Next stop: Jesolo, Italy. It is a seaside town on a peninsula about 45 minutes away by boat from Venice.

After a 5-hour trip and as we were approaching our destination, Jonah threw up in a car so for the last hour or so we were covered in throw up and enduring the smell.  This was not the last time Jonah threw up in the car but the next time it happened we were prepared. It turned out that he gets motion sick and now as he starts to feel sick he asks for a plastic bag :)

Our accommodation in Jesolo was a mobile home in an RV park. Well, it was more like an RV resort because it included a huge Aqua Park, lots of restaurants, beach, free toys, nightly shows, playgrounds, stores, amusement centers, bike rentals, etc.

This resort was a paradise for kids and their parents. There was a mandatory siesta in the middle of the day so the kids can nap. The cars were not allowed to drive and all the amenities like the Aqua Park were shut down. They also had workshops and activities every day making sure the kids were busy and happy. Everyone felt very at ease at this resort to a point where young kids age 3-7 were roaming around by themselves, buying snacks and playing on driveways without any supervision.

We rented a 2-bedroom home with a kitchen and a living room. Everything was very small but comfortable, furnished IKEA style. The rental included all the kitchen utensils, linens and towels so it was like renting a miniature apartment. The mobile home was in a row of many identical units so we would get lost often while trying to find it.

The resort was really big so we ended up renting bikes to get around and were having so much fun that we pretty much forgot that we were next to a spectacular city of Venice.

Well, Venice wasn’t very spectacular at least not this time around. I remember the first time we visited many years ago the city left me with an impression of something magical and unique. This time around it came across decaying and unfriendly.

The day we visited, Ender was running a fever so he was weak and grouchy (you can even see that in the pictures). The temperature outside was in the 90s and crowds of tourists were sweating up the narrow streets of the city. It was sad to see deteriorating buildings and no visible attempts at remodeling them. Venetians were unfriendly and the city was puddled with dirty ocean water. 

Aside from the view, we did enjoy a very expensive cup of coffee, chasing pigeons on St Marco Square and a gondola ride with a buff gondolier. Check the photo gallery posted here.

After Jesolo we spent three days on the rugged coast of Italy also known as Italian Riviera or Cinque Terre. The coastline has five hillside villages hence the name Cinque Terre.

We stayed in a village called Monterosso al Mare in a two-bedroom apartment. One of the rooms was upstairs and it was as hot as a sauna, and the only way we were able to stay there is with a portable air conditioning blowing air right into your face. Alex stayed in the sauna and the kids and I shared a bed in a second bedroom. Needless to say no one slept well for 3 nights. To top it off, every evening we would loose electricity so we had to use our iPhones as flashlights. And that was the only thing we were able to use our iPhone for, because we had no Internet and no SIM cards to use them as phones. We were getting desperate for some comfort and a good night’s sleep.