Zurich Hike & Street Parade

This weekend Scott and I went to the Zurich Street Parade on Saturday, and we went for a 3 hour hike up to Uetliburg ridge on Sunday. We were busy! The picture above is the view from the top of Uetliberg mountain, and the Zurich Lake and Alps are visible.
We usually take a train up the mountain and walk across the top of the ridge, but we decided to take it one step further and hike up the mountain itself. We were in for a real treat. The entire way up was laced with hairpin turns and steps. Scott is standing on some of the steps in the picture above.
Parts of the trail were falling down the mountain side into the valley below, so people built make-shift bridges across certain areas.

We ended up at the Kulm restaurant and hotel. We walked all the way up the telecom tower to have a better view.
Notice the backpack. We have gotten smart lately on our hikes, and we bring along water, snacks and sunscreen. You never know where you will end up on some of these Swiss trails.

Scott just HAD to pet the cows. Gross. I'm all up for getting milk from cows, but these guys are strangers.
This picture may look familiar because we have the similar shot in our earlier Utlieburg blog except the field has not been plowed.

OK- BE WARNED. THE STREET PARADE INVOLVES VERY LITTLE CLOTHING.

The Zurich Street Parade is the most attended event of the year. It was even BIGGER than the Eurocup! I have never seen so many people crammed in the city before. Plus, it's even worse than the Taste of Chicago (That's really bad).
The Street Parade is described as this on their website, "The Street Parade is a demonstration of love, peace, freedom and tolerance. Thousands of different people of all types dance to electronic music and love being with each other in peace and harmony. Let us enjoy this unique day in a spirit of friendship!"

Techno music booms throughout the streets coming from floats driving by on the street. Each float represents a club that's in the city, so they have their own D.J's playing. Plus, there are four different areas to listen to the worlds top electronic D.J's. I'm thinking South Beach, Miami??

The sea of people was just incredible.

This is one float going by us on the street. You must notice what some of the people are wearing because it is very common to wear next to nothing during this festival. I have never seen so much skin and glitter in my life!

BEWARE - THE PICTURES GET WORSE!

So, I'm assuming you've seen enough of the people at the Zurich Street Parade, but if not, please click the link below to see more.

http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=773111218457621263/l=412216905/g=7389791/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Also, if you would like to see more pictures from our hike, click the link below.

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Pisa, Italy

We took a one hour train ride from Florence to see The Leaning Tower of Pisa. We had no idea what we were in for!

The foundations were laid in 1173 for the tower and work on the tower stopped after the second story was built in 1185 because they noticed it was starting to lean. The problem is that the marble building is built atop sand.

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Between 1275 and 1284, three more stories were built, and in 1360 the bell tower was added. There has been some serious work to keep the tower from leaning more because it already leans 15 feet more than it should. 15 feet!!!

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And now, some video!

One more of the Baptistry, Basilica, and Leaning Tower...




Of course we had to do the silly pictures too!

If you would like to see more pictures from Pisa, click on the link below.

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Florence, Italy

I know it's tough to explain what makes a good city, but I think Florence is the best European city we've been. It has history, culture, lovely people, beautiful landscapes, and romantic restaurants. I'm in love with Florence, and what better way to spend our anniversary but in this lovely city. The picture above is taken from the terrace on our hotel.

One night we went to the II Latini restaurant which has great house wine, communal eating, and prosciutto hanging from the rafters. We meet a very nice British couple there and ended up staying until closing!

The next morning we got up before 7 and headed to the sights. This is the Duomo in Florence, it is a HUGE Catholic church with tons of history.

We walked up 500 steps to reach the top of the tower to reveal the most amazing view.
However, the climb up and climb down were very interesting and scary to say the least.
View from the top!

This is the Palazzo Vechio, a large structure that is still used for town hall. It was built between 1299 and 1302.

This is the famous Uffizi museum which houses the Birth of Venus painting by Botticelli. Uffizi means office because it once was the offices for the ruling Medici family.
We are standing in front of the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge that houses jewelry shops. The bridge was built in 1354 and was changed in the 16th century to add a corridor along the top of the shops that starts at the royal Palace and ends at the Uffizi. The Medici ruler did not want to walk to his office through the streets, so he had a corridor built from his Palace to his office. Also, the Nazis did not blow up the bridge because they thought it was too beautiful to destroy.

Walk way to the bridge.

After you walk over the bridge, you end up at the Pitti Palace, a mansion that served as Florences' royal home from 1560 to th 1860's.




The Palace has amazing gardens in the back with a huge Grotto.



After you walk through the gates of the Palace, you end up in this huge open space. The fountains above lead to the beautiful Boboli gardens. I wonder if Boboli pizza was named after these gardens...??

Our last night in Florence we went to Piazalle Michelangelo, a huge garden overlooking the entire city, to watch the sunset.

Later, we ate at Acqua al Due, a beloved restaurant with WONDERFUL Tuscan cuisine.

Of course it wouldn't be a trip to Florence without seeing Michelangelo's masterpiece, David. Michelangelo built David at the age of 26 between the years 1501 and 1504.

We took a day trip to Pisa, so be sure to check the next post for those pictures. If you would like to see more of Florence, please click the link below.
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Venice, Italy

Wow! What a city. Venice was so interesting and dynamic that I had a hard time wrapping my head around the history we saw in the city. It's hard to imagine people lived in such small quarters for such a long period of time.
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Now, Venice is mostly touristic because of its interesting canals and hidden alleys. We figured Venice and Florence would be two great cities to visit for our third anniversary, and we were right!

Our first day we visited the Rialto market to grab a ton of fresh Italian fruit. We were not disappointed! The best fruit I've ever had in my life.

We didn't buy any fish, but we thought it all looked amazing!

The Doge's Palace (corridor above) was the residence of 120 doges who ruled Venice from 697 to 1797. The Doge is considered the ruler, or King of the city itself. At one time, Venice was very powerful in the world. Many artists, rulers, and powerful people lived in Venice.

There are a ridiculous number of bridges throughout the city because it is all built on water. It was impossible to walk more than 100 feet before you had to cross another bridge.

After a long day of walking and sight seeing, we went back to the Hotel Marconi next to the Rialto bridge to find a bottle of Prosecco in our room. The hotel gave us the bottle for our anniversary. We spent lots of time out front of our hotel in this spot drinking wine, playing cards and just talking about Venice.

Each day of our vacation we got out on the town before 7 a.m. to see the city without tourists. Plus, it was very hot so we figured we could be out while it was much cooler. The Rialto bridge is the most famous sight in Venice. It stretches across the Grand Canal, and holds many stores across the bridge itself. Plus, there is a replica in Las Vegas at the Venetian in case you thought it looked familiar. =)




Piazza San Marco is at the heart of Venice because it is surrounded by Doge's Palace and the Basilica San Marco. This picture was taken at 6:45 a.m. so the tourists were no where in sight. Noon is a total different story.

This is a shot of the Basilica and the Palace.


After we left Piazza San Marco, we headed out for an hour walk around the city through alleyways and much more. Some alleys were so close you could touch both buildings with your hands (or your feet).

Some places were so short you had to duck or walk carefully.


Later on in the day, we went back to Piazza San Marco to go to the top of the Campanile, the bell tower. The Campanile used to hold torture chambers and a watch tower. In 1902 the tower collapsed into the square, and was rebuilt in the exact fashion as was in the past.

Views from the top.

Our guide book told us to eat at the famous Harry's Bar, the legendary restaurant of Ernest Hemmingway and the place where Bellini's were invented (A Bellini is a drink made of peach nectar and champagne). The bar is named after the American who funded the place.

We sat down to have lunch and realized quickly that our lunch was going to be expensive!!! The Bellini's were $24 each. Needless to say, we split a sandwich and left quickly. =) On our way out we were given a bright blue bag with homemade pasta to take home. Interestingly enough, the bag is the same color as Tiffany's of New York. We think this was purposefully chosen from the American owner.

We took a boat from our hotel to Murano island to see the famous glass blowing. Venice is known for it's exceptional glass blowing techniques so of course we had to see for ourselves.

The ride itself was romantic through all of the small canals, and then out onto the open ocean to the island.

This took 3 minutes for the glass blower to make. Amazing!!
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We absolutely adored Venice, and may go back during their famous November 21st festival. Keep scrolling up to see the rest of our Italian trip. If you would like to see more pictures from Venice, please click the link below.

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