The Driver's come to Italy: Venice

   This past July my parents made the long trip across the big pond for a visit! My dad was here for 1 week and my mom stayed 2 weeks. We had such a great time and saw a lot! We started inVenice, the next day stopped in Parma on the way to Rome for a few days, then stopped in Pisa on the the way to the Cinque Terre for a few days! I picked them up at the airport and we headed straight for Venice. I loved showing them around one of my favorite cities! 

We took a ferry over to the island of Murano which is famous for it's glass. We were able to catch a short glass demonstration.

He made this horse, called a Ferrari, right in front of us! It was amazing!

Their first experience with having to pay for a European restroom. It was especially expensive this summer!

A gondola traffic jam.

Pictures in front of the Bridge of Sighs.

In front of St. Mark's Basilica.

There were so many boats out today.

The famous Rialto Bridge. 

One of the many many gelatos we had in Italy!

Croatia- girls trip

      How do you survive a 9 month deployment while living in Italy?? Girl's trip to Croatia!!!!! Seriously though, it is important to keep yourself busy and plan things to look forward to, which isn't really hard when you live in Europe! If you follow my blog you might remember the post about the nude beach?? Well this is the same country, just a different town! 

The participants on this girl's trip were me, Mary Kathryn, Anna, and Kaitlin. Kaitlin and Anna are both fellow army wives and their husbands are also deployed. Mary Kathryn is Anna's sister who is here to visit during summer break before her Senior year in college. We had such a great time together!

1 small Jetta + 4 girls = 1 packed trunk!

We stayed in a small town called Medulin which is right outside of Pula. We rented an apartment/condo and thought they would have bowls right? Nope. Thus Mary Kathryn eating her cereal out of a large pot.

And me eating mine out of a small glass. 

The first full day we were there we hung out at the pool. 

Later that afternoon we walked to one of the few sandy beaches in Croatia. Almost all of the beaches in Croatia are rocky, but they brought a lot of sand in for this one!

Once you walked out in the water about 10 feet your feeties hit rocks. Water shoes in Croatia are definitely a good idea!

We were treated like royalty at dinner! It was hilarious! Guys were fighting over our table and they were bringing us endless shots of this pear flavored liquor native to Croatia.

Crepes filled with nutella and dusted with powder sugar? Yes, please!

The next day we drove about 15 minutes to a state park type place. We found ourselves some semi-flat rocks and enjoyed the day!

The water here is b-e-a-utiful!

We enjoyed our picnic lunch and pre-made strawberry margaritas!

That night we walked around the small town before going to dinner. They were having a carnival and there were lots of people out. 

I got a kick out of this sign for a Dance show spectacular they were having. Notice below Hotel Medulin it advertises that is is half-airconditioned! After living in Europe during the summer, this is definitely something to advertise!! :)

We had a great time in Croatia and enjoyed getting away for a few days. I'm looking forward to many girl's trips in the future!