Vienna, Austria

Here we had much more time!!  It was beautiful when we arrived, a quick stop at the summer castle, then a trip to a Schnapps museum.  Later we got dressed up for a night of classical music.

We had the opportunity to go to a music concert, the concert hall was quite small, probably only sat about 50 people or so.

Girls night out

At dinner where we had Schnitzel and Strudel, absolutely delicious!

And this is the building that we had our dinner in!  

The next day:

Another rainy day in Europe, but we had a nice day out!

This quite possibly could be my most favorite church yet, Stehansdom.  The outside a beautiful gothic, but the inside was so surprising!  

Then off to enjoy the local faire.  A chocolate torte that had been created specifically for a Prince called Sacher-Torte.

I look exhausted...  good thing I had that coffee!

Outside of the Natural History Museum.  I had been to the Imperial Palace museum earlier and purchased a ticket, that I thought, would get me into the Natural History Museum as well... yeah, it didnt'.  

My sister will understand exactly, because I had a very similar meltdown in Madrid.  I was upset, but mostly because I couldn't communicate very well.  This whole trip has been very overwhelming, and all in all I think a quick cry in the rain did me good.  My spirits are lifted, and look at this super cute elephant I got a picture with outside?! 

Munich, Germany

I don't actually have many pics from Munich... we were only there a few short hours (in the rain).  I ended up doing some shopping (more like window shopping) but that's ok!  Found a lovely market where I was going to try some new foods, I picked up one to purchase and immediately got scolded... in German.  After a few questions turns out I wasn't supposed to touch the food, even if I was buying.  Seems she didn't really want to sell me anything because I walked out empty handed. Boo!  

Enjoyed some lovely cafe at a shop called Tranquillo.

A stop in the countryside to stretch our legs.  Beautiful!

Day 18 - But I like the location titles better!! Hoptgarten, Austria

So!  Today I am in Hoptgarten!

It is a Catholic holiday today, so most things are closed, but it is beautful!  Most of the locals got dressed in traditional garb to go to church, and there was a parade shortly after.

I wasn't sure I was going to be brave enough, but it turned out I was.  I went paragliding!  The weather wasn't fantastic, raining and such.  When we made it to the top of the mountain via gondola, it was definitely snowing/sleeting.   We had to wait it out a little bit for some fog to clear, but it was well worth it.  Here are some of the photos!

The not so graceful looking landing, lol!

Adventures worth their weight in gold.  Very thankful for this experience.

Venice, Italy

Another wow day.

Today we were in Venice, and on approach, I wasn't sure that it was going to live up to my picture of it.  But it didn't fail!

We went on a quick walking tour of some of the islands.  That's what they call it, because each is technically seperated by a canal.  Very interesting.  Here are a few of the sights around Venice.  It was a very low key day.  After being at the Vatican just before this, I didn't feel inclined to stand in long lines for some of the churches.  The markets were wonderful though!  Fish, fruit, masks, everything.

View on the way in by boat

Doge's Palace

St. Mark's Square

Rialto Bridge

View from Rialto Bridge

Plague masks in the market

My first official Sfogliatelle!  This was a chocolate one, there was sooo much chocolate, thank goodness it was so small!

Bridge of Sighs

View from the gondola!

Our gondolier(?)  He was very friendly, we drank prosecco and he said it was better if he didn't sing.  But our coach driver, Firo, did sing... Baila la bamba, haha

Our next stop is Hoptgarten, Austria with a brief excursion for white water rafting!!

Some of you have asked about where all my trip is going so I give you this map, haha.   Currently we are at the area marked Tyrol.

ALSO!  My ankles are much better, no need to worry!  I picked up some sort of anti fluid retention thing... and it worked slowly, but I no longer have cankles.

I picked up some better allergy meds, the second hand smoke and pollution is just ridiculous   I have never seen so many smokers. Inside, outside, bars, cafes, vehicles!  I'm really lucky that no one on the bus smokes, gives my nose a reprieve from the bombardment outside.  Looking forward to clean mountain air!  Been missing the sun a bit, it's rained almost every day so far, with a few good days like Nice and today in Venice didn't start off nice, but it turned into a beautiful day.

Rome

ROME!
We are kinda staying out in the boonies, but that's not too bad, the hotel is the nicest yet.  On our way here I got my first glimpse of Sfogliatelle!  At a gas station no less, haha.  We're in Rome on a Sunday, and wasn't able to find a bakery that was open.

We did a fantastic walking tour starting outside the Colosseum, the Forum then to the National Monument for Vittorio Emanuele, the Trevi Fountain, a Gelato stop, the spanish steps, the Pantheon, and then to Piazza Nuvona where there tons of artists, I picked myself up a small water color here.

Outside the Vatican

Colosseum

Trevi Fountain
Threw in two coins, one to return to Rome and the other for good luck

Inside the Colosseum

Inside the Vatican, this was on our way to the Sistene Chappel.  No photos were allowed inside, but it was a beautiful walk there.  And then St. Peter's Basilica was just mammoth!  Definitely felt insignificant.  The Vatican was packed to the brim... and apparently it was a "light" day... 

Details inside St. Peter's

Just outside the basilica, the Swiss Guard at the entrance.

We met up at the Colosseum a little later for a guided tour of the inside and of the forum, absolutely fantastic.  I would recommend this to anyone.
After a long day, a few of us had lunch, souvenir shopping then made our way home by way of metro and a bus.  Feeling pretty good about getting around given the language barrier!
This morning was another day in Rome, this time in Vatican City.  Holy wow were there a lot of people.  Our tour guide was a little nuts and I know I didn't retain any information, but the sights were amazing.  here are a few of my favorites.  No photos of the Sistene Chappel, it's forbidden.  The St Mark's Basilica made me feel sooo small!
After that back to the bus and we spent just about all day on the bus getting to Venice or Venezia.  We had a lovely dinner, and tomorrow we will be set loose.  I'm excited to see what this amazing city has to offer!  So many good things in the next few days including a rafting trip in Austria.  :)  Keep you all posted as soon as I can.