Yodel-lodo-loo?

 After a nice relaxing morning we headed to a chocolate factory in St. Gallen.  Heather was adamant we find some cows so before indulging in chocolate, we headed to the hills in search of some Swiss Browns. 

So the fence is electrified come to find out. 

Heather was a little nervous, but she warmed up to them. 

Maestroni chocolate factory.  The tour wasn't that great, but the sampling was fantastic!

 

 

 

 

 Then we headed to Appenzell for some lunch and shopping.

 

 

 Appenzell was the last canton to give the women the right to vote in 1989. 

We picked Chris ups from work and headed to Jucker Farmart for a tasty dinner that I didn't have to make. 

 

 Yep, a Swiss Army Knife made from pumpkins. 

Fresh pressed apple juice and grilled meats.

We did make it to the Matterhorn!

The next morning Heather and I toured around Zurich.

 

Hauptbahnhoff

We rode the bahn to the Dolder Hotel and walked around a little bit.  We ate at Sternen Grill by the lake and fed the ducks and swans.

Then we headed to Lucerne for a fun filled evening. 

 

Kapelbrüdke or Chapel Bridge

 

 

 

We took Heather to the most touristy place we could find.  We wanted some yodeling, flag throwing, alpenhorn music, spoon and singing saw playing.  Stadtkeller is the place! 
Heather and I ended up in a yodeling competition.  Heather won (of course) and I made the audience laugh. 

We had such a great time with Heather.  Thanks for coming to see us!

In the City of Glass: If you break it, you buy it!

"The Heath" and I caught an early morning flight to Venice from Rome and started our day at Doge's Palace. 



Courtyard of Doge's Palace

 



We love learning!

Heather was nervous for the lady who had to wear this.

Getting cheeky

I think Chris was a little nervous about us being on our own, but how much trouble could we get into?

 





 

  Our room wasn't quite ready when we check in so we went back in the afternoon to have a little rest time.



  The gentleman was kind enough to "drop" our luggage at our room for us.  Okay, so he dropped it out a window to a little courtyard where we picked it up and took it to our room which was in an adjoining building.  Our room happened to be over the theater and the hotel was in the same building as a glass factory. 

 I have to say one of the benefits of two ladies traveling together (especially in Italy) is that you get treated pretty well.  We went to the glass factory and asked if they had any demonstrations that we could watch.  A tour group was late so they invited us in and we had a private demonstration! 

After the demonstration, we headed a little ways off the beaten path and had some lunch.  Since the weather had cleared up a little bit, we decided to take a gondola ride that afternoon.

Our Gondolier was Marco.  Heather also helped him paddle us around as she serenaded us!  What a treat!
Here is the link for Heather singing: Heather singing in Venice. 

After our fantastic gondola ride, we hit the town and went into almost every single shop.  We shopped and shopped and shopped...

Ciao, Bella!

 

Grand Canal from back side of Rialto Bridge.  Gorgeous evening!  This is by my favorite Murano glass jewelery shop (Rialto 79).  Family owned business and we watched while he made earrings for Heather to match her necklace and bracelet she picked out. 

Of course after all that shopping we were starving again.  We walked back to San Marco Square to pick a place for dinner. 

Always in search of the greatest lasagna!

We passed on the free bellinis given to us, but told the kitchen staff they could bring us tiramisu if they wanted to!

After dinner we strolled around San Marco listening to music, laughing ourselves silly and dancing with each other.

The next morning I made us get up super early so we could be at the Basilica when it opened.

We lined up 30 minutes before it opened and we were still about 30th in line.  Check out the line 10 minutes before opening!

 

After the Basilica, we headed up the Campanile for an aerial view of the island.  We knew this day would be crazy busy after counting 5 huge cruise ships in the dock. 

           


They say music soothes the savage beast!



Great lunch at the Florian




We stole some crackers from the restaurant so Heather could feed the pigeons (yuck)



Before the madness...



Dirty animals!

         Link to our video (and a good scream from me): Heather feeding birds in Venice

We concluded our day catching up with each other over some sodas and sitting in the shade on the Grand Canal. 

 

Must be laundry day!

 

 

 

I think Heather was ready for a day of sleeping in, relaxing, and no shopping.  On to Swissland!



Veni, Vedi, Veci

Not many friendships withstand the test of time, but Heather and I must be an exception!  Heather has been my bestie since 5th grade.  I was thrilled when she wanted to come out and spend a week in Europe with me.  We met Heather in Rome on a Friday and headed straight for the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Roman Forum. 

Nos morituri te salutant!=We, who are about to die, salute you!  It was hot and very crowded, but we survived. 

 

 

We loved the statues surrounding the House of the Vestel Virgins in the Roman Forum. 

 

Outside the Flavian Amphitheatre AKA Colosseum. 

After sight seeing and a little bit of shopping we headed back to the hotel to "freshen up" for dinner.  We had great recommendations from Chris' Italian co-workers for dinner. 

 

 

 

After a fantastic meal at a Renato e Luisa we walked to the beautiful Fontana di Trevi.  I think this was my favorite night in Rome.  I could have sat and people watched forever!  So relaxing and such good gelati! 

The next morning we headed to the Roman Pantheon now a Catholic church. 

We walked to Piazza Navona (my favorite piazza) for some lunch and some Bernini.  We had lunch just off of the piazza and then some gelati. 

While waiting for our tour of the Colosseum to start, we ran into a great tour guide for Vatican for the next afternoon.     
 

From Piazza Navona we enjoyed a beautiful walk along the river and some shopping along the way to Vatican City.  We loved every minute of the tour which focused on the art and artifacts of the Vatican Museums.  Sean, our tour guide, has a Masters in Historical Theology which made for a very intriguing visit to the Vatican and its history.

 

 

 

The School of Athens, by Raphael.  Oh, and Chris...

 

 

 

 Inside St. Peter's Basilica.  Honestly, nothing like it in the world! 

What a fantastic day!  List of everyone's favorites:

Michelle: gigantic imperial bathtub made from Egyptian red porphyry marble (more valuable than gold per ounce), Raphael rooms, Sistine Chapel, and watching Heather fall asleep on some steps. 


 

 Chris: Also liked the bathtub, the map room, and watching a couple take dumb "action" pictures outside of St. Peter's for 30 minutes. 

Heather: Sistine Chapel, all the naked male statues, and the bathtub.

 

I think we all dreamed about getting into that big bathtub to soak our aching feet!

 

 

 

The Swiss Guard:  Protecting the Pope since 1506. 

 

 

Spanish Steps at dusk.  Before another great dinner. 

On our third day in Rome we traveled to Piazza del Popolo to see the "twin churches" of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto and to travel down Via del Corso for some SHOPPING!

We took a taxi out to San Callisto Catacombs along the Appian Way. We respected the dead and didn't take any pictures. It was a "nice" way to cool off 50 feet below! We road the bus back into the city and stopped at San Giovanni in Laterano Basilica (where only the Pope can have Mass). We then had gelati...again...

 

Scala Sancta (near San Giovanni and Pope's Palace) which according to tradition are the marble steps that Jesus took to receive his death sentence by Pontius Pilate.  Brought to Rome by St. Helena in AD 400. They are covered by wood to protect the sanctity and the condition of them.  Really cool experience, but didn't know how much it would hurt our knees or how uncomfortable it would be.  Makes you think doesn't it?


 

Two of my favorite people who aren't mad when I make them take the wrong metro. 

 

 

This fountain's water was freezing cold!  Wasn't expecting that!

On our last night we went to Hard Rock Cafe.  Chris and I continuously crave hamburgers and milkshakes. 

Now on to Venice!