Oscar Mayer ain't got nothin' on Bologna

Well, the past few weeks have definitely been filled to the brim with adventure! Just the way I like it!

Seth in Mondsee, a small town in the lake district outside of Salzburg where the wedding scene from the Sound of Music was filmed.

Seth and I at the Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg.

Me overlooking part of Salzburg.

Seth and I in front of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

Me in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Seth at the same overlook in Salzburg.

Me at the Mirabell Gardens, channeling my inner Julie Andrews.

Mirabell Gardens, behind the Mirabell Palace. The Do-Rey-Mi song was mostly filmed here.

Seth in from of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.

Seth and I in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Rome.

Seth taking in the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument.

Seth and I in Rome.

Seth, taken from the Borghese Gardens in Rome.

Me at the lake in the Borghese Gardens.

Seth and I in front of the Colosseum.

Seth and I from the Colosseum with the Arch of Constantine behind us.

Seth in Florence near the Ponte Vecchio.

Venice.

Me in Venice.

Seth in Venice.

Fog on the mountains of Salzburg. Only good thing about getting soaked in rain.

The back yard of this building including the lake was used for the scene in the Sound of Music where the boat capsizes, as well as other outdoor scenes. A different house was actually used for the outdoor scenes containing the home.

Seth and I in the Colosseum.

So, after two weeks at the beach in Riccione (where I was fulfilled the role of chaperone to 14-year-old Rocco), we returned to Bologna. The following day, the Rossi's headed to Miami Beach for their summer holiday, and I remained behind in Bologna. 

I was invited to hike Monte Acuto with some of the Rossi's friends that Saturday, which was GORGEOUS, and on Sunday I caught a train to Rome in order to collect Seth from the train station Monday morning. 

In short, we had a fantastic time on our two week foray into Europe!! From the Eternal City of Roma, to Mondello Beach in Sicilia (Sicily), back to Rome, to Florence, to Bologna, to Venice, to Salzburg, Austria, to Paris, France (where Seth caught a bus to Brussels and flew back the the good ol' USA) - it was a great, albeit fast-paced, trip!

Some of the highlights were the Vatican, the crystal clear Mediterranean Sea, ancient Rome, gelato, pasta, the market in Florence, making new friends in Sicily, meeting up with one of those friends in Paris, the Eiffel Tower, the Alps, hot chocolate, the Sound of Music Tour, the Louvre, and ample discussions of Harry Potter.

Some of the lowlights were spending all night crammed in a cabin on a train from Venice to Salzburg with a broken AC, 4 sweaty Italian boys, and one brother... blisters, bugs in my bed at one of the hostels (don't worry - I got my money back), partial starvation, and a full day of rain and cold wet feet in Salzburg.

I got back to Bologna on Saturday evening and the Rossi's returned from the US yesterday afternoon. Life is normalizing now as we battle jet-lag and language barriers once more, and although I hate to admit it, I'm glad of these restful last few days.