Mon 19 Jan 2004
Our Favorite Big City in Europe (Sandi’s Turn)
Posted by Sandi Atherton under germany, italy
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Ken says that I have to take time out of my busy day to write about our favorite things. So here it goes…
Ken and I have joked, but with some truth to the fact, that I do not like big cities. It seemed I complained about many of them or did not care to go in the first place, such as with Berlin. To me I wanted the quaint cobblestone roads and beautiful old houses. That was the reason I came to Europe. The big cities seemed to offer so much more modern aspects and a little loss of that charm I like so much. However, looking at the list Ken has put together, I realize I like more than I disliked. It is hard to choose just one. So many of them had great things to see and experience (that are why we chose to go in the first place).
Since I have to choose just one, I am going to do it this way. I am going to pick one that I would love to go back to. My first thought was to say Bruggs, Belgium but, I realized that as much as I loved the city I believe there was more to it. We added Belgium onto the end of our spring vacation which only allowed us to stay for a couple of days. The city was filled with fantastic things to see and too many corners to turn for new discoveries. I feel that I did not have near the amount of time I wanted in order to see it all. And what I want more than anything is to be able to tour the entire country (hey, it’s small and can be done). So if Ken post a topic of “COUNTRY we would most like to go back to” then Belgium wins hands down for me. But since that is not the topic right now….
Bruggs seemed to have alot of the same charm that I loved so much from the city that I am going to choose. Venice, Italy. Although I can’t say I was thrilled with most of Italy, Venice stole my heart. In all honesty, it was the one city I feared the most on out first big vacation. It scared me to park our car, take a boat to an island with only boats or walking as means of transportation, and do it with 2 kids in tow. All fear vanished the minute we checked into our hotel. The streets were unbelievably narrow and one could spend days wandering them to catch sight of the little touches of life. Because of the absence of cars the city had almost an amusement park feel to it. Then you look around and realize that people LIVE there. That those lucky people get to wander those streets and learn every nook and corner. Every dead-end and bridge crossing. The entire stay felt laid back and relaxing (hard to do with kids). We sat and fed pigeons in the large square, we walked until our feet hurt, explored churches and shops. The locals stopped us as much as possible to tell us how beautiful our children were especially with Celia’s blonde tight curls. We even had other tourists taking pictures of our kids.
I wish I could have seen more of the city and really explored everything but, with 3 days and kids, well… just not possible. I have though, made Ken promise to take me back again. Just the two of us!
