Europe: Part 4

Okay, back again! Continuing on...our next stop was Lucerne, Switzerland. One of my favorite places in Europe because it was soooo beautiful! We first stopped near Lake Lugano and had lunch. Then we rode our bus through to Lucerne, where we stayed over night. The night we got in Lucerne, we saw a monument that was a lion carved into the side of a mountain...very interesting! Then we got oriented to the city, including all the good shops to buy watches, and the famous "wooden bridge" that was across the water in town. The next morning we went up to the top of Mt. Pilatus! We road a really neat train and had gorgeous views of Lucerne and the Swiss Alps! It was literally like being on top of the world! After that, we shopped the rest of the day in the cute city! I bought a watch and some swiss chocolate, of course! I would LOVE to go back there someday! Here are the wonderful views we saw:

Europe: Part 3

Next up was Venice, Italy! Again, we took a nice little bus ride up to the little "island" of a city, Venice. Really, Venice is made up of a bunch of different islands that are "hooked" together by cute bridges and buildings. Therefore, Venice is all about water! To get there, we actually had to ride a ferry boat. We got to spend pretty much all day there, but the bummer thing about that day was that it was RAINING. Nonstop. Okay, maybe just a little sunshine break in the afternoon, but then it went right back to the way it was. I did not bring my cute pocket-sized umbrella that day. Oh, and did I mention we almost didn't get to visit Venice because it was FLOODED. Yep. Flooded. We even walked on small wooden walkways above the ground so we didn't have to step in the 2 or 3 inches of water below us. Crazy!

Well, it wasn't as horrible as it sounded, but I was pretty much freezing and wet all day! Despite that, we still went on a gondola ride (serenading and all), walked the streets, explored the fun little shops that were all over, and watched a glass-blowing demonstration. I think my favorite part was just looking at all of the bridges and canals. I think I would like to go back there on a nice, warm day though to appreciate it all a little more. It was still amazing being there and worth it all in the end! It made me feel like I was in all those action-packed movies like James Bond that took place there! :)

Europe: Part 2

Okay, so here goes part 2 of my trip to Europe. Our next stop was to Florence, Italy. Florence is up more in the "country" part of Italy. It took only about a half day to get there by bus from Rome. The scenery on that bus ride was AMAZING! Wonderfully green, rolling hills! When we got to Florence, we got to spend the afternoon and evening exploring a little square in the city. The next day, we were led on a tour through more of the historical parts of the city and through a museum that held the famous "David" statue, sculpted by the one and only Michelangelo! We also did some good shopping of the fine leather goods! In all, I actually really enjoyed the little city of Florence! Not as overwhelming as Rome, but it was very fun to walk the tiny little streets, shop, and see the ancient architecture!