Italy - Day 1

This morning was amazing - probably a sure sign of a pretty amazing day to follow!  The sunrise was  so beautiful that I forgot to even take a picture.  The clouds like snow across the sky and the sun peeking its rays up from underneath was captivating.  We flew over France, Germany and Switzerland before landing in Italy.  The mountains were amazing and the landscape of Italy was truly a patchwork of color!  We saw a few planes come really near our plane so we must of been over a major airport.  At any rate we made it!

Venice is so surreal!  It's like something you can't explain to someone and even if you've seen pictures it's just not the same.  Here are a few sights we took in today!

The Vaporetto taxied us in to Venice.

 We ate lunch at Osteria Ae Sconte Restaurant and enjoyed gnochetti di patate

 con crema di formaggi & walnuts and of course, vino casa (Toza).  The gnochetti reminded me of vey cheesy mac & cheese!  Later we visited St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge's Palace.  Follow the link to Doge's Palace for some beautiful images.

The market at San Marco was full of people

and we felt right at home in the heat and humidity!

 The famous Bridge of Sighs is located here.  Stories vary slightly on this but overall it represents the sadness of those being led away to prison who can no longer enjoy the beauty of Venice.  The prison was like a maze with a lot of dark block cells. 

This is the very popular Rialto Bridge.  We found a little restaurant near here 

on the Grand Canal called Ristorante Omnibus. 

I enjoyed fresh peach juice.  Unfortunately, after not sleeping for almost 24 hours

I have forgotten what I ate but I think this is where I tried a pesto pasta.

The streets in Venice are narrow and lined with merchants.

Our favorite already is the gelato. 

I do remember I had Limone gelato! 

Kenny said his (a caramel flavor) was probably the best he had anywhere in Italy.

On the way back to Hotel Canaletto we ran into the stewardesses from the plane. 

After a little shopping for Murano glass, it was lights out for us!

Family Vacay

This summer we enjoyed our Family Vacay in Wimberley, Texas.  We stayed at Canyon View in a log cabin with an spectacular view.  We really liked that it had a "fenced in" patio that served as a large play pen for the grandbabies to run free. We picked the pinnacle of the summer heat with temperatures reaching 103 degrees but there was a really nice breeze in the canyon so it didn't seem to matter.  Our trip comes just a little over 3 months since the terrible Memorial Day floods that swept away many homes along the river as well as precious lives.  

  
On the first evening, Dirk grilled pork chops and served them with his homemade crawfish etouffee.  Great Eats!  We played Ellen's app game under the light of a Blue Moon.  The game is a lot like charades where you act out or give clues about a character.  Lindsay's favorite was our portrayal of Stevie Wonder. 

We did a little swimming at Blue Hole Regional Park - where the water is so cold, it's almost bearable if you got completely wet.  The most fun was had on the rope swing that only Kenny, me, Dirk and Lindsay actually braved. 

 

Don't blink or you will miss my grand entrance! 

 
It was fun just chilling at the park and then grabbing some grub at Ino'z Brew & Chew in town with a little music from the (something) Fudd Band. 

We headed over to Driftwood Estates for a little "vino" tasting and a picnic dinner. Whether your looking at the 2 cuties above or the vineyard below - Pretty nice view for a picnic, huh?

Another excursion was a trip over to Krause Springs - a natural spring area with camping and a man-made stone spring fed swimming pool.  Another very cold swimming experience!

 

I think Miss Dakota enjoyed the river this time more than Mom. 

Jessica had to really hold on to her or she would've taken off. 

Derek and Jess can't decide if they can handle this cold spring!

 

We didn't stay very long but this would be a great place to go camping, cook-out, and enjoy the butterfly garden.  There was a waterfall where the spring ran over the cliff and emptied into the river below.  The down-side was that there were a lot of rocks and it was easy to slip and fall.  Not the best place for swimming thus the swimming pool.

Yep!  We see you, Jenn!

 

Enjoyed some music from Edison Chair while we played a

little putt-putt at Hill Country Golf & Guitar.

There were the usual family get-together activities such as puzzles and 42.  On the trip home we drove Devil's Backbone Ridge and River Road.

  It was a really wonderful time to be with family and

enjoy our sweet grandbabies, Devin & Dakota!