Vienna turned out to be a good place to go for the Thanksgiving break. We didn't actually eat turkey on Thanksgiving, but we did see a lot of people from Turkey. The weather was cold on only one day, the rest of the days were very nice. The apartment we stayed in was excellent. It had a full kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, and breakfast was included. It was a very nice getaway!
Day one, with Viennacard in hand, we set out on public transportation.
Our first stop was the world's last remaining Spanish Riding School. We were just in time to get to see the morning practice. To the left of the chandelier is Billy, Nolan, and Katie. They set the routine to classical waltzes, and the horses and riders are just so perfect and precise.
Out in front of the school.
This street was originally the moat of the Roman military camp, and is now a pedestrian shopping zone.
This extravagant statue is called the Trinity Column.
A view of St. Stephen's cathedral.
We always have time for a playground.
A highlight of the trip for Bill, a visit to the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, a military museum.
Hello......hello?
Nolan working hard to sight in Arty
This is the car in which Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were shot in 1914. This was the spark that set off the Powder Keg of Europe and ultimately lead to WWI.
This is the actual uniform jacket the Archduke was wearing. You can even see the bullet hole where he was struck.
After the military museum, we went to the Prater amusement park. The park is famous for the Riesenrad, an enormous 220 ft. ferris wheel built in 1897.
Very few rides were open, but this one called to Bill and Billy. They were turned, flipped, and came off feeling not too well.
Later that night, Billy babysat and Bill and I went to the State Opera house. We missed seeing the opera (we were hoping to get standing room only tickets but we came a bit later then we planned), but walked around inside for a while and enjoyed the architecture.
Then on to the very beautiful Christkindlmarkt, which is so charming at night.
The punsch here in Vienna is a bit different from the gluhwein in Germany, and comes in a variety of flavors.
On our last day, we headed to Schonbrunn Palace which many claim is the only palace in Europe which rivals Versailles. It was stunning!
The castle was all dressed up for Christmas too!.
Complete with a Weinhachtsmarkt and of course we stopped for crepes-mit-nutela!
"Halt! Who goes there?"
And now...off to the skating rink, a request of Billy's.
Katie's first time on skates.....she loved it, and not only because her skates were pink (which she could not stop talking about).
Nolan's first time too, and he also loved it.
Breakfast at our hotel.
Waiting for the train, to catch the plane. Auf Wiedersehen Vienna.
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Schloss Nymphenburg.
We didn't know that this palace is famous for their swans. There were probably at least a hundred in the ponds out in front of the castle. We wished we had some stale bread to feed them. The kids loved watching them.
Prince Nolan and Princess Katie in the castle.
In the main hall of the castle.
Part of the museum is a building (Marstallmuseum) that is filled with coaches. "Wow" does not cover it....you have to see these coaches!
I will take this one.
Walking to the city center, color coordinated.
At the Rathaus.
A close-up of the glockenspiel.
This is the sign for the Viktualienmarkt, Munich's most popular open air market.
A cute picture from the kids area at the Deutsches Museum.
And to finish out the day, a swim in the pool at our hotel.
It was super cold.
But not too cold to have a little fun!!
Our apartment (Roz, Michelle, and me!).
Not kid friendly.
We flew into Pisa, took a train to Florence, found our apartment, then went out for a walk. We started here in front of the Baptisery. Right behind us are Ghiberti's Bronze doors commissioned in 1425 (these are actually copies, the real ones are in the Duomo museum).
Then we decided to climb to the top of the Duomo, 463 steps! Paula and I took a short break for a picture.
The view from the top was amazing, we could see pretty much all of Florence.
Giotto's tower seen from the top of the Duomo.
The front of Santa Croce church.
The next day began with a tour of the Uffizi. Seeing Botticelli's Birth of Venus was a highlight. However, the museum itself is beautiful and full of wonderful renaissance works of art, including Giotto's Madonna and child.
Did I mention I was super sick with some flu like thing? So, after Uffizi, I went back for a nap. Then, the girls came back and got me for a walk to the Ponte Vecchio. It was beautiful, but then I went back and went to bed again.
A view from the middle of the Ponte Vecchio.
Legend says that if you and your lover put a lock on this gate on the Ponte Vecchio and throw the key into the river, your love will last forever.
Day three, DAVID!!! We visited the Academia Museum and got reprimanded about 100 times for taking pictures of David. This picture is the best one we got thanks to Paula.
After Acedemia and lunch, we began Rick Steve's walking tour and made sure we didn't miss the city's sights.
And we had a little bit of fun on the way.
Palazzo Vecchio.
Us in front of Bartolomeo Ammanati's Neptune.
The "Purse Guys" who loved to hate us as we went to their store three nights in a row at closing time to get the best deal!!!
Wow, what more can I say?? We left Florence on day four and headed back to Pisa. Walking up the street towards the tower was an amazing event for me.
Paula and I just before we go "full on tourist".
At first we laughed at the tourists taking these kind of pictures, then we decided how could we not???
The Duomo.