It had been more than a decade since we’d visited Italy and almost two years since we’d made a trip across the pond at all. Needless to say, it didn’t take much convincing to book our most recent adventure to Venice, Italy, followed by a Croatian cruise with our Midwest America YPO group.
We started the trip in Venice, which felt extra special because it was part of our very first trip abroad together as a married couple. In 2014 we spent just over a week visiting four Italian cities with our friends Josh and Emily Van Vels. Fast-forward more than a decade, add a few kids, a couple house moves and a handful of new jobs later, and we were back! A lot has changed, but thankfully, the magic of Venice has not.
They say you either love or hate Venice, and we are firmly in the love camp. Because what’s not to love about a city built on water, with charm around every corner and amazing food and wine at every turn? We ate and drank our way through the winding streets, revisited a few favorite spots and discovered some new ones, making new memories to add to the old.
And the icing on the cake? We kept running into familiar faces. With more than 500 Midwest America YPO members in Venice for the regional trip, we made a fun game out of pointing out fellow Midwesterners who we’d see on the ship later that week. Dead giveaways were usually our shoe choices and how we style our hair.
Our days in Venice were wonderfully unstructured—sleeping in (something we never do!), wandering the city, shopping, taking in the sights and, of course, eating pasta and pizza and drinking local wine. I came home with a renewed love for gnocchi and a serious case of fashion envy. I love Italy!
We checked off some of the classics, including St. Mark’s Square, Doge’s Palace and Museo Correr, and took a romantic gondola ride under the Rialto Bridge where the bottle of Prosecco and plastic cups we brought along absolutely enhanced the experience. And, do you like an old church?! Kladders do! And tour them we did.
We also enjoyed a rooftop happy hour and incredible dinner with our West Michigan group. It was the perfect way to kick off the trip together before setting sail into the majestic Adriatic.
From Venice, we boarded the Silver Muse for our Croatian cruise, with stops in Zadar, Hvar and Pula. The Silver Muse is a smaller ship with capacity for just about 550 of our closest friends to come along. One main pool, a couple of hot tubs, a casino, five restaurants, a cafe, gym (with a sauna! you know me!), and very nice room suites. It was a lovely ship with excellent service.
Croatia reminded us a lot of Italy, with gorgeous coastlines, European charm and incredible seafood. And, with a ship full of Mid Americans… it was tough not to make new friends. ‘Mid west nice’ nice was alive and well.
Our first stop was Zadar, where we spent the morning hiking in the national park before exploring the city. Zadar is known for its Sea Organ, an architectural sound installation powered by the waves. It’s as odd and cool as it sounds. Our ship was parked directly in front of it, so we walked the coast and listened to the sea play its own soundtrack. It was something new that we’d never seen before.
That evening, we joined friends for dinner back on the ship, followed by dancing late into the night—a pattern we happily repeated throughout the trip. We had an great DJ in residence and we were never thirsty.
Then came Hvar. The day before, we had met some new friends from the Chicago YPO chapter at the pool. They invited us to join them on their boat for the day - they drove a pretty hard bargain: sunshine, lunch on the beach, snorkeling, cliff jumping and one of the most relaxing afternoons of the entire trip. By the end of the day, we were trying to convince them to join our Holiday Party later this year hosted in Chicago.
Pula was our final stop. Jeff had done his homework with Rick Steves and convinced us to take a day trip to Rovinj. It was every bit as charming as promised—cobblestone streets, little shops, narrow walkways and a beautiful church at the center of it all. After a brief walking tour, we wandered off on our own and found the cutest seaside restaurant for a bite to eat and a few bevys. We soaked in the views, enjoyed some quiet time together and savored one of those simple travel moments that I know we’ll remember.
And then there was the closing event. Without a doubt, it was the coolest party we’ve ever attended.
With a Roman theme (togas included!), we took over the Pula Arena, a Roman amphitheater built in the first century AD. For one night, the arena was closed to the public and transformed into an unbelievable evening of entertainment. There was fighting, fire dancing, a drone show, live performances, a DJ, food and drinks—all perfectly on theme.
European travel is special. European travel with friends is even better.
There’s something about experiencing a new place together that creates shared memories—and those memories have a funny way of turning into stronger friendships. We know how fortunate we are to be able to travel like this. It comes at a cost, it requires stepping away from work and, of course, there’s the not-so-small question of who is going to parent our kids while we’re gone.
But we also know how important it is to enjoy the opportunities we’ve been given, to step away from the everyday, to be together just the two of us, and to let our kids spend some quality time with the people we love back home.
This trip was such a joy. Beautiful places, great food, late nights, new friends, old friends and a whole lot of dancing. We’re already ready for the next one.
