Bergamo, Italy - September 24 - 26, 2007

Hobie explores his freedom in Marina Uno.

The Zia crew in Piazza Vecchia

The girls rode all the lions they could find in Bergamo.  They are the symbol of Venice, which ruled over the city for hundreds of years.

The cathedral in Bergamo has an amazing facade.  The interior of the church is equally elaborate.

John and Joe met for the first time on this visit and hit it off famously.

A challenging Heely hill.

The Duomo in Milan in all its majestic glory.

Exploring the covered Galleria full of fancy shops and cafes while waiting out the rain outside.

Venice, Italy - September 28 - October 6, 2007

Our first view of Venice....

The small marina and church on Isola San Giorgio.

On the east side of Giudecca you find the luxurious Hotel Cipriani.

A true Venetian villa.

We were treated to the sight of a gondola rowing by the boat on our first morning in Venice.

The flowered terrace of Altanella restaurant on Giudecca.  We wound up there for our last meal in town.

Taking the dingy to Piazzale Roma on the start of our trip to meet Alison and Holly at the airport.

Spirito Santo Church marks the Zattere section of Venice.  This became our most convenient waterbus stop from Giudecca.

Laundry hanging out back and the family "wagon" parked outside!

One of the better maintained facades along the Canal Grande.

The waterbuses run all through and around Venice.  Although often quite crowded and not always fast, the sights along the way make the rides pass quickly.

The girls with the Rialto bridge in the background.

The mailman making his rounds in Venice.

A delivery boat driver catching up on the day's news while steering through the canals.

I couldn't get the kids to understand just what they were missing with their heads buried in their books.

Holly is here at last!

The rowing club next to our boatyard, just after the finish of the gondola races.

Cassie, Allegra from Dark Horse, Holly and Juliana.

Lola and Mike on Dark Horse.

Tamsin from Twice Eleven and Joe enjoying a morning coffee on Dark Horse.

Pasta e fagioli soup at the rowing club.

Everyone got in on the fun with the pigeons.

I don't know if you can see Cassie's expression here but it is a mixture of sheer joy and abject terror.

We learned a little about Saint Mark's church, where the body of St. Mark was laid to rest after being stolen out of the Cathedral in Constantinople in 828.

A pause for refreshments during a hard day of touring.

Riding the waterbus.

One of the villas on the island of Murano.

The interior of Santi Maria e Donato church in Murano with its 12th century mosaic floor.

Alison and Holly Cunard overlooking a canal in Murano.

You can never get enough gelato!

Practicing their "One Two Step"

An interesting view of a gondola.

Yet another waterbus ride.

The girls playing on top of the sidewalks that are deployed around the city during the "acqua alta" or high water when the streets and piazzas are flooded.

Alison and Joe went off to tour a little on their own.  Looks like next time I should think twice about such adventures!

These are a few of the many shots from our dinghy ride through the canals of Venice.

This canal actually passes beneath a large church!

Back on Dark Horse for dinner and drinks.  Alison with David from Twice Eleven.

Alison and Lola enjoying a glass of wine.

Of course the kids were invited too!

Our after dinner theater performance......

More Heely shots of the three girls.

And our farewell dinner at Altonella.

Monfalcone, Italy - October, 2007

The girls and Hobie enduring the rough passage from Venice to Monfalcone.

The Fincantiere boatyard is quite famous.  Apparently this will be the world's largest cruise ship.  They have also built some America's Cup boats for the Italian teams.

At Ricardo's 7th birthday party.

Vienna, Austria - October 8 - 11, 2007

One of the main shopping streets.

St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Chris and Eileen took us on a walking tour which included a visit to the oldest pharmacy in town, from 1551.

Enjoying dinner in one of the famous coffee houses of Vienna.

We met a Canadian family while walking around town who has taken the year off and is making their way around the world via planes, trains and automobiles on $180 a day.