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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    Day 25

    Day 24 Venice

    September 23, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    We had to be out the door a bit quicker today as it was a train day and what a good train day it was! Once we were at the station I popped out to a supermarket and bought some fresh focaccia and we had cheese and tomatoes already. We had business class seats in this train as they were pretty reasonable at 30 euros when we bought them, but if we had wanted to buy the same today they would have been 270 euros each, quite a difference. We had great single seats sitting opposite each other and even had breakfast and coffee served.

    When we got to Venice we put our luggage in another "stow your bag" facility and went for a wander. We managed to visit a few shops, mainly murano glass ones and then found a nice place for lunch. I held the seats while Trish ordered her lovely turkey and roast vege salad. When she came out, I went to order the same thing but couldn’t find anyone to serve me. I went to the toilet, came back, spoke to 2 servers and then got the pip and decided I didn’t need food at all. So we wandered around a bit more, sussed out where we had our next excursion and an hour later when we wanted to use a toilet again we went back, and they served me this time. So maybe it was karma so we could use the toilet lol.

    Anyway, then we did our excursion. Trisha has been wanting to do this since she was a kid and I haven’t done it at all, but today we had a gondola ride with the lovely Luca who took us on a serene journey through various water ways and the grand canal at times. He also sang to us which was pretty special. Trisha was very pleased with the experience which exceeded her expectations.

    After the ride we went back to get our bags which was pretty painless. I was pleased that I had booked because there was a very annoyed man who couldn’t get a locker. There was another man who lad left his big bag there for 3 days while he and his family were in Venice. Then another couple who had just shut their bags in a locker, wanted to reopen it to put something else away and realised that neither of them had recorded the code. We left at that point.

    So then we caught a vaparetto to our accomodation, and found that without much hassle. Several of our hosts have contacted me through WhatsApp to ensure that I have good instructions to get places, and this lady had just messaged to check we were coming around the time I was looking at doors for the right number. She popped her head out the door, took us up our 3 flights of stairs and we were there. This room is similar in size to Paris, ie tIny. There is a weird wee wardrobe room though up 4 steps so we have bit more room for bags and hanging up washing.

    After settling in we went for a walk to St Marks square which is just around the corner from us. It was very spectacular with some lovely views with pink skies and flashes of lightening from the impending thunderstorm. We listened to some music for while, visited a few more shops and the returned to our hotel we we intended to share a pizza at the restaurant recommended by our host. We were really spoiled in Rome with the lovely pizza we had there. Neither of us eat much pizza normally, and the 2 that we have tried since then really have not very good, so we probably won’t try that again.

    It got very windy around 9pm, and we have enjoyed having our window open for the breeze. We have aircon here, but it doesn’t appear to work that well.

    14,915 steps and 24 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 24

    Day 23 Florence

    September 22, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We were really tired last night so were asleep rather early. So this morning we woke up pretty early ie 6am and were out the door just after 9am lol.

    It was a tragic day for Trish yesterday as she had been fanning herself with her pretty hat rather than having it on her head, and it chose to stay at some place unknown. So we went back to the Mercato to see if it had been there with no luck. But while we were in the downstairs market we had fun looking at everything and I bought some plain focaccia and mini tomatoes for breakfast along with some yummy fig biscotti while Trish got an olive and tomato focaccia. We tried quite a few things, cheeses, truffle sauce, and a honey pomegranate balsamic glaze that I ended up buying. We are eating quite a bit of salad and have accumulated a couple of dressings, but this one is just lovely and I have a couple of weeks to finish it off.

    Then we had a bit of a walk to the leather school. We ended up in a leather shop with a demonstration which was pretty good, and then sort of realised that we had joined part of a tour group which wasn’t obvious when we first went in. But hearing how to check for the best leather and seeing different techniques was very interesting, and the toilets were good lol. So the actual leather school was a bit further away and we found ourselves in a really peaceful area very close to a bit of tour group madness in the Piazza. The school had some lovely items for sale but we didn’t succumb. Some of the bags were individually designed and decorated and were just fantastic. We have just realised that neither of us took any pics of them, duh!

    Today seemed to be a ‘let’s feel tired day’. So we walked back to our hotel with just a few stops on the way, a nice different leather shop where I nearly bought a purse, a pharmacy for some Panadol which turned out to be double strength, the magic boar which must be touched to ensure that we return to Firenze, the local Pam’s for some lettuce cheese and prosciutto and a few other random stops which made our 21 minute walk from google maps take about an hour.

    We had a nice few hours relaxing eating lunch, watching more NCIS and the Simpsons on tv. Or rather I did with some impressive snoring coming from Trisha’s side.

    We haven’t been out in the evening much but tonight was the night. Back to the cathedral we went, ate out in an actual restaurant with pizza and drinks, gelato from the Lindt shop for dessert and then some more random opera watching. Of course we were still back by dark and packing up for our early departure in the morning for Venice.

    Steps 15,016 and 26 degrees    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 23

    Day 22 Florence

    September 21, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    It was supposed to be raining today so we had not made any plans. Before we came here we had thought of a Tuscany bike tour, but wanted to check the weather before we booked. Of course it ended up being fine all day!

    Our first stop on our walk this morning was to the cathedral because it is just awesome to walk past. We decided it was too early for Lindt, so went to Eaterly for breakfast instead and had a lovely stuffed focaccia bread.

    Then I was off on a search for hire of e bikes. Trisha was probably quite relieved that we couldn’t find anyone that would hire us one. So changed the plan to local buses instead. First off was to Michelangelo Piazza which had stunning views of the city without too many people at that time. Then after a couple of dodgy road crossings we managed to get on our next bus to go to Fiesoli which is a town up in the hills on the other side of Florence. We had one bus change and made our first bus faux pas, ie waiting for quite a while on the wrong side of the road for a bus that didn’t come luckily. Once we realised and crossed the road, the wrong bus did come lol. The ride up the hill was quite spectacular in terms of the views.

    Unfortunately there were no markets up there today, but we walked up to the convent San Francesco where there were really great views. It was also slightly windy and we had a shady place so stayed there for quite a while.

    When we got back on the bus there was an American guy complaining to the driver that he had paid 21 euro for his 9 bus tickets to a previous driver and was wanting to know he could complain to. Answer is no-one buddy as tickets cost more if you buy them on board. We paid 1 euro 70 for ours and knew they lasted for 90 minutes after they were validated. Then another woman was talking about validation and I said you really need to do that, and she said yes we know as they got a big fine earlier in the day. Fines start at 50 euro and there were several women in their party. Pleased we have always passed muster so far and have tickets that are in order.

    So we got off the bus near the Mercato and Trisha bought her leather bag that she had eyed up yesterday and it was still her most preferred bag. And then Mercato again for a very late lunch.

    Back to the cathedral where we were treated to a brilliant impromptu opera performance by a singer who has an Insta account called opera on the street. He was really good and must have earned several hundred euros for his 4 song performance.

    I had noticed earlier that there was a Pylone store not very far away so we went and had a look there and managed not to buy anything which was a minor miracle as there were lots of cute small things there. Of course I have a few cute small things from there already at home!

    So once again we were back at our hotel early having dinner here and watching NCI type programs on tv, the last of the party animals! That was after Trish trying out the laundromat that was just at the bottom of our stairs.

    16, 753 steps and 28 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 22

    Day 21 Florence

    September 20, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We had heard from our host that taxis sometimes don’t get to Trastevere very quickly these days, so we had planned to get up early enough so that if one didn’t come then we still had time to catch a bus. Of course the taxi was there within 5 mins, there was less traffic around so we were at the train station by 7.40am, and our train wasn’t until 9.10am. I’m not sure that all this being early is going to rub off on me though…

    We had a nice breakfast at the Mercato in Rome, our train was great, went 250kph, our new host allowed us to check in early so we were all unpacked and organised to see the city by 1.

    Our first stop was going to be the Florence Mercato for lunch. We got distracted a bit on the way there by the leather merchants. And then there were so many options for lunch. Trisha minded the table while I ordered mine which was beef ragout with salad and potatoes. It was very yummy and huge, so Trish ended up sharing it. We haven’t eaten a lot of meat in the last 3 weeks so made up for it today.

    So then it was walking time again. We went through a few piazzas, checked out some more leather, bought leather gloves for me, Trisha nearly bought a bag. And then we were at the Duomo which is always a stunning sight. There were lots of artists around and it was interesting seeing their drawings and paintings. There is also a Lindt shop right next door, and we might have bought a few things to sample. Off walking again to see the piazza that the replica of the David is in amongst other interesting statues,

    Then it was past the Uffizzi gallery and over the pont vechio bridge to the pitti palace. Just so many sights in a small area. Lots of people too, but not nearly as many as in Rome and feels a lot more comfortable. We also saw another Legami shop where I bought a small case for my foldable glasses.

    Then it was a slow walk back to our hotel, though it was nice by the river. Our hotel is pretty small and basic, but had aircon and a fridge which is great. It also has a private bathroom for us, but it is in a separate room over the corridor from our room.

    We went out later to the supermarket and had a light dinner in our room.

    20,896 steps, and a much more comfortable 26 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1121
    Day 21

    Day 20 Rome

    September 19, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We remembered our breakfast this morning and were having croissants and Trish a cappuccino at 8am. After Trish escorted an elderly lady across the road, we were on our way walking to the Pantheon. Part way we decided that a bus was a better option.

    Pantheon was massive from the outside. But a really long queue for tickets. But right next door we found a really cool store called Legami, and we got a bit carried away buying some cool gadgets there. The store had only opened on Saturday. We took a few more pics and then headed for Piazza Nervona. It was a shame that the fountains were roped off, maybe to stop people from jumping in. There were a lot of people around today, and sooooo many tours with tired hot people following each other around. Very pleased that was not us!

    We tried some truffle sauces in a shop which was right next door to the cannabis shop which we didn’t try. Had yummy ice creams at a shop with 150 flavours which took us a while to choose. I had pistachio and pomegranate while Trish had Whiskey chocolate and blueberry. Rather nice and great to have a toilet there. Public toilets are a lot less available in Rome than we have been used to, and we have been drinking a lot of water.

    When we got to Trevi Fountain google maps said it was a busy as it gets and that was pretty busy. The colour was wonderful on such a sunny day and it is always good to see that.

    Time for some food by then, and we shared a really nice pizza and bruschetta in a restaurant with aircon. I was told off for removing my shoes tho, it wasn’t a crocs day. Next stop was the Spanish steps, and we found some roasted chestnuts on the way which we tried and they were just ok. The steps were not as large as either of us expected. Police were around to ensure that no one sat on the steps, or took ice creams up there. Some people were quite indignant to be told that they couldn’t.

    We were quite a long way away from our accomodation by this stage, but both feeling hot and sick of the many many people. So we caught a taxi back which was 13 euros and well worth it. Spent a few hours reading books that were available in the Airbnb (Sophie Kinsella), packing and we had a nice salad for tea using up the contents of the fridge.

    Off to Florence early tomorrow morning. Might need a bag for wet washing again, and will hopefully be successful in getting a taxi from here.

    14, 029 steps and 31 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 20

    Day 19 Rome

    September 18, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We had a pretty leisurely start to today after feeling washed out yesterday. And then planned to be out for about 3 hours doing Ill Vittorio, Colosseum, Santa Maria Maggiore and then lunch at the Mercato Centrale before catching a bus back home. Well that plan didn’t work that well as we got back around 6pm!

    The first part went well with our walk. We had forgotten that breakfast is included in our accomodation and had walked quite a way before we realised we hadn’t eaten anything. We got a bit distracted by the pop up shops with linen clothes and bags, but then found an awesome cafe. It was tiny, but had great service, air conditioning and a toilet. What more could we want!

    So then back to our walking past a few ruins and impressive buildings until, we got to Ill Vittorio. We thought about walking to the top but that would have impinged on our 3 hour curfew lol. Thank golly we didn’t do that as well with the way our day panned out. Unfortunately the roundabout in front was not accessible, and the front of the building was having renovations, but it was still very impressive.

    Once again it had got very hot so it took us a while to get to the Collosseum with a few rest stops. We walked around the massive structure and saw that the line for tickets was rather long standing in the sun.

    So next stop was the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica. But on the way we walked past the Museum of Illusions. After a brief chat we decided to go in and had a great time taking silly pictures.

    The Basilica was really great. I had been before and remembered how good it was, but I hadn’t remembered the individual parts so it was really good to go again. We stayed in there for a while as there was a lot to see.

    Our final walk was to get lunch at the Mercato Central that we had noticed yesterday by the train station. It was around 3pm by that time, so the breakfast croissant was a distant memory. I had a yummy lunch of chicken ciaccatore with potatoes and lettuce while Trish had a salad. We walked back through the shopping part of the train station and saw a few new types of crocs there. Then we waited for quite a while for bus H again, which never turned up. So we tried another one, changed buses mid route and got off when we were over the river and walked the rest of the way stopping at 2 supermarkets on the way and the same dinner place as last night. We should have enough supplies! Though I was quite amazed at my ability to buy yet another thing with unexpected tuna in it in 2 days, the pasta combo looked so nice but was not!

    The limone dark Lindt chocolate was very nice and is now gone.

    We are staying in Trastevere which is known for its nightlife. We haven’t seen or heard much of that so far.

    18,104 steps and 32 degrees. Was a bit less humid today though.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 19

    Day 18 Pisa

    September 17, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    We set our alarm this morning for 5.45, yikes as we had the plan to stop in Pisa on our way to Rome. So we were packed and on our first train by just after 7, then after a second one we arrived in Pisa at 9am. We had booked a place to store our bags, and after 2 false starts for finding the place it was very easy to use - called Stow your Bags. Had a quick toilet stop at a cafe with a croissant (yes they do go together !), and then we had to try out the e-scooters that I had spied in the piazza near the cafe.

    I have been wanting to try out scooters for quite a while and were so pleased that we did that today. It was around a 2km walk to the leaning tower from the train, and while the walk there would have been ok, walking back in the heat was probably not. But we cooled off nicely hooning along less busy streets and were there pretty soon.

    There were a lot of people around the tower. We took a few pics, and watched others taking pics, and then walked around to the baptistery where we could walk on the grass and that was lovely in bare feet. We lay there in the shade for a while. Both of us were feeling rather jaded by the heat and the humidity was very high today as well. Bonus today was that we found some cheap hand held fans to help cool us down.

    So then we scootered back, went to the same cafe and had lemon gelatos, picked up our bags, went to another cafe to try and find something to eat in the train, but it was all made up focaccia. Trisha’s looked good, but I was rather disappointed to find that mine was some sort of tuna paste, yuck!

    We were at the station very early for our train and had booked 1st class this time. It was great to relax for 3 hours in good air conditioning.

    Our host in Rome had contacted me several times and is really chatty. Instead of using google maps to find our public transport, which we have been very successful in doing, we followed her directions and of course we got on the wrong bus. Realised it after a while, got off, and waited nearly an hour for the right bus. So we didn’t get to our accomodation until it was dark. Our hostess Kiara couldn’t meet us tonight but her older mum did and she was just lovely while not speaking a word of English!

    Our place is really nice with 2 large beds, one upstairs and one down. Our beds last night were very small singles, and we both felt like we were falling off them all night. Though I am sitting here wondering if the washing machine is going to break down cos it is pretty noisy. In fact it didn't break down, but didn't spin clothes at all and I suspected not rinsed either, so I did that by hand.

    We did need some food and are staying in Trastevere which is renowned for good food. We had a restaurant in mind, but then went past this awesome pizza place which had chicken legs, potatoes and a nice mixed rice salad. Just the perfect food to take back to our house where we once again have plates and crockery!

    It’s supposed to be 33 degrees tomorrow, so let’s see now far our stamina takes us.

    Steps 15,201. 31 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 18

    Day 17 Cinque de Terre

    September 16, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Up early this morning before the heat and took a train to the next village which is my favourite one - Vernazza. We walked down to the sea and marvelled at it for a while, then walked up the hill a bit for breakfast focaccia and nectarines and then back down to eat breakfast by the sea. A man was washing his boat close to us with a leaky hose connection which was useful for washing hands.

    After eating we felt we had enough energy to walk up a hill to get some good pics of the lovely harbour. It was nice resting at some spots in the shade on the way and also talking to a few people on the way up. Pictures were just stunning at that time of the morning.

    Then onto the train again to the next village Corniglia. We wanted to use the paid toilet at the train station but the sign was out, closed for cleaning for 5 mins. We waited more than 5 mins, but the lady on her phone swiping a wet rag occasionally over a shelf didn’t constitute cleaning so the sign stayed out. We wimped out on walking all the steps to the top with the heat and hadn’t realised there was a bus we could have caught, so then trained to the last town which is Riomaggiore. It was lovely there. The beaches were quite small and rocky but there were lots of people in the water. We asked about the ferry tickets and were told we could buy them in the boat. Hmm, after walking down all the steps to the boat, we’re told we needed to at the ticket office. So up the steps again we went, bought tickets, and then had nearly an hour to wait. But we were in the shade in front of the prime selfie taking spot so it was a great place for people watching.

    The boat ride to Manorola only took 10 mins so was underwhelming, but was nice to have some views from out at sea. We had lunch there, gelato and fries… perfect lol. There were many many people around by that time with a cruise ship docked in La Spezia, disgorging many people so time to retreat back to Monterosso and our hotel. It was lovely there to strip off to our togs, wrap a towel around us, leave the key at reception and walk down to the beach were we spent quite a bit of time floating in the water again. It was a bit more choppy today but totally refreshing. Afterwards I even had a hot shower which I love to do, but have only wanted to have luke warm ones most of the time we have been away.

    Then we took the train in the other direction to Levanto. This is a larger town and where I stayed on my previous visit. We walked down to the beach, visited some market shops and then the supermarket for dinner supplies before catching the train back again. Train ride was interesting with a lady from Australia regaling us with her tales of falling down the steps at her hotel, and seeking medical treatment. I think she was just happy to be talking in English to someone about her experience.

    Packing time again tonight after a nice healthy dinner. We have a tiny TV and Trisha managed to get a NCIS programme to play in English which was a bit exciting.

    17,305 steps and 26 degrees though it felt a lot hotter with the stairs.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 17

    Day 16 Milan and Monterosso

    September 15, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    It was lovely being in separate bedrooms for a night, not that Trish snores at all though lol. We got up earlyish and were going to ride some lime scooters. But the lime e bikes were closer so we used those instead. Had a fun time biking around a park, to a castle and then the duomo while picking up some fresh focaccia on the way.

    It was supposed to rain in Milan so for a change we decided to take a taxi to the train station. We had a bag full of half dry washing in addition to our normal bags and backpacks and a bag of food so it was great to not lug that all around and then it didn't rain anyway. We were at the train station early as per normal so sat around for over an hour waiting for our train which went straight through to Monterosso. We were organised again and made a healthy lunch on the train.

    Our hotel here is really nice. Bedroom is normal size, but a large bathroom down a few steps with an awesome shower.

    We basically unpacked, found swimming attire, grabbed towels and walked down to the beach which is very close. It was still 25 degrees at 4pm and we spent about an hour just floating in the water which was quite warm and wonderfully clear. My crocs have been so very useful, as the beach was a bit stony. They also provided extra buoyancy! We were talking to some Canadian people while we were in the water which was nice.

    Then back to hotel for a shower and out for a walk to find a gelato and some dinner. The gelato was easy and yummy, the dinner took us a bit longer to decide. We walked to the old part of Monterosso, our hotel is near the train station and beach in the new part. We ended up both having spaghetti, but Trish had a lot of seafood on hers. Had sides of roasted peppers and aubergine which was all pretty nice.

    The walk back was in the twilight and we are loving the air conditioning in this hotel! Low of 18 degrees overnight.

    14,141 steps and 25 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    Day 16

    Day 15 Milan

    September 14, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Alarm set for 6 and planned to leave the hotel by 7.30 and we were ahead of time. Then google maps said there was an accident on the train line which caused some consternation. But the hotel man suggested we check with a train person so we went down a different entrance to the metro, checked with attendant and all was fine. So it took around an hour to get to Charles de Gaulle airport, and then all was quite obvious really so we were through security an hour before we needed to board.

    I had been mildly worried about this flight. Not like me to randomly book flights on my phone while I am in the middle of a trip, but it all went off perfectly. The plane was great, flight was 1 hour and 15 minutes and it actually seemed to be a better option than the 6 hour train ride that we will still hopefully get a refund for. Total cost was about the same with trains to and from the airport.

    Train from Malpensa airport was about an hour and then we caught a local metro for several stops and then entered paradise!

    We are very lucky that Trisha has a cousin who lives in Milan and has an apartment here. He is away currently but we are staying here anyway. It is not large, but just sooo pleasant to be in the calm quiet with air conditioning. We hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and it was then 4pm so we walked around the corner to a local supermarket for supplies, came back and decided we were done for the day.

    Lovely salad for dinner even served on crockery rather than our plastic plates (which we have used heaps).

    Total steps 13,343 (because trains and airports are massively huge and take a while to walk to where you need to be). And a very pleasant 25 degrees, not that we were out in it much.    Read more

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