By now y’all might be tired of seeing pictures of my
travels, but luckily this is the last one (for the summer anyways). My family
and I recently got back from our last family vacation before my sister heads
off to college and I start my second year. We had originally decided to go to Croatia, but we ended going
to Venice, Italy! We had a wonderful time and got to do some of the things we
had been wanting to for a while.
Venice is between 9-11 hours from where we live, depending
on how fast you drive or how many stops you take. On this trip we decided to
drive halfway and stop for the night in Garmisch (which is probably the most
beautiful places in Germany in my family’s opinion). It’s the quintessential
German town with beautiful scenery, bakeries, restaurants, and traditional
shopping opportunities. Its small, but lovely. After spending the night there,
we got up the next morning and drove the rest of the way to Venice.
View off the balcony at our hotel in Garmisch
Our first stop was about an hour from Venice in a town
called Verona. We had to stop here because one of our favorite movies was
filmed here (Letters to Juliet). We parked by the river and followed the signs
through the Italian streets and found the Casa di Giulietta. It was a lot
smaller than we had thought and unlike popular belief, there are no love
letters written to Juliet scattering the walls. We were a little disappointed,
but it was cool to see nonetheless and we got gelato afterwards.
Downtown Verona
City Square in Verona
Juliet's balcony
Fresh popsicles
Once arriving in Venice, we took the boat/bus to our stop
and walked to the apartment we had decided to stay in for the time we were
there. When we got off the boat we had to cross the main street, but once we
walked a little past it there was no city noise and it was quiet and beautiful.
Our apartment was on the 4th floor of the building, but the air
conditioning and roof-top terrace were so worth it! Our family spent both
nights on the terrace watching our neighbors pass by and boats float down the
canal. For dinner the first night we headed back to the main street and found a
restaurant that had some of the things we wanted. The fettucine alfredo was
delicious and so was the pizza. We even had free entertainment from the street
musicians for a little bit. After dinner we picked up some things at the
grocery store and headed back to the apartment.
View from the roof-top terrace
Venetian canal
On our only day of touring Venice, we first took a traghetto
across the Grand Canal and from there walked to the Rialto Bridge. After we
crossed the bridge, we stopped and had lunch before we went on a self-guided
walking tour around St. Marks Church. Venice was blistering hot and it was
still hot even in the shade. At about the time we were almost too pooped to
party, we decided to take a gondola ride. I’ve always wanted to go on one of
these and even though it was expensive, it was worth it. It felt like Disney
World (which is one of my favorite places)! Our gondolier even sang a little
for us halfway through. It was still hot, but it was nice to sit down. After
that we went back to the grocery store and then back to the apartment where I
promptly passed out on my bed for a nap before dinner.
Rialto Bridge
Me and Cinderella at the Disney store
Pistachio Gelato
Pinocchio marionettes
St. Mark's Cathedral
Grand Canal
View from our gondola ride
Holy Cannoli!
Carolina and Dad drinking espresso
Dinner…that deserves it’s own post, but I’ll give you the
details here. Earlier in the day, we asked our gondolier for a restaurant
suggestion for pasta and he recommended a place called La Cantina. It was just
up the way from our apartment so we decided to make a reservation and try it.
When we got there our waiter was fantastic, but told us that it was mainly a
wine bar with some seafood and other things. Oh dear. We ordered our drinks and
the seafood plate that he recommended and had no idea for what we were going to
get. (Disclaimer: I love seafood. Grilled salmon, fried seafood, crab
cakes…traditional American stuff…I think I will take a break from seafood for a
while now). Our first plate of food had smoked eel, octopus, and salad. The
second/third courses came together and had an assortment of different fish. My
favorite part of the dinner was definitely my Coca-Cola and the bread with
olive oil. After dinner we got some gelato and went back to our
air-conditioning.
Octopus, Smoked eel, Polenta, and salad
Sardines, Potatoes, Calamari, & Red Mallet
Scallops and some other fish I forgot the name of
Gelato...yum!
The next day we drove back to Garmisch. On our way back to
Wiesbaden, we went to the Zugspitze. My dad has always wanted to do this, so we
finally got around to it. The Zugspitze is the tallest point in Germany and you
can either hike to the top, ride a train, or ride a cable car. We took a cable
car up and the people working it know how to pack the people in that thing. The
ride to the top was short and the views from the top were amazing! We took lots
of pictures and had lunch at the top before heading back down and driving home.
Although this is a casino, it reminds me of the hotel from the movie "Just Married"
Me and Daddy leaving Venice
Top of Zugspitze
Carolina climbing
On top of Germany
Venice was a beautiful city to visit and our last family
vacation before both of us siblings are off to college was wonderful. We had so
much fun and made memories that we’ll never forget.
