Ostia Antica and Venezia

Before all of our spring break guests came to visit, we went on a little one day trip to some ruins called Ostia Antica. It was so cool because we would run around everywhere and jump over things and go through tunnels and have fun. It was like a kid's paradise, I had so much fun and I didn't want to leave. We met up with some students and we went there with them. My dad was also there and we ran and had fun through this huge area of ruins. I forgot to bring my camera so I didn't take any pictures but it was still really fun. We had the most incredible time, but my dad was leaving in the morning, which was sad. However, right as my dad left, my sister Julia arrived! It was really great to see her.  Before we left for Venice, I took her to some sights that my mom was tired of seeing. I took her to the colosseum and the forum, which was fun. We also went to the Sistene Chapel, which was very stressful because there were so many tourists getting bottle necked as they all made a "sprint" for the Chapel. There was nothing holy about this place on this day because everyone was pushing and shoving. Michelangelo would have been very displeased to see this.

Well, off we went to Venice for a two day get a way. We got into Venice at about four; we checked in and ate some food outside at a cafe where they played music. After that, we went for a sublime Gondola ride. The Gondalier loved my sister (all the guys in Italy did)... and he said his name was Romeo, since her name is Julia. He had a great voice and we rolled into the sunset. After it got dark, we went by an area where it was completely quiet and it was so relaxing. It was a great Gondola ride. After that we went out to dinner at this really good place where we started talking to the waiter about language. We talked with him for a while about dialects of Italian. It was very interesting. After that Julia got tired so we went down for a drink at the bar and chilled out before going to bed. The next day, we went to the Basilica in Piazza San Marco. It was really amazing and this was the second time I had seen it. In the afternoon, we went to a palace with exhibits that told about the history of Venice, which was very interesting. Finally, we got a water taxi for the train and left, but it was a very nice weekend get a way.