Random Memories of Germany-Trips to Italy-Part 3

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

Last time, I made this statement:   

This sign was before we went inside [the Vatican], and unfortunately, I don’t remember what it was of – whether it was some ceilings or something else of importance to the Vatican.  And, I don’t speak or read Italian, so am not sure just what it tells.

Our oldest daughter Karen, and her husband, Brian, have made a few trips to Europe, and Rome, and this was her response to that statement:

Regarding those signs at the end, they are for the tour operators to explain all the details of the Sistine Chapel before entering, because you’re not allowed to speak once inside. We took a tour a few years ago, and our guide stood by one of those signs to point out significant parts of the ceiling’s amazing artwork so we would know what we were looking at.

My thanks to Karen for supplying that piece of information.  It has just been too many years gone since we’ve been to Rome to remember it all, and I had forgotten that we were unable to speak once inside.

In any case, on with the story:  When we made our trip in 1970, we traveled by car, since we had gone to the Oberammergau Passion Play, then on down into Italy.  We made several stops along the way.  I am not going to present this in any particular order, just showing places we stopped, both in 1970 and 1982, with our girls.  In 1982, we took a bus trip/tour from Heidelberg over the Thanksgiving holiday.

We stopped in Venice.  I don’t remember just where we stayed in 1982, but it was a hotel in Venice itself.  I remember our girls were in a room by themselves, down the hall from us.  And so, I was alarmed one night, about 2:00 a.m. when it sounded like someone was trying to break into our room!  Finally, Fred shouted that he “had the wrong room” and the drunken man apologized and moved on down the corridor.  Then I was concerned that he would try to get into the girl’s room.  But they were safe, thank goodness!

In 1970, Fred had arranged a hotel for us outside Venice itself, in Mestre.  We drove across a bridge, parked in a large parking lot, and then toured Venice on foot and with water taxi.

But Venice was fascinating:  We saw the Dodge’s Palace and the Campanile and the Stairway of the Giants (Mars on the left, Neptune on the right)

We saw the Clock Tower in St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marco)

We saw the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge

We saw the Bridge of Sighs

We saw many gondolas – some with passengers

We took a water taxi ride – such fun!

And TONS of pigeons!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

Tags: Memories of Germany and Italy, Military