Stop 1: Venice

If you (like us) hate crowds, tourists, high prices, and heat, then traveling in Europe in January is PERFECT. However, if you don't like cold, rain, or closed stores, then join the hoards in the summer... It's your call. For us, a January trip was just right.

Although beautiful blue skies would have been welcomed, of course, the fog resting on the city of Venice provided a rather mystical quality to the canaled city. Piazza San Marco greeted us with swirls of smoke-like clouds:

The view from St. Mark's over the gondola docks out to San Giorgio had an eerie quality :

On our first day, we took a boat ride down the Grand Canal:

Enjoyed the Christmas lights still up at the Rialto Bridge:

Visited (and took illegal pictures in) the beautiful Frari Church:

And simply enjoyed wandering around the car-free streets and canals:

When traveling with an infant in Europe, I'd say the number one most important thing is a good carrier. We love our Ergo. More importantly, Oliver loves our Ergo.

On the second day, we started at St. Mark's Basilica:

And then visited the Doge's Palace, which was gorgeous:

I think it might have been my favorite palace visit ever (and this coming from someone who has toured a LOT of chateaux, castles, and palaces). It was extensive, well-preserved, beautiful. Plus it included a tour of the prison (very cool) and well-posted descriptions in each room. We had a great time:

We spent the rest of that day wandering Venice. The city is so small that frequent trips back to the hotel to feed Oliver were easy, making the days very simple. It truly is a breathtaking place:

Our two days there ended with a boat ride to the train station to head to Roma. Plane tickets to Venice, 49 euros on Easyjet. 2 nights in Venice, 110 euros (WAY cheaper in January, right?!?!). Traveling down the Grand Canal during sunrise... priceless.

Into the Wild, Blue Yonder...

I'm curious, have any of you (all 3 of my readers) done any significant traveling with a 7-month old? It's probably not ideal conditions, but we decided that we needed to go for it while we were only 1.5 hours from Italy by plane, rather than 10+.

We began with an early morning flight to Venice. In order to avoid bringing a car seat, we determined that the metro and then the Orlybus should get us there in time (unfortunately, the train to Orly requires several changes from our house, and since the metro starts running at 5:30 and our plane was a 7:30, we opted for the bus which we thought would be quicker). So at 5:30, we were standing on the metro platform, freezing our tooshes off. Unfortunately, the train did not reach our stop until 5:40. Then there was some problem on the track (we were only trying to go 5 stops!), and we sat at a stop for about 15 minutes. Then we sat at the next stop for another 5-10. Finally, we reach the stop that meets the Orlybus, only to find that the next bus would not be leaving for another 20 minutes (they're supposed to go every 12 minutes). By this point, it's 6:30. We could not wait. So (don't tell the Paris police... or the grandparents, for that matter), we asked the cabby nearby if he would take us without a car seat. He said no problem.

We arrived in time and had smooth sailing from there on... And we won the bad parents badge of the year. (But, in our defense, at least there is NO ONE on the roads in Paris before 7 am.) I feared that it was a sign of what was to come for this trip, but thankfully, I was wrong. The rest of the trip was FABULOUS, and I promise more posts coming soon to describe it all.

For now, suffice it to say that the food, the people, the sights, and even the baby were all incredible. And, because I enjoyed these, I leave you with two pictures of the Alps in the early morning, taken on our flight from Paris to Venice:

Ciao~

Opening Presents!

This may have been Oli's first Christmas, but he was all over the present thing this year...

He was focused:

Intrigued:

Even fascinated:

He would examine:

Rip into it:

And enjoy:

He wanted to be involved in every part of the process:

Got a little distracted when trying to eat the tissue paper:

But was thrilled when he finally got to the good stuff:

Oh, the focus:

The fascination:

And the joy:

Christmas in Santa Fe

Despite some rough experiences in my past (due to severe altitude sickness and a minor cat allergy), Christmas in Santa Fe still ranks as a rather magical experience. And this year was doubly so: Oliver's first Christmas AND his first visit to Santa Fe. We couldn't have picked a better time of year. :)

On Christmas Eve, we suited up to stroll Canyon Road:

Oliver was warm and snuggly as Dasher (I realized that he cannot be Rudolph since the nose is brown...):

And he road happily along with is dad and grandparents (while mom took pictures):

The street was decorated with the traditional Christmas-light chilies:

And luminarias (or farolitos, depending on whom you ask):

With bonfires in open spaces:

It was truly magical for our little family:

And Oliver was a good sport throughout:

On Christmas day, we gathered to open the presents from under the Christmas cactus (and no, for those of you who have never been to Santa Fe, this is not how most people do things there... just us):

Oliver and Daddy had a very fun Christmas morning:

Playing Oliver's new favorite game:

We opened presents (more pictures of Oliver to come later):

And the cats played in the paper:

That afternoon, we went outside to enjoy the perfect weather:

And took a hike around my in-laws beautiful property:

We even passed some snow:

And a cool dead tree:

And, my favorite, dried flowers (or, as my father-in-law assured me, dead weeds - but I like them anyway) to photograph in the sunset:

Which was beautiful, by the way:

The next day, we enjoyed some shopping in downtown Santa Fe:

Where all three boys were more than agreeable as we ladies perused:

And, of course, we had to catch a photo in the plaza:

Don't you love three-generation pictures? All those Paxton men... A very Merry Christmas!