Well Hello everyone, I am still out and about in Italy and totally loving it. I am currently in Venice - a fantastic and unique city. I will do a bit of catch up on how I have spent my last 2 weeks in the northern parts of Italy.
The tour started in Rome, so I ventured back there for a day. I took a walk through areas I had not yet explored and found myself a Leonardo Da Vinci display which had drawings from the genius, and they had made some of his inventions out of wood, it was quite great to see the items he had designed and thought of way back then. I went back to the ice-creamery that served soy based ice cream and indulged a little - I am holiday, I can spoil myself. We then moved up north to Florence - the art capital of Italy and Europe. Italy contains 60% of the worlds greatest artwork, and Florence contains 50% of that. Given those statistics I couldn"t miss going to the Affuzi (2 hour line up - I was dedicated) and the Acadamia - where David is. The art galleries were amazing, and it was good that I had a little break from galleries and not being in "gallery overload" I could totally appreciate these two galleries in Florence. Our hotel had the view from the window of the beautiful Duomo, it was glorious of a night when it time to go to bed. The night life in Florence was great, the city really came alive around 11pm, so we stayed out one night to watch the sun set and the city lights come alive and then watched the street performers and enjoyed the atmosphere.
Next town was Lucca - I love Lucca. The heart of the town is built within the 16th century city walls, the only walls that are still fully intact in Italy. The town is quaint and beautiful. We stayed in Apartments there so it actually felt like home for a few nights. We had a lounge room and a kitchen and plenty of room to spread out. I cooked a nice past meal for dinner one night too and shared a bottle of wine in relaxing comfort. When we were at Lucca, we took a bike ride along the top of the city walls and along a nearby river, it was a great way to see the Tuscan colours and enjoy the ambiance the city provided. We also took a trip to Pisa - took the usual photos of holding up the tower of course. The lush houses on the walk to see the Tower of Pisa were amazing, we were dreaming of one day owning one as our holiday home. We even went to see a performance of Opera Arias - fantastic (and the guy was a hunny) and we followed the performance with a dinner at the Piano Cafe and enjoyed some more classical music. It was a great night.
After Lucca was Levanto - a beachside town that was also adorable. We went for a quick dip at the beach - the sand is a gravel like colour and texture, and I finally remembered that my camera is waterproof, so I took some pictures from the water as the view from there was the best. We took a day drip to the Cinque Terra - amazingling beautiful, you can see cliff lined coast for ever. We walked from town to town (Riomaggiore> Manarola> Corniglia> Vernazza> Monterosso) - from low beachside towns to towns towering high upon the cliffs. I had to back out of the last leg of the walk - it was a 2 hour trek up and down hills and my knee was hurting within the first 15 minutes, so I turned around and another chick stayed with me. So instead of having a 2 hour heart-pumping trek, we went for a swim and then took the train to the next town. The last town - Monterosso was the most stunning. When we stepped off the train it looked like any of the beach side resort areas you would expect to find along this coast, but then you discover it has so much more to offer. We walked through a tunnel and discovered another beach and a little quaint looking area of town with cafes and little shops. We stayed there for a while, just wandering around and had to eventually drag ourselves away from the area.
After Levanto we did a day of exploration and travel. We trained it to Santa Magherita - a beautiful port side town, with lavish shops and cute cafes. We decided to walk from Santa M to Portofino, and we were extremely glad we did - the view was breathtaking. On the land side we passed massive houses with beautiful gardens, gates and walls and on the otherside were stunning blue waters, rocks and yaghts. We stopped at a cute little beach town tucked in a little cove for luch before venturing on to Portofino. Portofino is great and you tell that the rich people socialise and holiday there by the boats and yaghts that are anchored along the coast and in the marina. We started walking along the boardwalk passing lovely restuarants and then guess what - Elton John comes straight for us and passes by!!!!!!! I walked passed Elton John!!!! Later on I was walking along the boardwalk checking out the resturants and gelaterias and I spotted him dining with his entourage and then I got to see the next famous person - one of the people he was eating with was Suzanna from Trinny & Suzanna!!!!!! What a great day. We then had to leave this little town and move on to Asti.
Asti is a little city and is in an area of wine making and lemon groves. We spend a day going for a bike ride past some vinyards, and then took a tour through a local winery, and then we had lunch in a local resturant. The hotel we stayed at was great, the people were walm and welcoming - they gave us some champayne and appertifes one night before we went out for dinner - very nice of them (and the included breakfast was to die for).
We had another day of exploration and travel - we stopped in at Milan - shopping capital for the top end designer wear, and I was enthraulled. The most surprising thing to find in Milan was the 3rd largest Duomo in world - it was magnificent. We walked along the edges of the Duomo and then onto its rooftop to take in and appreciate the detail in the architecture of the building and the views of the city. While we were up there, we spotted a rooftop resturant we wanted to eat at, so we went on a mission to find this resturant and when we did we had the best meal we have had so far in Italy. It was authentic, well priced and delicious (we took photos of the food!!!). The day ha to end and we had to travel on again, so we jumped on a train and landed at the Italian Lakes - Lake Como. The bus ride to the hotel was a bit hairy - I think the driver was trying to win the Grand Prix, but the view of the lake and the towns that dot its shores were beautiful.
Our accomodation at the Italian Lakes was in a town called Cadenabbia - very cute, but not much there other than hotels. The next day we woke to grey skies, thunder, lightning and rain - but nothing was going to stop us exploring some towns around the fork of the lake. We set off with our umbrellas on hand and my poncho in my bag - we were ready for whatever the weather would bring. We first went to Bellagio where we had a breakfast of the most delicious pastries I have had since France. The back streets in this little town also reminded me of France - cobblestone lanes with flower boxes and quaint boutiques. By this stage the rain had stopped and the skies opened up to a glorious blue. We then set off in another Ferry to Varenna - this was my favourite area. The coastline was stunning and the back streets were adorable, I stumbled across a palace and garden that was devine, and I have many pictures of my walk through Varenna. We had to keep moving though to ensure we were able to see another place, but when we got to our next destination we wished we had stayed longer in Varenna (but how could one know until they got there?). Our last little town for the day was Menaggio - we pottered around for a little while, but there was not too much to see. The skies were becoming dark again and then the rain started, so we found ourselves somewhere to stop to have a late lunch and find shelter from the rain. We had to leave our little cafe sometime, so we got out our umbrellas and spent some time wandering through some elegant homewares / gift stores before I put on my Korjo Poncho (great look!) and then set to the pavement and walked back to the hotel. It was quicker to walk. The buses were not running - it was a public holiday, and the we would have to take 3 Ferries to get back as they weave from side to side of the lake. By the time we got back, the bottoms of my jeans and my shoes & socks were drenched!! Besides that, the walk was very enjoyable and the lightning across the lake was great to watch.
Now I can talk about Venice, the city I am sitting in now. When I walked out of the train station, my first thought was "wow, I am in Venice". It was so unusual to see no cars, buses and scooters and to instead see gondolas and boats! After dumping our luggage we were able to explore the city. We were told the trick of the trade to be able to find you way around the city without the use of the comfusing maps and were later given the opportunity to test it out for ourselves - and it works ! We took a gondola across the river - because there are only 3 bridges that cross the Grand Canal, the other was to cross is by these gondolas - I love it!. We then went to the Rialto Bridge and further on the Piazza S. Marco and were then able to explore on our own. Venice is beautiful and very unique. As you weave your way through the city you are constantly crossing little bridges and watching the gondolas and locals go by in the little canals. We took a gondola ride around part of the city and were entertained by a very charming Gondola Man - Sebastiano, who told us the history of the city and some of the buildings we passed, and he also sang a little tune as we floated through the streets. It was a great experience and I recommend it everyone - but I warn you, don"t take the gondolas from around the Grand Canal near Rialto - they are rude and expensive, and tell you to "take a walk" when you don"t like the price. So we did just that, we took a walk and found Sebastiano who was great value and entertaining. We had dinner at a great resturant along the Rialto - Saraceno - it had great service, great food and a great view. During the day we went into the Musei Di Piazza Ducale - the palace of the Duke. The palace was the best I have seen so far in my travels, the artwork within its extravagant gold encrusted walls were amazing, and the history of the rooms was very interesting and you imagine the events that would have occured. We also got to go down into the prisons and over / through the Bridge of Sighs. There is so much to see in Venice, whether it be visit the main attractions, wander the streets and look at all the murano glass items and theatrical masks, or to just wander alond the waters edge and watch the boats and ferries go by.
I know I have used the words "beautiful", "Amazing" & "Breathtaking" throughout my blogs and that is because the places I have been are just that, and I it is hard to describe what I have seen to you all without repeating these very words. This has been an experience of a life time and I am so happy to have been the opportunity to do it, whether you call it fate or destiny I feel that I was meant to do this trip.
I hope I can update you all sometime again soon, but it is not easy to fit it in on my hectic travelling days, but I will try.
The tour started in Rome, so I ventured back there for a day. I took a walk through areas I had not yet explored and found myself a Leonardo Da Vinci display which had drawings from the genius, and they had made some of his inventions out of wood, it was quite great to see the items he had designed and thought of way back then. I went back to the ice-creamery that served soy based ice cream and indulged a little - I am holiday, I can spoil myself. We then moved up north to Florence - the art capital of Italy and Europe. Italy contains 60% of the worlds greatest artwork, and Florence contains 50% of that. Given those statistics I couldn"t miss going to the Affuzi (2 hour line up - I was dedicated) and the Acadamia - where David is. The art galleries were amazing, and it was good that I had a little break from galleries and not being in "gallery overload" I could totally appreciate these two galleries in Florence. Our hotel had the view from the window of the beautiful Duomo, it was glorious of a night when it time to go to bed. The night life in Florence was great, the city really came alive around 11pm, so we stayed out one night to watch the sun set and the city lights come alive and then watched the street performers and enjoyed the atmosphere.
Next town was Lucca - I love Lucca. The heart of the town is built within the 16th century city walls, the only walls that are still fully intact in Italy. The town is quaint and beautiful. We stayed in Apartments there so it actually felt like home for a few nights. We had a lounge room and a kitchen and plenty of room to spread out. I cooked a nice past meal for dinner one night too and shared a bottle of wine in relaxing comfort. When we were at Lucca, we took a bike ride along the top of the city walls and along a nearby river, it was a great way to see the Tuscan colours and enjoy the ambiance the city provided. We also took a trip to Pisa - took the usual photos of holding up the tower of course. The lush houses on the walk to see the Tower of Pisa were amazing, we were dreaming of one day owning one as our holiday home. We even went to see a performance of Opera Arias - fantastic (and the guy was a hunny) and we followed the performance with a dinner at the Piano Cafe and enjoyed some more classical music. It was a great night.
After Lucca was Levanto - a beachside town that was also adorable. We went for a quick dip at the beach - the sand is a gravel like colour and texture, and I finally remembered that my camera is waterproof, so I took some pictures from the water as the view from there was the best. We took a day drip to the Cinque Terra - amazingling beautiful, you can see cliff lined coast for ever. We walked from town to town (Riomaggiore> Manarola> Corniglia> Vernazza> Monterosso) - from low beachside towns to towns towering high upon the cliffs. I had to back out of the last leg of the walk - it was a 2 hour trek up and down hills and my knee was hurting within the first 15 minutes, so I turned around and another chick stayed with me. So instead of having a 2 hour heart-pumping trek, we went for a swim and then took the train to the next town. The last town - Monterosso was the most stunning. When we stepped off the train it looked like any of the beach side resort areas you would expect to find along this coast, but then you discover it has so much more to offer. We walked through a tunnel and discovered another beach and a little quaint looking area of town with cafes and little shops. We stayed there for a while, just wandering around and had to eventually drag ourselves away from the area.
After Levanto we did a day of exploration and travel. We trained it to Santa Magherita - a beautiful port side town, with lavish shops and cute cafes. We decided to walk from Santa M to Portofino, and we were extremely glad we did - the view was breathtaking. On the land side we passed massive houses with beautiful gardens, gates and walls and on the otherside were stunning blue waters, rocks and yaghts. We stopped at a cute little beach town tucked in a little cove for luch before venturing on to Portofino. Portofino is great and you tell that the rich people socialise and holiday there by the boats and yaghts that are anchored along the coast and in the marina. We started walking along the boardwalk passing lovely restuarants and then guess what - Elton John comes straight for us and passes by!!!!!!! I walked passed Elton John!!!! Later on I was walking along the boardwalk checking out the resturants and gelaterias and I spotted him dining with his entourage and then I got to see the next famous person - one of the people he was eating with was Suzanna from Trinny & Suzanna!!!!!! What a great day. We then had to leave this little town and move on to Asti.
Asti is a little city and is in an area of wine making and lemon groves. We spend a day going for a bike ride past some vinyards, and then took a tour through a local winery, and then we had lunch in a local resturant. The hotel we stayed at was great, the people were walm and welcoming - they gave us some champayne and appertifes one night before we went out for dinner - very nice of them (and the included breakfast was to die for).
We had another day of exploration and travel - we stopped in at Milan - shopping capital for the top end designer wear, and I was enthraulled. The most surprising thing to find in Milan was the 3rd largest Duomo in world - it was magnificent. We walked along the edges of the Duomo and then onto its rooftop to take in and appreciate the detail in the architecture of the building and the views of the city. While we were up there, we spotted a rooftop resturant we wanted to eat at, so we went on a mission to find this resturant and when we did we had the best meal we have had so far in Italy. It was authentic, well priced and delicious (we took photos of the food!!!). The day ha to end and we had to travel on again, so we jumped on a train and landed at the Italian Lakes - Lake Como. The bus ride to the hotel was a bit hairy - I think the driver was trying to win the Grand Prix, but the view of the lake and the towns that dot its shores were beautiful.
Our accomodation at the Italian Lakes was in a town called Cadenabbia - very cute, but not much there other than hotels. The next day we woke to grey skies, thunder, lightning and rain - but nothing was going to stop us exploring some towns around the fork of the lake. We set off with our umbrellas on hand and my poncho in my bag - we were ready for whatever the weather would bring. We first went to Bellagio where we had a breakfast of the most delicious pastries I have had since France. The back streets in this little town also reminded me of France - cobblestone lanes with flower boxes and quaint boutiques. By this stage the rain had stopped and the skies opened up to a glorious blue. We then set off in another Ferry to Varenna - this was my favourite area. The coastline was stunning and the back streets were adorable, I stumbled across a palace and garden that was devine, and I have many pictures of my walk through Varenna. We had to keep moving though to ensure we were able to see another place, but when we got to our next destination we wished we had stayed longer in Varenna (but how could one know until they got there?). Our last little town for the day was Menaggio - we pottered around for a little while, but there was not too much to see. The skies were becoming dark again and then the rain started, so we found ourselves somewhere to stop to have a late lunch and find shelter from the rain. We had to leave our little cafe sometime, so we got out our umbrellas and spent some time wandering through some elegant homewares / gift stores before I put on my Korjo Poncho (great look!) and then set to the pavement and walked back to the hotel. It was quicker to walk. The buses were not running - it was a public holiday, and the we would have to take 3 Ferries to get back as they weave from side to side of the lake. By the time we got back, the bottoms of my jeans and my shoes & socks were drenched!! Besides that, the walk was very enjoyable and the lightning across the lake was great to watch.
Now I can talk about Venice, the city I am sitting in now. When I walked out of the train station, my first thought was "wow, I am in Venice". It was so unusual to see no cars, buses and scooters and to instead see gondolas and boats! After dumping our luggage we were able to explore the city. We were told the trick of the trade to be able to find you way around the city without the use of the comfusing maps and were later given the opportunity to test it out for ourselves - and it works ! We took a gondola across the river - because there are only 3 bridges that cross the Grand Canal, the other was to cross is by these gondolas - I love it!. We then went to the Rialto Bridge and further on the Piazza S. Marco and were then able to explore on our own. Venice is beautiful and very unique. As you weave your way through the city you are constantly crossing little bridges and watching the gondolas and locals go by in the little canals. We took a gondola ride around part of the city and were entertained by a very charming Gondola Man - Sebastiano, who told us the history of the city and some of the buildings we passed, and he also sang a little tune as we floated through the streets. It was a great experience and I recommend it everyone - but I warn you, don"t take the gondolas from around the Grand Canal near Rialto - they are rude and expensive, and tell you to "take a walk" when you don"t like the price. So we did just that, we took a walk and found Sebastiano who was great value and entertaining. We had dinner at a great resturant along the Rialto - Saraceno - it had great service, great food and a great view. During the day we went into the Musei Di Piazza Ducale - the palace of the Duke. The palace was the best I have seen so far in my travels, the artwork within its extravagant gold encrusted walls were amazing, and the history of the rooms was very interesting and you imagine the events that would have occured. We also got to go down into the prisons and over / through the Bridge of Sighs. There is so much to see in Venice, whether it be visit the main attractions, wander the streets and look at all the murano glass items and theatrical masks, or to just wander alond the waters edge and watch the boats and ferries go by.
I know I have used the words "beautiful", "Amazing" & "Breathtaking" throughout my blogs and that is because the places I have been are just that, and I it is hard to describe what I have seen to you all without repeating these very words. This has been an experience of a life time and I am so happy to have been the opportunity to do it, whether you call it fate or destiny I feel that I was meant to do this trip.
I hope I can update you all sometime again soon, but it is not easy to fit it in on my hectic travelling days, but I will try.
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