Rimini

Rimini is a great beach town on the east coast of Italy. It gets really crowded in the summer, but it's very quiet in the off season.


The Arch of Augustus, built in 27 B.C. in honor of the Emporer Augustus.

We met up with our friend Jake. This has to be one of my favorite pictures.

Mantua

Alex's brother Nic came to visit us for a week. We headed out to Mantua, an hour and a half southwest of Venice on Alex's first day off. Mantua was once ruled by the powerful Gonzaga family from 1328-1708. They resided in the Palazzo Ducale, a series of huge buildings in the center of town.

Me and the 25 week old belly.


The brothers.


Eating the BEST gelato ever for the first time. We had to go all the way to Mantua to discover this place. It's a chain called GROM and they have a store in Mestre. Alex and I went at least three times a week. Look at the fresh panna on top!!!!

The Palazzo Te is a straight shot from the Palazzo Ducale. It was built by Giulio Romano as a summer residence for the Gonzaga family. There is a huge park in front of the palace where everyone can hang out and the children can play soccer. Not sure what I'm doing here.

Mestre

Alex's gym is actually located in the town of Mestre, which is the town on the mainland that connects to Venice. We had some business to attend to in the center, so we took advantage of the nice weather and enjoyed people watching at one of the many cafes.

Verona

Our first trip of the season was to Verona, which is less than 2 hours by car from Venice. We first visited back in January, but we did not get there in time to get some good shots of the center and amphitheatre.

Alex eating a panini in the center. Looks like a mixture of Venice and Portofino. There's also a gelato shop here that sells grapefruit gelato. DELICIOUS!!!!


Roman Amphitheatre.