Authentically Lifing: September 2012

Ready to board our plane. Aspen to Venice baby! The highlight of our month was a trip we took to Italy. It was a business/pleasure trip for Jeff and pure pleasure for me. My mom watched the boys and Jeff and I got to go together without the boys for the first time in 3 years. What a treat! So enjoy this posting sans kids.

Had some time to waste in Frankfurt Germany. We browsed through the duty free shop and saw this.

And this...

View from our plane into Venice.

Ahhhh, we made it!

Our hotel was down this small alley.

Our room was about 8X10 feet and had a bed for a midget. Hmmmm.

I think this was marzipan. Regardless of what sweet yumminess is was, it looked beautiful.

Perseus holding the head of Medusa. We took this picture for Kai. He loves the story of Perseus.

Jeff drinking a Dolomite beer. 12% alcohol. They don't mess around.

An unfortunate name for a hotdog.

The famous Rialto Bridge.

These pictures are to help educate you of the different kinds of transportation you can take in Venice. Above is a Gondola. Just for tourists. Below is a Traghetto. Locals use these to cross the water when a bridge is not nearby. We rode on a Vaporhetto, which is the public water taxi.

St. Mark's Basilica

Venetian Fish Market

We loved the marble work on the floor in St. Mark's Basilica.

St. Michael and the dragon.

Venetian mask shop.

I don't know how, but someone had to have painted this pigeon.

I know, kinda gross having a pigeon landing on you, but....all you do is put your arm out and they come and sit on you. Pretty funny. I had to try, much to Jeff's chagrin.

At least I wasn't this guy who had his daughter sitting on the ground, while throwing bread crumbs on her clothes and hair to get the pigeons to land on her. He was even shooing the boy in red away so he wouldn't distract the birds from his daughter. You do have to wonder about some people.

One of the many little entry and exit ways to the canal.

Night ride down the Grand Canal.

The Rialto Bridge by night

We spent our second day in Venice boating to 3 small islands off the coast of Venice. The First Island is Murano, famous for its glass works.

The second island we visited was Burano. Well known for lace making and also its brightly colored houses.

Jeff being bold in trying new things. This was a cuttlefish.

We then went to Torcello. It has a very interesting history. Here is a small excerpt from Wikipedia. After the downfall of the Roman Empire, Torcello was one of the first lagoon islands to be successively populated by those Veneti who fled the terra firma (mainland) to take shelter from the recurring barbarian invasions, especially after Attila the Hun had destroyed the city of Altinum and all of the surrounding settlements in 452.

It now has a population of 20 people and many cats.

These are just a couple of the many little cat homes we saw on Torcello. It was very hot on this day and all the cats were behind these houses in the shade, trying to keep cool. In front of each house were bowls filled with pasta and sauce. I would say those are some true Italian cats.

We saw so many things that made us think of the boys. We took many pics for them. One of Isaac's favorite books is a Golden Book called Scuffy the Tugboat. This picture is for Isaac.

Seeing this thing come at you is quite a spectacle. This pic was taken for Kai. It reminded us of a pirate ship with all its masts and sails.

Eeew! Jeff trying yet another Venetian dish. Spaghetti with baby squid, clams, fish, shrimp and calamari. He says he is done with seafood.

Night ride down the Grand Canal in Venice. By the way, the boat pictured here is a Vaporhetto (water taxi).

View of Arco from the castle. Jeff was invited to Arco to be on a jury of international climbing magazines that voted on the top two climbers of the year, also known as the Oscars of climbing.

Queen Hannah

The Castle Stone Prison

Slashes marking days passing in the prison.

The prison toilet

Arco castle

If possible, you may have to zoom in on this one. This boulder has so many bolts on it, we couldn't believe it. This area of Arco is used for teaching climbing.

Alpine Clubs stone hut.

The V6

Camping for climbers?

Run Dick, Run Jane! I prefer their street crossing signs to ours.

One of about 12 stores in Arco that is geared toward rock climbing. We were blown away. All the stores are lined up in the main part of town. An outdoorsman's heaven.

After a full day of torrential downpour, we were ready for a break!

The Rock Master climbing stadium.

Climbing in Massone, a famous area near Arco.

Via Ferrata! is a mountain route that is equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridges. The use of these allows otherwise isolated routes to be joined to create longer routes that are accessible to people with a wide range of climbing abilities. Walkers and climbers can follow vie ferrate without needing to use their own ropes and belays, and without the risks associated with unprotected scrambling and climbing.