All of Italy

We literally went all over Italy. We loved Italy. The people were friendlier, warmer and treated you better than a tourist. The men seemed to have a custom of respect for women and insisted that women were first in everything from ordering and receiving food, to purchasing. Italy was wonderful. There was so much history to see, of course the architecture was fabulous and rich with history. I loved all the statues, especially when you could find one dressed. If I ever had a lot of money I would put beautiful, dressed statues in my garden. The food was great, no matter where we went and it was fun to see the distinct look of the Italians. Our journey began in Florence, which was our least favorite place in Italy. Perhaps it was because it was our only guided tour day. But we saw some neat burial places like, Leonardo Divinci and Galileo. The leaning tower of Pisa was cool to see and experience as well.
The next place we went was the Island of Capri. It was beautiful and quaint. They are known for their lemons and they were about the size of a small football. A lot of celebrities come here and so you see a lot of designer shops and know that it is pointless to buy anything. However, I did buy myself and my girls a music box that is inlaid wood, a dying art that the island has been famous for. It was just beautiful and picturesque.
Rome, while most people do it in 5 days, we did it in 5 hours. Way too fast and I regret we didn't have more time there. It is packed with history and magnificence. We didn't get to see all of the Vatican. There were too many people and the Pope was having Sunday service-reverent I know. We did get to hear him pray and hear the choir though, which was an experience. But as my mother in law says, it is the church of all churches. So we regret we didn't see all of it, but what we did was impressive. I loved the Trevy fountains and Trevor loved the Colosseum. Everywhere you look there are fountains and structures that are apart of history, yet they have included them into their current building structures. So neat and ancient compare to what we find in America with our newer history.
The last place we were actually at was in Venice. We loved Venice and wanted more time there. The uniqueness of the water ways and the beauty all around had such a different kind of charm-a kind of romance. There were mask shops everywhere and the more you looked around the more confused you got. But with the patience of my father-in-law, I was able to bring home 6 of them for our kids. It was so beautiful and overwhelming, that I am still taking it in. I am so thankful to have had the chance to see the bigger things of Italy and experience it. It is something I have always wanted to do and we had such a blast. We will always be grateful that we had this once in a lifetime chance.