Day 4 – Tuesday, Dec 22, 2009 – Day 1 in Venice

January 18, 2010

Katie was up early again this morning. I think she continues to be excited about Venice! The kids and I joined her around 8:15 am. We had a lovely breakfast here at the hotel… although not quite as nice as Salzburg! After breakfast, we headed out to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) and saw the sights. We visited the Basilica San Marco (St. Mark’s Church) which is beautiful. After that, we had to go back to the hotel to change Kallie’s pants. No problem, as our hotel is a five minute walk from the square. We are staying at the Hotel Torino; it is one of the oldest families in Venice. After the new drawers, we went to a very special restaurant for lunch, called the Hosteria ai Coristi, owned by Armando and Adriano. Adriano was there today, and it was worth every euro cent. This became our fancy meal for the day. After lunch, we walked back to the square, and then toured the Doge’s Palace. This is where the “Bridge of Sighs” is located. After that, the rain was picking up a bit. We decided to walk to the Ponte di Rialto and walked along that bridge. The walk home from there was wet and cold. We headed in the general direction of our hotel and finally found it. I ran out again and picked up four ham and cheese (hisp and cass in dutch) sandwiches again from my friend at the Best Western. We ate dinner in the breakfast room of our hotel. It was really fun today walking through the streets of Venice. To me, so far, that is the best thing to do while here.

Random:

Kallie, “I need a barrett”. Notice that she didn’t state the problem (my hair is in my face), nor did she ask someone else to fix the problem (mommy, can you get my hair out of my face); but rather, she knew what the problem was and knew what SHE needed to do to fix it. So, she cuts to the chase and says, “I need a barrett” (this is my problem and I am going to fix it). One of those random things that very well describes my little Smith girl.

Gabriel, on the other hand, likes to be served. For example, he is happy for me to brush his teeth for him, while every night Kallie asks if she can do it. Gabriel is smart and kind of takes after me in this regard. They both have a knack for ordering the most expensive things on the menu… especially the boy (just like daddy).

I love them both!!