Day 10 - Our gondola ride in Venice

 While we know a Gondola ride is super touristy - we could not come to Venice and not actually do one.  I did one 22 years ago with "the girls" on my Contiki and imagined it would be much more romantic to do it with a partner - and I was right - even if the kids were on board!

 They were super excited about doing a gondola ride - and for ours it was actually quite quiet on the canals - it was 7pm, the day trippers were gone and there were times when we were the only people we could see - fantastic!

  After the quiet peace of the small canals we then went out on the Grand Canal - luckily there were not too many boats zooming past and we had an uneventful ride - our guide was great, he spoke good English and explained about the buildings we were going past; his experience of being a Gondolier and how he had learnt from his dad.

 Lions abound in Venice and is the cities patron animal.

A Gondola ride is certainly something special and a must do in Venice- it is touristy for a reason!

It is now time for us to fly back to Marseille for our last couple of weeks before we get home.

We have had an amazing time in Italy - it really is a fabulous country and we have been so lucky to have this family time here together exploring and experiencing - just amazing!

Day 9 - Exploring Venice

Today we were training to Venice.  We checked out of our hotel and had a quick wander around a church near us before we headed to the train station.  Our train left at 11.50am and we arrived in Venice at 3.35pm.  We all love travelling by train - there was lots to see and we enjoy this relaxing mode of transport.  Once in Venice we caught a vaporetto along the Grand Canal to St Marco and our accommodation.  

Our first views from the canal trip - the famous Rialto bridge

Fab colourful buildings

The boys enjoying the ride =

We arrived at St Marco square and here is the basilica - impressive.  We waited n the square for our accommodation lady to arrive to show us to our apartment.  She took some time as she had guests locked in a lift - oops - and so we had time to hang while all we really wanted was to get to our accommodation and chill.  Our accommodation was close bye and it was great - amazing location!

The great lions adorning the square

The square is big and we had some fun =

One of the great things about Venice is exploring the streets, canals and bridges - it really is amazing and getting lost is lots of fun.  There are shops everywhere and it is clear that the high tides are really having an impact on Venice -

There are also old wells everywhere - that used to be the main water supply for the city

The beautiful leaning tower of Venice -

Hanging with the boys -

The food, also delish!

Tourists in some areas were crazy - but they really seemed to congregate in the same areas and not explore so it was great to go out and about..............................and away from the hordes!

We found a cool chocolate and coffee store - yum!

The boys loved the little souvenir stores and bartering - they spent ages in there while we chilled out at the restaurants and bars -

An afternoon spritz on the grand canal!

Strolling the streets -

Not too long after high tide - not a big one so no flooding of St Marco Square today -

And then there is the delish gelato - often enjoyed multiple times a day! Our excuse - ice-cream goes with everything!

A cool shop window that took our fancy!

Day 8 - Rome - The Colosseum

A tour of the Colosseum - we booked a specialised kids tour so that it would capture the kids and it was age ranged for 7 - 12 year olds - perfect! We arrived and quickly signed in and pretty soon we were off.  The Colosseum was cool, however after spending time at both the Arles and Nimes amphitheaters in France, this was actually a little disappointing for all of us.  The arenas in both Arles and Nimes have been restored and we went to an event in Arles and it was amazing.    Still, the colosseum is much more famous and so we were looking forward to hearing all about it!  The guide was good, however didn't really capture the kids attention - she talked about being a princess and how great this was which enthralled the girls but the boys not so much.  Lachlan had done a powerpoint project on the colesseum and so he and Connor both had some knowledge however the statistics and details that our boys are so keen on were not really part of the tour.  There were however some gladiator stories that had them interested and it was great just to wander around the colesseum and imagine events taking place there.  

The boys ready for action -

Our tour group with our tour leader in the red tank

The family shot amongst the crowds.

Karlos looking groovy

Some fo the underground sections..............

The crowns the kids were given - Connor thought it was pretty cool - Lachlan not so much!

But he did let me take a picture -

Time to move on now to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

Connor will find sand to draw in anywhere.........................fun times

This was our last activity in Rome.  We had a fab time in Rome and certainly did some walking usually about 20,000 steps per day - great sights and a busy few days - now time for Venice and some chill time and wandering!