulting in what we did the next day :) stay tuned in to find out.

We went and saw the Doges Palace which is where all the Venetian Dukes would have ruled and lived. Although it was funny bc the doge really didnt have all that much power. They have a council of six men and to make any decisions they have to have those men with them. it was interesting. The noblemen elect the Senate, and then the Senate elects the Doge. in the Palace there was the largest oil painting in the world...it like took up the entire wall of the room that houses all of the Government...so yes it was huge! We also went to the Rialto Bridge which had lots of fun little shops on it.

The next day we did go to a Modern Art Museum in the morning which we actually LIKED! We went from room to room picking what artpiece per room that we each would like. It was pretty fun and there was some weird stuff in there. However I dont think the attendant there trusted us much bc she followed us everywhere...and really didnt even try to hide it. oh well we just laughed. haha..we liked the art but we didnt like it THAT much ;) We then saw the La Salute Church. This church was built for St. Mary of Good Health due to her delivering the city from a plague that wiped out one third of the citys population.

Then we went to the....BEACH! We went to the island of Lido and enjoyed the sunshine and cool ocean water. Eric wandered around in 'boy lalaland' as Amanda calls it, and Amanda and I just had some good ole girl talk. It was interesting bc men swimsuits are not the long baggy swim trunks like they are in the States. We then went back to the hostel and bought some wine and Limoncello (which is the national drink of Italy apparently) which was delicious. We had met some friends so we sat with Alex and Annette on the canal enjoying our wine. We then traveled to the main island and went to an Irish Pub there....go figure.

Oh yeah! While we were sitting out on the canal the mosquitos were terrible! However, we had happened to pack bug spray and had like 3 random strangers stop and ask if they could use it. lol.

BTW....we had pizza for every meal in Venice. It was delicious. In fact, Amanda has a pizza list in her journal so we dont forget how many pizzas we have had. We had 7 pizzas there. Delicious and Cheap! Plus we are in Italy so we figured we had a good excuse! We also got heavy into the gelato here. lol actually we have had gelato about every day. Pizza and Gelato...yum....good think we are doing lots of walking!

We woke up early the next day to take off for Florence. We got to Florence and stopped at a restaurant and decided to have pasta. Yes, it was hard for us to the make the switch. Especially since we were such avid devoted pizza lovers. But we did, and we were quite rewarded. Well mostly. Amanda had been craving day old spaghetti with parmesean cheese on it, so she didnt quite get that....but close. The pasta was delicious so we were all happy. We were still paying 3 euro for a can of pop (not happy about that) but we just remind ourselves that were in Europe and everything is suddenly much better. Actually a few times we have brought our own water or pop to the restaurant and just kind of sneakishly drank it. Im sure if you know me that surprises none of you ;)

We then hopped on the train (if any of you were surprised thinking..didnt they just get off the train--Im impressed, it means you are following this well). We had decided to do a quick trip out to Pisa. So we got on the train and arrived in Pisa and found the leaning tower. Quite impressive actually. Im really glad we decided to do it. It definitely leans by the way...just in case anyone was wondering. Right now the top is 17.6 feet off from where it should be. We even sprang the 15 euro it cost to go to the top. It was well spent. It was really a crazy feeling trying to walk up the circling stairs that are also slightly tilted. That was a feat in itself. Before leaving we decided to have a piece of Pisa pizza. Try saying that ten times fast. We entertained ourselves with that for awhile. We then took the train back to Florence and on our way back ran into a little square that had a live band playing. They were pretty good and would throw in some English lyrics now and then.

Today we got up and did all the sights. But more importantly...we found like the biggest Gelato shop ever!! It had at least 80 different flavors. So naturally...we endulged. We also went to the Pitti Palace and saw that and its enormous gardens and hiked its huge hill. We then went home and made pesto pasta. Later tonight we are going to an Italian Opera...should be interesting!

So Im sure by now you are sick of reading this...and I know that Im definitely sick of writing this---so we will do better to stay a little more up to date.

Hope you are all having a great 4th of July. We might find some matches and throw them up in the air or something to celebrate. Well see.