Brian Hruska Family Trip to Italy

Trip to Italy........Florence and Venice

Clark, Kaley, Molly and Marc in his orange baseball hat.
The hat was very helpful in large crowds.

Here we are the first morning in Florence with a full itinerary of things to see. We started out for the Duomo again as we did not get into it the night before.

Another Neck Crick

The Beautiful Ceiling of the Duomo Cathedral. It was the first of it's kind and Michelangelo
was said to take great inspiration from it while working on St. Peter's Basilica.

Stunning

David 1501-1504
This sculpture became the symbol of the Republic of Florence

After our visit to the Duomo, we went to the Cathedral of the Santa Croce where we saw the crypts of great men of history: Galeleo, Leonardo DaVinci, Michelangelo as well as many, many others.

Next on the itinerary was the Uffitzi Gallery. The gallery houses the private art collection of the d'Medici family. It was a wonderful experience in the evolution of Florentine art.

Our last destination for the day was a wonderful accomplishment for the troupe of the hot and tired. We were well well rewarded at the l'Accademia Galleria which housed some of Michelagelo's sculptures.

Pictures do not do David justice. Although this illegal photo taken by our resident photographer is stunning. Goosebumps and tears are the norm here in this room. We actually humored ourselves watching people as they entered the room when their expressions changed as they caught sight of this huge sculpture.

We were quite satisfied after our first full day in Italy.

Day two in Florence actually put us back on the train for a day trip to Venezia (Venice). Once there, we hopped on a water taxi on what we thought was going to be an enchanted boat ride down the Grand Canal of Venice. It turned out our lack of Italian language skills put us on an express route far from the charming canals. We ended the boat ride at the correct destination of the San Marco Cathedral. There we saw the "Bridge of Sighs", The Saint Mark Cathedral, pigeon feeding and lunch. A little shopping and a Gondola ride later we were feeling more like Venitians.

Going on another adventure.

Kids on the Boat in Venice.
Molly, Clark, Kaley and Sara having a great time.

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This is the dramatic "Bridge of Sighs", named because that it is the sound the prisoner makes seeing the last vestige of daylight before entering the darkest and dampest prison of it's day.		The gold mosaic ceiling of St Mark's Cathedral. I think it was Brian's remark "Holy Shit" upon entering this beautiful building that set the scene for the rest of our cathedral visits.
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The Shlaes Family through the "streets" of Venice.		Traditional Kiss on their way to the Ponte Di Rialto.

More pictures ..............

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