Hotel Jolly Milanofiori

Day 2<br><br>Good morning Venice!!!<br><br>I woke up too early as I'm still used to Yerevan&#8217;s time. At about 8 o&#8217;clock the bells from the church near us began to ring. It was wonderfull, maybe for many of you it is usual but for me it&#8217;s something extraordinary, as there are no bell towers in Yerevan, and no ringing bells. Only in the main square and it is automatic, not real.<br><br>We went out of the room and felt the ...

... to sing Happy Birthday to him. He is gone from our world now and we miss him. Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday deaaaarrrrr John and Grandpaaaaaaa, Haaappppyyyy Birrrtttthhhdaaay ttoooo yooooouuuuu!!<br>Love<br>Mick and Lisa<br>XXXX<br>OOO

Wed vap to Lido, walked down Viale St. Maria Elizabetta, had coffee, kids dressed as<br>San Martino (Nov 11), spoke with gardener about lavander, walked to Hotel Des<br>Bains and beach (capanas). Walked back down viale, vap past St. Mark's Sq. to<br>Accademia Bridge in Canal Grande. Walked to Ristorante da Raffaele GREAT.<br>Minestrone, risotto di radicchio rosso &amp; shrimps, roast ...

... over 5 miles. <br>A lot of people told us we'd visit Venice regularly over the next few years while we are stationed in Aviano....and I think they might be right. Venice is an enchanting place, and the food is pretty darn good as well.<br>Allen and I are hopeless romantics, so this place seems to suite us well. ;)<br>

Last night Zied said that he would send us breakfast to our room - we were not sure if he was joking or not, so when he asked what we would like, I said egg on toast - it'll be there at 10am he said. After the best nights sleep I've had in a while, we got up, had showers etc. and at 10am there was a knock on the door - John answered it and there was a man standing outside with a trolley full of breakfast for us - it was wonderful. We had two freshly ...

... After soaking in the church for a time, and getting accosted by a guy from Senegal who insisted on tying a bracelet on my wrist and then asked for money (which I refused to give since I did not want the bracelet in the first place) we walked through an arcade full of shops that lead us to the busy shopping district of Milan. We only had enough time to explore for a few moments before we had to catch the subway back to the train station, and barely catch our next train to Torino.

... that means I don't get to shop! We had dinner at a restaurant called Dogana and had some pasta and wine. Then we all had a pick of dessert and tasted them all. mmmmm.... I think the one I picked was the most delicious of them all. The restaurant was right by the Duomo, so we had taken some photos before dinner. After dinner we went shopping at Zara for a little bit until they closed. When we came out the Duomo looked ...

... the the actual roof! Lots of people were taking photos while alot more were relaxing and lazing in the sun eating and even sleeping! You could see all of Milan and some of the surrounding cities. It was pretty breathtaking. In the distance you could see snow covered mountains-an awesome site to see. After the church we went and had some lunch and both decided since we both loved rissotto that we should have some traditional Italian food. We sat down at a busy ...

... us to the Questura to get our Permesso's (our permits to stay). This is usually an all day event, however we were lucky enough that international relations helped us obtain an appointment, and it only took an hour. And then we realized that it would be a good idea to buy monthly transportation passes. I'm so glad that we got that out of the way, I don't know how well we would have done. <br>We went back to the apartment, and my parents called ...

... are quickly becoming a great source of entertainment for me) and just had to go in. I found some cheap pop and some raisins which I heard are a very healthy travelling snack (thanks Mom). There would be NO MORE overpriced chocolate bars for me! I also tried to buy an apple but apparently I didnt do it right (you are supposed to weigh it or something) so I couldn't buy it. That was ok. It was only insurance on the apple I already had in my purse. I strolled ...