Day 5 Katie's Birthday

So...the big news of the day is it's Katie's 18 birthday!  What a special day for her!  We started out the day with the whole bus singing her Happy Birthday.  Then we left Germany and traveled to Austria through the Alps on our way to Italy.  Our first stop was in the Austrian town of the Swarovsky Crystal...can't remember the name and the Internet is sooooo slow again I can't look it up.  We stopped at the factory, museum and store.  We didn't go into the factory, but we did go into the store to purchase a little bling.  It was a lot of fun.  Our second stop was in Innsbruck for lunch and some shopping.  For the most part we were on the bus the entire day with a stop every two hours, which is the law here for the bus and truck drivers.

While in Innsbruck, we had pizza or Nutella and banana crepes, which were yummy.  We also walked around the entire city center in search of a surprise birthday cake.  We found a really little one, which cost more than it should, but it was worth it.  From Innsbruck we traveled into Italy where the landscape slowly changed from the sharp contrast of the Alps to rolling hills of grapes.  Every once and awhile you could spot a castle or fortress.  Some are falling apart and others are open to the public.

We are staying in the town of Lido di Jesolo, which is a boat ride away from Venice.  Venice is to expensive to actually stay there.  Tomorrow at 8:00 am, we will catch a boat to Venice.  Once we arrive we will receive a walking tour by a Venetian guide and the tour will end with a glass blowing demonstration.  At 2:30 we have all decided to take a ride on the famous Gondolas.  We will also have some free time to explore, shop and visit churches and museums.  We arrived about 8:00pm, had dinner and then surprised Katie with balloons, the cake and candles.  She was very pleased and we are so happy that we could do something for her.

The pictures aren't too exciting today as we were on a buss ALL DAY in order to get to Italy, but the scenery was beautiful.

First stop at Wattens, Austria to see Swarovsky

The Alps

Katie's Birthday Party