2014 ISST swim meet

in this post - the first competition to be held at the London Olympic Pool 

The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Pool underwent a transformation after the 2012 Olympics.  The massive seating area was removed and now the building has two of its sides as windows, making it feel at times like an outdoor pool inside!

The 2014 International Schools Sports Tournament was held at the pool March 6-7, 2014.
What is ISST?  find out more here:
http://www.isstsports.org/index.php/about-isst

Many competitors hit personal bests in this latest technology Olympic Pool.  It was very exciting for all the athletes and spectators!

with the Olympics Orbit Sculpture in the background

Tom Daley was practicing during the competition

2014 ASL Junior Relay team 

Team friends

with the ASL coaches

Junior Girls ASL relay squad double gold champions

coaches and seniors

The sunshine in the afternoon gave us the sensation of being at an outdoor pool

waiting for team results

Hardware!  ASL claimed the Junior Girls Championship and the OVERALL team championship

Boys junior relay team

Junior boys relay team - well done!!

Ally 2nd in the 200 free and the 200 fly

Overnight trip to York, England

FAMILY VISIT TO YORKSaturday - Sunday February 22-23, 2014

In this post - a quick overnight trip to Northern England

view from the Minster tower visit

York is a lovely medieval city in North Yorkshire, England.  A two-hour train ride will get you there from London.  The coolest thing about York is that it is a walled city, and you can walk along the walls just as the Roman watchguards would have done nearly 2000 years ago.  

walking in the footsteps of the Roman guards

The rich heritage of Roman and Viking rule has left many historic sites in the area.  The York Minster, considered to be the greatest gothic cathedral in Northern Europe, towers over the city.

We even encountered VIKINGS on our visit - it was the end of their annual week-long VIKING FESTIVAL

The city became a major trading centre for wool, the capital of the north for the Church of England, and a major train and railway centre.

We began by dropping off our luggage at our amazing hotel, the Cedar Court Grand.  I can't say we would normally stay at such a nice place, but it was the only accommodation we could find that would house a family of five!  And, since this was our only half-term school break get-a-away, we had to agree it was fantastic to have a pool!  Rare in European hotels!
http://www.cedarcourtgrand.co.uk/

We went directly to see the famous Minster, and on the way there grabbed some quick grub from the lovely cafes in the city.

Vikings began appearing from all corners of the city, and we were soon surrounded.  Yes, we learned it was the annual Viking Festival.  Probably one of the reasons we couldn't find any cheap accommodations!  The festive characters provided an animated backdrop to our city visit.
http://jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/festivals/

That afternoon we went on a free walking tour given by one of the friendly local volunteer guides.
http://avgyork.co.uk/
This was a nice introduction to the city and some of its rich history.

Next stop was a guided tour of the Minster.  Our kids were a bit unenthused about this back-to-back tour thing, but it was just the way things worked out.  After the tour we had a visit to the top of the Minster Towers, which provided lovely views of the city.
http://www.yorkminster.org/home.html

We ate dinner at Michael's Brasserie just around the corner.  They had a nice early dinner special.
http://www.galtreslodgehotel.co.uk/michaels-brasserie.html

The rest of the evening we wandered the little pedestrian-only streets of York Village.
Great to just meander and explore.
And of course you must visit The Shambles, apparently Europe's most visited street.

Need I say more?

We ended the day in the pool and sauna.....

Sunday morning we were lazy - we had seen a great deal the day before.  Although I urged the family to visit the York Castle Museum or the Yorkshire Museum or the Viking Museum or the Quilt Museum, no such visited transpired for us.  Instead we held to all that history from our tours the day before and decided to just take the day leisurely, walk the streets, see the York Castle (below) and walk the city.

York Castle - all that remains is Cliffords Tower

My only regret is that I didn't take advantage of the amazing deals at the Mulberry Factory Outlet.  I usually hesitate at these so-called "outlets" but this place had some truly amazing deals.  Handbags that had been 1000gbp were now 300.  But, I just wasn't in the mood.  I wish that I had been, because those were some amazing prices.....You gotta go!!
Mulberry Factory Outlet
23/25 Swinegate
York YO1 8AZ
www.mulberryfactoryshop.com

Unfortunately there are no sales on-line, but there are other UK locations.

Before catching our train, we made a quick stop at the National Railway Museum.  Oh, we needed more time.  We should have had a couple of hours for that visit alone.  

Also there are many ghost tours in York in the evenings, and that would have been fun to try as well.

So, even in two days and one night we just couldn't see it all.  I highly recommend a visit to York!!

country girl in the big city

Living in central London thrust us into contact with quite an interesting crowd - a crowd we are not used to bumping into. 

Prior to our move to London, Dave warned me that "we really shouldn't be living here" and that we were a "bit over our heads".
Not really understanding what he meant, I shrugged all that off.
Now, after three years, I guess I know what he was talking about.

My simple tips on how to "stay grounded":
-get outside and hit the green spaces as much as possible
-keep life simple
-others will be afflicted with major affluenza, stay away so you don't catch the disease yourself
-write a blog entry (voila!) of all the things that have shocked you (the wealth, fame, etc. - unknown in our homeland circles)

Here's your new home - all 500 square feet of it!
It all starts with London housing prices.  To live in central London, you either need to be in Council Housing (aka subsidized housing/social housing), be ridiculously wealthy, or have some sort of housing allowance.  We fell into the last category.  As ex-pats, we were offered a certain amount of money to cover part of our housing.  When we began looking at what we could afford for that amount, we realized we would need to supplement quite a bit if we wanted something more than a one-bedroom flat.  Our first place was quite small, a 3-bedroom townhome.  We soon found out we were over-paying for it, and at the end of the one year lease, we searched and found our current place for slightly more money but twice the space.  A fantastic decision.  But while we lived there, we had to walk many times a week up a gorgeous street called Avenue Road, where the mansions are jaw-dropping.  One in particular seemed to be well-guarded - there was always a weapon-yielding security man posted, sometimes more than one.  We learned it is the home of the Israeli Ambassador.  A couple of recently renovated homes on Avenue Road have been on the market for 80million GBP (a bit over 132 million dollars, but who is counting?).  It's really convenient that there is a large indoor pool as well as underground parking for 15 vehicles.  You can also rent a more modest mansion on the street, at a mere 25,000 GBP per week (that'd be about $42,000)....for the week (I repeat).

The American Ambassador lives in an Estate in Regent's Park, which is the 2nd largest private home in London. After Buckingham Palace!  We were invited to the Ambassador's home for a parent reception and I must admit, I felt pretty important that day, ha!  During the Olympics in the summer of 2012, students from the school were invited to participate in some celebratory events there, which included famous athletes, the Obamas, and even David Beckham.

Celebrity encounters....
Our first place was near Primrose Hill Park.  Primrose Hill attracts quite the celebrity crowd. Kate Moss and Jude Law are among the famous former residents.  Current residents include Gwyneth Paltrow, Sadie Frost, Gwen Stefani....of course the most famous current resident is One Direction's Harry Styles.
Friends of ours sometimes end up at the playground with Gwen Stefani and her children.  People say that they see Sacha Baron Cohen in the area, dressed in bohemian "I'm not a celebrity" style fashion.

Paul McCartney lives in St Johns Wood, on Cavendish Avenue, and some mums from school have actually done yoga with him at the Cricket Club.  Many people I know have seen him locally.  Our son is a huge fan of Paul, and recently worked on a biography of him for school.  While he was working on it, one of his classmates said, "Oh, I see Mr. Paul all the time, our moms are friends".  Yes, of course!

I have not had regular encounters with celebrities.  Some people seem to see them regularly, or just have them as friends.  During a conversation another parent just mentioned "Well when we were at dinner with Jamie Oliver..." and continued blah, blah, blah...I had to hit my head to keep following the conversation.  Ok, so I have had a couple of celebrity spottings myself.  Once I walked across the street with Emma Thompson.  And on two occasions I saw Gwyneth Paltrow at the local leisure centre - once I almost ran into her, literally.  She looks amazing - just like in the photos. Helen Bonham Carter and Tim Burton live in Belsize Park, just a short walk from here, and apparently have a genius living arrangement where they essentially each have their own home with a connecting area between the two homes for common family space.  Sounds brilliant!

At a school coffee recently I was chatting away with a couple who were talking about being in London for the "entertainment" business.  Later I learned that I had been having coffee with an Academy Award winning director who is currently working on the Mission Impossible 5 movie - lovely people!

Parents at our children's school are award-winning writers, rock-star band members, hedge-fund owners, traders, bankers, West-End stars, CEO of premier league football clubs, oil executives, heiress of massive Indian realty estates, dignitaries, etc. etc. etc.  And then there are a handful of us at the school who are nobody important (it's not such a bad thing, really...who wants to manage all that staff anyways), or here with the US Foreign Service, or teachers at the school itself!  It is a fascinating mix!

Money money honey!
Yes there is money money money in this city.  Stuff doesn't phase us anymore.  Like all the luxury cars - the Ferraris, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, Bentleys and Rolls Royces....they just become part of the scenery.  Meanwhile we schlep around town on our own two feet, scooters, bikes and city buses. Ok, sometimes the tube or a private hire car....
But the conversations are what really fascinate me.
You overhear people talking about their travels to the Maldives, their Safaris, and their catered Ski Chalet holiday.
Their properties to which they don't even have time to visit.
You find out they are wondering if they should consider having the family fly coach class - so the kids know what it is like - because of course, they have never traveled anything but first class.
When your child comes home from a playdate and tells you that there are elevators and butlers and drivers at the friend's house.
When someone asks you about your "staff" and you truly, really do not have any.
When your child goes to a birthday party and comes home with a party "favor" that is three times nicer and more expensive than the actual birthday gift you offered.
When the bar-mitzvahs and bat-mitzvahs are so over-the-top, at the most exclusive London locations, with pop stars as entertainment, like Pixie Lot.
When you learn that someone who moves here from India has never ever carried her own groceries before.

Our neighbors are interesting and wonderful people.  Across the street, the children go to school with the Beckhams (at Wetherbys), yes, it's the same school Prince William and Harry attended.  Another neighbor's husband works in Dubai.  But the family resides here, and he comes home most weekends. She doesn't cook, so she has a daily chef.  Next door is a lovely couple who have lived all over the globe.  They don't have children, so she enjoys traveling the globe on her own while her husband is busy working.  She has nice staff who tend to her home.  Sometimes she comes to yoga and pilates classes with me at the leisure centre.  Last year, a lovely American Embassy couple lived on our street, and they lived to travel.  They went on 20-30 trips per year.  They had a map in their entry way that was covered with pins marking their travels.  And when they are not traveling, they are attending shows - about 200 per year.  It's amazing the things you can do if you don't have children!  Currently there are a few other Embassy families on our street who are in similar boots to ours, and they're very down to earth.

We have a very nice man (who we believe is homeless) as a friend.  He is at our leisure centre every morning with his large bags.  We see him so much, he's like a friend.  We always greet him and sometimes make small talk. He reads the London Financial Times and passes the day in the library. He'll tell you his car is parked a ways off, and that he is working on his pension.  But I'm not so sure. He's friendly and doesn't ever beg or cause any trouble.  He's just there.  Every day.  And has been for a couple of years now.

It is all very, very interesting.  Stuff that we will never forget, for sure.
And we fully accept and embrace the fact that deep down inside, we are small-town Minnesota folk and that is never gonna change.

Three generations travel to Italy

In this post...following the Frommer's suggested one-week itinerary for Italy

AH, ITALIA!!
The land of endless pasta and gelato, ancient ruins, the origins of Western civilization, some of the world's finest art collections....
And just a short flight away from London!

We planned a trip to Italy just after Christmas 2013, with David's parents joining us.
Last time they came to London, we made a short trip to Paris.  This time, we asked them where they might want to visit in Europe.  ITALY!  was the answer.  And we had not taken the family there either, and it was at the top of the must-see list.

Lovely that Frommer's has already planned out an itinerary for this!  We followed their one-week Italy suggested tour.

Here's the basics of what we did:
Day 1
Arrive and settle in Rome
visit Spanish Steps
eat gelato
visit Trevi Fountain
visit Pantheon
delicious Italian food for dinner - Cantina Cuchina, near Plazza Nouvo

Day 2
Visit the Vittoriano, amazing views, free, and a nice military museum inside
Photographs and walk around the Castel Sant'Angelo
Lunch near the Vatican
Vatican tour 2:30 guided tour (Luca Pietrosanti <lucapietrosanti@gmail.com>) 
Dinner out

Day 3
Arrive early to visit the Coloseum
Tour the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum
afternoon train to Florence
Dinner in Florence & settle at hotel

Day 4
New Year's Day (most things were closed)
Walking tour of Florence - wandered, awed at the gorgeous sites!
Ate delicious food and just meandered the streets

Day 5
Duomo/Cathedral of Florence
Accademia (statue of David)

Day 6
Uffizi Gallery
Santa Croche
Train to Venice

Day 7
Walking visits in Venice
St Mark's Square and Cathedral
Bridge of Sighs
Gondola rides

Day 8
Short walks in Venice - browsing
Return to London

Near the Vittoriano, Rome

David in Florence

St Mark's Square, Venice

The fine print version:
More than you want to know; here's our travel diary....
contributing writer Ally Larson...

By some miracle, we were able to secure flights which placed us all in Rome on December 29th within a half hour of each other.  Although Mike and Kay had to make an overnight trans-Atlantic flight (exhausting), we found them at the terminal and began our adventures!  Amazingly our driver was also waiting at the same time, and was so welcoming and nice!!
Car Service:
info@romeshuttlelimousine.com
Excellent, reliable, and reasonably priced (especially for 7 people).

We got to our hotel in less than an hour, arriving about 2:30.  Our original hotel booking, (Flamino Domino Suites) was a nightmare - they tried to double charge us, and then the day before our arrival, they claimed they had overbooked and we no longer had a room with them.  Of course it seems to us that they wanted to get a better price.  Booking.com told us to book a different hotel they suggested, and being naive I took their suggestion.  Then, after booking it, I researched to make sure it was a good one, and we ended up very disappointed because the 2nd place was farther away from central Rome, and didn't have a kitchenette, and had poor reviews!  OH WELL.  We were stuck.  I tried to talk to booking.com to get out of it, but they convinced us to stay put. We were stuck with Hotel San Pietro.
At the end of the day, the hotel seemed really nice upon arrival.  With a bus stop was right in front of the hotel, we could easily make a quick trip to the central sights of Rome.  We were very close to the Vatican.

That afternoon, we took a bit of time to figure out the buses....finally made our way to the Spanish steps.  A beautiful place, SO MANY PEOPLE!  it was a great area with lots of shops around.  Then, it was time for our first gelato - which we decided must be consumed daily while in Italy!!  After admiring this area, we walked to the Trevi fountain, which we enjoyed even more.  Lingering long enough just to take some photos and let the kids climb around like monkeys, we then made our way to the Pantheon.  Get there before 6pm when it closes.  This is worth some time to explore, the interior houses the tomb of Raphael and the First King of Italy, Vittorio.

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Then heading towards the Plazza Nouvo, we wanted to find a spot for dinner.  We came across Cantina & Cuchina (Via Del Governo Vecchio 87) and it was really nice - very friendly staff and good food.

EVERYONE loved the food in Italy

We got home by 8ish and Kay and Mike needed to get to bed after their long overnight trans-atlantic trip.  We had begun our day at 5:30 am for our flight to Rome, so we were all tired too!

The first night in our hotel, we learned that the towels were like sandpaper - stiff and scratchy.  Ugh. And in the rooms, there were flashing lights throughout the night....one was the fire alarm at the ceiling and the other was the temperature control on the wall.  And these were FLASHING lights.  Like flashing police lights!! No one slept very well.

Monday December 30th.
Next morning, we awakened excited to enjoy the breakfast at the hotel.  Disappointment again - mostly plastic wrapped cookies and very industrial-looking croissants.  Luckily there were some yogurts and white bread rolls.

Vittorio Monument

Pouring rain.  We went to the Palazzo Venezia, where the Vittorio Emanuele Monument dominates the scene...clambering up the steps, we did not know that there were amazing views of the city for free up at the top, as well as a free military museum.  Being in the heart of the city, the views allow you to see in all directions.
We then headed towards the main attraction of the day:  The Vatican.  On the way we stopped to take some photos at the Castelo d'Angelo, a castle nearby.  We found a little restaurant between the Castle and the Vatican to grab some pizza for lunch.  We saw nuns eating inside so we figured it must be pretty good!

THE VATICAN!!
We had reserved a 2:30 tour of the Vatican with an official guide.
The Vatican is overwhelming.  I wish we had gone over there earlier to visit the Dome, wander around, take photos, etc.  THE LINES ARE CRAZY!  I cannot say I would go without a reservation.  Get your tickets in advance!!  But even more so, book a guide!!  I have two guide recommendations:
We used Luca Pietrosanti - we would highly recommend him, he was amazing.

Luca Pietrosanti <lucapietrosanti@gmail.com>

http://www.guideturisticheroma.com

But many people recommended:
http://www.italywiththeresa.blogspot.it/p/tours.html

Get your tickets to all the Vatican sights AHEAD OF TIME!!
http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do

Finally, if your plans place you in Rome on a Sunday or a Wednesday, often the Pope will be giving mass...see if you can't book a space in advance.

Beautiful Kay and Mike with the Vatican in the background

Michaelangelo's La Pieta in St Peter's Basilica 

What can we say about the Vatican....first of all, the masses of people.  Did I mention that yet?  The MASSES of people.
Wow.  And secondly, so much to see - I had not realized that the Vatican Museums house some of the world's best art.  Stunning and jaw dropping, and with a guide, you don't miss anything, and he makes everything sort of come alive with stories and background and interesting tidbits!  WE LOVED IT ALL - all the sculpture, frescoes, more recent art, the Sistine Chapel, the Basillica of St Peter, ALL OF IT.  Never to be forgotten.

Inside St Peter's

Rain rain in St Peter's square

After the sightseeing all day, we were all tired and hungry.  We lumbered back to the hotel, hoping to eat the restaurant just adjacent.  Disappointed to find it closed, we decided it was best to sit down and have a look at some on-line searches and recommendations nearby before aimlessly wandering in search of a restaurant.  We came up with two great options, confirmed at the front desk that they would indeed be open, and ventured out.  After walking only to find the first location also closed (serving dinner from 8pm onwards...) we began trekking to the 2nd location, but during that time we lost one of our group members, who had reached a maximum limit of wandering and couldn't take it anymore.  This set off a bit of grumbling and arguing as we looked to blame who was responsible for all the walking around, and why we didn't communicate a bit better.  But in the end, the restaurant right next to the hotel opened for dinner, we landed there, took great advantage of their house wine special, and had an amazing meal - with extra vino.  The restaurant is called Osteria dei Pontefici.

Tuesday December 31st.
Last day to visit Rome, with a 4:00 train to Florence.
Our Frommers itinerary dictated that we visit the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill - which is an amazing area of Rome with all three sites included in one ticket.
We arrived about 10am to find ridiculous lines (this was the case everywhere, there were crazy crowds - Christmas holiday!).  One way to skip the basic admission line it to opt to pay a bit more and take a guided tour (about 6$ more per person).  Seeing the lines and knowing our limits, we made a quick move to the guided tour line.  BOOK ONLINE AHEAD OF TIME FOR THIS VISIT - we didn't do this, but wish we had!  Also, we wish we had booked a guide for this visit.  The ruins are quite frankly poorly explained with very little written explanations or direction.  It is all quite overwhelming.  An audio guide could be a nice method of visiting, but not really for a group of 7 people.  As it was, we had to work hard not to lose one another!

Awed by the Colosseum

To think of those gladiator fights - and to think that every stadium today essentially follows this exact model!

Palatine Hill

After our visit, we planned to leisurely make our way back to the hotel, grab a light lunch and then get to the train station.  Little did we know...
Our first warning sign was noticing the buses were not running at the normal locations, in fact much of the road around the Colosseum was completely closed off.  Then, while waiting for the buses at another location, we began to notice signs for some sort of road race.  Finally, we learned that not only were the buses mostly on diversion, but also that the Rome Marathon was going to be run that afternoon.  Hmmmm....and we needed to cross the city to our hotel and then cross it again to get to the train station!  HELP!!  we frantically waved down a couple of taxis (can't get 7 people into one taxi), got to the hotel, asked the taxis to wait while we grabbed our things, jumped back into the said taxis and said, "To the Train Station Please!"
Well, one hour later....
What should have been a 10 minute drive ended up taking an hour.  The drivers were unaware of this marathon, had no indication of where they could otherwise go, and so we kept getting dead ends, again and again, trying to find a way to the station, eventually needing to practically drive to Switzerland in order to find a route around the marathon to the station.
But, we got there, and had time to grab a bite, and we all thanked the Good Lord that we went directly there!!  Phew!
We ate at a nice caffeteria in the train station.  Made our way to our train to great delight in finding wonderful comfort and nice seats at a table for all of us.

FLORENCE.
We arrived in Florence about 5:30ish...emerging from a train station in the middle of a European city presents a challenging situation of, WHERE IS, and WHAT DIRECTION IS....?? Once you get your bearings, it's quite simple to follow your map.  Which is what we did, luggage in tow.
We made the 15-20 minute walk to the hotel - First of Florence.  AWESOME.  We cannot recommend them enough.  The receptionists are very kind and helpful and welcoming.  You've got wine, champagne and food already in your kitchenette.   The only two disappointments were the poor wi-fi reception and the fact that the laundry machine was broken.  For the laundry, the receptionist apologized profusely and did our laundry for us.  Wow.   The wi-fi, well, we just had to accept that we were the room farthest from the reception so it was what it was.
We settled in, had a bit of nibbles...and then, to be honest, no one wanted to budge.

One of the highlights of the trip was playing the cardgame 500

It was so lovely and calm and beautiful that we wanted to enjoy it, and relax.  And we were all exhausted from the Rome Chaos Day.  So, Dave, Ally and I ran to get a few items from a local convenience store and came back with some gelato, peanuts, olives, etc. and then played some cards, and went to bed earlyish....only to have the New Year's Eve Festivities begin moments later - bombs?, really, okay they were fireworks - going off everywhere, and loud music and very loud people.  Sounded like a lot of fun!  But we all just really wanted to SLEEP.

WELCOME 2014!!!!!!!!
January 1st.
Dave and I woke up and went for a quick jog thru the city - the street cleaners were out en masse cleaning up from the Eve's festivities & partying.  We ran down to the river.  We were amazed at the sights - absolutely stunning - everywhere.  Sun shining and a new day.  A new YEAR!
Returning to the hotel, we found the others slowly awakening.  Breakfast at 10:30 - lovely at the "OK BAR" across the street - and then off for our visits.  We walked towards the Duomo which was right down the street...and spent quite a lot of time there just gawking, taking photos, and discovering this wonderful spot.

We could not get enough of the Cathedral in Florence

Then continuing towards the River, passing through the Piazza Mercanto and then onto the Piazza de Signore - one of Florence's best.

Finally a view of the river, the Pont Vecchio and sun on our faces.

Pont Vecchio - photo not taken on the "sunny day" walk

Next destination - food and drink.  We would have loved a sunny spot along the river, but instead, just by chance and meandering, we came across the Santa Croche, grabbed a sunny cafe spot there and found reprieve.   Heading back to the hotel for the evening, we got a bit distracted by gelato and shopping.  Great boutique-y shops and gelato that never disappoints!!
Arriving back by 5:30ish, we settled into great card games and a light dinner around 7ish from the fridge (a welcomed break from those euro devouring meals).   Kids getting tired from several days of sightseeing....we tried to get them to sleep, but that was unsuccessful....but there was some fantastic 500 played that evening.

Thur - JANUARY 2nd.
A great full day in Florence!  WOW!!
Beginning with a lovely breakfast! Dave and I decided to go see the lines for Cathedral, perhaps to get tickets without all 7 of us having to wait in line.  Well, WOW were there lines.  CRAZY lines.  So we jumped in line, and just stood in one place.... for ....a long time....
LINES. Let's be clear about the crazy lines to get into museums and landmarks in Italy.  Whoa...
Finally, after nearly 2 hours of waiting...
When we entered the cathedral....yikes, we were shocked to find STAIRS, and more STAIRS.  436 stairs.  How is it possible that we did not know that we were in line for the STAIRS to CLIMB THE DOME??  Again, let's just be clear that things are not all that well marked, indicated at the Italy sights.  We thought we were just in line to visit the Cathedral and museums.  We did not anticipate climbing 426 steps to the top of the dome!!  But wow, it was amazing...
Then we enjoyed visiting the interior and the crypt of the cathedral.

amazing view from the Duomo - well worth the 436 stairs!

We had not made a detailed plan of our time in Florence, the city seemed more manageable than Rome for example.  I would, however, strongly recommend booking the Accademia and the Uffizi in advance.  Our group decided that seeing Michaelangelo's tomb would be amazing so we went to
the Santa Croche...with stops for souvenirs along the way.

That afternoon we had a reservation for the Accademia.  This gallery is actually not too big, we only needed about an hour to visit, and much of that time was spent awe-ing at David.

smooching the BETTER of the two Davids....

There is a great restaurant around the corner:
Trattoria Pizzeria on Via Guelfa
That evening the card playing - 500 - really kicked in!

FRIDAY - JANUARY 3rd...

Early rising to breakfast at 8:20ish.  Checked out of hotel and on our way by 9:30.  Tried to visit the The Florence Baptistery, but it was not yet open.  Went ahead to the Uffizi, and good thing too, the lines were already long - even for those of us who reserved (we had booked tickets the day before). The museum is crowded and overwhelming, but worth all the hassle.


We were there from about 10-12:30....
Then meandered back to the Baptistery, then back to hotel to collect our luggage, then on to the train station, arriving about 1:35.
Did I mention that it had been raining every day except for New Year's Day?  So Much Rain.
We grabbed a bite at a station cafe and then boarded our train to VENEZIA!!

VENICE.
Arrival in Venice was easy and fun; but when you get there, it's is very difficult to navigate the city - however, this is all part of the experience in Venice.

just a typical view in Venice

Get lost!  We wandered and had to back-track many times, trying to find our meeting point to get the keys for the house rental.  We weren't staying in a regular hotel, but instead renting a property for 2 nights through "Faville Apartments".  Meeting point was set at S. Silvestro boat terminal.  We met up with the woman giving us the keys and she showed us the property, which started with a dark stairwell in which the lights were broken, crumbling walls in some areas, and 4 flights of darkness.  When we reached the top floor and our flat, we were reassured.  It wasn't fancy by any means, in fact it was lacking in many areas, but there were 3 bedrooms and a pull-out couch, a full kitchen and a living area.  Only one bathroom, but all in all, for the price, it was okay.

our apartment in Venice and more card games!

Once we settled in, Dave and I went on the search for a good restaurant and a dash to the supermarket to grab a few items for breakfasts and a dinner.

Our apartment was just near the Ponte di Rialto, in San Polo - a great location!

We found a great restaurant next to our flat - Ristorante La Porta d'Acqua (www.laportadacqua.it)
It was a bit pricier than we had been doing, but this was to be our last dinner out before leaving Italia! Their specialty was seafood, and we had not eaten seafood either, so we felt it was a great choice.  The service was very nice and they gave us a few extra items - delicious bread refills, some bruschetta "from the kitchen", and for Josh and I, all three items from the first course of the "set menu".

We all (except for Ally) slept pretty well....this was the most quiet of our stays in Italy.
The next day, we were in no rush.  We simply wanted to explore Venice, get lost in her teeny tiny side streets, and our only goal was to visit Saint Mark's Basilica and St Marks Square.

The Bridge of Sighs...

Disappointed by the rain, we made our best effort to really enjoy these amazing sights, but to be honest we were drenched. We had a great little lunch at the upstairs of a trattoria on the way back to our apartment - pizzas and pasta!!

Window shopping - yummy treats

We had read that Venice was very expensive, but we really didn't find it much different than Rome and Florence.  Especially if you just walk a bit away from St Mark's Square. 

We did some nice window shopping on the way back to our place.  We loved eyeing all the amazing glass pieces, and Ally especially planned to get a festive Venetian mask.

We arrived back at the house completely soaked.  A few of us returned for a bit more browsing, and we started some laundry, but mostly we planned to be in for the night!  On the agenda was playing 500 and making some great pasta.  And staying out of the rain....
Both achieved, we even snuck some gelato into the freezer from our outing and enjoyed that as a final closing to our last evening meal in Italia.....

Bon noche!

SUNDAY 5th January: Arrivederchi
We all woke up with another great sleep. Looking out the windows, it wasn't raining yet, which we took as a good sign. Our breakfast consisted of pastries that we had bought on our outing the night before, and we also had to eat up everything that we had bought.

Everyone packed their bags, and we spent a significant amount of time looking around for Josh's lost watch, which was later found in his sweatshirt pocket. We thought that we would keep the key to our door and go outside to take our final stroll around Venice, since we thought the cleaning person wouldn't come for a while. As soon as we were ready to leave, we heard a knock at the door, and unfortunately, it was the cleaner. We brought all the bags downstairs and decided that Dave would stay with the bags while everyone else went walking; he didn't mind. But we all wanted to be together, so I went to ask the cleaner if it would be ok to leave our bags at the bottom of the stairs. She said we could, so fortunately we could all head out. Right after opening the door, we soon realised that it was in fact raining pretty hard.

It wasn't fun to be in the rain. We had been rained on all week!!  We walked around a bit, but then realized that though it was a beautiful city, we would all prefer to get to airport early than walk around in the pouring rain. We walked back to the apartment and picked up our luggage to head for the boat stop where we would be leaving to go to the airport. It was a 30 minute walk with the luggage, and we had to stop sometimes to get out of the rain. During that time, Dave and I purchased some Murano Glass : a jug and candy dish which are both very colourful and beautiful.

After finally arriving at the boat stop, we waited for about 10 minutes and then the boat arrived. We had a nice little compartment to ourselves and the ride passed pretty quickly. Once we arrived at the airport, we had six and a half hours before our flight!  We settled down at a restaurant/cafeteria and stayed there for abut 3 hours, eating, playing cards, etc.


When we were finally allowed to check our bags, we got through security and sat down by our gate. As we had some time to kill, the kids got some last gelato and played some hide and seek. We also explored duty-free shops. FINALLY we could board the plane, where one of Josh's soccer teammates was also boarding. We talked to them for a while and on the plane, our seats were very close so Josh sat with them for a while.

After the long day, we arrived back in London and went to sleep.   It was a great vacation.

GELATO - one of the highlights - eat as much of it as you can!!