Fall in Wiesbaden

It is such a change to truly have four seasons, after so many years in the South. We love the Fall here; leaves changing and loads of piles of leaves to kick through! Here are a few of the boys enjoying one of our Fall days, along with Jackson the wonderdog.

Pumpkin Patch

One Saturday in October, we ventured out to a nearby town, Wallau, to check out a pumpkin patch. It turned out to be a farm, with much more than pumpkins! It was actually a pumpkin fest, with all sorts of neat food items including freshly made apple cider! Kids had a blast playing in the hay, too. Justin is here with a friend of his and Michael's, Audrey Evans, who is rather nattily attired as Tinkerbell.

Hispanic Heritage Month program

Justin's class, along with many others, put on quite a show for Hispanic Heritage Month. The 2nd graders sang a song called "El Sapo" which is about a frog. Justin really enjoys Spanish class, and is a good singer and dancer so he had a blast.

Venice by evening and night

Enjoyed the day to the fullest; stayed until well after dark this time. The boat ride down the Grand Canal was at just the right time; night was falling and the views were beautiful!! We did some last minute souvenir shopping near the Rialto - kids all got a gondolier shirt, which they had to wear right away. Aren't they cute holding our new tapestry bags?

San Marco and shopping

We approached the Piazza via a different route today; allowed for some awesome exterior shots of the Basilica. Also saw more grand shopping!

Doge's Palace and Bridge of Sighs

Spent a good bit of the day touring here; unfortunately no pics inside. :( We did enjoy the prison area, as did the kids! Glad we took some pics from inside; with the construction outside the Bridge of Sighs was pretty much a bust. Oh well - some tourist traps are just that -

More views

Kids liked this trip alot; they were able to walk and we didn't have to be as mindful of cars, etc. We got into the city sort of early so many things were just 'waking up.' It was really a pretty time to be there.

New bridge

Headed back the next day for more; took the train in once again, after a short delay due to a road race in Pordenone (thought about you, marathon crackheads!:) ) We headed to explore the new pedestrian bridge over the Grand Canal, which had only been open a short time. It is very unusual, as you can see - very modern design, with glass on top and wood below. It is actually very controversial; Venetians are split on whether they like it or not.

A coffee on the Piazza San Marco, and a ride on the Grand Canal

This is our coffee and Coke stop; something you have to do but it sure doesn't look like much for about $20, huh? All of the other photos were taken from the vaporetto (water bus) as we cruised back towards the train station. Venice really is a strikingly beautiful city, in both big and small ways.

Venice from above

We braved the line and the ride in the elevator to head for the top of the Campanile in St. Mark's Square - wow, what a view. Definitely worth the hassle - it was amazing to see all of Venice spread out in front of you. We enjoyed seeing the Grand Canal, all the other islands and even the causeway we came in on via the train. It was cool to see how small everyone looked in the crowded square below, near the aforementioned lion-topped columns! While we were atop the Campanile, the bells rang! WOW was it loud! But another true tourist experience...how many people can say they've done that?!

Pigeons in Piazza San Marco

Ah yes...a time-honored tourist tradition. We bought some bird food, to attract the flying rats. The boys were all about it, until the birds got close to them! ha ha. We were able to help each boy though and it was a beautiful day for it, warm and sunny but not too hot.