Spring Break- Northern Italy

After Paris, we flew to Milan. I really, really wanted to see Da Vinci's Last Supper painting...but tickets were sold out. Tour companies buy up all the tickets and include seeing the Last Supper in their group tours. My kids did NOT want to do a walking tour of Milan...guess who won? Me. So off we went on a 2-3 hr walking tour of the city. The Last Supper is in the background of the photo. I'm taking a photo of Mei b/c she was sitting so patiently, just waiting on the bench while everyone took photos.

Another thing I wanted to see in Milan was the Duomo. The walking tour ended here and when we arrived in the square my jaw dropped- it really is so stunning. Even the grumpy kids were impressed.

How did the kids survive the walking tour? I bribed them with gelato. If they did a jumping photo in front of the fountain...they got gelato!

Proof that they were willing to jump for gelato:

We took a day trip out to Lake Como...and so did everyone else. Traffic was awful b/c of several car accidents. But our actual time at Lake Como was great and it is beautiful. We stopped at Castello di Vezio (castle, used more as a guard tower) to see the ghosts:

View of Lake Como from the castle tower

Lake Como is so close to the Swiss border that Brian insisted we detour and have dinner in Switzerland before making our way back to Milan. We took a selfie outside of the restaurant as "proof" that we went to Switzerland.

I can't remember where exactly we were when Mina ate octopus (I think it was when we were making our way from Milan to Venice)...but she did...and liked it. She definitely my most adventurous eater.

Venice! Piazza San Marcos, in front of the Basilica

On Rialto Bridge, overlooking the Grand Canal

When in Venice, a gondola ride is a must!

Suso- the best gelato in Venice. We went there every day.

Pasta cooking class at the JW Marriott Resort. We made several different pasta dishes and left with full bellies.

And that was spring break in a nutshell...!