That's Amore!...

The moon hit our eye like a big pizza pie in Milan and Venice. This was only a brief pitstop in Italy (as we will return later with Sara's brother, David, to visit the family, etc), but it was a definite tease. Sara was very excited to finally arrive in the motherland for the very first time.

Our first stop, Milan, is the fashion capital of the world, and didn't we two dorky backpackers stick out like sore thumbs. To go shopping in Milan it is a must to wear high heels or suit jackets with Gucci glasess! Oops none of these were in our bags. So instead of dipping into our pockets we spent a few hours at the Duomo plaza square watching tourists being bombarded with seeds to feed the pigeons. Quite entertaining. The plaza is dominated by a stunning Cathedral - it had a beautiful gothic style. At the famous Teatro del Scala we watched a ballet from the 8th floor, marveling at the historical golden interior and elegant ballerinas. After avoiding Italian food for months in anticipation we indulged in pasta, gnocchi and pizza - none of which compares to Nonna, but still extremely tasty. Mamma mia.

Cool Cathedral

Then we cruised into the romantic island of Venice. It is such a unique place, where you can find yourself flooded amongst tourists, but also completely alone losing ourselves in back alleys crossing canal after canal. Although since we refused to use a map, and let the senses guide us, we were never lost! We glided down the Grand Canal on a gondola fittingly named Sara. Still continuing the food safari our evenings were spent enjoying delicious seafood pastas, risottos and gelati! Perfecto! Of course we managed to journey to Murano Island and purchased a few precious pieces of Venetian glass. Magnifico!

 Daydreaming

 Beautiful canals

 City of Love!!!!

Sunset gondola ride