From the Inside Out

We spent our first full day in Italy exploring more of the villages along Lake Como. After eating lunch in Bellagio, we hopped on a passenger ferry boat and went across the lake to Tremezzo where we toured through the amazing Villa Carlotta and its gorgeous gardens.

After Tremezzo, we jumped on another boat and went to Menaggio.

Our final adventure for the day was Varenna.

We wrapped up the day with dinner back in Bellagio.

More adventures tomorrow! For all of today’s pictures, check out the Bellagio photo album.

Our trip to Bellagio started early on Wednesday with a morning flight from DFW to New York. We arrived slightly after 1 pm ET and had a lengthy layover at JFK. After traipsing through all of the airport stores, checking email, and eating our last American meal, we finally stepped onto the plane bound for Milan. Eight hours later, it landed bringing us one step closer to our final destination.

The local time was 8 am when we arrived in Milan. We grabbed our bags, went through passport control and customs, and then met our driver who would take us all the way to the city of Bellagio situated on Lake Como. He was a cheerful fellow who spoke good English, so we chatted with him for most of the 2-hour drive, learning more about Bellagio and Milan — even talking about some American politics, Obama and Michael Jackson.

The drive was scenic, especially as we neared the villages of Lake Como. At times, the road would narrow to a single lane that curved through the tiny towns on the lake. Even though it was only one lane, traffic continued in both directions. There were a few times I thought we were going to scrape sides with the oncoming vehicles, but we magically passed through only a few inches away from each other. It didn’t bother our driver one bit, but I was really happy I wasn’t driving!

Finally, we arrived at our hotel, the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio. It’s beautiful!! We took it easy today because we were both tired from the long trip and jet lag. We explored the areas close to our hotel, enjoyed the lovely weather, and relaxed near the lake. Tomorrow, the real adventure will begin. Here are just a few highlights of the day. For more pics, check out my Bellagio photo album.

Outside our hotel, which is located right on gorgeous Lake Como

Bellagio, and the water taxi

The gardens and lake access at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni

Private pier at our hotel — isn’t the lake beautiful? Like a postcard!

Cobblestone streets, shops, restaurants, and gelato

Walkway by the lake in the center of Bellagio

The main staircase in our hotel

The hotel at night

Today was our last day in Washington DC. The day started with a trip to the offices of our TX representatives and senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Senate office building

KBH’s office

We were on a mission…a mission to acquire passes to the Senate and House galleries in the capital building. Unfortunately, the House gallery is closed this month for construction. The Senate gallery, however, is not. We learned that the gallery would open in the afternoon once they were in session.

We had a few hours to kill so we had lunch at the visitor’s center and went through the Museum. Finally it was time to get in line for the gallery. We got there early, and I’m glad we did. The line was already long when we arrived. After waiting in line, we were ushered into a room where we had to unload our pockets and purses — absolutely no electronic or battery operated devices were allowed inside. Stripped of our technology, we were loaded into elevators which dumped us off at…another line…ugh! We stood in this line about an hour, winding through the back corridors in the Senate area of the capital. Finally, we arrived in a new corridor where they gave us the rules — no talking, cheering, booing, sleeping, writing, etc. Then we went through yet another security checkpoint. We were getting close now…yay!!

Our time came to enter the gallery, and we quietly walked to our seats and promptly sat down. At first, our view wasn’t ideal, but we were eventually able to move to a better location once others vacated their seats. It was a neat experience to watch our government in action. A few minutes after we were seated, Senator McCain walked into the room. We listened to him address the Senate about the nomination of judge Sonia Sotomayer and then heard him talk about his objections to spending initiatives associated with the agriculture bill. It was really interesting. I’ve seen this room and the process on TV before, but there’s absolutely no substitute for witnessing it “live.” If you’re ever in DC, you need to do this. I highly recommend it, and it’s definitely worth the wait.

After our visit to the capital, it was time to head back to the hotel to pick up our bags and leave for the airport. We strolled along the mall walking to the hotel so we could enjoy our last few hours in DC.

We’re back in Dallas now and while it feels good to be home, I’m sad that our vacation time is over. It was a fantastic trip in a great city. We thoroughly enjoyed it!

Next up: Italy, Sept. 09!!

Here are the pictoral highlights from today’s adventure in Washington DC. First stop…Holocaust Museum. Below is a picture of the lobby — no photography was allowed inside the main exhibit.

Next stop…Ford’s Theatre, museum, and Peterson’s Boarding house. The picture below shows the room where Lincoln died.

Ford’s Theatre and the state box where Lincoln was shot

After the theatre, we jumped on a 3-hr. bus tour that went to all the major sights in DC. Many of them we had already seen during our walking adventures, but others — such as the Washington National Cathedral below — were new to us.

Arlington National Cemetery and Robert E. Lee’s former home on the top of the hill

Inside Union Station

The Capital and night moon

Washington Monument at night

White House at night

For all the pictures from today, check out the photos section here.

We started the day with a tour of our nation’s capital. Below is the view looking up at the dome.

It’s so tall that the statue of liberty can fit inside and

still have 30 feet of space before her torch touches the top!

Next stop…the Library of Congress

Having fun at the Capital…doesn’t look that big after all

The other side of the Capital

We went through some of the museums at the Smithsonian, then headed to the Jefferson Memorial

At Georgetown, we perused the shops and restaurants along M street.

Below is the canal and one of the boats that still runs along it

Washington Harbor in Georgetown where we hopped on a boat tour of the Potomac River

For more pictures of the boat tour, you can check out the new pics added to my DC photo album.

After the boat tour, we had dinner at a little Italian food restaurant on M street and then decided to call it a night.

We did lots of walking and exploring today. My legs are sore and my feet are blistered. I guess it’s going to be a tennis shoe day tomorrow (I hate wearing those…ugh!). But, it’s all worth it…this is a great city, and I’m enjoying the history of our country. Can’t wait for more tomorrow!

Have a great Sunday…and don’t forget to check out all of the new pics from today in the photo section.