Our trip to Italy;

What an amazing ten days! The months of planning, organizing and making reservations was worth it, as the entire trip went off with out any problems. We made many early morning train trips, and ended up with very soar feet, but the experiences we shared, the art that we viewed, and the time we spent together outweighed the tiredness and blisters.

It all started on Monday, when we boarded an early flight to Rome.


We did little more then check in to our first hotel (we changed hotels do to the length of our stay) and walk around Rome to get our bearings. On our walk across the city, we did arrive at Vatican City and got our first look at the outside of St. Paul's Basilica.

Tuesday was our first official day in Rome. We woke up early, and headed out in to the city. Our destination was the Vatican museum, but on our way we got a glimpse of the Colosseum, and passed the Pantheon.

There is always a long line to get in the Vatican museum , mainly because the Sistine Chapel can only be viewed by first walking through the entire museum. A person can arrive at the entrance before it opens, and still find themselves waiting in line for hours. To avoid this, I singed us up for a "tour group" that I found online. The only point of the tour group was to beat the line. It worked like this; we show up at the meeting point, the "tour guide" took the group in, she gave every one their tickets and a map and then we were left on our own.


As an independent museum, I was not very impressed. While there was a lot of art, not much of it was "important" art. I did enjoy The School of Athens (I had seen the original sketch in Milan), and a few other smaller frescos. I am sorry to say that I was disappointed by the Sistine Chapel. Like most works of art, my imagination had expected a much larger room. The amount of frescoes in the Chapel was astonishing, for every inch of the walls are also painted. I brought my binoculars with me to get a more detailed look, but I found my self more amused by the hole in the ceiling where the chimney is set up during conclave. There is no smell in the chapel. Nothing to hint at its age, or use. When you walk in to the room, it is a surprise. The entrance is right off of the museum, and we suddenly found ourselves the chapel. There is no sense of presentation, and in a way we felt like we were just in another room of the museum. I have always been a fan of the Sistine Chapel's back wall image of The Last Judgment. However seeing it in person also left me less then inspired. It seems that I enjoy the history and the story of the back wall, more then the image itself. Sadly the entire room is more impressive on TV then in person.

After we had explored the museum, we headed to the Basilica itself. The basilica is immense, yet simple to navigate and find the main points of the church. Immediately to right as you enter the main doors, we found the most famous Pieta (a pieta is any sculpture of Mary holding the body of Jesus after the crucifixion) made by a very young Michelangelo. The sculpture is protected behind bullet proof glass, and the crowds are kept at a far distance ever since the statue was attacked with a hammer in 1972. I was able to get a closer look using the zoom on my camera and my binoculars. Although not my favorite sculpture, the piece is simply stunning.

Further in to the Basilica, we viewed Michelangelo's dome, and Bernini's Baldacchino. We were going to descend into the crypt, but unfortunately, it was closed the day we visited.





Before leaving the Vatican we walked around the plaza, viewing it from all angels. While it is a lovely space, the extremely large screens set up at the front of the plaza for viewing mass, seem extremely out of place. The front half of the plaza is also filled with hundreds of chairs for the Sunday and Wednesday services. Although the chairs are modern in design, they seem to fit in perfectly with the atmosphere and the history of the space.

On our walk back to the hotel, we passed by some old structures/ ruins that are being excavated. The small block sized area is gated off to the crowds, but seem to now be home to stray cats. A shelter spays/ neuters, and vaccinates the cats before returning them to the ruins. They keep water available to the cats and passing tourists are encouraged to feed them. Some of the cats walk up to the fences to be petted, while others just sleep in the sun. The cats are all available for adoption if you visit the shelter.

Wednesday was a travel day. We arrived at the train station at 6 am to catch a train to Florence. Before arriving in Italy, I had bought a four day "Rail Pass". The Rail Pass is basically an any time train ticket. The pass allows unlimited train travel on the rail system for one day. We could use our four days when ever we want, over a six month period, and go where ever we want in Italy.

We arrived in Florence after a two hour train ride. Our first stop was to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. It is the oldest bridge in the city and is covered with gold and silver shops. There is an old passage way above the shops, that nobles used to use as a safe way to cross the bridge, away from possible thieves.

Our next destination was the Uffizi Gallery. This museum is a bit small, but is home to Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera. We were also able to view a few da Vinchies, and three Rembrents. Since the museum began its life as a palace, all of the ceilings were covered with lovely frescos. Unfortunately staring at the ceiling every few minuets, tended to give us soar necks before we were half way through the museum. This museum is always crowded, so we made reservations to beat the long line.

After we rested our necks, We made a quick stop to the Santa Croce church. Here we were able to view the tombs of Michelangelo, and Galileo.

After lunch and a bit of shopping, we arrived at the Accademia Gallery, where we also had a reservation. The main reason to view this gallery, is that it is home to Michelangelo's David. The gallery did a wonderful job of presenting the statue. The room was designed just to home the enormous piece, and incorporated arches to "frame" the statue. As soon as you turn the corner in to the room, you instantly can see it from a few hundred feet away. The time it takes to walk up to the statue allows you to acclimate yourself to it, and study the masterpiece. Benches all around the base of the sculpture allows you to consider the piece at your own pace. This piece is only one of two works that have exceeded my expectations. Contrary to most famous art piece we have seen, this one was much larger than I had expected. It is one of the most extraordinary works of art I have ever had the privilege of seeing.




We returned to the train station and headed back to Rome. We passed the time by trying to capture an acceptable picture of the country side through the window. It was harder then it sounds because as soon as you see the possibility of a good shot, and positioned the camera, a bunch of trees or a wall would replace the Tuscan scenery. By the time the obstruction passed, she shot was gone.

Thursday's destination was a thrill for me. We were going to be exploring the ruins of Pompeii. We boarded an early train to the city of Naples, and upon our arrival, took the subway train to the site.




It was a beautiful clear day and we could clearly see Mt Vesuvius looming on the horizon. We walked about a block from the subway stop, to the entrance of Pompeii.









I had an amazing time wondering around the ruins of homes and gardens. Where ever I could, I would scurry up the walls that ran in to hills. We took hundreds of photos of the structures, arenas, fountains and alleyways. There were stray dogs looming around the restaurant, and quick lizards scurrying around under foot. We ate the picnic lunch we had brought with us before heading to the main attractions; the people and mosaics. We spent hours exploring all the nooks and crannies of the site.








It was an amazing experience that was one of the high points of the entire trip. We made our way by the subway, back to Naples and the train to Rome. Pompeii was a long and tiring day that was the source of many of our blisters. However a little foot pain was definitely worth a day like that.












Friday morning we were scheduled to move to a new hotel just two floors up from the first one. This hotel was a small bed and breakfast and we would stay there for the rest of our trip. After checking in we headed out to the city, heading towards the Spanish Steps. The steps were full of tourists, all trying to get the same photos in the same spots. It was also full of souvenir booths and street vendors trying very fours-fully to sell you something.











We slowly (for the sake of our tired feet) made our way to the Borghese Gardens. We had our packed lunch and roamed the grounds until it was our appointed time to visit the Borghese Gallery. This museum is by reservation only, and is booked at least a week in advance. Two of my favorite sculptures are on display in this Gallery, Bernini's Apollo and Daphne, and his Rape of Proserpina. Although small, the gallery has a wealth of amazing art in both canvas and sculpture.

After, we made our way to the Plaza dell Popolo to view another Bernini sculpture at Saint Maria's. We then started our long walk back to the hotel. By this time our feet were really suffering from the days outings. Laying on a bed in our hotel never felt so good.

Saturday morning we were served a filling breakfast before we headed out. Our first destination was to San Pietro in Vincoli, to see Michelanglo's Moses in Chains. We then made our way to the Colosseum.



The ticket line is always long at the Colosseum, but we knew a trick. You can buy your ticket at Palatine Hill, since both sites are included in the ticket price. After going through the short line for our Colosseum tickets, we walked past the long line at the Colosseum and walked right in.












We spent a few hours walking along the two different levels, and taking lots of photos. It was fun to "people watch" as they wondered around and interacting with those they were traveling with. Out side the Colosseum we observed a handful of brides and grooms on their wedding day, taking professional photos with the Colosseum as a background. We could only imagine it was a local tradition.


We then made our way to the church of Santa Maria in Cosmdein to see the Mouth of Truth. The Mouth of Truth is a sculpture that is thought to be part of an ancient Roman fountain or perhaps a manhole cover, portraying one of several possible pagan gods.

The most famous characteristic of the Mouth, however, is its role as a lie detector. Starting from the Middle ages it was believed that if you told a lie with your hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. Of course it is now a photo opportunity for tourist to come and have their photo taken with their hand in the mouth (yes we did this too).


Sunday marked our six year wedding anniversary. We spent the morning on a three hour train journey to the city of Pisa. When we had arrived, we strolled down the streets of a market while eating gelato. Pisa looks just like all the European cities that are depicted in television and movies. It is small, quite and quint. While we made our way to the Leaning Tower, we passed the route of a foot race that was being held all day. It had stopped or re routed all the traffic, so walking became very simple.



We took lots of photos when we arrived at the tower, and yes we posed with the tower to make it look like we were holding it up. I had made a reservation for a time slot to climb to the top of the tower (necessary in the high season). So at our appointed time, we lined up at the base of the tower. One of the most interesting things about the tower is the stair case inside. It is a winding stair, and as you climb you can figure our where in the angle of the tower you are. As you approach the slanted side off the tower, the wear patter on the stairs is close to the wall. As you approach the other side of the tower, the wear pattern is in the center of the stair case. The view at the top of the tower was spectacular. You could see little homes with red roofs all the way to the mountains in the distance.


We decided to take a different route back to Rome when we arrived at the train station. A direct train to Rome was going to take four hours. This meant that we would not get in to the city until almost 10 p.m.. Instead we took a train to Florence, and from there hopped on a second train to Rome. We were glad we changed our train plans (and that we had Rail Pass to allow it) since we arrived in Rome at 7:10. We were asleep in bed before the original train made it to the station.


Monday was a very exciting and fun day. We once again took an early train to Naples and then the subway to Pompeii. Today however, we were going to climb Mt Vesuvius. Once we arrived at the subway stop, we walked down the hill to a bus stop. There is a bus that runs from the city, to the base of the volcano, which means you must walk up the last 1.5 km to the crater. We found the bus with no problem and we were soon on our way.


It was a cloudy day, and very windy at the base. The path up the volcano is very steep at first, but gets easer the closer you get to the top. It was little nerve racking where is some places the fence along the path had smashed holes in it. These holes had been made by large rocks that had recently falling down the side of the volcano.


Although there was allot of clouds and mist at the top of the crater, it created a mystical environment where people ahead of you suddenly disagreed in to the fog. I have always loved climbing rocks, so I had a great time climbing up and down the rock face (although I do not think I was suppose to do that). We captured some amazing photos all the way to to crater, and half way around the top. Just when we had begun our descent, the clouds parted and we had a great view of the city below. We were also able to see the entire crater. We were even lucky enough to see some of the steam escaping from the vents inside the crater.





We made our way back down the volcano a rested while we waited for our bus. We were soon back in Pompeii, waiting for the subway to take us back to Naples. It was also the last day of our Rail Passes and we boarded the train to Rome, knowing it was the last time we would see the Italian country side.


Tuesday was a slow relaxing day.



After breakfast we started our day visiting the Trevi Fountain. I did the traditional throwing of a coin, and took lots of photos.







Our next stop was to the Pantheon , and while we were there, we saw the tomb of Raphael. We walked to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, to see Michelangelo's Christ Carrying the Cross. We then made our way to see the Four Rivers Fountain.









I was disappointed upon our arrival to discover that the fountain was being restored. The entire structure was behind a fence, and plastic viewing windows. Half of the fountain was covered in a protective cover, so I could only see two of the rivers, and get a good photo of only one statue.

We went to dinner at a restaurant in the train station. It was called "The Road House" and it was styled to be an "American" restaurant. We talked about how Italians must look at "The Olive Garden" the same way we saw the "Road House". It was filled with every Western stereotype you can imagine.


Wednesday was our free day. We roamed around the city, stopping off at an interesting church. The bones of hundreds of monks had been set up in the crypt in an artistic fashion. At the end of the crypt was a sing with the eery message, "Where you are now, we used to be. Where we are now, you will be". We walked around the street markets and did a little shopping. We sat by a pond and fed the ducks. We headed back to the hotel and we took a noon time nap. When we woke up, we walked down by the Trevi Fountain, for a gelato before returning to the hotel for the night.


Over all, our trip was fantastic. I did a great job of planning out all the trains and reservations so that we never had any problems. It was wonderful to spend our anniversary seeing so many masterpieces and seeing so many beautiful areas. It could not have been a better experience.

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go;

This year we are celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary. To commemorate, we will be spending ten days in Italy. We plan to stay in Rome, but we will also be taking the train to Pisa, Naples, and Florence for day trips. I have been planning this trip for more than a year now, and I am very excited to go. There were so many details to coordinate for this trip, not to mention all the reservations I had to make for all the different museums.

This will be the first trip where there are several amazing items that are on my "must see before I die" list. Just to name a few, we will be visiting, The leaning tower of Pisa, The Vatican, The Sistine Chapel, The Colosseum, the ruins of Pompeii, Michelangelo's David, and we will be climbing Mt Vesuvius. There is so much more that we will be seeing, but I will wait and report about everything, when we get back to Oslo.

All fixed;

I picked up my ring from the Jewelers this week, and I am very happy to report it looks as good as new. It was hard to be with out my ring all week. I kept trying to adjust it, only to be reminded that it was in fact, not there.


Also this week, I bought a new digital camera. I picked one out almost two years ago, but never got around to actually buying it. I choose a Canon Power Shot SD800 IS, and so far I am very happy with it. I took the above photo of my now fixed ring, using the macro feature on my new camera. I am having a lot of fun taking photos of everything I walk by, and trying out every mode the camera offers. Since we are planning a trip to Italy, I have to make sure I know how to use every feature before we arrive in Rome.

Big Scare;


Saturday night, We were getting ready to go to a party. I decided to clean my wedding rings because the party we were going to was for an engagement. I knew that all the girls would be showing off and comparing rings, so I wanted mine to sparkle too.

As I stared to clean my engagement ring, I gasped in horror as I discovered that one of the diamonds was missing! It was not in the cleaning solution, and it was not in the sink. We began an intense search around the apartment.

The drain pipe in the bathroom and the shower drain where the first places we looked. We searched the bathroom floor on our knees, shining the flash light in all the tile cracks. I started to loose hope as I checked the fingers of my gloves. I had no idea when the last time was that I looked at my ring, and saw all of the diamonds. My stomach fell as I thought of all the places I had been in the past week, or even month.

Not about to admit the diamond was gone forever, I started to slowly pick threw the trash can. As I got to the bottom of the bag with no luck, I looked up to the plate of muffins I had baked for the party that night. I thought to myself, "if the diamond does not turn up any where els, I will crumble every muffin just to be sure it did not fall in to the batter".

I was about to attack the muffins when they found the diamond!! It was on the floor just under the section of the couch I always sit on. Relief rushed over me as the tears started to fall.  They held me as I cried out my fear and disappointment at the thought of loosing that diamond.



I left my rings at home when we went to the party. I did not want to worry about another diamond falling out during the night. On Monday morning I am going straight to the jewelers to have it reset. I am very aware of how lucky I am that we were able to find the very small, but very sentimental stone.

Spring;

Most of our winter was cold and cloudy with very little snow. Yesterday was the first day of Spring. The snow started to fall in the early evening, and has yet to stop. A reminder that the weather is unaware of the concept of seasons.

Fairy Tales;

Little girls are raised on fairy tales, princesses, and the perfect prince. We play with dolls to act out our future wedding days. We create our own versions of a perfect world, of life with home, spouse, and children. No matter how logical a girl might grow up to be, she still believes in her "happily ever after".

Fairy tales do not tell children that the "happily ever after" takes hard work, commitment, and communication. That it takes mutual respect, trust, and love. It does not occur to children, that the "happily ever after" is not something that is given to a couple after the "I do's", but something that is earned years later.

My life has certainly not unfolded according to the script my dolls would act out. The reason why is simply because, there are some things even children do not dare to dream. I did not have the ability to image the life, the experiences , or the fortune that I have had. Simply put, the life I have is beyond my dreams.

The main reason my life has become what it is, is because of my spouse. They not just love me, they cherishes me. I know that in any situation, they will always put me first. They never yell and is never judgmental. They are always considerate, and understanding. They can tell what I am thinking by the way I move my toes. When we get mad at each other, we calm down and talk it out. We have never had a fight. They knows how to make me smile, and they knows how to make me laugh. They know what I need, and always provides it for me.

They encourages me to try things I am afraid of. If I can not do it on my own, I know will be there holding my hand, trying it with me. It is because of them that I realized how strong and self reliant I am. That the word is not a scary place, and that I am safe in it.

It will be years before the status of my "happily ever after" is known. Until then, I can fall asleep each night in the arms of my handsome prince.

Walking on Ice;

Around Oslo, there are no laws about shoveling the sidewalks of homes or businesses. Instead gravel is laid on top of the ice. This is usually enough to keep people from slipping, but as the gravel is walked on, it becomes sparse in some spots. This leave large sections of black, or thick ice free to be slipped on. The answer to this? People know how to walk on ice with out slipping.

I have learned this skill, but every now and then I hit some black ice, or the ice is on a slope, or I am just not paying attention, and I slip. Very few times have I fallen to the ground, and I have never been hurt more then a bruise. I do get nervous when I am not walking alone. Most of the guys at Trolltech walk very fast, and I worry about trying to keep up with them and falling on ice. So the other day I bought some "ice shoes" (I am just calling them that. It is not their proper name).




My "ice shoes" are rubber skeletons that are pulled around and under my own shoes. They have a thin metal coil that surrounds the rubber beneath the shoe. The metal coils grab the ice as I walk on it, and prevents slipping. You can even run on ice wearing them. A draw back is that they are very hard to walk with on tile or very smooth floors, however they are very easy to remove.

Even though these "shoes" are meant for the elderly, and hikers, I find them very useful and fun to use.

I found this photo yesterday on line. It was taken two minutes after midnight on New Years eve in Oslo by Bjorn Christian. Just in case I never get our video of the fireworks up here, I thought that this photo would give you an idea of what the night was like. Try to remember that all the fireworks are set off by citizens in small local parks. You can see a better image at, http://pizdaus.com/single.php?id=14984

New Years;

We went to a dinner party at our friend Paul's house. It was the most traditional Norwegian dinner I have ever eaten. Besides the sauteed reindeer, there was a classic "pinnekott" dish. "Pinnekott" is a salted lamb rib that has been dried. You cook it buy steaming it on top of pine sticks, so that the meat never touches the water.





At about 11:40, we all headed for a park to watch the fireworks. The fireworks are set off by regular people and there is no organization to it. Because of this, the atmosphere in the parks is very frenzied and very loud. We toasted the New Year with Champagne as we counted down the seconds to 2008. We took lots of photos, and video, in an attempt to capture the crazy scene that New Years in Norway provides.

We hope that everyone had a safe and happy New Years !!

Ornament project;

I spent a few days on a fun craft project that resulted in 20 Santa Claus ornaments. You take a stick that is cut on an angle. I painted the middle of the cut tan, the top red, and the bottom of the cut white. Add a nose and eyes, and you end up with a fun and simple art project.

Uses for Marshmallows in Norway;




I bought a bag of marshmallows for Thanksgiving, and noticed something for the first time. On the back of the bag, were three suggestion on what to do with the marshmallows. Two of the suggestions were very familiar:


1. "Grill for dessert"











2. "Delicious in coco"












However the third suggestion made me stop and think,



3. "Try them in a salad!"

This year we decided to put our Thanksgiving off until Saturday. We figured that it would be better to have the entire day to eat and play games with friends, then to only have a few hours after work on Thursday. We had a two friends over and had a lot of fun.

Red Tape;

Moving to another country and becoming "legal" comes with a lot of red tape. I thought that I had cut through it all when I was approved for my "permeant" (only good for one year before you must renew it) Visa in September. The last thing that I needed was the Norwegian equivalent to a Social Security number. I thought that this would not be hard to obtain. All I had to do was walk to the "Folk Registers Office", fill out a form, and I would have the number in two weeks. A week after I had filed the paper work, I realized it would not be this easy.

I received a letter from the Folk Registers office stating that they needed me to bring down a legal copy of my marriage certificate. So I brought down our marriage certificate and presented it to the teller. The man looked at my apologetically and said, "well... yes... this is legal in the USA, but we need it to be legal for Norway". When I asked what that meant, he told me that the certificate needed an international stamp/ seal, and that I should go to the American Embassy to obtain it.

I took the bus down town, found the embassy, went threw security, and found my way in to the correct office. I approached the window and explained to the teller my predicament. To which she quickly replied, "there is nothing we can do for you. You will have to call the Secretary of State of the state you were married in. They will tell you how to get a stamp".

At this point I was starting to feel discouraged. So I left the Embassy disappointed and headed home. I looked up the number for the State Department and called the Secretaries office. I spoke to a very nice lady that explained to me how to send in my marriage certificate to them. She also told me what else they needed (check, self addressed envelope, etc.) and that it would be returned to me in two to three weeks. I put a small packet together of all the requested items and sent it off. Having no other choices available to me.

Two weeks and a day later, our marriage certificate appeared in the mail box. It now sports a letter stapled, tied, (yes literally tied threw two holes in the papers) and stamped with an official seal. I returned triumphantly to the Folk registers office, and presented my now legal document. It was photo copied, I filled out one more form, and I was DONE!!!

I now have a the equivalent of a Social Security number, and am extremely proud to say that I have finally defeated the red tape!

Photo by hexod.us

Italy, The hotel and a few random incidents;



The hotel I stayed at was literally a half block from the train station. It was very easy to find, but when I first saw it I was a bit confused. It was the right name and address, but the hotel looked to nice for the room rates. It had a nice exterior, and the nicest lobby I have ever been in while traveling in Europe. I was the right place though, and I quickly checked in and headed up to my room. The room was a single, a was a typical European room. It was larger then I thought it would be. It had an on sweet bathroom, closet, desk and bench like chair. The bed was a single, and looked like a day bed. The room was very cozy, and sweet.














While I was waiting to board the train to Venice, I was standing behind two men traveling together. They seemed a bit confused and wanted to make sure they had the right train. So one of them started to ask me a question in Italian. So I responded in Italian (this is the best line to learn when going to another country. Say it in the countries language simply to be polite and respectful) I'm sorry, do you speak English?

He responded, "err, little, no good". Then he asked if I spoke French. I responded no, do you speak Dutch? (German, Dutch and the Scandinavian countries all sort of resemble Norwegian) He did not, so we spoke in broken English, and pointing. When we had decided that he and his friend were in the right place, he asked me if I was Australian. It was the first time someone did not assume I was American. I do not know how he got Australian, since I do not think I have an accent that sounds anything but American.


When I was walking back across the bridge by the train station in Venice, I saw 5 or 8 guys with canvas tarps on the bridge steps. Each tarp had hand bags displayed for the tourists to buy, and they were either fake, or stolen. Anyway, as I approached one of the men yelled something to the others. The all quickly grabbed the tarps and ran off in to the ally ways with there merchandise. As I reached the top of the bridge, I saw what the men were running from. Two police officers had turned the corner, and were approaching the bridge. The street seller were so well organized and quick, that the police never knew they were there.

At the Milan airport, many planes leave from the same gate within ten minutes of each other. While I was waiting for my flight to board, a flight going to Brussels was boarding. I had my passport out because my flight was next. I looked up and noticed a women perhaps in her 50's looking at me. She was in line to board the plane and as she got closer to me, I noticed that she had a dark blue passport which meant she was probably an American. When she was just about in-front of me, she eagerly asked if I was an American. I said I was, and she got a huge smile on her face and she told me that she was from Michigan. It must have been her first trip to Europe, and she was heading home through the Brussels hub. I guess I was the first person she saw that was definitely from the states. It was very cute.

ITALY, A day in Venice;

I boarded a six am train to Venice for a day trip. I watched the sun rise on the train while we passed grape vineyards before arriving on the island of Venice at nine o'clock.



Even with a very good map, is is extremely easy to get lost amid the winding streets and ally ways. There are yellow sings posted high on the buildings, with arrows pointing towards the main tourist attraction. If you happen to miss one of these signs, you may end up turned around and at a dead end.



My first stop was at the Rialto bridge, which is one of only three bridges that span the Grand Canal. This bridge is host to a large market at both ends of the shore, and on the bridge itself. It is also almost always packed with tourists.



On the north side of the Rialto Bridge is a mask shop that I wanted to visit. It is the shop that belongs to a master mask maker, who's work was featured in the movie "Eye's Wide Shut". I knew that I wanted to buy an authentic Venetian mask while in Venice, and I am so happy that the mask I choose came from this artisan. I did not want to get in to to many colors or adornments, so I choose the classic theater mask of comedy and tragedy. The mask maker even singed it for me.



I made my way threw the winding streets until I came upon the San Marco Piazza. I fed the many pigeons here, and they landed in my hands and even on my head! At the head of the Piazza is the Basilica of San Marco. Inside the Basilica are the most amazing mosaics depicting many biblical stories. You can climb the stairs of the Basilica to view the Piazza from the balcony. Up stairs is also a small museum, whose main attraction is four bronze horses which date back to antiquity, and are the only chariot group to have survived from that time period.



I took a little break from the mass amount of tourists, and went for a walk along the Grand Canal. I did a little shopping, and had a gelato while taking lots of photos of the canal and the gondolas.



My next stop was the Doge's Palace that then leeds you across the Bridge of Sighs and in to the prison. While it is in itself unique, the palace was sort of like every other palace I have visited in Europe from that time period.

My last tourist stop was at Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. This is a church I discovered in my research of Venice, that houses pieces from three masters. I was able to view Titian's "Assumption of the Virgin" and the "Madonna di Ca' Pesaro", Bellini's "Madonna and Child with Saints", and a wooden sculpture of John the Baptist by Donatello. Since this church is not one of the popular attraction, I had to rely completely on my map, and the kindness of the locals to help me locate the church.



I made my way back to the train station, and boarded the train back to Milan. The trip was three hours long, and I arrived at my destination after dark. When I had returned to my hotel, I quickly got in to bed and was asleep within five minutes. It was a very long, but stimulating journey.