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Summer of 23

July - October 2023
The long awaited honeymoon Read more
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  • Summer of 23
    111

    Day 29 - Chianti Region, Tuscany

    August 7, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today we had told Alba, the BnB host, breakfast for 8.30am, we came down to find an arrangement of foods! The was cereal, cold cut meats, a lot of fruit, bread with home made jams, home made cakes & traditional bread Italians have. We finished what we could and the host was amazed we didn’t eat more… I later saw her dog and think it got the rest of the guests breakfasts! Alba is very nice to us and definitely would recommend her BnB.

    We went for a drive to Castello di Brolio, The first stones of Brolio Castle date back to the Middle Ages. The castle passed into the hands of the Ricasoli family thanks to an exchange of lands for which records can be found as early as 1141. Through the centuries the castle has suffered attack and destruction in numerous battles, from the Aragonese and Spanish assaults during the fifteenth century, to disputes in the seventeenth century, to the aerial bombings and rounds of artillery during the Second World War.
    The castle has been rebuilt and modified several times and today it bears the marks of the different eras: there are the fortified medieval bastions, Romanesque and neo-Gothic additions and unique nineteenth century Tuscan details. Brolio Castle towers over the Ricasoli company lands, the most extensive in the Chianti Classico area, that unfold with a continuous succession of colors and hues over gentle hills, velvety valleys and thick woodlands of oaks and chestnuts.
    The 1,200 hectares of property include 240 hectares of vineyards and 26 of olive groves, with entry ticket we got to try a wine each of their own. The castle is still in use by the family today, hence why you cannot go inside. We ended up buying a bottle of white wine to have on one of our cheap dinner nights, pizza and a bottle of wine… looking forward to it already!

    We then ventured to Gaiole in Chianti, a small village near our BnB, had a walk around the village and tried to find something easy and different for lunch. We opted to keep going to an area I stumbled upon while googling and this is why I think my talent in construction is wasted!
    We drove to Panzano in Chianti, a half hour drive from Gaiole, this is where we found the Cecchini Panini Truck. We both had the Panino Cecchini - basically a beef burger but it was amazing! This food truck sat on a lookout where you could eat and gaze out to the view, oh and did I mention vino was 2euro? No, well I was so happy to find this… Just upset I need to 0.05blood alcohol level like home!! Katie opted for water as they don’t do alot of White wine in this region.
    We had a walk around Panzano after lunch.
    From Panzano we moved to Greve in Chianti, this is the largest village in Chianti. We ended up moving on when there wasn’t a lot going on. So I got out my google maps and directed us to heaven, I mean Castellina in Chianti.
    At Castellina there is a gelato shop where you can watch them make the gelato, I may of shed a tear at not having this job! They are famous for their Pistachio sorbet & Basil & Lime sorbet. Katie got the Basil & Lime, & lemon as her second flavour, I got Mango, Berry, Melon.

    We decided to start to head back to our BnB, but we also wanted to do a wine tasting,=.. I wanted to do a tasting close to our BnB and just up the road is Cantalici Winery. Chianti is famous for their Chianti Classico wines, there is very strict rules in making Classico wine to get the Black Rooster label that signifies it’s a Chianti Classico wine. There is also only 7 areas that the grape can come from, all in Chianti of course.
    We explained Katie can’t drink red wines & they only had 2 white wines, the lovely lady gave me an extra red to try and we both got a dessert wine to try. We didn’t realise as I was thinking of booking a tasting, but seeing we were staying at a BnB close to the winery we get a tasting for free! So we brought the Rose to pair with another cheap dinner night and a special something to come home with us! We also learnt why we find the bread different here, Back in the day when the country was going through hard times and there was a lot of poverty, people would make bread without salt as they couldn’t afford salt. No when you ask for bread it’s normal t0 get unsalted bread and you have to ask for salted bread. I can say we came away learning a lot about the wines and the area from this tasting!

    Before dinner we had a bit of rest at the BnB, we had a truck come to the village and start tooting, I found out this is the local grocer on wheels - photo attached of me being nosy!

    Dinner we went to I’ll Bandito, the restaurant a 10minute walk from the BnB we tried to get into last night, we made a booking for 7.30pm just in case! We were sat outside with the view of vine yards and the farm houses, €2.50 house wine for the win tonight!
    Katie had the Tuscany sausage and I had the grilled chicken as Tuscany is well know for their anti pasta dishes… definitely lived up to it.

    We came back to the BnB to watch some Netflix on the iPad as we have a hefty drive ahead of us tomorrow, we will be breaking it up between a couple of villages i have planned though.    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 30 - Tuscany

    August 8, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Today we are leaving our BnB in Chianti and saying goodbye to our lovely host Alba & her dog Luna. We have a bit of a drive to get up just outside of Florence as I wasn’t to try and see some towns along the way.

    Our first stop was Monteriggioni. Monteriggioni is a walled town known for its medieval fortifications and watchtowers. The castle walls offer views of the surrounding Chianti region. The old town is accessed via the Porta Franca gate. This was another important site during the battles of Florence & Sienna.
    We had a walk around, opting to not pay for the wall walk & see the armoury. It was a cute walled town heavy on the touristy side of things which I was hoping wasn’t going to be the case.

    We ventured on, my big goal for the day was to see San Gimignano.
    The village served as an important relay point for pilgrims travelling to or from Rome on the Via Francigena. The patrician families who controlled the town built around 72 tower-houses (some as high as 50 m) as symbols of their wealth and power. Although only 14 have survived, San Gimignano has retained its feudal atmosphere and appearance.
    When we got there we found a festival was on and every car park was full. We even ventured to the park and ride areas with no luck, so I decided to fill the car up with fuel (well a guy pumped it for me!) and head onwards as we saw the village from many vantage points driving around it.

    We stopped off at Certaldo for lunch, we grabbed a car park, took some time to work out the stupid Italian ticket machines and we were off to see the village.
    I saw a group of people come out of an area (Side note - if you see a group of asians and you don’t know what to do in a town, follow them! They have their itinerary sorted to the letter and will lead you to your next activity) We walked into the area and found a Funicolare! (Cable Cart)
    We took this up to the village and had the best bruschetta we have had so far in Italy! We walked around admiring the village and as it was during lunch, majority of things were closed so we headed back down on the Funicolare to continue our drive.

    We are staying in a Village called Villa out of Signa so we can travel to Florence tomorrow, this idea quickly turned maybe we should of rethought this. The road was very narrow and some major blind bends.
    We got to the hotel and checked in - this hotel had a pool and I was greeted by the owner in his speedos - this set the mood for the hotel. I’ll say this, if this is the worst hotel, we did pretty well!

    We decided we had a bit of day and went into Signa to get some fly spray as mozzies were bad, a pizza for dinner and some other supplies. We took it to a picnic area near the hotel which no mozzies were!    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 31 - Florence

    August 9, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Today we are off to Florence, we took the car to Signa station, prayed to the Italian gods it would still be there in the same condition as we left it (Been reading some horror stories)

    We had to walk to the next station which was 15 minutes away as I had not researched a heap on this train line that after 9am they become every 1.5 hours or so.
    We finally got a train in and got to Florence by 10.30am. We went to a 99cent shop to finally pick up some supplies we left at home - we now have a bottle opener - Yay wine!

    First tourist stop was to Farmacéutica di Santa Maria Novella the oldest pharmacy in the world which you can still purchase candles, perfume soaps and scents for lavish prices.

    Next stop was central market too see the food stalls and of course, the street vendors selling somewhat leather goods, amazing that they all spoke fluent English asking if we wanted to buy from their Italian leather products.

    We went on and as we were making our way through town stopping at a couple of shops. We got to Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, a 1200’s Cathedral and one of the oldest in the world. We walked around it opting not to go in it or up it due to the lines and price.
    We made our way down towards the river, stopping off for a visit to Zara, another leather market, and see the replica of David and as Katie called the other statues, ‘David’s Mates’. I will write to Florence to see if there will be a new sign installed with that!
    We then got to walk along Ponte Vecchio, a medieval arched river bridge with Roman origins, now lined with Jewellery shops. We did over hear a guide say only one was originally there so we looked in their windows and dreamed of other lives as there was no prices on items and the cats need food on the table we agreed.

    We stopped off at Babae for lunch, this has a wine hole in the wall, we ended up sitting near where this is operated and took all the mystery out of hole in the wall wine. Also being 30 degrees, why pay to stand in the street when you could sit in AC and drink to your hearts content? It was good lunch and fun watching the wine window behind the scenes.

    We went through some more leather shops and Katie couldn’t decide whether to buy a bag or not (this discussion is still in progress and Milan has great shopping I hear and am told we will get to encounter)
    After a bit of a break we walked up to Piazzale Michelangelo, a 19th century piazza with panoramic views of the city.

    To say we were buggered was an understatement, we headed back into town for some Gelato for the walk and then to Matto Matto for dinner, spritz and wine’. We opted for the Antipasto board which was good but nothing like Montepulciano board… that will live in my memory forever!

    We headed to the train station, the train we wanted got cancelled so ended up waiting 45 minutes for the next one, made it to the car to see it in tact and took the death defying trip back to the accomodation. It’s somewhat better at night as you can see headlights - still don’t want to do this every day!

    Overall Florence was good, we walked over 30k steps today. We don’t see what some people rave about regarding Florence but I guess it comes to personal preference. We are glad we opted for one day in Florence so no regrets there!    Read more

  • Summer of 23
    1

    Day 32 - Lucca then to Cinque Terre

    August 10, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today we are leaving Speedo man, the mozzies and his dirty hotel that doesn’t change towels when you put them on the floor, just folds them back up and leaves them for you on a chair near the door, like they are new towels… can’t wait to write that review.

    We found some better roads to depart and head for Lucca, we found a cafe along the way that I figured out how to ask for take away cappuccino and got some nice breads for lunch for us.

    On the way to Lucca we went the toll route - the Autostrada - The T-Cross doesn’t like 130km per hour so I stuck to 115km or 120km when needing to weave around trucks. It was a dream driving on the Autostrada and was a relaxing time compared to the small roads & blind bends we have had!

    We got to Lucca and got a park inside the city walls, we were amazed and considered us lucky. We walked around and so far the regret is we didn’t spend a night or two here. Quiet and picturesque.
    Lucca is a city on the Serchio river. It’s known for the well-preserved Renaissance walls encircling its historic city center and its cobblestone streets. Broad, tree-lined pathways along the tops of these massive 16th- and 17th-century ramparts are popular for strolling and cycling. Casa di Puccini, where the great opera composer was born, is now a house museum. We opted after our walk of Lucca, and the big trouble of the day - Katie trying to decide whether a leather bag she fell in love with should be brought or not (the shop shut at 1pm unfortunately) that lunch was to be had under one of the trees on the path.

    We jumped back into the car and headed to Cinque Terra region, I decided that we would drive from the south to Vernazza instead of what google maps suggested of coming in from the North quicker. I soon found out why it suggested the North. 30 minutes from the car park location we got onto roads that only fitted our car but again was two way. Italians don’t give way and they also have no courtesy when driving. So Katie got out her pretend pedals and helped me with the drive. Thankfully she did as we had a couple of vehicles coming up she could see, as I was too busy staring straight ahead as she scanned further on.

    We made it to the car park, they had my name at the top of the bookings as this was a loose operation and never emailed me back. We got into the van that drove us the rest of the way as it;s residence and taxi only area.
    We checked in and had to climb to our room - fourth floor, 60 steps and steep! Made it to the room and we opted for a walk around town. I kinda had an idea of where I wanted to end up and would you have it, we ended up directly in front of a bar called the Deck.Well when on Holiday a Rose and Spritz is always calling. The deck has an amazing view out and we enjoyed the spot very much.

    We got some breakfast supplies to put in the fridge and headed back to the room. Dinner was super easy but so delicious. We got some burgers from Hambu, I got the Octopus burger and vanilla Katie got Classico, bless her. We sat by the water with some drinks from the bar enjoying the view.

    After dinner we went and found some vantage points for views and to watch the sunset. Coming back down we went to get Gelato, after yesterday it still doesn’t count!
    We are currently deciding on a sunset boat cruise and how our two days here will look, with visiting the other villages.    Read more

  • Summer of 23
    1

    Day 33 - 5 Terre

    August 11, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today is planned to be somewhat of a big day, 30 degrees is on the cards and we plan to visit the 5 Cinque Terre villages (We are staying in the fourth village from the South)

    We had our muesli in our room as no breakfast at this hotel provided, headed to the train station to buy our Cinque Terre Card for the train & trails for the day.
    First Village was Manarola, we grabbed a coffee here and a freshly made donut then had a walk around the village. We were waiting for 10.30am as we had a pesto making class at Nessus Dorma. We got to the pesto making class and the view was incredible, overlooked the whole village while you were perched on the edge of the hill.
    We started the pesto class and learnt some new things on making pesto, I’ll still freak out in the kitchen no doubt though!
    Simon the owner and who took the cooking class gave us the story of how this restaurant came to be - the mayor wanted people to email him their visions for the piece of land as it was nicknamed ‘the desert’ by the locals, no one went up there or used the space because it was so hot, despite the lovely views. His vision was a restaurant, not being able to book in months in advance, not paying top dollar for yuck food, pesto making classes with fresh bread and a sharing board to go with. 3 people wrote to the mayor and he got picked. 10 years on and you can book the pesto classes in advance, but for food from 4pm you need to have the app and check in and hope you get a spot to come and eat & drink here.
    The pesto class was amazing, the lunch was great and we all got a small bottle of wine to take away as well.

    After the cooking class and feeling a little bit more joyful from the wine we moved onto the next village - Riomaggiore. I needed to us the restroom at the station and seeing it’s free for the Cinque Terre Card holders we made sure to use the free ones. I told Katie to wait in the shade, and as we left the station we started walking up a hill thinking this is the way to town… weirdly not many people around. Once up the hill we needed to manoeuvre a lot of stairs down. We walked down and found the village’s swimming spot (ours is better) and then headed for the central area of the village. As we walked up the steps of the central area I noticed a tunnel to the station, if we had noticed this at the start it would of saved the long climb up the hill and all the stairs… Katie and I thankfully laughed it off.

    After seeing the central area of the village we trained to Monterosso, the furthest north village of Cinque Terre, this also has the largest beach area of all the villages. There are a-lot of beach beds and umbrellas you can rent here for the day. We got some gelato as the heat was starting to get to us and a walk around the village looking into the occasional shop.

    We left Monterosso and headed back to Vernazza to have a swim and cool off.

    After a swim, a bit of a relax we wanted to see the last Village of Cinque Terre, Corniglia. This is a village with a population of 150 people and unlike other villages not directly adjacent to the sea. We got off the train and tried to catch the bus to the village, this resulted in me seeing favourite tourists being classy as always… everyone for themselves and who cares where you were in line, I am more important than anyone… so we weren’t allowed on the bus as it was full as two people in front of us were about to get on. So we walked up. Great idea until Katie saw the stairs… Katie was thrilled with this, I have never heard her so verbal and passionate about something! By the time we got to the top, Katie made sure she knew where the bus stop was for the ride down.
    We had a quick look through the village, mainly consisting of one lane and at the end an impressive view of the ocean and the other villages.
    We decided we would head back to Vernazza for dinner, we got the bus to the station, yes I made sure we made it on and no stuffs given for others as they were pushing to get on the bus.

    We got back to Vernazza, we ordered some takeaway pizza, I ran up the 64 steps to our room and grabbed the essentials… wine! We went and sat on a look out behind the church and watched the sunset while eating dinner and drinking the wine we brought in Tuscany.

    After dinner I convinced Katie seeing we had the trail card for the day, let’s go see the village from the trail - picture attached and it was an amazing view! We walked back down with phone light helping us to see the steps. We had to have another gelato to say we tried all the gelato (one shop left now!) and headed for our room.    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 34 - Vernazza

    August 12, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Today we had these wild ideas of jumping on the trails and doing some hiking, after experiencing 30 degrees here, we both agreed it wouldn’t be fun and we would probably give ourselves heat stroke!

    So we got up late, had our breakfast and climbed down our 64 stairs to get to some much needed coffee. I googled the best coffee in Vernazza, his pastries were said to be the best too so had to try one as well! The service was chaotic but the people watching was great! We will opt for elsewhere tomorrow due to the chaos of the small cafe though with our bags in tow.

    We looked through some shops of the town and took it slow. After a while we decided lunch was soon to be on the cards, I wanted to treat ourselves to a view, so we climbed the stairs to the path that leads to Corniglia. There before the paid path starts, sits a restaurant called Ristorante La Torre, views of Vernazza looking North. Katie had pesto pasta and I had the Spaghetti Mari - shrimps, clams & mussels dancing to please you as the menu states it. It was amazing, so was the Rose wine we ordered!

    After lunch we walked back into town slowly, we came back to the room to beat the heat. I googled things for the next legs of our trip and Katie had a much needed nap.

    We had booked a sunset cruise to take us along and see all 5 Cinque Terre Villages from the sea. We embarked on our cruise with a couple from America, a trio from Copenhagen and another couple who we shared trip advice from the Sunshine Cost in Queensland.

    Our Captain gave us a running commentary of the views, we saw a hole in the cliff edge, he pointed it out and as the trains between the village mostly run in tunnels, this is one of the escapes if needed…. All good until you see the jump you need to make into the Ocean.
    The 5 Cinque Terre towns were created mainly as fishing villages, they have their unique colours so sailors could see it from a distance and get back to the right village quicker and using less man power. Each town is painted differently so they can see it from afar the difference to know which one you are heading for, the untrained person like you & me wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, but apparently there are.
    He also told us how Cinque Terre villages came to be, The village of San Bernardino above Vernazza was the first village here on the coast. The original people never came down to the ocean as they were scared of attacks from Pirates. When the French came with Napoleon, they decided that they would help protect the seas in area. The ports of Levanto & La Spezia were of interest to the French also, the original people of San Bernardino started to come down and fish, soon becoming sailors and then started to create the 5 villages as they are today. Today there is no full time fishermen in the villages and with train access, Cinque Terre relies on tourists now to come and see the area.

    Once back in Vernazza we grabbed a small bite to eat and some Gelato, there is a concert on in the main Piazza so getting a table anywhere is impossible, thankfully we had some appetisers on the boat!

    Today was a nice relaxing day ready for our travels Tomorrow!    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 35 - Drive to Verona

    August 13, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Today we leave Vernazza and head for Verona, this is a 3.5hr drive to get us closer to Venice.

    We had our breakfast, packed our bags and I had too finally use the cases on my back as the stairs are too steep to get them down other wise. This obviously took two trips and to say I was hot was an understatement afterwards.
    We got a coffee and called the parking lot operators to come and collect us.

    Once at the car we started to make the ascent up the hill. Going slow was our tactic! Half way up the hill sits the original town of San Barnaldo, we wanted to visit the winery that makes the Rose we had the first day. This proved difficult with the narrow roads and seemed to only have resident parking, we saw two cars start to go up the hill so I jumped in behind them instead and started the next climb to the top road - my theory is, if they met someone, they would get the fright first!

    We jumped onto the Autostrada once in La Spezia and the toll booths said - ‘Free tolls, strike today’ - So we went on our way. I still can’t get over how Italians drive and how 2 lane motorway can have the slow lane doing anywhere around 90km & the fast 130km.
    We got just outside of Verona and got off the Autostrada, this is where we went to an operator of the toll booth to find out there is no strike and we didn’t have a toll ticket. No problems though as he got out his book, I told him where we started - seeing it was the other side of the country I don’t think he was going to question if I was lying!

    We checked into the hotel and walked into Verona.
    First off we walked down to see the Ponte Scaligero bridge, it is a brick & marble bridge with 3 spans & arches, built in the 14th century & reconstructed after WWII. Seeing it was hot and Katie was dealing with the heat amazingly (I was just my usual sweaty mess) We saw a gelato store next door. I had cherry & Katie passion fruit - the passionfruit is the best we have tasted and so refreshing on a hot day!
    We walked to the Verona Arena which will be coming back too next Friday for the Opera. The arena is a well preserved Roman amphitheater that was built to seat 20,000 people. Much like the colosseum just smaller but better preserved.
    What would a trip to Verona be without strolling down Via Giuseppe Mazzini, a narrow pedestrian thoroughfare with designer boutiques - again the cats need food so we were happy window shopping.
    This led us to Piazza delle Erbe the historic town plaza which had Torre de Lamberti to the North east side which is the tallest medieval tower in Verona. Down the street from this is the famous and way overly crowded to be romantic these days, Juliet’s House and the famous balcony. Believe us, Romeo would of gone else where if he saw the masses these days.

    We went to Osteria del Bugiardo for some tapas and a cheeky 3 Euro Rose, kept walking through the streets, went to Aldi for some supplies & then headed back to the hotel as we were both a bit buggered from the drive today.

    We are both glad we changed our plans to not drive on the outside of Venice and stay in what essentially was middle of no where, Verona has been nice to spend the night and see the very picturesque main town.    Read more

  • Summer of 23
    1

    Day 36 - Venice

    August 14, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today we leave Verona and head for Venice. The hotel came with a breakfast so we had breakfast at the hotel, packed and headed to the car.

    Katie had subtly suggested I needed a hair cut, I had to agree! We went on the hunt for a barber shop - a lot were closed, the first one I walked into, I asked if they spoke English and got laughed at… safe to say I didn’t get my hair cut there. Finally found one in town, The Istanbul Barbers… Very Italian! There was a language barrier but google translate helped and they gave me espresso, Katie believes it’s the shortest I’ve ever gone and was shocked upon seeing it.

    After the haircut we got in the car, filled up with petrol at a really cheap self pump servo and made our way to the autostrada to get to Venice.
    On exiting the Autostrada there was a que to pay and of course our ticket didn’t work so we had to press the assistance button - easily resolved.

    We found the car parking lot I had booked, only to get the main guy signally we weren’t allowed in. Luckily I had a booking and explained this but he was still a little bit rude about it. Though we were lucky to find a park inside, as it was jam packed full, we brought bus tickets off the attendant and made our way into Venice.

    After the bus ride we walked to the accomodation in the blistering heat, we were both sweaty messes once we had got there. We had showers and started to use the washing machine.

    We went for a walk to find a bite to eat and see some sites. We got to the more touristy populated area and found a bakery that sold per grams focaccia pizza, so we ordered that. There was a slight mix up and our card got charged twice so he asked us kindly instead of giving money back he’ll give us more in stock. So we got Katie a coke, me a beer and a few pastries. Upon leaving and walking to a spot to sit on the grand canal, Katie had a seagull come down on her head and steal a bit of the focaccia - these seagulls are massive compared to back home! So we moved quickly to sit down and eat.’

    After that ordeal we went off to see some sites, we walked down to the famous Librería Acqua Alta, a cozy offbeat bookstore apparently. There was masses of people, no cats, a weird lady taking your picture on the staircase made out of books, that can’t take a photo to save herself and more people. So we left quickly! Just down the alley is Palazzo Tetto, a picturesque building surround on three sides of it by canals.
    We venture to San Marco so Katie could see the masses of people… was quieter than I expected but still busy. We were both a bit tired so decided to head back to the accomodation.

    I went to get some supplies from the grocery store for lunch, ended up on deciding to cook dinner as we both couldn’t be stuffed - Basil Ravioli with Bolognese sauce and a salad, with a side of wine from the castle we saw in Tuscany. I also brought some 99cent gelato from the supermarket - superb!

    We had a quiet evening ready for all the walking we will do tomorrow.    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 37 - Venice

    August 15, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Today we only have a 4.30pm walking tour booked. So we had breakfast in the apartment and headed out to grab a coffee, anyone that knows me knows I love a good cappuccino with lots of milk froth but I must say I am switching to espressos from now on as they are frothier the further north we are heading! Espresso here is like a can of red bull so I am not complaining!

    We walked into the area San Polo first & went over the Rialto Bridge, this was surprisingly not as busy as I thought it was going to be. We kept heading South towards Dorsoduro, the narrow streets in this area was the first time we had noticed shops shut for the public holiday today & when most Italians take time off - that being said has not one bit affected us so no complaints here just noticed a store shut with a sign every so often.

    We stopped for lunch at a focaccia place called Farini, when we first went past it had no line, as soon as we come back, there was a line going out the door… typical!

    We made our way around Dorsoduro down to Accademia area where Ponte dell’ Accademia is, a bride which is poplar for photography and adorned with padlocks from people.
    We kept going around and came across the Corner Pub, 3Euro Spritz… You had me at Spritz but had me with happy tears of 3Euro! We sat nearby and watched the world go by on the grand Canal. I had a fabulous idea, lets take a traghetto across the grand canal instead of walking the bridge. A traghetto is a gondola that literally goes one side to the other for 2euro pp. All good until I found out the one I wanted wasn’t working due to the public holiday. So we walked back to the apartment, picking up dinner supplies along the way.

    We left for the walking tour which started near Hoel Ai Reali, a 17th century palace which is now a swanky hotel with a posh spa… Again could of stayed here but the cats diets consist of top shelf food of course. The tour walked us over the Rialto bridge to Chiesa di San Giacomo di Rialto, which is where Venice was colonised. Venice was founded in 421 AD and you can’t find Roman things around Venice as it was founded as the Roman Empire fell. We saw the Rialto Markets that was once taking up a the majority of the area instead of now two blocks. This is where silks and other items from around the world that Venetian’s brought back from their travels would sell. The guide showed us the buildings and how the salt water is eroding the buildings and how they fix the bricks that are exploding one by one, from the salt that is left in them as they dry out over summer.
    We then went to Ponte Delle Tette, a small bridge that was well known for the area for past prostitution, as the older Prostitutes would live on the Market side of the bridge and not let the sailors see the younger ones that they had moved to the other side of this bridge. If a sailor did go into the younger area, the girls would stop them from leaving the area by blocking this bridge until the sailor paid them.
    We went to Campo San Polo the second biggest square in Venice, obviously San Marco being the biggest. We learnt that before Napolian, there was no paved streets, just mud and fields for growing food.
    We finished the tour at Campo S. Toma, a store with masks & the guide explained about how masks came to be with Carnival.

    After the tour we walked back to the apartment via the Basilica S.Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, as it was the public holiday for S.Maria, the church was opening and as I put it ‘rehearsals for their performance later in the evening’. This Basilica is famous for having a small Pyramid like sculpture inside that has the heart of a famous sculpture, Antonio Canova, the pyramid is fro an unrealised project of his and was made a decade after his death. The family got his body back but the priest at the time ordered that his heart be cut out and left in the church as his heart belonged to Venice, probably not the worst thing a priest has done though…

    We got back to the apartment, we were very tired from walking and we made dinner and watched some Netflix.    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 38 - Murano, Burano, Venice

    August 16, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Today we were up at a time that felt early! 8.30am we had to be at the ferry, a 6 minute walk from our airbnb.
    We caught the ferry over to Murano which is famous for it’s glass blowing factories and small local glass blowers with their shops. We got a coffee once there… I tried the cappuccino and was surprised she put chocolate on top, a westerners dream right there!
    We walked around and it was peaceful before masses of tourists arrived and every shop wasn’t open yet. There were some shops we walked into that the owners wouldn’t even acknowledge our existence so made sure we didn’t hang around in them. We finally found a place that was happy to let you watch their glass blowing at Wave Murano Glass, though you may enter the factory, you must leave via their showroom (some may say gift shop, typical Europe) By this point I had enough of glass and it was getting busy so we got the ferry to Burano… Now I moo’d as we got onto this ferry, but cattle trucks have better conditions than these ferries, we were packed in like sardines and it was hot. Least cattle get water and a feed!
    We got to Burano, it is famous for Lace museum, the bell tower that is leaning (told Katie as we missed Pisa she saw something leaning!) and the colourful houses as this is a fishing island.
    We grabbed lunch, some ice cream and photos and it was starting to get really hot so we opted to take the hour ferry ride back to Venice.

    We got back to the accomodation and had a relax - Katie sorting washing, me going to do the groceries… weird ways to relax!
    I had booked a gondola ride for Katie & I at 6pm so we trotted off to that, it was excellent, Chiara our gondolier took us downtown the back canals of the Jewish Ghetto and surroundings. She let us know about the buildings we were seeing and stories about them, she even sang us a little song at the end that Katie wanted to shrivel up and die at this point! I thought is was hilarious as I knew that was the one thing Katie wanted to avoid! Katie admitted she was nervous how close the gondola was to walls and other boats and had to reframe from saying anything… least it’s not just my driving she wants to use her pretend pedals!

    After the gondola we went back to the apartment and had dinner. After dinner, as we had passes for the Vaporetto ferries for the day, we took a ride on a couple heading for the grand canal to see the sights from the boat and give our legs a break. On the walk home we got our mandatory gelato, probably worst one we’ve had so far but still not bad enough to not eat it!    Read more

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