ROME

This is what was right outside of our hotel:  The Pantheon

Trevi fountain:

The Collosium:

Caesar was killed:

Roman Forum:

Bath made out of marble from Nero's garden

We gained a new appreciation for the amazing sculptures created by Michelangelo.  The Peita is the only sculpture signed by him (1499).  It is inside St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Outside the Vatican:

A few evenings, after a long day of sight seeing, we would sit out on the rooftop of our hotel and watch the sunset, watch the happening in the piazza down below and play cards.

Italy part 1: Venice, Florence and San Gimignano Oct. 2011

It's overwhelming to think about posting about Italy......  We had a wonderful 10 days with Julie and Allen in Venice, Florence and Rome.  The weather was beautiful, all our tour guides were fantastic, loved our hotels even the flights weren't too bad.  A big thanks to the many who helped with the kids so we could go on this one in a lifetime trip.  We will never forget it!


VENICE:  Enjoyed walking through the whole city.  We were surprised at how many houses were abandoned and the amount of graffiti.

We took a train to FLORENCE.  Loved the open markets and the statue of David.

FLORENCE:

On our way to Rome we stopped in 

San Gimignano (small walled medieval town in Tuscany):

Banff, Canada

David and I went on a belated 20 year anniversary trip with friends who were also celebrating their 20 year anniversary.  Our friends suggested Banff, Canada which we had never heard of before but upon arriving we were instantly blown away by the majestic beauty of the Canadian Rockies.  David's knee was bothering him so we weren't sure how much hiking he'd be able to do,  but he didn't slow us down at all (:  We hiked everyday and saw some of the most beautiful scenery I've seen in my life.

Our favorite hike was at Lake Louise.  This lake was the most must unique color of turquoise.  I kept thinking it looked photo enhanced.  We learned that Glacier fed lakes have that color because of the light filtering effect of rock flour (a powdery substance that the glaciers grind off the mountain rocks) in the glacial runoff.

 Victoria glacier in the distance

Often, we would come across an area where there had been a snow avalanche and all the trees would be pushed over like this.

David feeling proud at far we had come!  (Lake Louise in the background)

We saw a grizzly bear with her 2 cubs on one of our hikes, about 200 yds off the trail.  Later, we saw a black bear that was right off the interstate and just ate grass while dozens of cars stopped to take his picture.

We saw elk everywhere, here they are resting in the local H.S. baseball field

One of the many hikes around Lake Louise led up to a tea house, overlooking yet another lake.  We enjoyed some hot chocolate while enjoying the breathtaking views.