Venice is the capital of the Veneto Region in Italy and is located in a large archipelago in the boggy Venetian lagoon at the Adriatic Sea in northern Italy.

Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy and at the same time a very unique place due to its history and the distinctive urban layout which made it famous in the whole world. The canals that separate the small islands, which are navigated by all types of small ships, are the equivalent of streets in other cities. The ‘Grand Canal’ is the main traffic corridor in the city.

Grand Canal of Venice

Canal in Venice, Italy

The Grand Canal of Venice cuts the city in half for an extension of almost 4 Km making an inverted-S-shape through the city’s main districts. The average depth of the canal is about 5mt and it is 50 mt in wide. In its waters, you will see a constant flow of ‘Vaporetti’ (local name for a sort of water-bus), private boats, and hundreds of gondolas taking tourists around. From these unique transportation units you will be able to enjoy great views of palaces, churches and gardens in a great scenery that maintains its medieval aspect almost intact.

Great view of the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy

Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square)

Piazza San Marco, Venice

Piazza San Marco is the social, religious and political centre of Venice and it is considered one of the most beautiful central-city-squares in Europe. The Piazza is visited by a multitude of  tourists everyday of the year, who also enjoy the very elegant shops, cafes and restaurants including the famous Caffe Quadri.

Basilica di San Marco (Saint Mark’s Basilica)

Basilica di San Marco, Venice, Italy

Located in the eastern end of the St Mark’s Square, the splendid and magnificent Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco is the cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Venice and is a very good example of Byzantine architecture. The building, which was constructed in 828, was altered and rebuilt many times over almost 8 centuries and combines different styles with a strong Byzantine and Gothic influence.

Ever thought about making a trip to Venice?
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For me and my family, no vacation is complete without including some sort of nature aspect to it. While the trip on the ducks and on the speedboats had a certain amount of nature to it, it is not quite the same as getting out there and hiking. So, we decided to add a trip to Devil’s Lake State Park to our trip.

View of the Devil's Lake State Park, WI - source:http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryans_page/3849189662/sizes/s/in/photostream/

Getting around the state park was a little bit confusing, as there are a couple of different entrances to the park and they are a bit spread apart from one another. Not only that, I hadn’t really planned this leg of the trip too thoroughly because there wasn’t too much info on the Net.

At any rate, we decided to just drive around the park and see what would strike our fancy. There were quite a few visitors to the park and you have to pay for parking ($5), so be sure to bring some cash. There are two lines for entering the park. One line was supposed to be for people that already have passes, but we noticed that quite a few people were purchasing their passes from that line too (which was moving much faster than our line, I might add).

The lake is absolutely beautiful. The water is quite blue and the lake is surrounded by large, grassy hills. There are also several trails at the park. We took the trail to Devil’s Door, which is a huge rock formation. The entire trip was up a hill with stone steps naturally placed throughout the hill. Finding the right rocks could be a little confusing at times and the walk up the hill is pretty physical, but everyone managed it (including the 5 year old twins).

After seeing the rock formation and some other sites along the way, we had to walk back down the hill through another path. This one was also straight down and quite similar to the trail we took on the way up. Some of the rocks were a bit slippery, too, so if you take this path, be sure to watch out for the rocks and use a bit of caution.

Visiting Devil’s Lake State Park was definitely worth adding to our agenda. It only took about 15 minutes to get there from Wisconsin Dells, too, so it was pretty convenient as well.

I spent a good deal of time telling you about some of the attractions you will encounter when you visit Wisconsin Dells, but I have yet to tell you about ways to make this trip more educational.

Some of the sites are inherently educational, such as the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory. Other sites may not seem so obvious when it comes to education – and, even those that are obvious, can be expanded upon further.

Let’s start with the Kalahari Resort. That’s right, even a resort can present many different educational experiences.

You can kick off the educational aspect of staying in a resort by doing a little math. For example, you can tell your child how much it costs each night to stay at the Kalahari and ask him or her to determine what the final bill will be. Don’t forget to add sales tax. In addition, if you are charging expenses to your room, let your little accountant keep track. Not only will this help hone math skills, it will also make your child feel like he or she is performing an important duty for the family.

The Kalahari also has an indoor and an outdoor waterpark. The water aspect opens up a whole bunch of different educational opportunities. When you get back in the hotel room, for example, you can give your child a lump of clay and challenge him or her to find a way to make it float in the bathtub. Your child will have a great time forming the clay into different shapes and trying to make it float in the water. Next, challenge your child to put pennies on the clay and see how many pennies can be placed there before the clay sinks. If you want to make it even more fun, tell your child that he or she can keep all of the pennies that the clay can hold before sinking.

Since there is an outdoor waterpark as well as an indoor waterpark, you can discuss the differences in temperature in the water. When we were there, the water of the outdoor waterpark was quite cold since it is no in a climate controlled atmosphere. This can lead to further discussions about oceans and the effects of outside temperature on the water temperature.

With an elephant being the symbol of the Kalahari, you might also explore learning more about elephants. What does an elephant have to do with the word “Kalahari” anyway? Try to learn more about the Kalahari desert and the creatures that inhabit it before going to the Dells. That way, your child will have a much greater appreciation of the decorations at the resort.

As many of you know, I am planning a trip to Yellowstone for this summer. It is going to be a really long road trip for my family, but we plan on breaking it up and stopping at some other sites along the way.

Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in Yellowstone - Source:http://www.flickr.com/photos/72213316@N00/3646969937/sizes/z/in/photostream/

We are traveling from Indiana, so we decided to stop along the way at the Dakotas so we can see Mt. Rushmore and Badlands National Park. We are also going to be stopping at Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and Devil’s Tower. From there, we will head to Yellowstone and we are planning a visit to the Grand Tetons and to Glacier National Park.

Well, life is interesting sometimes, as I was just contacted today by a man named Allan Wright. Allan told me about his company, which is named Zephyr Adventures and, interestingly enough, will be providing adventure-based family trips to Yellowstone and to Glacier this year. I can’t personally say much about the service, but Allan tells me that they have been in business for 11 years and I think it is worth checking out what they have to offer. If I see Allan while in the area, I will be sure to tell you all about him and his tours!