Intro to Italia

I'm a little late on the uptake with this trip - we actually made our first trip to Italy in mid January, when we had a long weekend for MLK Jr. Day.

Zagreb to Venice direct is a mere 3.5 hours by way of car.  But we detoured a bit to the north so we could stay at Aviano Air Force Base (Point B on the map), reaping the benefits of very cheap lodging ($55/night for a 2 bedroom apartment) and the opportunity to shop at the BX to load up on beloved American staples.

We left on a Friday afternoon and arrived at the base at about 5pm.  We found our apartment, unloaded our luggage and headed over to the BX to catch a quick meal in the food court.  We bought breakfast stuff, milk, fruit (I'm not sure I ever thought I'd be so excited to see a grape) and other snacks for the rest of the weekend.

On Saturday morning, we woke up to this view.  Apparently it is called "Mountain View Lodge" for good reason.  This chain is more or less the southern base of the Alps.

Then it was in the car again to drive to Venice for the day, which is about an hour away from the base.  We found a parking garage upon entering the peninsula, then headed to the ferry station and hitched a ride out on the open water to the famous San Marcos Square.

We got off the boat and it really was just one amazing thing after another to see.  We walked, we ate, we drank, we walked, we boated.  I was impressed with how the kids held up - I think the variety of all the things we were able to do distracted them from their usual complaining.  ;-)

After about 6 hours of touring the city, we hopped back in the car and drove back to Aviano.  The next day we were hoping to do some sledding and/or skiing at the hill near the base, but it was raining.  We drove up there anyway just to check things out and did a little ice skating indoors.

In the afternoon, Scot and I took turns shopping at the BX while the girls watched a movie (or two).  Of course, we went out for Italian for dinner.  Mmmm.... :-)  In the morning, we headed back to Zagreb - it was  a really nice 4 day weekend for us.

I would definitely like to get back to Venice again when the weather warms up...it was just such an incredible city to see, nothing like it in the world!