• Andrea Rees
  • Andrea Rees

Rigoletto to Realto

Andrea and Shelagh do culture in the Vento Read more
  • Trip start
    September 5, 2025
  • Exploring Verona on foot.

    Sep 7–11 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    So we set out on foot to explore the sights and enjoy the delights along the way.
    We dipped our heads in to catch a glimpse of Juliet's shining breasts and her balcony. It's quite busy today, so we didn't hang around anywhere on the tourist traps.
    Walked through Piazza Erbe, said hello to Dante, and popped into Anastasia's gaff.
    We had a lovely lunch by the river the up the hill for a view of the city.
    Found a querky, arty, farty gallerie, then went to see an immersive theatre featuring the works of Gustav Klimt.
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  • Donna Vincenza Day

    September 8 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Today is Donna Vincenza Day, a public holiday in the Vincenza area. It's such a lovely town. The people are so friendly and it was so relaxing and quiet everywhere.

  • Opulence and penance

    September 9 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We visited the golden opulence of the Basillica today. Every surface covered with mosaics of marble or gold.
    Then, next door to the Doges Palace for a secret tour of the prisons and torture rooms including the story of Casanova and his life and escape.
    It is quite busy in St Marks Square so we escaped north east to the quieter areas of Venice through narrow passages to see an eclectic book store and a couple of lions.
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  • Absract art??

    September 10 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 21 °C

    So, we went over to see Peggy Guggenheim's gaff. I've decided that abstract is not for me. I don't understand why people can spend so long looking at lines on a canvas. (There were some decent Picasso and Miros, though)
    It was also a bit dribbly today, so we needed to don our fashionable plastic macs.
    There was much fun to be had trying out Leonardo di Vinci's inventions, and this evening was spent listening to the most amazing baroque rendition of Vivaldi's music in his church.
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  • A colourful day

    September 11 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Today, we took a boat up the lagoon to Murano to see the island of glass making. We watched Andrea and the gorgeous Christoph manipulate hot, molten glass into beakers and animals.
    While exploring a shop, I dropped a glass pendant and ended up bying a necklace to compensate. 🙄
    Burano was lovely, deep, brightly coloured houses lined the canals and piazzas, making the island look so happy in the sunshine. 🙂
    It was quite a hot afternoon. Shelagh needed to cover up in the boat queue. 🤣
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  • A lovely meander

    September 12 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    After finding the local dustbin men and disposing of our accumulated trash, we headed up the Capanile for a wonderful view of the island.
    We then had all day to meander the quiet streets, lunch, and take a few vaporettos and gondola crossings.Read more

    Trip end
    September 12, 2025