We had a great time with Sabrina's parents and siblings - they were so kind and welcoming to us. Her parents don't speak English, so it was a very fun and authentic experience. We had a nice dinner with them on Saturday night and experienced true Italian cooking!
On Sunday we went to church at the LDS church in Padova. The missionaries were quick to come sit by us to translate! They were of course very welcoming, even inviting us after church to an activity later in the week.
Monday we went into Padova which has some amazing markets in the different plazas - fruit and other goods. We also toured the Scrovegni Chapel, with the frescos painted by Giotto. It's a fairly small, simple chapel, but the frescos, painted in 1305, are absolutely amazing. They depict the Savior's life and ministry, with the stories wrapping around the chapel. They colors are really vivid and beautiful. We met the Colpos there in the afternoon and stopped for the traditional Italian hot chocolate (which is so good - more like rich chocolate pudding in a cup!), and walked around the city. We went to Prato della Valle, which, at 90,000 square meters, is the biggest square / plaza in Europe.
Tuesday we took the train to Venice. Stepping out of the train station and seeing the canals is really amazing. On this day, we got on a boat and went through the canals and out into the bay to the islands of Murano and Burano. Murano is famious for glassmaking, so we saw a demonstration at a glassmaking factory, then stopped in many, many glass shops to get some special souvenirs. Venice in general is famious for glassmaking, but years ago they moved the operations away from the city of Venice to the island, to move pollution from the manufacturing away from Venice. Also on the island of Murano we ran into a family from Elise and Nathan's international school! Next we went to Burano which is a smaller and slightly less visited island. It has a church tower that is "leaning" just as much as the leaning tower of Pisa! The houses there are all painted in bright colors, and it's really beautiful. This island is famouns for lace, and we saw lots of beautiful lace in addition to glass. It was so fun to go with the Colpos, as Sabrina was our "local guide".
Wednesday we went to Verona - it was a rainy day, so we bought some brightly colored umbrellas and tried to see what we could. We took a little tour around the city, but will probably have to go back to see if properly! We also made a quick stop in Vicenza and took a quick look at the Teatro Olimpico.
Thursday we went back to Venice and toured the city itself. Venice is just a very special, unique, romantic city. It had rained the day before, so we took our umbrellas. This time we drove to the parking garage just outside the city and took the boat. As we got off the boat at Rialto Bridge in Venice, we saw the "high water"! That is, the water had overflown their banks and the water was going right up on the sidwalks and into the shops. There were platforms set up, so we walked off the boat single file onto the platforms, then up on the bridge to take a look. We then took a ride on the family Venice gondola. Our gondolier told us more about the city, and showed us how different areas of the city are flooded, while others are now. The gondola ride (although a little wobbly!) was really fun! The gondolier expertly fit the boat with it's high ornate ends, through small tunnels throughout the city. After the gondola ride we started walking towards Piazza San Marco. It was a beautiful and fun walk through the small streets full of shops toward the amin square. But, as we came to the last steps down to San Marco square, we saw that it was completely flooded! Our gondolier had told us that the high water usually went down by mid-day, according to the lunar tide, so we backtracked to a restaurant and had lunch. After lunch, Piazza San Marco was completely clear! The main attraction for the kids (especially Nathan) in San Marco Square was the pigeons! We also went to the Doges palace, a beautiful museum (and even ran into an HBS classmate of mine, what a coincidence!). The boys loved the armory within the museum. And they all got Venetian masks as souvenirs. And at the end of the day, we took a water taxi back to the carpark! Venice is an absolutely amazing city!
Thursday night was New Year's eve, and we went to the Fabris' house. What a fun night! We had dinner together and had some traditional food (including grapes that are supposed to bring a prosperous new year if eaten on new years eve). The Italians know how to eat well! At midnight we went outside and saw fireworks going off - and the kids set off plenty of their own. It was a very authentic, fun holiday celebration.
Friday was a relaxing day. Most things were closed, as it was a holiday, but we did eat at a really nice, outof the way restaurant. We also spent some time looking around "our castle" a little more.
Saturday we drove home! On the way we stopped and got one of our favorite souvenirs from the trip - an electric cheese grater. Sabrina's mom had one at her house, and I didn't want to leave Italy without one!
