il nostro ultimo giorno in Italia

We slept in a little barely making it to breakfast by 10.

We mapped out our plan while we had the hotel wifi. By the way, I figured this out in Florence that you can download a city in Tripadvisor so you can look up restaurants and attractions without internet!

Our hotel is in the Cannaregio. So we set out to explore some other areas of Venice.  We walked through Piazzale Roma and Dorsoduro districts. We visited   Campo San Barnaba. This is where Katherine Hepburn fell into the rio in 'Summertime' and also where a portion of 'Indiana Jones and last Crusade' was filmed. We enjoyed some pizzas at Al Profeta (Calle Lunga San Barnaba Dorsoduro, 2771). Thanks Shannon For the recommendation! We split two pizzas between the four of us- we finally have figured out the portions that fit our budget and bellies.  We bought an italian type angel food cake for our early breakfast tomorrow. We leave at crack of dawn!  After lunch, we returned to the nearby Campo San Barnaba so kids could have some gelato at Grom.

Another tip we figured out late was to use restrooms in fancy hotel lobbies! Just pretend you know where you are going. :)

We went back to Piazza San Marco to see it in daytime (don't go here if you have a fear of pigeons!) and spent probably too many Euros to take the elevator (no stairs to take) to the top of the Campinale (bell tower) that was originally a lighthouse. Great views! Supposedly can see the Alps from here but it was overcast.

We saw the two columns and then the Bridge of Sighs which connects the prison to Doge's Palace.  We took turns going through the gratis areas of the Palace since otherwise you have to check your bag which was a little out of the way.

The rain picked up so we scooted in a bar for drinks and free wifi.  Then shopped our way back to the hotel to make arrangements for our early departure.

We bought one way tix for airport shuttle bus for the 5 am departure. We have a 15 min walk in the morning with our luggage..thank goodness we packed light with room to spare for the new gifts and mementos.

We found a great place on tripadvisor for our last dinner. It was near the Jewish Ghetto and close to our hotel but in an alley off the beaten track. Lots of locals. The waiter really wanted us to like everything. He brought us complimentary Prosecco and later bruschetta. We all had great meals! Ravioli, spaghetti pescatore, mussels/clams, grilled shrimp...and we shared a few desserts.  Probably our best overall meal.

During dinner we talked about our bests of the trip...

Pizza - Gusta in Florence (great value too)

Pasta- Rome Il Girasole ravioli with truffle and Bentigodi Chef Domenico in Venice 

Gelato - Eduardo near Duomo in Florence

City- Florence

Attractions- Rome - Forum & Colosseum

Church- Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Cathedral 

Hotel- Florence Della Nazioni 

Ambiance- Venice and Florence

Shopping - Florence - leather!

Beverage -House reds

Best looking italian men and women Venice

After dinner, we said goodbye to our new friends Phil and Morgan from Chicago and finished packing....

P.S.Christmas is still pretty muted here but did see the Venice version of Big Johns Xmas trees...

Lost in Venice

We took our train to Venice which took about two hours. The initial impression of Venice impressed us all.  Our next spot Hotel Villa Rosa is convenient to the train station in the Cannaregio district...about a 30 min walk to Piazza San Marco ...assuming you know where your going.

After dropping our bags we grabbed lunch with Phil & her daughter Morgan. We sat outside overlooking a canal. 

After we did some shopping...the Murano glass is beautiful. 'They' say you should get lost in Venice. No problem. We wandered for a bit then stopped for a drink....wandered quite a bit to find Piazza San Marco...stopped for a drink and wandered some more. Venice has like 400 bridges and we'd count them down as we walked. Each is unique in its own way.  

Tripadvisor ratings confirmed our spot for dinner- Antico Calice (calle degli stagneri, 5228. We all had homemade pasta with seafood. 

We decided we were done walking for now so found our way to the Rialto Bridge and took a vaporetta to the train station stop.

We are so happy we are ending our trip in Venice...the pace is very chill. It was good that we stopped in Rome first while we had the energy. Since there is so much to see..them Florence slowed us down a bit and Venice is a terrific finale.

Italy Trip Planning

Half of the fun is in the anticipation and planning of the trip....well maybe not half, but definitely some of the fun.

The Easter Bunny brought each member of my family a guide book but the books got little love over the summer and when school started back up.  So...we scheduled a family 'Italy Trip Planning' night about a month and half before our trip.  We first enjoyed some basic Italian food (frozen ravioli and jar marinara with Italian bread dipped in olive oil), a nice bottle of Chianti and gelato for dessert.  After dinner, we got out the travel books, emailed notes from friends, Pinterest boards, and started to better define what we wanted to do in Rome, Florence, and Venice.  We wrote one attraction or restaurant on an index card and had a pile for each city.  In general, I can tell that churches and museums are not going to be the big attractions for us.  Jason and Jacob are really into the historical sites and Natalie can't wait to experience the culture and shopping.  I think we are all excited for the food.  I'm excited to experience Italy with them.  I have been to each of these cities when I backpacked after college with 2 girlfriends.  Jason (and Natalie when she was about 11 months old) has been to England but never to Europe mainland.  But, we have been to some great other destinations as a family....Bali (thanks Grandpa!), the Grand Canyon, and Dominican Republic.  Not to mention all our family fun trips to Florida, DC, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

How this idea started...

All it took was a casual comment from my husband Jason earlier this year when we were talking about how we wanted to use our vacation time from work this year.  He said, "I'd like to take a trip to Europe with the kids".  I smiled and replied that I would begin to look for 'a deal' so cautioned him to keep an open mind on where we would go and exactly when.  We knew in general that we would need to accommodate the kids school schedules as they are getting older and missing a few days of school is just something kids today don't want to do anymore.  It's too hard to make up the work.

So I watched the deal sites and subscribed to a few travel deal emails and one day...I saw one on Travelzoo (http://www.travelzoo.com) that caught my eye.  It was for a 9 night trip to Italy (4 nights Rome, 3 nights Florence, and 2 nights in Venice) and included airfare, hotel, and train connections to each city.  Jason and I reviewed the particulars, decided on the week of Thanksgiving, and had a family meeting with our two children (now ages 12 and 15) to ensure that they would consider this their Hannukah/Christmas presents for this year.  They didn't hesitate!  The night we booked it in February, Jason and I hovered over the 'submit' payment button for a few seconds.  This was the first time either of us had booked a package like this without talking to a human being.   We'll let you know if it was a good idea.