Venice, Italy

We are spending the weekend in Venice while Zuzu and Tootie are relaxing back home being pampered.

The island city of Venice, a sort of Key West with canals, was simply amazing; the city far exceeded our expectations. Our first day was spent exploring the streets and canals around our hotel. The next day was tourist day. We left early for St. Mark's Square hoping to get there before the rush of tourists.

It was, however, beginning to fill with tour groups and families. I'm sure this is the one part of the city that doesn't sleep during the night, at least in the summer. The lines for the basilica, the palace, and the campanile tower were already serpentining around. We opted first for the basilica since it appeared to be moving quickly and it was free. Free to view the main part of the church, we learned, but to see the crypt, the altar, and to visit the balcony all cost an additional 3 to 5 euros. So, we made our quick tour and went to the tower.

Having collapsed in the early 1900s, this exact replica is equipped with a rather spacious (for European standards) elevator, and for 8 euros, one can ride to the top for a panoramic view of Venice and the outer islands.

Everywhere you look you see a tower, often leaning slightly to one side, and a church rising above the tightly packed houses and buildings. St. Mark's Square is the largest open area in Venice, able to accommodate thousands within its walls.

Towards the neighborhood of our hotel, the Dorsoduro, rises the Santa Maria della Salute cathedral and stretching out towards the point is the former customs house now contemporary art center, La Dogana.

After getting our bearings from atop the tower, we wandered into the Castello district, reaching another open square where an imposing brick church faced a wide canal. We found the largest church in Venice, the basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo which was consecrated in 1430.

From there, we followed the canal to the north side of the city and headed east towards the arsenal. While parts of the arsenal date back to the early 1100s, the water entrance is flanked by two towers rebuilt in 1686.

Continuing our stroll, we stumbled onto a very large avenue, in fact the only street in Venice and named such as via Garibaldi. This wide street ends where a canal begins and at this "intersection" floats a fruit and vegetable market. We took the opportunity to buy some apricots, peaches, and plums for a mid-afternoon snack in the nearby park.

Walking through this alley of trees, you would never guess you were in Venice. The shaded benches provided a perfect cool spot to rest and enjoy some fresh produce from the floating market.

Upon leaving the park, one is quickly reminded that this is in fact Venice.

How to spend the afternoon? How about a boat ride on a vaporetto from one end to the other. We rode line 1 down the grand canal, enjoying the sights along the way.

Former palaces along the canal. "What are they today?" one must wonder.

Where line 1 ends, line 6 begins and takes you around the other side of the island, past the cruise ships and this large yacht. Researching the name, Carinthia VII, it is the 12th largest yacht in the world and owned by Heidi Horten, the widow of the former German retail giant, Helmut Horten.

Line 6 through the Giudecca Canal to its terminus, il Lido. The long barrier island where the Venetians and tourists go to cool off at one of the many beaches on the Adriatic Sea.

The public beaches were packed, the private beaches less so, but on this weekend afternoon, it seemed most of Venice was at the beach.

A long day of exploring, walking, and riding the vaporetto. Tomorrow we explore Murano.

Tuscany to Venice

Zuzu and Tootie survived the fireworks on the Fourth of July, and are now looking forward to the weekend and their Sunday dog walk with their friends. We are off to Venice!

It's a cool early morning in Bellagio, a small, ritzy village tucked away on a little peninsula in the middle of Lake Como. More about this part of Italy later, though. First, we need to continue our journey to Venice below...

We were pleased with our accommodations at Villa Sonnino. A nice surprise as one is never sure if hotels live up to the pictures and reviews on the Internet. I would highly recommend this one, though; the room was spacious and comfortable, the hotel is well situated for day trips into the Tuscan hills, and it's calm and peaceful at night.



After several cappuccinos, we drove north to Venice at a nice, leisurely pace of 120 km/h. "You can go 130," I suggested as cars zoomed pass. We were cautious of the speed control boxes, though. Every so many kilometers there's a sign warning you of a speed camera and, just as they warned, there appears a silver metal box on the side of the autostrada with a picture of a policeman and a camera. Now, this method of speed control works well directly beside the silver box. But, once passed, everyone speeds back up to 140+ km/h until the next one. It seems the Italians know exactly where these speed boxes are as their speed oscillates from fast to very, very fast!



We reached the coast and the entrance to Venice by early afternoon.



And crossed the causeway (Italy's version of the seven mile bridge? yet not as long) towards the cruise ships and towering parking garages. We must be close.



Parking was simple, getting from the garage to the hotel, however, involved more thinking. Italy could use a bit more in the useful sign department to help tourists find their way. I relied on intuition and managed to find our way to the main bus terminal where you can catch a water bus (vaporetto) into the city. Wayne was a bit more disoriented, followed me closely, and was looking forward to successfully arriving at our destination.



"It's just like taking the bus in Paris, but on water," I exclaimed. He was still not convinced but did start to enjoy the ride. We took line 1 which travels down the Grand Canal. Our stop was Accademia. We had a ways to go from the piazza de Roma.



One is struck by the engineering and fortitude of early venetians to build a city in the middle of a lagoon. That same drive and determination seems, at times, to be lacking in the 21st century.



Our hotel, really a guest house with about eight rooms, was located in the Dorsoduro district, a quiet residential part of Venice.



We were only a few minutes from the vaporetto stop, a few steps behind the Guggenheim, and a few steps from the main canal overlooking the island of Giudecca.



There are a couple of quiet canals around the hotel. Here, one is far from the frenzy and chaos of the Rialto or St Marks Square, thankfully.



Just around the corner, we picked up two slices of pizza and a beer, found a bench and watched the world go by on foot and by boat.



After enjoying the view from the Accademia bridge, one of only two principal bridges crossing the Grand Canal,



and watched the many gondoliers come and go with their fares (some gondoliers were even texting while gondoliering!),



we meandered into our neighborhood and explored.



We stumbled onto this Swiss chalet at the corner of two canals. It's one of only a few gondola repair shops left in Venice.




Hmm, not like the UPS trucks back home!



And more gondoliers. They are everywhere calling out "Gondola, gondola rides" pulling visitors in to pay the 80 € for a 40 minute ride.



This canal was on the main gondola tour with one after another passing by.



We wandered away from the canals and turned down many narrow side streets, marveling at the sense of solitude within the denseness of the city.



And after wandering the narrow streets you find yourself in another small square. It's easy to get turned around in this city. But you can't get lost since you're on, after all, an island! Now, which street should we take? Let me check the iPhone to see where we are and then consult the map. What did Magellan do without his iPhone?



Venice has charmed and intrigued us. We are looking forward to our next two days in this unique city.

Location:Venice, Italy

Florence, Italy

Zuzu and Tootie continue to enjoy their break from us, lounging on the patio and sleeping on the bed.

Our morning began with a fantastic breakfast in the courtyard of our villa hotel.


Cappuccino, croissants, cream filled pastries, yogurt, fresh fruit, and orange juice is the perfect start to any day.



After breakfast, we set off for Florence.To avoid a repeat of yesterday's struggle finding parking in Sien, I researched where to park in Firenze and learned that one can park in the large parking lot of a Coop supermarket on the tram line.



For 1.20 € per ticket, you can ride the tram to the main train station. From there, it's only a ten minute walk to the center of town!



Once I got my bearings, we wandered into town towards the duomo, the cathedral which was very similar to the one we saw in Siena. It seems that marble was an abundant building material back in the day.



The waiting lines to visit the interior were crazy long, so we opted for the free exterior tour. It's quite impressive and, I'm sure, it's even more spectacular inside. This side was recently cleaned and much more impressive than the other side.



Florence is the birth place of Renaissance art, and there is art everywhere. Here, for example, in the Piazza della Signoria in front of the Palazzo Vecchio are reproductions of Donatello's Lion of Florence and Michelangelo's David among other great masterpieces.



Further towards the river is the famous Ponte Vecchio which is today a tourist trap of jewelry stores.



There were people everywhere from all across the globe, but not many were shopping.



Once across the bridge, we arrived at the Palazzo Pitti where we walked the Boboli Gardens.



Terraced (read lots of steps) behind the palace, these Italian gardens were designed by Tribolo in the 16th century.



There were some great panoramic views of Florence,



especially of the dome and bell tower of the duomo,



but for the most part they were devoid of flowers and greenery save a few trees.



I guess I prefer the symmetrical gardens of Versailles or the Tuileries in Paris designed by Louis XIV's gardener, André le Nôtre.

It was time to make our way back to the train station to catch the tram back to our car. One street we turned on struck me with all of the scooters tightly lined up. Most definitely the preferred mode of transportation for the Firenziens.


I, unfortunately, did not take any pictures of our shopping experience in the Italian supermarket. Suffice it to say it was an experience, one that gave us a filling picnic lunch that we enjoyed in our room at Villa Sonnino.

Followed by enjoying a gelato while watching the sunset over San Miniato.



Tomorrow, we head north to Venice!

Location:Tuscany, Italy