Madrid

The final destination on my never ending summer was Madrid.  We took a long layover in the city to visit our friend Jessie and see the Spanish capital.

Venezia

We had a weekend get away in Venice.  Eva's parents gave us a ride to Villach and from there we caught a direct train to Venice.  We spent 3 days in Venice.  We went right after Carnival, so the tourism was low (for Venice) but we had absolutely beautiful weather.

Ponte Rialto.

Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.

Looking at San Marco from the other side of the Canal Grande.

Rialto by night.

Night time cafe on the Canal Grande.

Glass blowing in Murano.

Sitting in a cafe in Cannaregio watching loud, masculine Italian men drink aperol.

Osteria al Diabo'lo e l'Aguasanta.

The view from Ponte Accademia.

Österreich

After going to Easter Island, Peru, Bolivia, and all the way to Tierra del Fuego, I needed a vacation from vacation.  So of course, I went on three more weeks of vacation.  The destination this time was Austria to get to know Eva's homeland.  My time in Austria was spent mainly meeting lots of new people in Steiermark and Wien as well as a few cool other places.

The Riegersburg Castle.

At Fastnachtsdienstag or Carnival, the day before the start of Lent.

Skiing in Teichalm.

Drinking a Cocoa with Ron Apres-Ski.

Family rooting for the Austrian Ski team.

Eating ceviche de salmon prepared as a treat for the Austrians.

Raw cheekiness.

Waiting in line at Demel for the famous Annatorte.