Back from Europe

We are back from Europe and the thought of writing all that we saw overwhelms me! We spent 3 days in Paris, where it was beautiful and breathtaking. Austin was so tired that he didn't eat much for 3 days. Then we took a train to Florence, Italy where it was raining. We feasted on Gelato (ice cream) and went to the Academia to see the original sculputure of David created by Michaelangelo. That was amazing! To get out of the rain the next day, we took the train to Rome and explored the Roman Forum, the Colosseum and Roman Gelato. It was just as good as in Florence. We were not able to see the Sistine Chapel because it was closed (being Sunday). We also saw the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. Then back on the train back to Florence for the night. The next morning we boarded another train for Venice to catch our cruise ship for the Greek Islands. We visited Bari (Italy), Olympia, Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes (Greece), and Dubrovnik (Croatia), then back to Venice. The total cruise time was seven days. We ate so much food it was unreal (ice cream and pizza twice daily). The Italian women all wear bikinis and the men all wear speedos out by the pool regardless of their body style (some should be a little more modest in my opinion). Also, most of them smoke, so we are glad to be back in the clean air of America. We are also thrilled to be back in a country where everyone around us speaks the same language. We got tired of listening to everyone around us speaking another language, whether it be Spanish, French, Italian or German. The last two days we spent wandering around in Venice exploring and eating more Gelato. What a charming city! There were so many stores selling items made of Venetian glass and Carnivale masks. The Venetian people have such talent! The canals are beautiful and different than anything else we had seen in any other city. We returned home late Wednesday night exhausted, with tired legs and feet and vowing not to eat pasta for a long time.

I will post some pictures later, but will spare you all 716 that we took. I'll have to pick and choose the best ones!