Italy Vacation, Part 10 - Murano and Burano

5/18/15

Our final day of vacation began with a short walking tour of Venice where we checked out the Rialto Bridge (under construction) and some old churches.  The Rialto Bridge was built in the late 16th century and spans the Grand Canal.  Even though some sections were under construction, it was still a pretty impressive sight.  Next, we walked towards the Friari Cathedral.  Some of the sidewalks were quite narrow and I'm sure a fatty has gotten stuck there a time or two.  The Friari contained paintings and sculptures by many famous artists, including Donatello, and is the resting place of Monteverdi, along with several Doges. However, the greatest sight in the Friari is the tomb of Antonia Canova.  Canova's tomb (pictured below) is shaped like a gigantic pyramid, which obviously led to another Anthony family burial pyramid discussion.

Rialto Bridge.

Another of the Rialto Bridge.

Italy Vacation, Part 9 - Venice

5/17/15

Our tour did not start until the afternoon, so we had some time to kill on our first day in Venice.  We used this free time to explore the city.  Mom somehow convinced dad to consent to a gondola ride, which he thoroughly despised.  Ask him about it if you want to hear a 10 minute rant about Venetian gondoliers and how the fake canal rides in Vegas are better.

Exploring before the tour.

Rialto bridge.

The infamous gondola ride.

Italy Vacation, Part 8 - Florence and Venice

5/16/15

Our final day began with a trip to the Galleria dell'Academia to check out the actual David and not the fake that we saw during our first day in Florence.  Lines to get in for estimated at 4 hours long, but our tour guide whisked us to the front of the line because that's how she rolls.  The museum had a couple of lesser known and unfinished Michelangelo sculptures and a ton of Stradivarius violins, but the only piece of real significance was the David.  Not worth a 4 hour wait, but very much worth the 5 minute wait that we endured.

NFSW: Penis in background.

Italy Vacation, Part 7 - Sienna

5/15/15

Short post today.  We left early in the morning for a day trip to Sienna, which was a pretty happening place before the plague smacked it down all fierce-like.  Sienna is the home to the Palio di Siena, which is a horse race that pits different areas of the city, denoted by mascots(dragons, owls, porcupines, unicorns, etc.), against each other in a no holds barred slugfest around the main plaza, Piazza del Campo.  Looks awesome, but we sadly missed it as it only runs twice per year.  We checked out some churches and crypts as well, but the rain kept us from enjoying everything to its fullest extent.

The entire city is pretty much a massive hill.

Italy Vacation, Part 6 - Florence

5/14/15

We started our day in Florence with a quick breakfast before meeting our guide and beginning our walk toward the Uffizi.  As we rounded a corner, we noticed that the street was blocked off and there was a large inflation device placed under a window.  Spoiler alert: I think Tom Hanks is going to jump out of a window at some point in Inferno.  As we were walking off, we noticed someone milling around inside the roped off area.  Tom Hanks.  Since I got within 50 yards of him, we are now officially best friends.  That is how the rules work.

Tom Hanks.  He's the white one.  

We took the next street over and continued our walk to the Uffizi.  We stopped to check out a large collections of statues, one of which is a replica of the David.  We will find the real one a bit later.

Italy Vacation, Part 5 - Orvieto and Tenuta Casanova

5/13/15

Rome.  Check.  We loaded into the car bright and early to make our way towards Florence. We planned to make stops in Orvieto and Tenuta Casanova, a vineyard in Tuscany, before reaching our final destination.  Orvieto is a walled city on top of a gigantic hill.  According to our guide, Popes would flee to Orvieto when Rome came under attack.

Arriving in Orvieto.

The streets of Orvieto are much less crowded than Rome.

Italy Vacation, Part 4 - Rome

5/12/15

After somehow avoiding a hangover from the night before, we were confronted by an angry Wilson who wanted to know why we left him out of all of our fun.  Hint: It's because he's a NERRRRRD.  We were picked up around 9:00 by our A&K guide and started making our way towards the most eventful stop of our day, The Pantheon.  The Pantheon has really cool dome and houses the bodies of multiple Roman kings AND A NINJA TURTLE.  Raphael is buried here.

Outside of the Pantheon

Pictured: Rad dome.