Venice, Italy: Tuesday 17 May

Today is our last full day before we fly back home tomorrow. We were out early again to go and see the Rialto Market in action - it is a busy market close to where we are staying selling fruit, veg and fish.

"I'll have one swordfish please"

We then had breakfast like the Italians do and went to one of the local bakeries for a pastry and coffee whilst standing at the counter (the Italians are far too busy to sit and have breakfast!). It was a local place and it was bedlam with everyone jostling each other to get served - I chose what I thought was a donut but instead it was a sweet roll filled with a vanilla cream dusted with sugar which was very nice.

After our Italian breakfast experience we walked to St Marks Square to visit the Palazzo Ducale which is the palace that Venice's government once ruled from for nearly seven centuries!

Our view on the way to St Marks Square

We first went on a guided tour of the 'secret passages' which showed us the prison cells, the interrogation chamber and a number of hidden rooms where Venice's Council of Ten (equivalent of their CIA in the olden days) worked. Even Casanova was imprisoned here for too much philandering! We then looked around the rest of the building on our own - I found it very interesting but Peter got a bit bored half way through but we were in there for over 3 hours!

In the courtyard of the Palazzo

One of the huge rooms!

After our morning at the Palazzo Ducale we made our way along the waterfront to the Castello neighbourhood which is to the right of the Grand Canal and St Marks Square. As we walked along the waterfront we came across a huge clipper ship.

The Castello area has a strong Naval influence as they used to build all the large ships here, and the sailors used to live in this area. We spent the afternoon walking through the neighbourhood, stopping off for a Spritz along the way!

 

This evening after dinner we stopped off to have our last gelato of the trip! We have really enjoyed our time in Italy - I liked Florence but I have loved Venice and will definitely come back to visit again.

 

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Venice, Italy: Monday 16 May

This morning we made our way to the famous St Marks Square - we arrived quite early but it was already pretty busy with lots of tourists milling around. We decided to go up the Campanile - a 99 metre tower in the square- to enjoy the views over Venice.

We queued for an hour but it was definitely worth it, and I was amazed that Peter didn't complain once as he hates queueing!

Views from the Campanile

We then went to look at St Mark's Basilica - you are not allowed to take photos in there but I noticed others were doing it so I covertly took some pictures with my phone when no-one was looking!

Outside the Basilica

Inside the Basilica

One of the amazing mosaics

After lunch we headed for the Dosorduro neighbourhood which is on the south side of the Grand Canal. To get from the San Marco area to Dosorduro you can either go over the one bridge that connects the two areas or go on one of the traghetto ferries which are large gondolas that are rowed by two oarsmen from one side of the canal to the other. As it is a short journey passengers usually stand unless you have a boat full of tourists like today where we all sat down, perched on the side of the boat - it was quite an experience!

We had a lovely stroll through the neighbourhood and along the waterfront - as we had got off the tourist trail it was quiet and peaceful. We stopped off at Ca' Rezzonico which is a very grand old merchants house on the waterfront, and then went to one of the squares for a couple of Spritzs - we are getting quite a taste for them and it was a lovely way of spending a sunny afternoon watching the world go by!

In the evening we went to a lovely local restaurant which was close to our apartment - I had pesto pasta and Peter had a very nice seafood risotto (I had a bit of food envy after tasting his risotto!). They sold wine by the glass in sizes normal, double or triple - we were restrained and only had a double!!

 

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Venice, Italy: Sunday 15 May

This morning I had booked a free group walking tour - the plan is you register beforehand and they tell you where to meet them, and then they take you to a neighbourhood of Venice where they take you off the tourist trail so that you can see the real side of Venice.

Today they took us to the Cannaregio neighbourhood, which is on the northern side of the Grand Canal. It is a quiet, unspoilt residential area where one-third of Venice's ever-shrinking population of 65,000 is said to live.

The tour was very good, and the guide spoke good English and managed the large group of about 30 people very well!

One of the many small canals

Peter in front of the oldest bridge in Venice!

After the tour we stopped off for a drink at one of the canal side cafes - we decided to try one of the local drinks called a Spritz - which is popular in Italy but originated in Venice - which is made with prosecco wine, sparkling water and a dash of Aperol which is a bitter liqueur.

Cheers - drinking my Spritz!

Today the Vogalonga Regatta took place in Venice. It is a 30 km non competitive rowing race where entrants row, kayak or even gondolier the Grand Canal until they reach the Island of Burano in the lagoon and then back again. After our spritz we stood by one of the canals to see all the boats coming in - it was great to see and there was a lovely atmosphere with everyone cheering as the boats were coming in.

Because of the Regatta none of the Vaperetto were working so it meant quite a long walk back to the area where we were staying but we enjoyed wandering down the little lanes - we purposely got off the main walkways so we could enjoy the peace and discover lots of little lanes, bridges and churches (there are loads of churches!) stopping off for lunch at one of the little squares on the way.

This evening we went meandering through the streets again to find a nice wine bar and to have some cinchetti (Italian version of tapas). Nothing caught our fancy so we just kept walking until we found a lovely little square which had a bar with seating outside and we had our second spritz of the day. When we looked at our map we had walked quite a way - we were very surprised. By the time we walked back it was dusk and all the little streets looked the same but we managed to find our way, and we walked super quick when the heavens opened and it started raining AGAIN.

 

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Venice, Italy: Saturday 14 May

Today we travelled from Florence to Venice by train - it was quite a good journey apart from arriving 30 mins late in to Venice (the train was on a go slow from Florence to Bologna) and Peter's order for coffee and donuts before we got on the train got lost in translation and we ended up with tuna sandwiches instead!!

We arrived in Venice at lunchtime and jumped on the vaperetto (the ferry) to the stop close to our apartment. The journey took about 25 mins and it was lovely to see the old buildings and the hustle and bustle of the Grand Canal.

Along the grand canal

Our apartment

Our apartment is very nice - just off the grand canal along a small alleyway called Calle de Paradiso. The lady checking us in told us that it was called 'the street of paradise' because it used to be paradise for the local men to meet a certain type of lady if you know what I mean - we were assured it was no longer that kind of street!

We popped out for some groceries and got a hot slice of pizza each for our lunch. Unfortunately we could not get back in to the apartment as we could not unlock the door, so in between trying to force the door down we were scoffing our pizza slices - we both agreed it was a first for us to eat pizza in a hallway but hey, we didn't want it to get cold! After numerous times trying to get in, and pizza scoffed, I called the lady who checked us in who told us there was a bit of a knack to opening the door (tell us about it!).

After unpacking and settling in, we made our way back to the boat stop as we had booked a food tour for this evening. There were 5 of us altogether on the tour, all Brits, plus our Italian guide Alessandra (who was the spitting image of Caitriona with dark hair!). For the next 4 hours she took us to 5 different places to try different foods and wines which we would have never of tried on our own! We saw some interesting places that were off the tourist trail, and it was a good group and everyone got on and had a laugh.

Views on our food tour

Some food we tried on our food tour

The weather had been glorious up until about 7pm when the clouds rolled in and there was a huge thunderstorm. It was still raging when we left and we got absolutely SOAKED on the way back - I found that my Mac was shower proof but not pouring down proof and we had to strip off when we got back.

I really like what I have seen so far of Venice so I am looking forward to getting out and having a proper look round!

 

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Florence, Italy: Friday 13 May

Another early start today to try and beat the crowds at the Academia so that we could see the original statue of Michelangelo's David. We arrived at 8:50am and were able to walk pretty much straight in with our 'jump the queue card' but it was still pretty busy. I got told off by security for putting my bag on a shelf near one of the pictures (it wasn't that close!). The main reason we went, and the best part of the visit, was to see The David which was unbelievable lifelike - I thought it would move any minute and look round at us!

Michelangelo's David

Our next stop was the Duomo Cathedral, baptistery and cathedral museum which took up most of the morning.

Golden ceiling of the Bapistery

On our way to the Central Market the heavens opened and it poured down, and the church we were passing had never looked so appealing so we dived in to have a look and wait for the rain to stop.

We had a look round both the leather market and food market which was interesting before stopping for a very disappointing and expensive bowl of pasta at the market. We then meandered through the streets whilst eating a delicious cup of ice cream which made up for the disappointing lunch!

After a siesta back at our apartment (sightseeing is very tiring!) we went to the Palazzo Vecchio which has been the city town hall since 1342 and had a number of rooms with impressive frescos.

Palazzo Vecchio

The huge main hall in the Palazzo

In the evening we stopped off at a wine bar for a quick drink before going to a local pizza place which apparently has the best pizza in Florence! It had a good atmosphere, was very busy, and you had to share a table but the food was delicious and pretty cheap too!

 

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Florence, Italy: Thursday 12 May

This morning we were up bright and early to make the most of the nice weather - the weather forecast said that thunderstorms were due later so we decided to walk up to the Piazzale Michelangelo for a view over the city. It was quite a walk up many steps and steep slopes but it was worth the effort!

After admiring the views for a while we walked back down via a very pretty rose garden.

We walked round the Santo Spirito area before stopping off at Palazzo Pitti, which houses several museums but we decided to just visit the Royal apartments and also had a look around the gardens there.

The ceiling in one of the rooms at Palazzo Pitti

The view of Palazzo Pitti from the gardens

We then stopped off at a little wine bar for lunch - we had crostone with ham and cheese and it was very nice - Peter's beer was served in a wine glass (he said it was a first for him!).

Crostone for lunch!

After being on our feet for 5 hours we were worn out so we stopped off at our apartment for a little siesta before going to the Uffizi Gallery which is practically next door to our apartment! When we went in we were told that it was only a couple of hours until closing time - we are not huge art buffs so we knew that would be plenty of time and was actually only in there for just over an hour!! One thing I can say about Renaissance art is that they do like to show people with there bits and bobs out if you know what I mean!

Tonight we walked over to Santo Spirito Square for dinner and sat outside. The restaurant had a lovely atmosphere and we really enjoyed our meal - we shared crostini to start with, and for main I had a massive meatball, roast potatoes and grilled veg, and Peter had pork loin with roast potatoes.

Apart from a couple of spots of rain the weather was fine, and it felt quite hot when the sun was out.

According to my Fitbit I have done 20,000 steps today - it feels like it!

 

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