Austria to Venice, Italy

May 30, 2012

This had to be the most beautiful coach ride yet. We came out of the mountains and hit hills of houses, palaces, and winery’s.  We were finally in Italy and this was what I looked forward to the most. 

Here is what I learned about Italy:

There is diverse scenery in Italy from mountains to beaches and the temperatures vary depending on where you are.  The kids go to school during the summer from the time they are four years old.  Italy is known for the luxury and we can see this in cars and fashion from Prada to Gucci.  Wine and olives are their specialties and everything is made from these two items.  Cheeses are named from the regions they are in.  Italy is the 5^th most visited country in the world and I can see why!  Italians love soccer and Formula 1 racing.  The language is based off poetry so it’s the language of love!

First stop, Venice.  Venice is made up of 116 islands and it’s a man made city.  They put trees into the sea to compact the area since they were always getting invaded because of the easy access to the sea.  Venice is always flooding and at times purposely they flood the city so they built walkways that people can walk on during “flooding” hours.  St. Marco’s church is in the middle of the city.

In order to access Venice you have to take a boat to the city.  So, we first started with a walking tour and learned about winged lions and St. Marco’s Church.  Italians stole the body of Mark from Egypt by bringing in a basket and having pork over the bones of Mark.  Venice is known for masks and glass.  St. Marco’s murals are made from tine pieces of glass all put together to form a puzzle.  Masks were made for Mardi Gras and the long nosed masks were made for doctors during the plaque so they wouldn’t get sick.

After the walking tour we took a gondola ride around the city followed by dinner.  We were served entry after entry until you couldn’t eat anymore.  Ending the day we took a boat back to the bus to return to our hotel!

St/ Marco's Church

This is made of tiny pieces of glass