Day 10
This day Kristina and I said goodbye to the Dolomites and got a ride from Heather to Venice so that we could catch a train to Milan.
(Everyone else stayed in Europe longer. They all stayed in Italy another day or two and then went on to Switzerland.)
This was the view from my hotel room this last full day in Italy. I felt like every day it looked a little different. So beautiful!
And the view from my room a little later in the morning.
This was the view from the dining room of the hotel this morning (where we had breakfast each morning).
Although we had our main family photo shoot the day before, we didn't get pictures with our matching family reunion t-shirts.
This morning we found a place near the trail down by the river to get pictures with our matching shirts. The lighting wasn't great but we didn't have much time to look for another spot.
I loved the town we stayed in, La Villa! It was a cute nice town.
The hotel we stayed at was awesome too! The rooms were clean and comfortable. The location was lovely. The breakfasts were delicious. The shower had great water pressure and temperature control. In general, the hotel was great!
Now it was time for Heather to drive Kristina and I to Venice.
On the way to Venice!
So pretty!
And we made it to Venice!
Kristina and I dropped off our bags at a luggage storage facility for a few hours so we didn’t have to carry it around with us while we wandered around Venice.
There was a Burger King in Venice!
Some sites in Venice!
Since we had limited time in Venice, the main thing we wanted to do was take a gondola ride on the canals. So we did just that! I'm glad we did. (The next 29 photos were from the gondola ride).
Enjoy the pictures!
It was so cool to see Venice from the water!
I was trying to take a picture of the clothes hanging out to dry from the top floor (showing that people lived there).
You can see three bridges in this picture!
At the end of our gondola ride!
I am so glad we did the gondola ride! It was cool to see Venice from the water.
After the gondola ride, we walked around the streets of Venice for a little while. Of course we had to get gelato.
The gelato was delicious!
Wandering around the streets of Venice!
I don't remember what this building was…
Heather left to drive back to La Villa (so that most of her drive would be during daylight hours). Kristina and I wandered a little longer in Venice.
Then we picked up our luggage from the luggage storage facility and headed to the train station.
On the train to Milan!
Some scenery from the train ride!
Of course we had to do a series of silly faces because why not?! 😂
Our train left Venice a few minutes late, so we missed our connecting train in Milan. Unfortunately there were no more direct trains or buses that night to the airport (our Airbnb was really close to the airport).
But as we were trying to figure out what to do next, we noticed there were two people needing to also go to the airport. We asked if they'd like to take the same taxi and split the cost. (The taxis were really expensive).
They agreed and we made it to the airport. Then Kristina and I continued on to our Airbnb from there. We stayed at the Airbnb that night and then we both had morning flights the next day to our respective home states.
Day 11
This day I flew home to Virginia and Kristina to California.
This was the view from just outside our Airbnb this morning (right before leaving for the airport). So pretty and peaceful!
On the plane ride home!
I was sad to leave my family back in Europe but happy to be back in my own bed this night.
I am so glad I was able to go on this trip to celebrate Kristina’s birthday. It was an awesome trip full of beautiful scenery, delicious food, and excellent company.
