June 30, 2007 – Monte Cassino/Rome

Monte Cassino - Benedictine Abbey Eating McDonalds in front of the Pantheon Our siblings and Chris and I with Franco, our tour guide Ahh – our last day in Italy. We drove from Sorrento back to Rome today, with a brief stop at Monte Cassino, a Benedictine Monastery along the way. Yesterday we thought we might die because of the bus ride up the mountain to Anacapri. Today, we had a whole new realization of what thinking we might die on the mountain might be. I cannot believe even still that our large bus made it up the zigzag roads of this mountain which at the very top sits the Abbey. It was beautiful. Evidently, it was bombed in the war, so it was re-built in the 60’s (with American tax dollars since we bombed it by accident) and is absolutely beautiful. When we walked in, we saw doves. That was a welcome change from pigeons. We spent just a short time here and then back down the mountain. I wanted to have everyone sit on one side of the bus to keep us from tipping off the side of the mountain. It was quite the ride. We got back to Rome around 1:00. Chris and I went down to the pool and sat there for a while. I saw a lady tanning topless. You know you’re in Europe when… Luckily Chris didn’t see it. At least that’s what he says! Ha! We had to take a shuttle in to Rome since our hotel was situated close to the airport and a bit out of the action. Chris and Dan ran to the hotel we stayed at when we were there at the beginning of the tour to pick up the bag that we left while the Mom, Kendra, Jason, Stephanie and I went to Piazza Navona. Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Amy and Nancy all got off at another stop and went to the Pantheon, where we were going to meet. Luckily, we all met up after finding a birthday present for Grant from my parents in Piazza Navona in the square in front of the Pantheon. We ate McDonalds on the steps of the fountain, grabbed one last gelato from mom’s favorite gelato place and headed out to Trevi Fountain, because Amy promised Matt that she’d throw a coin in so they could return someday. So we made Amy and Nancy close their eyes as we led them to Trevi Fountain. They were amazed at its beauty. We all tossed a coin in to the fountain, wishing to return to Rome someday. We wandered around the city a bit longer, found some more ancient ruins where I counted 20 stray cats…and those were only the ones I could see from looking above! And then we sat where the bus was going to pick us up again at 8:00. We were tired, and ready to go to bed.

June 29, 2007 – Sorrento/Capri

A small boat along the beautiful cliffs of Sorrento My whole family in the gardens of the villa we toured in Anacapri View from the gardens at Anacapri. It was gorgeous! Putting our feet in the Mediterranean Sea on the Island of Capri Chris and Dan on the Scooter that Dan and Stephanie rented We went to the Island of Capri today. We got up this morning and took little busses down to the bottom of the cliffs and met our tour guide. We took a hydro-foil (big passenger ship) over to Capri, which was so much fun. Once we reached Capri, we boarded little busses and began our crazy journey to the top of Capri, or Anacapri, for a tour of a villa up there and some shopping. That bus ride was one of the most interesting in my life. I seriously feared for my life! The roads were itty-bitty, and the bus was rather large, taking up nearly the entire road. But cars were coming down, too, meaning our bus had to be on the very edge. Our driver went so fast! If I were driving I would have gone about 5 miles an hour to make sure we were safe. But I know we were going at least 40 miles an hour! Anyway, we made our way up the curvy mountain in one piece, thankfully! The view was beautiful from the top, and we had incredible pineapple gelato, but overall, it was rather disappointing. Our trip down the mountain was just as exciting as the trip up. At times, if I would have stuck my arm out our window, it would have gone nearly to the passenger’s seat of the car beside us – we were that close. If we were any closer, we would have scraped the other vehicle. It was nuts. And the drivers would get mad at each other, shake their fists and make all sorts of gestures, and then they would smile, wave, and continue on their way. Probably a healthy way of expressing road rage! When we got back to Sorrento, Stephanie and Dan rented a motorcycle. Driving in Italy is not a safe thing. People on scooters weave in and out of traffic, paying no attention to any semblance of law. Lines in the road are merely suggestion. People basically do what they want. And if you’re in their way, they have no problem with hitting you. This was made evident when Stephanie and Dan hit another car, and the other person smiled and just continued on. When they told their rental place about it, they said it was no problem. How weird! I wasn’t about to get on that thing. But Chris did. He had fun weaving in and out of traffic, cutting off busses, etc. He could fit in with Italian driving quite well, I think!

June 28, 2007 – Pompeii/Sorrento

Mount Vesuvius as seen from the Ruins of Pompeii Pompeii, with Vesuvius in the background This is a picture of the ruins of the biggest house in Pompeii Someone either praying or protecting themselves when Mount Vesuvius erupted Sitting on the rocks of the Mediterranean Sea Mom and Dad in Sorrento Sunset on the Mediterranean Sea Kendra drinking from our communal 2-Liter of Coca-Cola that we got for 1.89 Euro! We got up this morning and drove down to Pompeii. It was a rather long drive. I was certainly ready to get out of the bus by the time we arrived. After a quick lunch, we met our tour guide for a guided tour of the city of Pompeii. I was quite surprised at how close Mount Vesuvius was to Pompeii. It was really quite stunning in its majesty and grandeur. And I was even more surprised when they pointed out the other city that Vesuvius destroyed in the distance. It was quite far-reaching in its devastation. Pompeii was a city that I was very excited to see. But I think it was a bit of a disappointment to me. Perhaps the biggest disappointment of my trip. I had seen pictures of Pompeii quite often. In these pictures, they show the people and animals who were cowering and trying to protect themselves from their impending doom. I thought you could see the expressions on their faces. I thought you could see urns and pottery in the buildings. But all you really get to see are the ruins. They have removed all of the people and artifacts from their original places and have put them in museums and a large covered area next to the main square in Pompeii to protect them. Of course, they are all behind bars so you can’t get close to them. I was very disappointed in this. I thought that in entering Pompeii, we would be seeing life as it stopped for these people hundreds of years ago. I thought it would be exactly as it was. But it wasn’t. We saw the ruins, which were fascinating, but we didn’t see the last moments of life preserved for these people. Except through bars. It was interesting to learn that the flesh of the bodies of these people had disintegrated upon contact with the ash. However, it came down so fast, that wherever the flesh had been, there was an open space in the layers of ash. So when the excavators would come to an open space, they would fill it with plaster, so after the plaster dried, they revealed these people as they were – sometimes even being able to decipher their facial expressions. That was fascinating. Pompeii was much bigger than I thought it would be. And we were able to see paintings and mosaics that were absolutely amazing. The art of these ancient people was stunning. I also found it interesting that at times in their excavation, they would find a house underneath the house they were excavating, indicating that there had been a town there previously that they just built on top of. After we visited Pompeii, we drove up the narrow cliffs on the coast seeing beautiful scenery, but fearing we may go off the side of the cliff, to the town of Sorrento. It is a quaint little town with gorgeous views of the Mediterranean Sea. We took a nap upon arrival, then we got up and went to eat dinner in a pizzeria that had seating outside so we could enjoy the view. After eating, we went for a walk, found a 2 liter of coke for 1.89 Euro (remember the 5 Euro 12 ounce can in Rome?) and all enjoyed a communal drink of ice-y coca-cola. We walked down to the rocks at the bottom of the cliff and played on the rocks for a while – and me in my skirt! So lady-like! But we had a great time. When we got home, Jason, Kendra, Stephanie, Dan and Chris and I played Texas Hold-Em in Jason and Kendra’s room until rather late. We had fun. Chris won.

June 27, 2007 - Assisi

The streets had flags all over - just as I would have imagined a 12th century town would have looked! Looking through a gate to the courtyard in the church of Saint Francis Wandering the streets of Assisi - we found an old bell tower. Wandering the streets of Assisi Church of St Francis at dusk Wandering the streets at dusk This morning was a bit of a frustration to all of us. We found out that there had been a bit of a revolt last night at the included dinner that we had opted out of. Evidently, several people began complaining that this trip wasn’t all that they dreamed it would be. And so Franco, our tour guide, had to call in the Globus representative from the area to listen to their complaints. So she went from group to group listening to their frustrations. Well, our family didn’t have any complaints. We were just happy and felt very privileged to be there. We were having the time of our lives! Finally, after nearly a 3 hour delay, Amy asked if we could go. So we left and headed to Assisi. Assisi is a quaint medieval town situated on the top of a hill with the most amazing view. It is perfectly preserved just as it was in the 1300’s. People still live there. There is one street that small cars and motorcycles are allowed to drive on. Otherwise, traffic is forbidden. It was lovely. We stayed in an old monastery, and right behind our rather unadorned hotel was a convent. We were told that we could go up to the roof at night, but that we had to be very quiet. If we were noisy, the nuns would come out and yell at us. That painted a funny picture in my mind. Everywhere you looked in Assisi, you saw nuns and monks. We went to the chapel of Saint Francis of Assisi, and it was filled with nuns and monks. It was quite interesting. I have found that I think these churches are beautiful. The art is breathtaking. The architecture is incredible. But they make me very sad. They are like shrines to these saints, instead of to God. This particular one portrayed Saint Francis as Jesus. He had holes in his hands and feet in paintings, etc. It was disturbing to me. Even more disturbing was when we went down to the basement and saw his very elaborate tomb. People were prostrating themselves before the tomb and weeping and praying. That to me is idolizing a man, and not worshiping God. It was disturbing to me. We did get to see many relics that were thousands of years old and worth millions of dollars I’m sure. I enjoyed seeing it, but walked away with an uneasy feeling in my stomach about this whole worshipping the saints thing. We walked around the city for a good while. It is a beautiful city. It’s all built of stone and built up-hill, so to get anywhere, you have to climb. Sure, it’s paved, and sometimes there are stairs, but I was so out of breath by the end. It was quite strenuous, and I said several times that the people who lived there must be in the best shape! Everywhere we turned, there was a new little skinny road leading to somewhere else interesting. The higher you went, the more rooftops you saw. It was really quite lovely. And there were flowers everywhere. They surrounded windows, doors, and they even popped out of the sidewalks. There weren’t really gardens, but somehow, the flowers grew right out of the stone buildings. They had cocktails for us before dinner on the rooftop, so we went up and joined our tour group. There was the most fabulous view. And the most magnificent peanuts and blood red orange juice. I must have been hungry. After dinner, Jason, Kendra, Stef, Dan, Amy, Chris and I walked up to the main square. Kendra had been sick off and on and her ear was really hurting her. She thought she needed an antibiotic. There was a pharmacy open, so she went in and was trying to explain what she needed. The language break-down was evident, so Chris went in and tried explaining. Some of the medical terminology was the same, so they were able to communicate better. Basically, Chris told him she needed amoxicillin. The pharmacist asked if he was a doctor and he tried to explain that he was a medical student, but that wasn’t understood. Finally, because the pharmacist thought Chris was a doctor, he gave Kendra the prescription. That would never happen in the States! But Kendra was very grateful! In the meantime, Stephanie, Amy and I were standing outside. Suddenly, something dropped, and Amy squealed. I thought it was absolutely hilarious that a bird did its duty right in Amy's hair! It couldn't have had better aim! Amy's squeal just added to the hilarity. Such fun! After walking so Amy could get her coveted Canolli, we walked back to the hotel, enjoying the candles along the way, reminding us that this was indeed a well-preserved medieval town.

June 26, 2007 - Venice

Bridge of Sighs Entrance to Doge's Palace Saint Mark's Basilica - and pigeons, pigeons - EVERYWHERE! Ponte Rialto, or the Rialto Bridge - the first and most important bridge in Venice Busy waterways in Venice. Boats were everywhere! Everywhere you looked was a picture! Beautiful canals ran between all the buildings and gondolas were all over the place. The buildings were right on top on one another. Chris shimmied up between two buildings to show how close they were. Chris dipped me in Saint Mark's Square We got up this morning a little later than normal and took a bus in to Venice. We had a tour of Doge’s Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, the Dungeon and Saint Mark’s Basilica. Doge’s Palace was incredible. Lavish, gorgeous marble, gold ceilings, paintings by Tintoretto. It was beautiful. The dungeon was yucky. Evidently, no one except Casanova ever escaped from this prison. And no one knows how he escaped. Perhaps one of his mistresses. Who knows? The Basilica was gorgeous. It was all done in mosaic, and most of it was gold plated. Amazing. After this, we went to a Murano glass factory where we saw an incredible glass blowing demonstration. He did it so fast, so meticulously, and so gorgeously. I could have watched much longer than we did. And then we got to walk through their showrooms and see the thousands of dollars worth of masterpieces. They were incredible. We walked over to Ponte Rialto, the first and most important bridge in Venice. It was so crowded, and we kept losing part of our family, so Chris held up his Nalgene bottle all through Venice with a frog sticker on it. So here we were – the entire Beutler clan following a smiling frog. I’m sure we looked interesting. From there, Jason, Kendra, Stephanie, Dan, Amy, Nancy, Chris and I went to find the most crooked door in Venice. It was really crooked! We enjoyed that a lot. Chris and I split off from the group and we walked around some of the back streets of Venice. There were bridges everywhere, and everywhere you looked was a picture. We found the perfect Pinocchio (the legend of Pinocchio originated outside of Pisa) for Grant, bought Chris’ mom a present, me a necklace and an ornament for our Christmas tree. We could have spent a lot more money. There were so many lovely things. We shared a lemon gelato and met back up with my family at 6:30 for dinner. We ate a delicious pizza for dinner, walked around Saint Marco’s square for a while, sat down and enjoyed the ambience for a while and took lots of silly pictures. As we were leaving to catch our water bus, Stephanie and Dan decided that they wanted one last dance in Saint Mark's Square, so we waited between the two pillars where they used to punish criminals. We were all just taking it all in when Chris tapped me and motioned for me to look behind me with his head. So I turned around and saw a very tall man with a red shirt standing right next to Jason. My first thought was that he was trying to pick-pocket, so I was watching him very closely. Suddenly, he said something and stepped around Jason and took off running full speed ahead. About that time, we saw another man running from another direction. They tackled a man selling roses, restrained him, and they all three walked away calmly. We're hoping that they were arresting the guy, and it wasn't something shady. Jason said later that when the guy hid behind him, he muttered something that sounded like “Police.” It was quite unique to have the police use my brother as a shield from being seen by the criminal. His height comes in handy sometimes! We caught a water bus, enjoying the scenery along the Grand Canal where we saw a huge rat running along the side of the buildings, and then took another bus back to our hotel, getting back around 10:30. We had planned on calling home tonight and when we got home, we had a message that Chris’ mom had called. We called right away and found out that Gramps had died. What a tragedy. We’re so disappointed that we’re not home. I’d do anything to be there. The funeral is on Thursday. It hasn’t hit home to Chris yet. We’ve talked of flying home, but think it is best if we stay for the remainder of the trip. We think that’s what Gramps would have wanted.

June 25, 2007 – Verona/Venice

Juliet's Balcony in Verona Chris and I on one of the many bridges of Venice Jason, Chris and I in the private water taxi on the way to dinner One of the 3 orchestras in Saint Mark's Square Artists were set up everywhere selling their work. Dad bought all of us girls roses at Saint Mark's Square. Today is the day I have been looking forward to! VENICE here we come! I was so excited. We stopped in Verona, first, which is where Romeo and Juliet took place. I was surprised to learn that Romeo and Juliet’s families were actually real families in the 1300’s. They don’t know if the story is true or not, but they do know that the families were both in Verona at that time. Shakespeare didn’t ever visit Verona, so it could just be a made up story. Anyhow, we saw where Juliet’s family lived and saw the balcony where it is rumored she cried, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore-art thou, Romeo?” There’s not too much else to Verona. We shared a calzone and just walked around. We got to Venice around 3:00. Interestingly, we didn’t stay in the traditional Venice. It has spread to the mainland now. They call it Venice II. That’s where we stayed, very close to the bridge that leads to the 120 islands of the original Venice. We took a nap and then gathered at 5:00 to go into the city. There was an accident on the bridge, though, so we were a bit delayed. At truck had hit the curb and tipped, dropping washing machines all over the road and into the lagoon. It was a mess. But we made it into Venice and enjoyed our evening immensely. Tonight was a perfect night! Our entire family opted to take the "Venetian Night Out" excursion, and I am so very glad that we did! It was the stuff of fairy tales. We took private water taxis to Saint Mark's Square which was so much fun. We stood at the back of the boat, let the wind blow through our hair, and enjoyed the beautiful canals and waterways that run between all the buildings. We had dinner in a small restaurant where we were serenaded by a lovely man playing guitar all dressed up in a red and white striped shirt and a blue bandana. We could have all the drinks we wanted, so our waiters laughed at us that we asked for the "American wine," coke, instead of the white and red wine that was placed on our tables. Dinner was fabulous. We purchased an optional meal in Venice at an exclusive restaurant there. They had music and a 7 course meal. It was delicious. Chris ate salmon and I had veal. It was over by 9:00, so Chris and I walked out into Saint Mark's Square and were immediately struck with the romance of Venice. It was wonderful. The square was dimly lit by little lights all around the square and in three locations, there were orchestras playing. People stood with their arms around each other, taking in the ambience, and they would spontaneously dance. All over the square. Chris even danced with me. Dad bought all of us girls roses to thank us for being part of his ministry, which just added to the romance of it all. It was a perfect night. We took a private water taxi back to where we could catch our bus. Chris and I stood up in the taxi in the back so we could see the gorgeous scenery. It was so much fun to look down the various canals and see all of the water which led right up to the doors of the buildings. They must flood all the time. But it is beautiful. We had a lovely night. And we slept very well.

June 24, 2007 – Lake Maggiore/Isola Bella

Basement of Isola Bella Castle - all made of little pebbles. Isola Bella Gardens White Peacock at Isola Bella View of the mountains from Isola Bella Gardens The Hydrangeas were incredible! This morning we got to sleep in a little bit. Ahhh! We were all so tired from the last week in Italy. We had constantly been on the go, so it was very nice to have a break. We went to Isola Bella this morning. It is a small island that is owned by Prince Charles Borromeo, a prince of Italy. There is a home on this island that has been owned by this family for centuries. We got to take a tour of most of the house (minus the private living quarters) and were amazed at how lavish the home was. The basement was so cool. It was covered completely from the floor to the ceiling in black stone from the lake. It served to keep the basement cooler in the summer time so the family didn’t’ have to endure the heat. It was gorgeous! Their gardens were also exquisite. As we walked up the path to enter the gardens, a white peacock had opened his feathers and was showing off for us. He was beautiful. I was so glad that we got to see him all opened up. The hydrangeas on the island were incredible. Huge blossoms and they were everywhere. I love things of beauty. In the little town of Isola Bella we bought a gelato and walked around enjoying the sites. We got back on our private boat and took our 10 minute ride back to the mainland. Everyone was pretty hungry, so we decided to go get pizza. There was a small pizzeria across the street from our hotel. We went in, but since there are 12 in our family, we had to sit at different tables. Chris and I wanted to share, but they wouldn’t let us so we each ordered our own. My dad wasn’t hungry at all. He had had an upset stomach all morning and didn’t’ think pizza would be the best for him. So he was going to sit with us as we ate. They got very upset, so dad said that he would just leave and the rest of us could eat. The waitress came out and snatched the napkin off of Grandpa’s lap and took away all his silverware, thinking it was he who did not want to eat. Because she was so rude to Grandpa, we decided to leave and eat elsewhere, so we left. Hopefully they hadn’t started on our orders yet. We ate a piece of pizza across the street and spent less on 2 large pieces of pizza than we would have spent on one pizza at the other place. I was great with spending less.  It upset Jason very much, though. He was embarrassed and felt like we looked like ugly Americans. We walked down to the end of town and heard lots of music, so we decided to be snoopy. We walked up to an amphitheater and saw one of the craziest dance recitals we have ever seen. The little girls were kind of cute – there was one really chubby one that I could have taken home with me – but the teenage girls dances were quite interesting. They had teased their hair so it looked wild, had painted their faces white, and did weird, fascinating moves. At one point, the main girl was in the center of a big white sheet like it was her skirt and the other girls were underneath it writhing around, and sticking their hands out of holes. I wish I could have understood what was going on. I really could have watched this for much longer, but the rest of the family was ready to go. It was so cultural. I loved it. We went back to the hotel, put on our swimming suits and went down to the pool. Chris played with the guys in the water, but I just laid on a beach chair and took a nap. How lovely. Chris and I went and played Ping Pong for a while, went for a walk through the Art gallery and I stuck my legs in Lake Maggiore. It was cool water, but very refreshing. It was lovely. So clear and clean. Chris and I gave our presentations tonight. Chris was absolutely hilarious. My favorite presentation so far. He had my entire family in stitches. He gave a monologue of a man who had worked on Venetian Merchant Ships, giving a description of what life was like for him. He spoke in an Italian accent, and drew so many funny elements from our trip in to his speech, such as when they would get up at 2 in the morning to work, “Mamma didn’t bring no espresso, no?” He was so funny. Chris and I went for a walk this evening after our presentations were over. We walked down to the end of town where we had been for the little girl’s dance recital earlier. It had turned in to an entire community dance. There was a live band, a kitchen where everyone was getting food, activities under one of the pavilions and many people dancing on the dance floor. Actually, it was mostly teenagers that were dancing, except it wasn’t like American teens dance. It was traditional dances of Italy, I would imagine. It was so much fun to watch the Daddy’s and Mommy’s take their little boys and girls out to the dance floor to teach them their traditional dances. This obviously happens a lot because even the little tots knew the dances. It was fascinating, and definitely the favorite part of both of our days. When we got back to the hotel from our evening walk, Dan and Stephanie’s door was wide open, but the lights were off in their room. I peeked inside and the bathroom light was on, but the door was closed. I knocked on the door and asked them if they were okay. Dan sheepishly said that they were, whereas Stephanie laughed and said between giggles that they had left their window open and bugs had come in. So they figured since bugs are attracted to lights, if they turned off the lights in their room and opened the hallway door then the bugs would go out into the hallway and they could go to bed. Shrug. Okay. So Chris and I went to bed. Shortly after we got into bed, there was a knock at our door. Stephanie came to see if they could crawl into bed with us since their plan didn’t work and their room was infested with bugs. So they did! There were 2 twin beds in our room. And there were 4 people in them. It made for an interesting night. Quite cozy. More interesting was when I got up in the morning, I couldn’t get anyone else out of bed. So since I was missing my cosmetics, I had gone to my parent’s room to borrow my mom’s make-up. In the meantime, Dan had gotten up and gone to his room. Amy walked in my room, only to find Stephanie and Chris in bed. Amy said, “Where’s Sara?” and Stephanie responded with a big stretch and a yawn while saying, “Where’s Dan?” I’m sure that looked really interesting…

June 23, 2007 – Milan/Lugano, Switzerland/Lake Maggiore

Duomo in Milan First Mall in History, Milan Lugano, Switzerland Peering out of our windows in our hotel room - Lake Maggiore, Italy View from our hotel room window - Lake Maggiore, Italy Bright and early we arose to drive to Lake Maggiore. On our way we stopped at Milan. It was breathtaking. When we arrived in Milan, we went to the Duomo to see that incredible Gothic Church. Mom described it perfectly…it looked like a wedding cake caught in a rain storm and covered with angry squirrels. Amazing. We went inside to see the stained glass windows. What is particularly impressive about them is that they are not painted – the color within the glass is minerals melted into the glass, so the color is very vibrant and does not ever fade. It was beautiful. The floors in the Duomo were all made of marble and were absolutely incredible. When we walked outside, we went to the first mall in history. It is an open mall, meaning that it has no doors to the entrance or exit; however, it was covered with a high ceiling that arched across the entire mall. Something so beautiful it seems almost unreal. The floors were mosaic, and the ceiling was made of glass. The stores were of course outrageously priced, however, we had fun window shopping. There was a group of about 5 young men (approximately 18 years old) who gathered together in one corner of the mall and began playing their instruments – mostly violins. They played one classical piece after another. It was absolutely gorgeous. I stood there with tears in my eyes as I listened. It was beautiful. Perfect. We ate lunch at McDonalds today – we couldn’t find anything else that wasn’t priced out of this world. Felt like silly Americans eating at McDonalds in Italy. But it was something to eat and we were soooo hungry. We only had an hour and ½ in Milan. It was unfortunate. We walked over to see la Scala Opera house, the first opera house in the world. Unfortunately since we were there over the lunch hour it was closed, so we didn’t get in. I was so disappointed. We drove another couple of hours to Lugano, Switzerland. Switzerland is breathtaking. I love Switzerland. It is perfectly clean, surrounded by mountains. Lugano is situated on a beautiful lake. It looked so clean. Looking into the water, you could see rather deeply. Nothing like the lakes in the States. It was pristine. Gorgeous. We walked around the city a little bit, bought some Swiss chocolate and sat on a bench in front of the water while we ate it. It was lovely. We wished we could have stayed much longer than only one hour. We got back on the bus and drove to Lake Maggiore, Italy. Like Lugano, it is situated on a pristine lake. It was in a valley and how the mountains are situated makes it so that the temperature is between 64 and 80 degrees all year long. Much cooler than the cities we had been in for the last week. It was a welcome change. We walked into our room and were pleasantly surprised. There was a large window open wide allowing the fresh air to enter our room looking directly out to the lake surrounded by mountains. We stuck our heads out the window to enjoy the view. Chris actually sat on the ledge of the window and let his legs hang out on to the roof. As we were enjoying the view, one by one, the heads of the rest of my family members popped out of their windows, too. We were all hanging out our windows. It was kind of funny. Got some fun pictures. Kendra decided to get a bit closer for a better picture, so she climbed out of the window and scurried down the roof to our room. From then on, we used the windows as doors instead of the "traditional" door to the room. We went to the pool and played Marco Polo with my siblings. After a lovely shower, we got all dressed up for dinner and enjoyed our table right by the window that looked out to the beautiful scenery. The boys went down to the game room after dinner and we girls went for a walk along the side of the lake. It was a perfect night. We really enjoyed ourselves.

June 22, 2007 - Florence

Replica Statue of David in Signora Square, the original location Gelato! Ohhhh...Yummy Gelato! Chris and I in front of Ponte Vecchio We got up this morning to take a tour of the Academy of Arts, where the original David is located. We saw 5 other statues that Michelangelo had begun sculpting but never finished. And then at the end of the hall stood the David. You have never seen something so magnificent. And Michelangelo was only 26 when he began it, talking 3 years to complete it. Chris was in awe of the anatomical correctness of the sculpture. He looked so human. He was wonderful. We found out that this David stood outside for nearly 300 years. At one point, the political scene got so volatile that someone threw a desk out of the window, hit the David and broke his left arm into three pieces. They collected all of the pieces and years later it was put back together. But you can still see the cracks. Wouldn’t that make you sick! We then walked to the Duomo and Santa Croce again. I was glad that we saw them the night before and had time to explore, for we weren’t given much time to see them at this time. Chris and I had free time for the rest of the day. We walked the streets, finding ourselves back on some streets that were not geared for the tourists. It was wonderful. We walked by windows and heard people practicing their operas and music. We saw restaurants that I can only imagine were out of this world. We saw laundry strung between buildings hanging out to dry. We had a great time. We took a nap, and then went out later to do a little shopping. We bought a couple of gifts for people and just enjoyed our evening. We got back at 7:00 for dinner with our group in the hotel. It was okay, not great. Pork again. And wonderful tortellini. After that we had our family time in mom and dad’s room. Chris went for a walk outside to enjoy his last evening in Florence, and I went to bed. We’re all exhausted.