Barcis Lake - Take 3!

So...Barcis Lake is really pretty, and not too far away, so it made for the perfect girl's day out! So, I ended up there for the 2nd time this week. We spent some time laying out in the sun, hiked up a short trail, ate lunch at a park, took lots of pictures and grabbed some gelato on the way home. Great day! I just wish we had gotten a picture of all of us together.

The only picture I have of everyone (except me): Megan with the pink backpack, Katie (holding Kylie) in the middle, and Betsy leading the pack (she was the one who got to walk into the spider's webs!)

I like slides!We did make a pact to make a girls day out once a week (starting the week after I get back.) Our next plan is to go to the big shopping mall in Udine. Udine is about 45 minutes away and I hear it's one of the biggest malls in Europe! There is even a Disney Store! Since we have all read the Twilight series, we have considered going to Volterra, but I'm afraid that might be an overnighter. We'll see!

Barcis Lake - Take 2

We went up to Barcis Lake last month, but we passed right by Barcis Lake on our way to and from the National Park, so we decided to stop for a few more pictures of the beautiful lake.

Parco Naturale Dolomiti Friulane - Take 2

You might remember last weekend when I posted about the Dolomite Natural Park. Our hike was cut short due to rain. So this weekend Jake and I went back up. It was a beautiful day! And the mountains were gorgeous! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

Jake is such a goof!He was trying to push the tree straight.

Gorgeous!

I love the sun in this one!

Parco Naturale Dolomiti Friulane

This morning, we headed up to the Dolomite Natural Park, about 45 minutes away. The Dolomites are the mountains in our area that are the very southern edge of the Alps. We planned to hike up a certain trail to see the supposed dinosaur foot print and take lots of beautiful pictures.

When we got there, it was lightly sprinkling, but no big deal. We got a few pictures before heading up the trail.

Jake took the picture too quickly, I was adjusting my sunglasses.
Here's the only picture I got of Jake.

It's Meagan & Bing!
By the time we got about 50 m up the side of the trail, it was pouring! I hadn't thought to check the forecast, but the others told me the chance of rain got greater as the day went on. With the steepness of the trail and how slippery it was, we decided it wasn't such a great day for a hike.

We did get a few really cool pictures on the way home. I think the fogginess makes the photos really neat!

Here you see the sun was really trying to shine through.

Where in the World Are We?

When I tell anyone that we are living in Italy, they want to know where in Italy. I can say, "100 kilometers north of Venice" or even just "In the northeast corner" but for simplicity, here is where I live.

See the red star in the center at the top? That's our town, Fontanafredda.

Venezia

We went to Venice yesterday, so as promised, here is an extra long post with lots of photos!

One of my favorite pictures of us ever!

Rialto Bridge.

Grand Canal.

Just a small canal.

San Marcos Basillica.

The Campanile.

San Marcos Basillica.

Gondolas.

We have had too much Italian food lately, so we had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe!

In San Marcos Square.

Big Clock.

Close-up of San Marcos Basillica.

Jake likes his cappuccino.

Cartier, and an old building.

Just another small canal.

Window shopping!

Gelato time! By the way, the guy beside me is Jake's friend Chuck.

Jake wanted to share his gelato.

One last picture before we catch the train.
Drinking beer on the train ride home.

Yummy Gelato!

Not much happened today. Jake worked last night and got home at 7:30 am, so he slept most of the day and I spent the day catching up on laundry.

This afternoon, we went to a gelateria. This one is my favorite because it is only a 5 minute walk from our apartment.

Each time we go, I try a different flavor, but I think the flavor I chose tonight has been my favorite so far, bacio (chocolate with hazelnuts)

If gelato were more healthy, I would eat it everyday! Jake isn't as crazy for sweets as I am, so I have to beg him to go with me.

It's official!

I'm officially a military wife. We got the certified copies of the marriage certificate in the mail today, so we stopped by the DEERS office to get me enrolled as a dependent and get my ID made. Now I can get on base by myself, well except for the fact that I'm not allowed to drive in Italy yet.

Surprisingly, the process was much quicker than we expected, so we took that extra time to stop by the hospital to also get me enrolled in Tri-Care for health insurance. Again, much easier and quicker than we expected. The bad news is that the pharmacy will not accept a prescription from my doctor in Missouri. They are too particular. Now I have to try to get an appointment with a doc on base. How annoying.

I like to have a photo in each post, but I didn't take any photos today, so here is a photo I took last week of the view outside my bedroom window. I wish we had a view of the mountains, but I guess I can't really complain. I mean, it's Italy!

Our First Italy Outing

Today we drove up to Barcis. It's about 30 minutes away, and right in the midst of the mountains. We had to drive through 4 tunnels to get through the mountains. I usually don't mind tunnels, but the longest one took 3 and a half minutes to get through (yes, I timed it!) and that one was a little unsettling. It was gorgeous, but it was packed. I guess everyone had the same idea we had for a Sunday afternoon.