THE END IS IN SIGHT, Part 5- Featuring "Venice & Tuscany"

Well for those that are still anticipating the ending to our European adventures, here is the second last post of the finale. And I will warn you, this is a LONG post with LOTS of pictures.

As I mentioned previously, Dubrovnik was our final stop on the cruise. We sailed back to Venice and disembarked the ship --- which was a really nice feeling. I enjoyed the cruise part of the trip but started to feel a bit "trapped" by the end of it and was ready to "hotel it" for the last few days.

Anyway...we got to Venice in the early afternoon and rather than sit around waiting for the rest of the Shade-o-matic group, Jon and I, along with our friends Joe and Patti (a couple we met on the trip) caught a taxi to one of the Grand Canal sea taxi stations. We then sailed up the Grand Canal to the main attraction--- San Marco Square. By this time we were ravenous with hunger and stopped for lunch in a cute little alley way pizzeria. The food was delicious but really pricey! As were most places in Europe.

San Marco Square

Here we are having lunch --- it was Jon's 25th birthday during our day in Venice! (L-R: Jon, Patti & Joe... Patti & Joe are from Summerland, BC and are engaged to be married this year -- we just love them! Such a cool couple!! Even though they were almost old enough to be our grandparents, we felt more like old friends!)

Venice was an incredibly beautiful city but also a bit confusing. Every alley looks the same and it would have been easy to get lost if we hadn't paid close attention to landmarks. And I must say, the rumors about Venice being smelly weren't all that true. Some of the back allies smelled a bit but overall, the Grand Canal wasn't that pungent.

San Marco Basilica

The yellow building above was actually a Best Western hotel. Hard to believe, hey!? It was the most attractive Best Western I've ever seen.

As the afternoon wore on, the San Marco Square started to flood.... literally. We were a little concerned about the rising water but apparently its normal. As the tide comes in, the city floods a bit. It was crazy watching the water come up through little holes in the ground. Here is Jon showing his concern :)

The "splurge" of our trip was a gondola ride and I am SO glad we did it. You just can't go to Venice and not take a romantic gondola ride down the Grand Canal. Even though we were with Joe and Patti, it was a really neat experience (though it probably would have been more romantic for both couples if we had done it on our own). Gondola's are quite expensive (approx. $160 CAN for a 1/2 hr. ride) but so worth the experience!

The very famous Rialto Bridge

The next day, we left Venice and took a bus tour through Tuscany. The Shade-o-matic group had planned a special "event" as their final thank-you to everyone. The "event" was, stopping for an authentic Italian lunch in an old Tuscan castle, complete with an afternoon of wine tasting. I had really been looking forward to this part of the trip, as I've always dreamed of seeing the Tuscan countryside, but I have to admit that it ended up being a bit of a disappointment. Now before you go thinking I am complaining about something so wonderful, let me explain. The only thing "bad" about this little "event" is that nobody put a time limit on it and instead of stopping for the originally planned 2 hour visit, we ended up being there for the ENTIRE day. Now this would be fine except that we were on route for Rome. As it was, we were only going to have one full day in Rome (which is NOT even close to being enough time to see everything) so Jon and I were really looking forward to arriving in Rome, late afternoon, in hopes of seeing at least a few things that day. That way our last day in Rome wouldn't be too rushed. But instead of getting to Rome between 4-5pm... we got there at about 10:45pm, leaving just enough time to eat something and go to bed. So, although the afternoon in the Tuscan countryside was absolutely beautiful and worthwhile, we just wish it had been a bit shorter. I mean really... how many glasses of wine can one handle when having to sit on a bus for 3 more hours :) Anyway...here are some pictures of our afternoon in Tuscany... which was indeed, breathtaking...

Next stop was Rome --- our final destination. More to come...

From "ordinary" to "extraordinary" in one short week

Thursday evening trip to IKEA...

Not sure about this goofy face...I'm pretty sure he was happy to be at IKEA...

Can't wait to shop, shop, shop...

We had a very successful trip! Scored some great deals--- including a fabulous little bistro table and four stools for only $129... I'm all about a good bargain!

The beautiful Alex Fraser bridge...

... and sunset through the car window...

Captured some of Mom E.'s stunning backyard flowers...

Now for an explanation of my post title. For those that have stuck through this somewhat boring post, here's the "icing" on the cake. Jon and I have some big and VERY exciting news..... I'm smiling just thinking about the places your imagination may be taking you as you read this! And I apologize to those that think it starts with a 'B' and ends with an 'aby' because NO...we are NOT pregnant!

As of Friday, July 13 we are officially homeowners!! We purchased our very first home and are SO excited about it. Its a three storey, three bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom end-unit townhouse with a double garage. And the best part is that we have a full month to get some painting and moving done. We will be staying in our loft until the end of August (because we have to give a full month's notice) but we get possession of our new place on August 1st. Thankfully the townhouse is in really good condition and is very liveable already so we'll just do a bit of touch-up painting, move all of our stuff in and we'll be good to go. I'm also very happy because its on the Sardis side of Chilliwack and we're within walking distance of restaurants (including DQ and McDonalds!), grocery stores and even the YMCA gym and pool. Can't wait for August 1st! I'll add pictures as soon as we get in but in the meanwhile, here are a few exterior pictures of soon to be "home sweet home"...

Part 4- Dubrovnik, Croatia

Figured I should try to get a little further on my update of the Mediterranean so here's a post about one of my favorite spots on our vacation. This was the last stop on our cruise before heading back to Venice...
I'll admit that I would have never thought of Croatia as a place to stop for vacation but after spending an afternoon there, my view of it has completely changed. In fact, Dubrovnik was one of the places that we visited, that I would love to go back to someday. It was absolutely exquisite and I so wished we could have had longer to explore this delightful coastal city.

Terra cotta tiled roofs, brilliantly blue ocean, quaint gift shops, delicious food, an unbelievable stone wall all the way around the old city (that we were able to walk along). I could go on and on. Just see for yourselves (even though the pictures hardly do it justice)...




















So if you're ever heading to Europe and get the chance to stop in Croatia, I HIGHLY recommend Dubrovnik. We literally only had a few hours there but I would have preferred a few DAYS. Its a must see!