Our Italian Get Away

When researching where to go on our trip to Italy, we initially were thinking of the renowned Portofino area in the Italian Riviera. But once we began looking more in depth, Michael found an even better place that is perfectly suited for families: Gardaland, in Peschiera del Garda, Italy, located in northern Italy on the banks of Lake Garda. The Gardaland resort boasts a hotel, aquarium, and the biggest amusement park in Italy, which was perfect for keeping Jake entertained! There is also a water park and Movieland, but we were told Jake was still too young to enjoy them yet. Nearby is the esteemed historical city of Verona, so there is a great balance of kid friendly and cultural/historical attractions in the area. Gardaland is surrounded by beautiful vineyards everywhere you look. We arrived in Italy late on Wednesday evening after a very long day of traveling-- three trains and two buses for a total of seven hours, whew! But a bonus of going by train was seeing more amazing scenery throughout Switzerland and Italy! Jake was so well behaved on the way there and coming back, and even napped in my lap both ways. Be prepared, there are TONS of pictures on this post because there was so much to see and do!!!

Taken from the train en route to Italy

Another train pic- look at that church!

Jake & Michael on the train

On our first day, we went to the Gardaland amusement park. It has a special area for kids Jake's age, which is where we spent the majority of our time. Jake had a ball riding the rides and running around. His favorite was a tractor ride through an animated farm, and he got to "drive", which immediately won him over. We made it past lunch and then Jake was ready to head back to the hotel and rest. Later that afternoon we tried out the hotel pool, but even though it was hot outside, the water was once again unfortunately SO cold that none of us could stay comfortably in it! I guess Americans must have different temperature tolerances than Europeans! Thursday evening we discovered the best feature of our hotel-- each night there is a kid's dance party after dinner for one hour! They usually had an activity first, such as a relay game, which Jake loved doing as well. They played mostly American music, the majority of which Jake recognized, so it made him even more excited. Watching Jake dance and play with all the other kids was our favorite part of each day, he absolutely loved it and got sad each night when it was over! Jake also was obsessed with the hotel game room and the gazebo that had dollar rides, both of which we did numerous times a day!

Jake in the hotel lobby (far left)

The ride gazebo at the resort

Fountain at the resort

Racing motorcycles in the hotel game room

Kids dance party at the hotel-- JK is half smiling b/c he's annoyed to stop for a picture!

Jakey dancing! 

Last night in Italy

Me helping Jake play the pirate game (he is wearing the black pirate hat, holding orange net)

Just a few...

of his dance moves!!

Thank you Lovey & Granddad for all my fun things!

Jake with the Gardaland mascot, Prezzemelo

Riding the train at the amusement park

Airplane ride

Lunch break for a happy boy

Pirate ship Ferris wheel

Toy shop 

A huge fantasy tree in the middle of kid's area

Tractor ride entrance

Driving the tractor & waving at the singing cows

Running in his new shirt

Popsicles to stay cool

On Friday morning we went to the Sea Life Aquarium, which Jake really enjoyed. He loved finding Nemo and Dorey in all the tanks and he also loves seeing sharks, which is almost always what he requests when getting a painted tattoo! We were bummed that the sea lion exhibit was closed because they are Jake's favorite, but he still had fun. He picked out a turtle as a souvenir who he calls "tortie".

Outside the aquarium

Inside the tank tunnel

Looking at sharks

Coral reef hologram projection onto the floor- JK loved chasing the fish!

Friday after lunch we took a quick train ride to spend the rest of the day in Verona, which has been awarded world heritage site status by UNESCO because of its urban structure and architecture; it's really beautiful! It is a trendy city with ancient architecture, which makes it so dynamic and fun to walk through. The streets reminded us of Venice, but without canals. The romantic history buff in me was excited about the fact that Shakespeare's world famous Romeo and Juliet was based here! One of the city's most popular sites is the balcony said to be Juliet's. Apparently if you rub the breast on the bronze statue of Juliet, it's good luck, so of course I honored that tradition! Michael took a picture of me standing on her balcony blowing him a kiss, and I even toured the Capulet house and saw Romeo & Juliet's bed and clothing. I also took a pic of the spot on the wall where Michael etched our initials with a coin (since we didn't have a pen) which was another tradition that I was happy to partake in. Inside the house, you can write a letter to Juliet about your love life, so I wrote a little something to her about Michael and me...this was one of my very favorite things of the entire summer! The Verona Arena is a spectacular Roman amphitheatre built in AD 30, which is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind and is the third largest in Europe. We went inside and its crazy to imagine what it took to build and what it was like hundreds of years ago. Jake had fun climbing all over the steps, which there were quite many of! I could have spent days wandering around in Verona, I'm sure there was much more to see since we only had half a day. It is now one of my favorite cities!

Rubbing Juliet's boob for luck!!!

If you look carefully, you'll see M+B etched on the wall

Blowing Michael a kiss from Juliet's balcony

Inside the Capulet house, this was Romeo & Juliet's bed!

Romeo & Juliet's clothes

Beautiful painting in the house of the final scene of the play

Jake & Michael in front of Verona Arena

Inside the main Arena hallway

Part of original wall at top of Arena

Inside the Arena, it's set up for an opera

Typical-- JK looking over his shoulder as Michael chases after him!

In the market square of Verona

I think this was the original fortress protecting the city center

A street in Verona on our way to Capulet house

Beautiful arches

Clock tower overlooking Verona

At main boulevard entering Verona

Saturday we went into town in Peschiera del Garda, just a few minutes from the resort. This is one of the neatest towns we have been to and we fell in love with it! The waterfront views of Lake Garda are spectacular and we were wishing it wasn't our last day so we could have spent some recreational time at the lake. There were boats everywhere and people fishing and swimming. The town center is so cute and we just walked around, ate and shopped. Jake got an Italian soccer jersey that he literally stripped off his old shirt to put on the moment we paid for it, which the shop owner got such a kick out of! This town is perfect for a vacation and I can totally see why Lake Garda is such a popular place to get away. I wish everyone could hear Jake say "ciao bella" and "Italy", it's soo cute!

Overlooking bridge into canal of Peschiera del Garda

Looking at town from dock

Jakey on main bridge

Overlooking bridge in town

Scenic view of Peschiera del Garda & Lake Garda

Blowing kisses at the lake

Enjoying some gelato in town

Daddy & Jake at Lake Garda

Headed up to the scenic overlook

Lake Garda

Canal & bridge

Entering Peschiera del Garda

Canal opening to the lake

Family pic at Lake Garda

Lovey and Granddad gave Jakey some spending money for this trip and Jake had so much fun excitedly picking out special things everywhere we went, so a big thank you to my parents for all of the fun loot that Jake made out with in Italy! I also want to thank Michael for planning such a great family trip. He has coordinated everything when we travel and I really appreciate all his efforts! When I look back on this trip, I think what stands out most are the beautiful cities of Verona and Peschiera del Garda, and watching Jake dance every night at the resort! We had such a wonderful time in Italy and I feel so blessed and fortunate to have visited so many amazing places this summer. Italy was a great way to end our travels and I will cherish our time there as a family. Jacob Knox is one well-traveled little boy!!

We are in the final countdown now, only one week left in Switzerland. Hopefully the weather will be warm and sunny so we can enjoy it to the fullest and Michael won't have his last two games rained out! Praying for sunshine and that the Barracudas win so we can leave on a high note!!