Our last morning to wake up on dry land! We had an early breakfast and went for one last walk through Venice before leaving for the cruise terminal. It was already getting warm, so we were looking forward to the pool right away. It really is amazing how empty the city is before all of the shops open and tourists hit the streets. We checked out of our hotel and got some advice from one of the hotel employees to hop on a boat called the Alilaguna to go straight to...

Today was a pretty laid back day! After seeing several sights yesterday, we took today to wander the city. We started the morning by making our way to the Rialto Bridge, a bridge built in the 1500s that crosses the Grand Canal. We passed under this bridge on our ride yesterday, which was definitely better than seeing it along with hundreds of our nearest and dearest (slightly sweaty) friends. One of the best parts of Venice is the fact that every corner you turn ...

Yesterday, Sarah spoke of a labyrinth in the gardens of Verona. Today, we made it to the actual labyrinth of Italy...the streets of Venice. When Jon and his friend Nick studied abroad in Greece during college, they backpacked around Europe and spent only an afternoon in Venice. That timeframe, coupled with the city's many canals and narrow winding streets was just enough to freak them out. Thankfully we will have more than 5 hours to see the city (and recover...

Today began with a great breakfast at our hotel, Hotel Trieste...though we prefer German and Austrian train conductors, our preference for breakfast certainly lies with the Italians! Fruit, croissants, prosciutto, mozzarella, mmmmm...it was delicious! Verona has been somewhat unique in that we didn't really have a list of "must-sees," so we sort of let the day take us where it would. We began the day at the Arena di Verona in the center of town - an old Roman a...

Our final day in Innsbruck was quite overcast and rainy, but eventful nonetheless. We began with another Austrian meat-and-cheese breakfast at our hotel, then we walked through the old town to see the Hofkirsche and the Volksmuseum. This church and cultural museum are connected and located near the Hapsburg imperial palace. The church was ornately decorated around the tomb of Maximillian I, emperor of Austria in the 15-16th centuries. The museum contained tra...