Venice, Italy – If I were independently wealthy, I would buy a palazzo on the Grand Canal and use it to house my fabulous collection of modern art and to entertain my artist friends. There is so much to love…
Venice Museum of Natural History
Venice, Italy – The Venice Museum of Natural History is creepy. So of course my kids loved it. This place is filled with specimens that explorers brought back from around the world — featuring everything from stuffed animals to mummies…
Campo Santa Maria Formosa
Venice, Italy – This is actually the second time we have spent a semester in Venice. The first time was a lifetime ago, before twins, in 2008. It was so long ago that I had a different blog back then.…
Hiking the Dolomites
Soprabolzano, South Tyrol – After a cloudy day yesterday, on our second day, the sun came out and we trekked all over these mountains. Bolzano is an excellent base for hiking the Dolomites. From the center of town, a cable…
Runkelstein Castle
Bolzano, South Tyrol – After spending the morning with Otzi the Iceman, there was a break in the clouds. So we walked about 3km north along the Torrente Talvera river to reach Runkelstein Castle. This 14th-century castle has walls covered…
Ötzi the Iceman
Bolzano, South Tyrol – It’s a cloudy day in the Dolomites, so we decided to spend the morning with Ötzi the Iceman. Hikers in the nearby mountains found this 5000-year-old mummy frozen in the ice. He now resides at the…
Weekend in the Dolomites
Bolzano, South Tyrol – Escape from the city! We headed north for a weekend in the Dolomites. Our hotel, Magdalener Hof, has a excellent restaurant and a pool with a view. We might spend the entire weekend right here.
Water Taxi
Venice, Italy – I first noticed this water taxi when it passed us in the lagoon, on our way in from the airport. Yesterday I discovered that it docks about five minutes from our flat, on our way to the…
Lido di Venezia
Venice, Italy – Our afternoon of riding bikes on the Lido di Venezia was all well and good until S got a flat tire at the far end of the island. That made for a looooong trip back. Fortunately, gelato…
Lego Shop
Venice, Italy – The first thing the twins noticed on our street, Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, was a tabacchi (tobacco) shop. But we’ll call it the “Lego Shop.” The Lego Shop window features a detailed Lego model of Piazza San Marco,…