Amy and Faith come to Italy!

Amy and Faith were here for 2 awesome weeks in March! We had so much fun seeing local Aviano, and then going to Venice, Florence and Rome. It was such a fun adventure to do with my wonderful sister and precious niece! I think we ate gelato just about everyday they were here. It is so delicious it's a must!!

Mmmm Gelato in Polcenigo. Faith LOVES it!

Uncle Matt and Faith at the Sacile Market

We had to run past this because Faith wanted to ride it over and over!

On the train to Venice. It's only an hour away by train and much much easier than driving!

Venezia! Here we are on the steps outside of the train station. As soon as you walk out it's historic buildings and the beautiful canal! If you're wondering where Faith went, she is in the backpack Amy is carrying, you just can't see her.

Walking in San Marco Square. Faith just wanted to chase after the pigeons the whole time!

Riding on the vaparetto (cheaper water taxi boat) down the grand canal.

Next stop, Florence! Amy and I in front of the Duomo in the city center.

The beautiful duomo and bell tower. We opted to NOT climb the tower...carrying a stroller the whole way just didn't really sound like fun.

A building with pretty shutters off of main river running through Florence.

Overlooking the beautiful Palatine Hill in Rome.

The view at the Roman Forum overlooking the colosseum

At the colosseum! It was incredibly impressive and way bigger than I was expecting.

Thank you Faith for napping so we could enjoy our listening guide without chasing you all over the Colosseum.

The beautiful Treviso Fountain!

Faith LOVED the fountain and wanted to throw in all our coins over and over again

At the Vatican

Every hall in the Vatican was so amazing and impressive. I have never seen so many paintings and tapestries before.

Carrying the stroller all over Rome was an adventure in itself. This staircase in the Vatican actually had a lift, but everywhere else we were picking it up...at some points with the help of random people and even some nuns!!

Saint Peters Basilica where the pope lives!

It's pretty much the hugest cathedral in the world :)

At San Florian Park by my house! They have peacocks and wild boars....a very odd arrangement.

Faith was trying to eat the flowers.

Amy at the winery.

Aim's favorite part of Italy, the fact that a guy comes out and pumps your gas for you!

The Melton's Invade Italia!

Mom and Dad came to visit in March! It was so great to have them here, but the weather was terrible. It rained almost everyday they were here and was so cold! After they had their luggage found, we packed up and drove (all through the rain of course) to Florence and Pisa.

In front of the leaning tower!

At the tower.

Daddy at the leather market in Florence in his sweet new coat.

On top of the Uffizi Gallery.

Later on that week we took the train to Venice. It takes about an hour to get there from our house. We got straight on the boat and rode through the Grand Canal to San Marco Square. It was such a neat boat ride! Most of the buildings on the Grand Canal were designed to be entered from the water, so it is a really elaborate and decadent view.

On the boat!

San Marco Square

Mom and Dad

Thanks lady for getting into our picture!

We also did fun things around where Matt and I live. We went to the market in Polcenigo (it is very tiny compared to the other ones around, but it has a lot of character). We drove up to Piancavallo, which is a ski town about 30 minutes away and there was still snow on the ground! And then we visited an awesomely cheap winery!

The market in Polcenigo.

Super cute old man at the Polcenigo market making wooden spoons. And yes, that's a tire strapped around his belly to keep him from cutting himself.

Mom and Dad at the winery!

On our way to Piancavallo!

First Venice Trip

We took our first trip to Venice in February. It was not only beautiful, it was freezing!! We ate at a delicious restaurant and I had my first Pasta e fagioli. Mmmm. We loved getting lost on all the side streets and winding our way through the city. It is definitely a place I want to visit over and over and over.

The canal

Me in Venice!

Matt and I

Italia!

With the beginning of a new year, a new country, a new base, and a new determination to keep family and friends in the loop, I am commited to joining the blogger-sphere more often. Thus I will give you a (picture-less...sorry) update on what has happened the week we have been here.

It is required that you go through inprocessing meetings called "Right Start." Matt describes it as 'death by power-point'....and that phrase couldn't be more true. The only redeeming quality it has is the tour you get to take around the area. We didn't take any pictures because I was exhausted (thank you jet lag) and the day was completely dreary. Misty and COLD the entire time. But we got to see a couple of markets with cheese stands (YUM) and we went to a winery that has an amazing selection of sweet desserty wine.
While Matt was attending powerpoint after powerpoint, I was contacting landlords and making house appointments. So far we have seen 10 houses, and have 3 more appointments today. We think we have found the perfect one for us, and I'll post pictures as soon as we take them. Just image a completely picturesque Italian house (attched to another house on one side) at the base of the Alps, and that's about right.
Today I had a fun and interesting experience. I went to see a house, and after driving down some completely shady roads that were not paved, I was greeted by an Italian man probably in his early 60's. He spoke no English, I speak very little Italian. After using a lot of hand signals and finally translating words via iphone, he was trying to tell me that I could not see the house today, but would I like to go for a cappaccino with his wife. He was so insistant so I said yes. We arrived at this cute little cafe in the town center. I had a hot chocolate (everytime, they are just so amazingly delicious) and we sat there, and smiled at each other and tried to communicate with our hands. They were impressed by the fact that Matt is a pilot. "Mamma Mia!!" the guy said. The whole experience was really fun and entertaining, and even though I don't think we'll be taking their house, I hope that we can get to know this fun couple more.
That's really about it so far. Pictures will come soon I promise!! :)

Labor Day Weekend Part 3- Dr. Fish

I have been wanting to go to a Dr. Fish spa, so we thought this weekend was a perfect time to try it out! Basically you stick your feet into a pool, and the fish eat the dead skin off them...this was just such a crazy thing we had to do it in Korea! I did not have great directions, but I knew it was near a Paris Croissant....which in Korea is basically like saying it's next to Starbucks, but we found it eventually! The Book and Spa Cafe!

The cafe was very unique and had a great atmosphere. The people who worked there did not speak English, so we used a lot of hand gestures :) But we walked in, and ordered tea and lemonade, a waffle, and Dr. Fish for 2. I thought it was awesome you just ordered it all at once. We sat down at a table, and figured out that they would come get us when it was our turn for the fishes. They brought us our drinks and we sat there eating the bread they offered at the self-serve bar and played cards for a while. Finally, it was our turn!

So we walk onto the platform and take off our shoes. Then we have to wash our feet in a sink on the floor....Now we're officially ready for this:

YIKES! We sat down, stuck our feet in the little fish filled pool, and looked like this!

The tickling was almost UNBEARABLE! We were laughing so hard and I was basically kicking the fish...not very effective for wanting them to be near you. After a while it wasn't as bad, and I managed to sit still long enough for them to start eating my feet. Matt was better at being still than I was, but they were even getting between his toes! I don't know how he stood it. But they also really loved his hands. For a while he was distracting all the fish with just one hand.

So there we are. We survived Dr. Fish. I don't think it actually made my feet smoother, but it was a neat experience and I'm glad we did it!

Labor Day Weekend Part 2- Aquarium

After we got rained out at the zoo, we headed over to the COEX Mall to see the aquarium. The COEX mall is a super center of malls. Huge is not even an accurate way to describe it. Needless to say, I had a ton of fun with it! We were simply impressed by the fact that they got a really big aquarium mostly underground. While there was some...different displays at the aquarium, we still had a great time!

The entrance to the aquarium was pretty neat.

The top 2 pictures are Dr. Fish, fish. They eat dead skin off of your body! Bottom left, Matt got excited because he found Nemo!

Sure, why not put fish in a toilet bowl and in a refrigerator? It's an aquarium, so I guess they can put fish wherever they want!

And sure, why not just throw in a random chipmunk and a bat display??

Despite all the randomness, the actual fish were pretty neat! They had HUGE manatees and even sharks!