Venice, Italy – Now that it’s December, the tourists are gone (except for us!), the Venetians are friendlier and it’s safe to go to Piazza San Marco. We took our visitors to the Palazzo Ducale–the Doge’s Palace–for a primer on…
Venice Naval History Museum
Venice, Italy – The Museo Storico Navale–aka the Naval History Museum–is approximately two minutes away from our apartment. And there is a giant anchor out front marking the entrance. We walk by it nearly everyday. I can’t believe it took…
Venice Architecture Biennale – 2
Venice, Italy – Day two of the Venice Architecture Biennale. Our first visit was fun, but not fun enough that the twins wanted to come back. But I insisted. After all, we started with the less prominent of the two…
Venice Architecture Biennale – 1
Venice, Italy – Since it’s the last week of the Venice Architecture Biennale, we figured we better get on it. And in case you thought that an architectural exhibit is not fun for kids, you’re wrong! This was the offering from Iceland…
Burano
Venice, Italy – It’s a long haul out across the Venice lagoon to the island of Burano, famous for cookies and lace-making. We made the trip to catch some color magic.
Murano
Venice, Italy – The glassmakers’ workshop in Murano was obviously a hit with the twins, because: fire. (Twin S now asking for a blowtorch for Christmas.) But there’s more fun to be had on the island of Murano. We didn’t…
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
Venice, Italy – The thing about Venice is that there is an abundance of magnificent churches and Renaissance paintings. The twins love art and architecture as much as the next 8-year-old, but… this isn’t exactly their genre. But that’s what…
Highs & Lows in Naples
Naples, Italy – So much for the gorgeous Amalfi Coast and the Isle of Capri. We won’t be seeing them. There’s a hurricane hitting Italy at the moment, so we went inside. In Naples. Actually, we went underground. Napoli Sottoterranea,…
Sorrento Specialties
Sorrento, Italy – Sampling the local food specialties is such an important part of learning about a culture. Lucky for us, the Sorrento specialties happen to be desserts. So be it! Yes, my family was cursing as I dragged them…
Mount Vesuvius
Ercolano, Italy – After an amazing day exploring the ruins of Pompeii, the obvious next stop was the fiery mountain itself. And so we ascended the infamous Mount Vesuvius (mostly by bus, but also on foot) to peek into the…