I am Venetian first; Italian second

For those Venetians that remain in Venice (apparently the population is dropping by the thousands each year!?!) the immense pride they have of their islands is so heartwarming.

...Our Gondolier said to us very early in the ride, “I am a Venetian first and an Italian second.”

Venetian first, Italian second

This sense of unique pride was evident throughout our stay in Venice.  Having been only part of Italy in the last 200 years, they seem to identify with themselves being part of many islands and unified through the canals.

I must admit, I thought that the gondola ride was going to be a bit overrated.  But once having been a form of transport reserved only for the elite (and now for tourists) it was actually great fun. 

Stepping into the boat was the beginning of my belief that this was something really special.  While the gondolier did not sing, he did give us a remarkable history of Venice and their way of life. 

But before all that, we arrived on the water taxi and then embarked on the inevitable maze of streets and bridges towards our hotel.  Being a glorious summer day meant that the humidity was equally as glorious.

Our vaporetto

Some buildings we passed on our way in...

Gondolas galore!

The view from our room 

We spent the evening walking the gorgeous streets around where we were staying (close to St Mark's Sqaure) and then dropped in at Conca D'Oro Ristorante for our first (of many) Diavola pizzas and our first (of a few) Moretti beers.

Diavola pizza and Moretti beer!

The following day we checked out the wonders of St Mark's Square... in the stinking heat!  

St Mark's Basilica

St Mark's Basilica 

St Mark's Clock

Mum with the St Mark's Clock

St Mark's Basilica

St Mark's Campanile

Birds in the square

As we were strolling through we were considering going across to the famous island of Murano... then out of nowhere an island rep offered us free tickets across the canal to Murano! Strange timing... but perfect.

Water taxi across to island of Murano

Looking back at the square over the water 

It's their home too...

We then enjoyed a tour of a glass factory, a bit of shopping and watching a demonstration of glass flowers being made.

Murano

Glass factory

Pressing a glass flower

Glass flowers in window boxes

Murano jetty

Glass dumped in the water

Mum with an awesome blue glass sculpture

Sculpture of gondolas and gondoliers

It was so hot over there - it didn't matter if we were in the shops, crossing the bridges, watching the (VERY hot glass workers) we couldn't get cool.  In the end Dad and I had to dip our feet in the water just to get a little cooler.

Dad cooling down

My feet in the canal

Later, we made an epic journey back to St Marks' Square (over an hour) on the vaporetto and then cooled down a bit from the extreme heat with some gelatti.

Gondola gelatti

All smiles with the cooling agent

We then walked down the main shopping walkway to Rialto Bridge.

This miniature glass display was in a shop window on our walk

Rialto Bridge

Tile missing from the path... and the path all wet from the rising tide

Sunset (just before our gondola ride)

But as I mentioned before, the day was totally topped off with the gondola ride.

Mum excited about a lifelong dream coming true!

There were a few tight turns and our Gondolier explained about the different whistles and calls to be able to navigate the gondolas around the canals safely.

Gondoliers have it a bit hard (pushing off the wall)

Gondolier with his hat!

Under the 'Bridge of Sighs'

And then the moon came out (even better!)

Dusk - (and the moon's out!)

Almost hard to believe that with all the illegal traders around, that more of them aren't caught.  What's even harder to believe is that my parents fell for the 'have a rose' trick (well kind of).  Mum and Dad were waiting for me to finish taking photos and in the meantime were convinced to take some roses (and then hand over some money!)  Yet the man disappeared as quickly as he arrived as a policeman came chasing after him!  Bit of excitement to finish off our trip!

But until next time... Slainte!

A very significant day

Prior to my parents' arrival in London, I set an unrealistic expectation to keep up with this blog on my two month extravaganza around Europe with my family!!  However, within a week, I realised this time with them was far too precious and I have been letting my updates slide - sorry!

I think of home often (both in London and in Australia) and miss you all.  So then... just to give a quick rundown:

At the end of August, Dad, Mum and I travelled around Italy for a couple of weeks before meeting up with my Aunty Arja in Scotland where we drove, trekked and had a lot of laughs!

Not before Dan and Jess arriving to complete the family where we spent days in London and Paris.

FAMILY in St James' Park!!!
Jess, Daniel, Mum, Dad, me and Aunty Arja

From there, the three 'young ones' departed from the three 'older ones'.  We then went to Spain for a week which ended with the La Tomatina festival where I took great joy in smearing tomoatoes into my brother and sis-in-law's hair... (we also saw my London sisters there looking a little more worse for wear than us!!!)

We took a quick flight to Munich (to drink the best beer known to man or woman), then another quick flight off to Prague to hear a very interesting and turbulent history of such a small country.  Finally, we completed our "hopping" in Greece with the ruins of Athens and a VERY relaxing stay in Santorini whereby now my skin looks a more healthy colour after some sun exposure (and I am happy to say that I am indoctrinated in Queensland Sun Safety and I 'sun expose' responsibly with sunscreen!!)

We are now in Ireland for the next four days and we are thoroughly enjoying our time here despite watching the weather forecast (we have rain predicated for all the days we are here.)  But that just makes for a good excuse to find a lovely warm pub and drink some Guinness (or as I prefer, some Magners cider!!)

On this very significant date in the USA, I would just like to send my thoughts and prayers to my Uncle Sauli, Aunty Jenn and their children, along with all Americans as you remember and commemorate those who were lost and for those who still suffer the losses form that day.  As I watch the coverage recalling the last 10 years, it is hard to believe that this time has already passed - I still remember hearing and watching these events those short 10 years ago.  God be with you.

But until next time... love and blessings to all.

On top of the world!

Just a very quick update for a very quick stay…

Looking across the alps

Innsbruck gave us the opportunity to admire the beautiful Alps without being all covered in snow.

Alps all around"The bag carrier" (otherwise known as my dad)

Set in a valley, we were surrounded by the Alps – actually let me rephrase… it was like we were constantly engulfed by them.  Innsbruck is a large town but anywhere we stood we always saw at least a glimpse of the towering mountains.

Mountains everywhere! (You can see them to Dad's right)
Mum and Dad

We went straight up these treacherous mountains immediately to soak up the view.  I felt like I was on top of the world!!

I'm on top of the world!!

A lonely sheep atop of the Alps

Paragliders taking off from the mountain tops around us

Mountain view

Zig zag paths to the bottom... I think they are ski tracks too?

Me on a high peak

A herd of sheep were up on the mountain.  And while there is no photographic proof, there were three of them that ganged up on me coming to EAT my clothes.  And by them coming at me, the closer they got to me, the closer I got to the edge of the mountain… therefore, needless to say, I was a little bit overwhelmed!!!  Thankfully though, those wild beasts backed off and I was able to return to enjoying the scenery.

Sheep now eating grass (not me!)

That afternoon we wandered the streets of Innsbruck via a hop-on, hop-off tour situation (not the most comprehensive of ways to do things... but it was something.)  

Peace, man!
Statue in the town centre square

There were more baroque churches (no surprise there!) and we drove past the Olympic stadium where they now host premier football matches and the Winter Olympic grounds, where I bobsledded earlier this year.  

Cobblestone in Austria

The morning before we left we went into town to see a few more attractions.  My favourite being this:

Golden roof

This is probably the thing that most people come to visit first in Innsbruck.  There are about 2000 copper tiles on this roof that are preserved to give off a gold appearance.  The funny thing is – it’s tiny – it is no bigger than any other window awning!  

At this point it was time to say goodbye to Austria.  (Oh and hello to Italia!)

But until next time… Prost!