Florence, Italy

Florence- The weather was so beautiful. We left the Sacile train station at 8:30am and arrived in Florence around 10:00am. We saw the city in one day and it worked out perfectly. Corrie had planned our trip using "Rick Steve's guide to Italy". So helpful. We dropped our bags off at the train station while we explored. First we set out to tour The Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiori). It is Florence's tallest building. It is also in the center of Florence, on the way to

Michelangelo's David. We also had to see the Ponte Vecchio; the oldest and most famous bridge in Florence.

Ok so now that you know everything we saw I have to put a more personal spin on this.

Really the only thing I cared about seeing in Florence was David. We were not allowed to take pictures so you can see me with a replica of him outside. He was so amazing; so much bigger than I thought he would be. I was a little taken back with the details like veins in his hands and feet. Walking up to David we passed 6-8 other statues that Michelangelo never finished. He must have been A.D.D. or something. Why start 8 and never finish one?

We had a really good time. Faith had fun running around in the Duomo. She needed a place to run with a flat surface. Everywhere we went the ground was uneven and she kept falling. Not that great of a place for a one year old but we went and I'm so glad we did.

Italy - Part 1 "Venice"

I will have to do this in sections because we took more than 600 pictures.

Italy was so much fun with my sister. I miss her daily, but know that if we can tour around Italy with a one year old on our backs we will be able to go anywhere, do anything and see so much more together.

These pictures are a little out of order. I will try to do better with Florence and Rome.

Venice- We took a train to Venice from Sacile. Sacile is a city about 15 min away from where Corrie lives. It took a little less than an hour to arrive in Venice.

Once we arrived we were ready to explore. One of Corrie's friends had given her a backpack that holds kids, so we used that instead of a stroller because we knew we wouldn't be able to get around in Venice with one. The city was Full of shopping, yummy pizza and pastries. As you can see in one of the pictures we had pizza for lunch! Corrie and I barley touched the surface of Venice as we knew the surface was all Faith could handle. I got to walk from the train station to St. Mark's Square and toured St. Mark's Church. The architecture was indescribable. There is a picture of the church. If you open it up and look closer, the color part is tiny mosaics that have something to do with Jesus. In the square I had two men ask if they could take their picture with me, that was different.... There were opportunities to ride on a gondola every corner you turned, prob not the safest thing to take a one year old on, so we didn't. Thats something I want to do with my husband anyway. Venice was amazing and I am so glad I got to explore it with my sister.

Matt and Corrie's home town

When we arrived in Italy spring had just sprung. Corrie's home backs up to the Swiss Alps. Need I say more? Faith loved to play in their back yard and pick flowers. The town of Polcenigo is a 10 minute walk from their home; that is where I tasted the best Gelato ever made. The owner of the store had duel citizenship; American and Italian. His gelato tasted so perfect. If you wanted banana gelato, it tasted like you were actually eating a banana, "lemona" tasted like a fresh lemon and so on.... Wish I lived close to that place.

Corrie and Matt live in the country so every road we drove down we would pass some type of tractor. Corr and I would always laugh. The roads are sooooo tiny skinny. There are mirrors when you come to a place you can't see around so you have to look in the mirror. Crazy. In the town of Polcenigo there is a river that runs through; it is water from the mountain so it is freezing cold!

You see the picture of the man pumping gas? I had to take his picture. What a luxury to have someone pump your gas for you. They pay twice as much as we do but I feel like even if we get to the same price they pay we will never have someone pump our gas for us.

Spring Break Dallas Arboretum 2011

The Dallas Arboretum could not have been more perfect this year. Parking was insane; but we always go the back way and got the best parking spot ever!! That kind of stuff rarely happens to Jesse and I. The weather was so beautiful.

Faith had so much fun. This was her first time smelling a tulip; instead of smelling it she wanted to eat it and said, "yummy." She will get it sometime, and of course she had to find the only stick in the whole place.

First Project

Jesse and I finally have a home to call our own. This was our first project. We really enjoyed putting stone in our flower bed. It only took us 45 min and what a difference it made!

First Swing Set

Grandaddy insisted that she have her own swing set and we are sure glad he did. Faith LOVES her new swing. She would stay outside for hours if we let her. This was the first time Faith slid down her slide. What a blessing to have her own swing set in our back yard.