10th Birthday in Italia

For his 10th birthday, Micah wanted to see Venice, Italy "before it sinks." 

I try to make sure there are incriminating photos for my future daughters-in-law to see that their husbands weren't raised quite right. We had ice cream bars for lunch on the train, after taking a shuttle, a plane and a city bus that morning. We ended up eating gelato (the real kind) every day!

Beyond Expectations: Even having seen pretty photos of Venice, I was surprised at how unique it is!

Beyond Expectations: The gondolas were more ornate than I had envisioned.

Beyond Expectations: The Grand Canal was hustling and bustling.

Beyond Expectations: The boys thought it was so cool to go two days without seeing a single car, bus, van or truck.

We walked along numerous alleys without always knowing if we were headed to a dead-end, a sharp turn or a bridge across another canal.

 For Andrea (the S. stands for Saint)

and Joletta (almost).

Beyond Expectations: Fancy carnaval masks were ubiquitous!

The birthday boy was thanked many times for bringing us to Italia.

The bell tower offered great views

in all directions

and deep discussions.

With all of the beautiful art around me, I wanted to try my hand at making some.

These guys could have cheered for the boats to make bigger waves for hours.

Venice at night; featuring the Tongen men.

Do gondolas have traffic jams?

Beyond Expectations: Venice is extremely expensive. No, we did not spend 80 Euros for a brief gondola ride,

but we did spend 50 cents for this photo!

A birthday water taxi ride to the island of Murano,

where we learned about glass blowing and they gave Micah a horse like this one as a birthday present.

He turned 10 on an island in Italy while eating (his favorite) mushroom pizza. Yes, Italian food was even better than our expectations.

We learned about how they make violins

and took a few breaks along the Grand Canal.

We lost track of how many bridges like this one we crossed per day.

Profile of a 10-year old in Italy.

Micah and I went to hear an outstanding concert of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, with 4 violins, viola, harpsichord, cello and a bass.

Beyond Expectations: Early morning on the Grand Canal.

Water bus ride to the train station.

Ciao Venezia!

Beyond Expectations: We spent a half day in BEAUTIFUL Florence.

"Look, mom, I am Italian because I have a mustache."

An Islamic woman (visiting from Saudi Arabia) asked for Paul's photo and gave him a kiss.

4-year-old tourism: We have the same photo from Valencia.

We are afraid that Paul hasn't learned to tell the truth, so he is dealing with the nasal consequences.

Beyond Expectations: Florence is like a beautiful, outdoor art museum.

Oh no! They looked at Medusa's head and turned into statues.

Yes, we had our luggage with us, so it won't work to look at our clothes to determine which of the 4 days it is.

Beyond Expectations: the Duomo

The boys' favorite part of Florence was playing hide and seek for an hour through this telescope.

Will he backpack through Europe in another 10 years?

I am so thankful that God has entrusted me with these three boys.

Little Paul and Little David -- may he similarly be a man after God's own heart.

We enjoyed the beauty of Florence and a sunny afternoon.

The boys' dream -- Within one hour, we went from riding a double-decker bus to riding a double-decker train (with some "real" pizza and biscotti in-between.)

Beyond Expectations:  I was captivated by the beautiful Italian countryside.

Beyond Expectations:  Tuscany lives up to its great reputation!

It turns out that staging this picture is hard when the photographer can't stop laughing.

I finally collected myself to display my husband's great strength.

The next morning -- "I am sure that it is leaning even more today than yesterday!" - Paul

Anthony wins the pushing contest.

Beyond Expectations: We came to Pisa because Paul and Sam really wanted to see the leaning tower "before it falls."  It is leaning even more than Anthony and I expected!

Beyond Expectations: Flying Ryanair was part of our surprisingly smooth travels, considering the crazy quantity and diversity of transportation we used.

One last picture of Venice with my thoughts about travel. We saw a LOT of tourists last weekend. There are many people, myself included, who long to see the world. Traveling is wonderful: we experience great things, meet people from other cultures, try delicious food, and learn a lot. However, it doesn't necessarily put a sparkle in my son's eye or fulfillment in my heart that I am really longing for. Only God can do those things.

We are all happy to be home. Upon returning, Micah decided that Salamanca is our home away from Colima, which is our home away from Harrisonburg, which is our home away from Heaven.