Bern: Days 1 & 2

Our guide book told us that Bern was the most immediately charming of all the Swiss cities. Charming is a great word for it. For those of you who don't know, Bern is the capital of Switzerland. It actually doesn't feel like the capital of a country at all though. It's a very small, quaint, beautiful town. We love it here.

The first full day we had here, we walked through the city in its entirety. We got a map with a little trail on it that it suggested we take, so we did that. The streets are all adorable and almost every apartment building has a cute little flower box in every window. On our stroll through the city, we saw a few beautiful churches:

A plaza with fountains:

Two old men playing a game of chess (we caught the end and when one guy one, they just left in separate directions without saying anything. Kind of funny):

Einstein's home (where he began work on the theory of relativity):

the bear pits:

and some incredible views like this one:

Also, an X6. I totally want one:

After our tour of the city, we came back to the hotel for dinner where Greg ordered schnitzel with noodles. I think I've had the song stuck in my head ever since.

Today, we went to the temple. Amazingly enough, we didn't have any trouble finding it and the temple workers there were so sweet! We heard about 4 languages being spoken: French, German, Italian, and English. The session was in Italian, but they gave us head seats, so we could understand everything. I also brought along our family names. It was really cool because we were doing work for people from Switzerland while in Switzerland. Definitely a great experience and a beautiful temple.

After the temple, we grabbed a quick lunch and then headed back to the hotel for a short nap. Then, we went to the river to dip our feet in and read our books. It was lovely.

Our feet are getting awesome tan lines. It's pretty sweet.

Bern is beautiful. We love it here. 

Venice: Days 1-3

Venice is probably the most picturesque place I’ve ever been! It is absolutely gorgeous here and everything is so quaint. 

Day 1: Emily and I left Florence at 10:30 and got into Venice at about 12:30. We then took a boat over to our hotel, which actually on the island of Lido. It took about an hour to get there, but it’s adorable. It has a completely different feel than Venice. It’s kind of like a beach town and feels a lot like Hawaii. There are a lot of cute restaurants, hotels, shops, and tons of gelato.

Once we checked in and cooled off (it’s so hot and humid here!) we got lunch/dinner at a nearby restaurant. We had some delicious pizza and we got offered a couple of shots of vodka at the end, which we politely declined, shocking the waiter.

After that, we walked around the island together and decided to call it a night. The heat really takes it out of you here.

Day 2: Greg got back! He made it to the hotel around 11, and then we headed over to the main part of the city. We walked through the Piazza San Marco and through a bunch of narrow streets. We also walked across the Rialto Bridge, which is where tons of the famous pictures you see of Venice come from.

We had some pizza for lunch (what else do you eat in Italy?), looked in a bunch of little shops, and then dropped Emily off at the train station. She’s headed back to Edinburgh and then home to Salt Lake.

Greg and I then decided to go back to Lido. We took a nice little nap (I’m sure Greg needed it more than I did. 2 international flights in 3 days can wear you out a little bit), and then headed out for dinner. After dinner, we got some gelato and walked around the island. We tried to walk along the beach, but apparently it was closed. 

Day 3: After breakfast at the hotel, we decided to try again at the beach. It was beautiful. Except for the old men in speedos part. That was a little different. 

After our walk, we grabbed our luggage and headed over to the train station. We had our last Italian meal at a restaurant nearby and then boarded the train to Switzerland. We absolutely loved Venice and almost wish we had more time there. It might seem like we didn't see/do a lot, but it was such a nice place to relax in. It's definitely a place we'd like to return to. 

Florence: Day 3

Today was another great day in Florence, but I have to admit, I think I'm ready to move on. Good thing tomorrow I leave for Venice.

I had a bit of trouble sleeping again last night, so I slept in this morning to make up for it. Also, I read a few chapters of my amazing book this morning as well, so that added up to kind of a late start. Oh well.

After breakfast, I went to the Bargello Museum where I saw Donatello's David (not quite as spectacular as Michelangelo's) as well as some works by Ghiberti and Brunelleschi. I also saw this amazing cannon, made for the Medici family:

I don't know who's head that is, but I think it's awesome.

After spending a couple of hours in the museum, I had some tasty pizza for lunch (I think by the end of Italy, I'll be sick of pizza and pasta...but not of gelato). Next, I went to the church of Santa Croce, which was beautiful.

Inside, there was a memorial sculpture for Michelangelo as well as the sepulchres for Galileo and Machiavelli. This is Galileo's tomb:

After seeing the church, I walked through the Mercato Centrale and refrained from buying anything once again. Then, I went back to the hotel to escape the heat and also to get some more reading in. Luckily I got to chat with Greg for a bit too. In fact, as I write this, he's probably at Stadium of Fire, though I'm guessing he hasn't played yet. Hopefully everything goes well!

Finally, at 8:00 this evening, my dear friend Emily got here! She will be staying with me here and coming to Venice tomorrow. It's so nice to have company once again. On to Venice!

PS: I apologize for the lack of pictures with people in them. I'm not good at taking those by myself.

Florence: Day 2

Greg left early this morning (5:30 AM) to catch his flight back to Salt Lake. After waking up to tell him goodbye, I didn't get much more sleep. I couldn't sleep at all until I got a text from him at 7:00 telling me he had made his flight with plenty of time to spare. Then I drifted in and out until about 9:30 when I finally decided to get up. 

After breakfast, I figured I'd head over to the Academia to stand in line to see the David. I'd heard horror stories about the wait to get inside, but it honestly wasn't that bad. I only waited for an hour (I think we waited longer yesterday to get into the Uffizi Gallery). The David was, of course, breathtaking. I've never seen a more beautiful sculpture. Of course there were no pictures allowed, so you'll have to content yourself with looking at the fake picture posted yesterday (which really doesn't do it justice). The rest of the museum actually wasn't that big, but there was a pretty cool exhibit on musical instruments. They had a few pianoforte's there and I was brave enough to sneak a picture. 

After the museum, I grabbed a quick lunch (and had some strawberries and cream for dessert, probably because I saw them and thought of Greg, but also because they were delicious), and decided to go to the church of San Lorenzo, which may be the oldest church in Florence. The outside certainly looks ancient and the inside is gorgeous. There were several sculptures by Donatello. I also went into the garden there, which was nice and shaded (I don't think I've mentioned this, but it's ridiculously hot here). 

After that, I walked through a bunch of shops along the street, contemplated buying a wallet, (I'm still contemplating and might go back tomorrow), and decided it was too hot outside and I was tired. So, I went back to the hotel for a little nap. Then, I went out to grab some dinner quickly and came back to the hotel to blog, read, and do whatever else I decide to do. 

By the way, I hadn't had any issues with Italian men until today (I guess Greg's imposing appearance is enough to keep them away), but let it be known that the stereotype is accurate. 

Florence: Day 1

***I'm sorry if this blog post runs a little short, this is #3 for today, so I'm getting a little tired.

Florence seems to be pretty amazing as well, though I think it will have a hard time beating Rome. We started the day by going to the Duomo, which is beautiful. The outside of the building is so richly decorated, while the inside (except for the dome itself) is pretty plain comparatively.

We ended up climbing up to the top (400 something stairs), and got an incredible view of the city. We got there right around noon too, so we were able to listen to the bells of all the cathedrals around us.

(Pardon the furrowed brow, the sun was right in my eyes)

After the Duomo, we had lunch at another amazing Italian restaurant (more pizza and pasta) and then went to see the fake David at the Piazza della Signoria. Since Greg is leaving for Utah tomorrow (boo!) this is the only David he'll get a chance to see. 

We spent the rest of the evening at the Uffizi Gallery seeing a bunch of portraits we weren't allowed to take pictures of. One of the most famous there was the Birth of Venus by Botticelli. Greg tried to sneak a picture and got yelled at by the Japanese woman below (who didn't even work for the museum). When she started talking to him, he told her he didn't speak Japanese. Then she told him she wasn't speaking Japanese. (Greg says: "she was Japanese though!") Oops. Awkward.

So there you have it! The blog is once again up to date. As was aforementioned, Greg leaves tomorrow morning to go back to Utah to play at Stadium of Fire. That means I will be alone in Florence for about 2 days before my lovely friend Emily (who we met up with in Edinburgh) comes to stay with me for a bit. So, we'll see how brave I am here on my own. Stay tuned for more! 

Rome: Days 1-4

Once again, we didn't have internet in Rome. But it was an amazing city, probably our favorite so far. I can't even believe it's over already. Here is a brief rundown of what we did:

Day 1: We left Madrid pretty early in the morning, so we got to Rome pretty early as well. We were able to check into our hotel right away, so we got some good rest and then set out to find some lunch. After eating a delicious panini sandwich (the best we had while there, they put some amazing seasoning on top, I'm still not sure what it was), we made our way through the city. We ended up walking around a bunch of ruins (they're everywhere) including the Roman Forum, Palantine Hill, a big white building that we just found out was called the Vittoriano Monument, etc. We didn't actually go in any of these places, but we got a good view of everything.

Next, we walked over to the Pantheon. We got there just before it closed. Part of the outside was under construction, but it was still pretty amazing to see.

After spending some time inside, we had dinner at a cute little cafe. We shared pizza and pasta, quite the Italian meal, and it was all delicious.

I know this picture might not look that great, but I promise, it really did taste good. Then, we went to what is apparently the best gelato place in all of Rome. There were seriously probably 100 flavors. It was incredible. I am in love with gelato.

And that's only the chocolate section

By the way, those are not both my ice cream cones. One is Greg's. He goes for the fruit flavors, but I'm all about the chocolate. If I come back 50 pounds heavier, you will know why.

Day 2: We spent the second day in Rome touring the Vatican. When we got there, the lines were incredibly long. We found out that the next day was a holiday, meaning the Vatican would be closed, so more people were coming that day than normal. We decided to skip the lines and payed a little bit extra for a tour guide. It turned out to be very worthwhile as bypassed maybe 4 hours of lines total between the Vatican Museum and Saint Peter's Basilica. Plus, the tour was very interesting.

The highlight of the tour for both of us was definitely the Sistine Chapel. You're not really supposed to be able to take pictures, but apparently the guards that day had given up, because everyone was going crazy.

It was definitely one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. We also learned that Raphael suggested that Michelangelo be the artist for the ceiling because he hated Michelangelo and thought he would fail, thus ruining his career (Michelangelo hated fresco, sculpture was his thing). Obviously, the plan totally backfired.

After the Vatican tours, we walked through the Piazza de Fiori and the Ghetto where the Jews were walled in during World War II. Next, we randomly happened upon the Trevi Fountain, which was beautiful.

Then we walked to the Spanish Steps, which gave us another amazing view of the city. It was a very full, but incredible day.

Day 3: We spent the third day looking at the ruins we walked past on the first day. It's ridiculous how much history this city has.

Of course, one of the coolest things we got to visit was the Colosseum. It was ridiculous.

Day 4: The last day in Rome we spent at Capitoline Museum looking at some great Roman sculpture. 

Then, we caught the train to Florence, checked into the hotel, and went to bed. 

Madrid: Day 4

We got a late start to our final day in Madrid, so we ended up just drinking some fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast (they have it everywhere in Madrid and it is amazingly delicious) before walking through the city for our lunch reservations.

We had lunch at the oldest restaurant in Europe (or maybe just in Spain, I can't remember which). A cute little old Spanish woman who was our waitress at the Olive Garden back home told us about it, and so did Katherine, so we figured we had to try it. We're very glad we did because it was soooo good. Greg ordered their specialty which is roast sucking pig. I had some delicious chicken with an almond sauce.

After lunch, we decided to go to a park in the area and just relax for a bit. There were actually quite a few people there. After a bit, we walked through more of the park and saw Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Mickey was all decked out in a 4th of July type costume, I'm not sure why. Anyway, we also saw that they had a little lake with boats you could rent, so we decided to do that. 

Greg is so strong. He rowed the boat all by himself. 

After the lovely boat ride, we walked over to the Palacio Real (royal palace) only to find out that it had closed about an hour earlier. Oops. The grounds were still nice though and we walked next door to the Church of San Miguel which was also very nice. 

Later that night, we went to see some Flamenco! It was incredible! Greg tried to get some pictures, but the woman was moving too fast, so they all came out blurry. We couldn't decide if we enjoyed the guitar playing, singing, or dancing more. It really was an incredible end to Madrid.