At about 7:30 on Tuesday I headed to the train station to pick them up and we wasted no time. We dropped their bags off at their hotel and headed out to explore Verona. By noon I had showed them Juliet's Balcony, the Arena, Teatro Romano, Piazza Erbe, Piazza Bra, and Castle Vecchio. They were worn out after spending the last couple of days in Scotland, England, and France, so we had some lunch, I showed them my school and they went back to the hotel to rest. After class we decided to have pizza at the restaurant connected to their hotel and call it an early night.
The next morning after Art History class, I took them to Malcesine (a town on Lake Garda). It was a 2 hour bus trip either way, but we thought it'd be worth it since there was a lift we could take up into the mountains that would give us a 360 degree view of the lake. Lucky us we made it all the way there to find out the lift was closed for maintenance and the big castle in town was only open on the weekends. We made the most of it though and wandered through the cute medieval town, taking pictures of the lake and the alps. When we got back, I showed them my lovely apartment and we met a handful of the people from my program for dinner. We went to this great place that is an old church turned into a restaurant. Dad and Alex finally got to meet Kate, Jamie, the Annies, and my friend Dani. We had a great time, laughing and telling stories of our crazy adventures thus far. Luckily afterwards we realized the Annies and Dani could walk the boys back to their hotel because they lived in the same area, but I'm pretty sure they could have found their way back on their own. Verona is pretty easy to find your way around even after you are there only a day or two.
The next day we headed to Florence on a very early train. We arrived about 9 and decided to have a quick breakfast before we walked around. We made the mistake of sitting down to order our cappuccinos and ended up paying 5 euros for each of them. What made it worse was the guy was very rude to us and told us the prices were on the menu at our table (very hidden under numerous things). It was easier for dad and Alex to shrug it off than it was for me and they were the ones paying. But that is the second time I've been ripped off in Florence and was angry. It didn't spoil the day though as we made our way up to Michelangelo's piazza, to San Croce cathedral, the Duomo, and of course to the leather markets. After a long day we headed back home for another nice dinner and early to bed.
Friday we went to Venice for all of about 3 hours! They were both very tired at this point, but I insisted on them seeing Venice since they were so close. We walked through the wonderful maze of houses, sat for a bit in St. Marco's Square, and then hit up the street vendors for some excellent blown glass souvenirs. We headed back early in the day so the boys could do some shopping in Verona, and so they could try an apertivo. Apertivi are before dinner drinks, usually a spritz, that the Italians are very fond of. We sat in Piazza Erbe for a bit, walked around, and then had a nice dinner of lasagna. They had to catch a flight very early the next morning so we had to say our goodbyes that evening. I had such a wonderful time with them as they are very easy-going travelers. It was so good to see my boys and I already miss them like crazy, but luckily Mom and Aunt Lanie are come to visit in under a week. Not long after that Kate and a few girls from home will be visiting and then I come home. Time is flying by!
Ciao for now!
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