Venice: Days 1-3... Rome: Last Day!

Fasten your seatbelts… this is going to be a looooong post! I have four days of updates for you!! Finally, wireless internet!

Sunday:

Well, we were off to the train station mighty early this morning. Our train to Venice left Florence at 8:37 am and we arrived with plenty of time to spare…

We arrived in Venice at 11:15 am and headed straight for the bus. But, it was a special kind of bus… it’s a waterbus. As I’m sure most of you know, the streets in Venice are actually canals. Now, of course there are small streets and alleyways (not the scary kind), but I have not seen a single car.

 

Our waterbus took us down the Grand Canal. It was so beautiful. I fell in love with Venice immediately. And would you believe it?! There are more window boxes here than in Florence!! 

After we reached the stop for our hotel, we made our way to Hotel Locanda Canal. Again, the beauty of Venice amazed me. Once we walked inside, we were greeted by the hotel staff and we saddled up to go to our room. Ummm, teeny-tiny, itsy-bitsy problem… There was no lift. In our previous hotels we had to lug our bags up maybe 10 stairs before reaching the lift… but this hotel had none. Okay, don’t judge… there was a chair lift for handicapped patrons… the perfect suitcase trolley… so we loaded our bags on the chair and slowly made our way up to our hotel room!!

 

The best part was riding it down to return the chair to the lobby!

 

After we unpacked a bit, we set out to explore this floating city. OMG, so beautiful.

      

It started to sprinkle (ever so slightly) so we determined it was the perfect time to explore Doge’s Palace and the San Marco Basilica. I’ve picked up some decorating tips while in Italy:

1. Cover your ceiling in gold… lots and lots of gold

2. Cover your walls with paintings… floor to ceiling paintings

3. And my favorite… Columns are an absolute MUST

After we finished our tours, we grabbed the first real meal of the day. And what did we order? Pizza and Pasta of course! And boy it was yummy!! After dinner, we did a little bit of shopping. Momma bought a gorgeous oil painting of Venice (complete with beautiful window boxes), and I got a beautiful ring made from Murano glass (it’s a small Island right off the coast of Venice). 

Okay, I must share this. We have had fabulous “luck” with our hotels. Beautiful, clean, air conditioned, comfortable, spacious (by European standards)… However, the shower in Venice is a trip!! Indulge me for a moment: Place your palms on top of your head with your elbows in front of your face, now turn in a circle. That is exactly how much room there is in our shower. Not exaggerating one bit! So, that part I could deal with, not gracefully mind you, but it was okay. The part that simply killed me was that this shower is a spa shower. What do I mean? It has six power jet sprayers. I’m sorry… I have barely enough room to bend down to pick up my razor… Why in the world would I want six power sprayers shooting water (in my face no less) while I’m trying to shower?!?! I do not know anyone that would find that relaxing. Luckily, I figured out which knob to turn to shut them off… bliss, LOL 

All in all, it was a great first day in Venice! Ciao! –E

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Monday:

Today we took our day-trip to Milan. We caught the water bus at 7:15 am for our 8:50 am train. It was so much fun to be out on the Grand Canal early in the morning.

     

Once we arrived in Milan, we got our map and headed straight for the Golden Triangle, the high-end shopping district. We meandered through the shops and decided we would move on to the sightseeing portion of our trip. (sidenote: we were bummed that we didn’t get to see “The Last Supper” while in Milan. It’s closed on Mondays… boo… someone didn’t do their research… silly me!)

First, we went to La Scala, the opera house. Momma flexed her golden pipes outside…

  

In the middle of the square there is a statue dedicated to Leonardo DeVinci.

Next, we happened to stumble upon Milan’s Duomo. It is the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world. This church differed from the others that we had seen. There were few, if any, paintings inside. 

 

However, the windows were all stained glass and of course, the detail on the outside was outstanding.

We took another bus tour through Milan.

 

I have decided that Milan is the NYC of Italy:

1. There are beautiful residences like NYC… 

Even one that reminded me of The Plaza…

 

2. There are skyscrapers (lol, this is Milan’s first skyscraper… there are plans to build bigger ones)

 

3. Fashion plays a huge role in the city’s popularity (and they have a sculpture to represent the importance: Milan with the needle and thread. NYC with the button and needle)

  

4. Their main vehicle of mass-transit is a trolley/subway. The main difference is that it is above ground in Milan and they follow the original tracks that were laid out many, many, many years ago… (it's the orange trolley... I had a hard time getting a pic while we were on the bus. sorry!)

 

After 5 hours on a train and 7 hours in the city, we are exhausted. Turning in now and not setting the alarm for tomorrow morning! Hopefully we will get some good sleep for our last full day in Venice!! Ciao! –E

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Tuesday:

Well, today was our last full day in Venice. We take a train back to Rome tomorrow and then fly out on Thursday… sad day… But to be honest, I’m looking forward to a couple of days in Charlotte before I head back to LA. Whew, a 9 hour time change in a matter of 4 days… pray for me!! LOL

First, we went to Santa Maria Formosa. The church’s interior is said to have a “unique blend of Renaissance decoration and ersatz Byzantine cupolas.” To be honest, we didn’t even make it inside the church. We went to see this guy!!

  

See any resemblance?

  

Next, we took our gondola ride!! We had the NICEST gondolier. He gave us a history lesson as we rode. And he was pretty easy on the eyes as well!!

 

He took us through the Grand Canal, as well as the smaller canals.

First, we went under the Bridge of Sighs (named this because the prisoners would walk across it and sigh; they knew they would not be returning alive).

 

We also learned the symbolism of the metal piece at the front of the gondola. It is S-shaped like the Grand Canal, and the six pokes represent the six districts of Venice.

 

We also rode by Casanova’s house.

 

All in all, we had a great time on our gondola tour of Venice.

 

We then hopped on the water bus to Murano. This is the island where the glass masters work to create the famous Venetian glass. We were able to sit-in on the production of a few items. Momma and I were so grateful we had seen glass blowing done once before at the gallery opening in OKC. We knew what was going on!! It was so exciting!

   

Ciao for now! –E

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Wednesday:

Today was our last full day in Italy… sad. First, we took our last ride on the water boat in Venice.

  

We arrived at Termini station in Rome at 1:00 pm and took two trains and a bus to our hotel out by the airport. Whew, that was ROUGH!

After checking in we took three trains and a bus to the Vatican area to go to Old Bridge Gelato one last time before flying home. Yes… we spent an hour on the various forms of public transportation in Rome for gelato (and dinner, lol). After trying gelato in every city (except Venice) it is safe to say that Old Bridge has the BEST. If you ever get the chance to visit, it is a MUST. Today, Momma got Nutella and Banana (which tastes like banana pudding) and I got Crème and Strawberry… yummy!!!

   

We are back at our hotel now after three trains and a bus again and are getting everything ready to fly out tomorrow morning. We are west bound!!

Ciao! (for the last time from Italia!) -E

Venice: Day 1

Well, we made it to Venice! However, there is no internet in our hotel for me to use on my own computer to update the blog with pics. Sorry!! I promise to update as soon as possible (it may not be until we get back to Rome on Wednesday)... but I will take great notes and update with all the details...

Short version: Off to Milano tomorrow then spending the day in Venice on Tuesday. Back to Rome on Wednesday

Ciao! -E

p.s. this keyboard is NOT like the ones in the US. Keys are in different places and some are missing all together. CRAZY!

Florence & Pisa: Days 2 and 3

Well it’s day two in Florence and it was a whirlwind of a day. After we got ready, we went to the Galleria dell’ Accademia to see Michelangelo’s “DAVID.” We had heard that the line to get in was pretty intense, but we had all day so we ventured off. We hopped in line and waited for about an hour and a half to get in. However, we had a lovely chat with a girl from San Francisco. She was so nice and told us all about her European travels. Standing in a long line isn’t so bad when you have someone to talk to.

After we got inside we roamed around, but we were like that kid that goes to Disney World to see their favorite character… the other characters are nice, but your eyes are searching for that special one. Well, it’s hard to miss dear old David. He stands well over 15 feet tall (it’s even more amazing to realize he was created from a single block of marble… dude, Michelangelo, you rock!) and the light from the dome above shines a majestic light down on him. You expect to hear angelic music playing when you finally find him. It’s amazing. You cannot take any pics inside the Accademia, but there’s a faux David in one of the piazzas, so I took a pic for all to see!!

Next, we went to the bridge I told you about before (Florence: Day 1) and walked by the window displays of the countless jewelry stores.  This was our “time filler” before the main attraction of the day, of the trip really… our Tuscan cooking class.

We met our driver at 4:30 pm and he took us to the location where our class was to be held. The estate was gorgeous. We drove up the tree-lined entryway, passing the vineyards on the right side, and arrived at the villa. Momma passed the gardens on her way to the wash closet (haha, I love that name for el baño) and said that they were stunning. 

We were decked-out in our “Good Taste of Tuscany” aprons and ready to get started!!

   

The kitchen was an authentic Italian kitchen (with some modern appliance updates). It was so cool!!

   

Our time together started off by preparing the dessert, “Torta di Ricotta.”

 

Next, we worked on the preparation of the octopus for our “Insalata di Polpo.” That’s right, I said octopus. We watched Simone (our amazing instructor) remove the eyeballs and mouth. SO gross, but very cool!! I really liked the octopus… Momma not so much. She couldn’t get past the fact it was an octopus and she had seen its eyes removed, lol.

 

We then started work on the pasta dough for our “Pici all ‘aglione.” All I have to say is if I ever make homemade pasta for a guy, he’s the one. It’s too much effort otherwise, haha!

  

The next item of food we prepared was without a doubt our FAVORITE. It surpasses YUM-O status!! We had Flori di Zucchina (Zucchini flowers) that were stuffed with ricotta cheese and then fried… serious o-m-g!! Momma and I both loved them and could have made a meal off the flowers alone.

       

We also made miniature pizzas with fresh mozzarella and ricotta… they were very tasty.

     

After all the cooking was done, we sat down with our fellow classmates and the family that owns the villa and surrounding vineyards for appetizers and a four-course meal… soooo much food. It was a good thing we hadn’t eaten anything all day (literally). 

  

We even had live music!!

 

It was such an amazing experience, and I’m so glad we did it!! Ciao! -E

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Because yesterday was SUCH a busy day (and dinner wasn't over until 11 pm... eek!!), I did not have time to update. So today you get two days in one!!

We took a train to Pisa today to visit the Leaning Tower of course!! It was so cool to see this amazing building in person. It was one of those moments where we turned the corner and there it was... amazing!

And of course, we took the tourist pics :)

Momma is pushing the tower over...

... while I'm trying to hold it up!! So frustrating!! lol

Oh, and you may be seeing this pic in the Travel section of the Charlotte Observer!!

Off to Venice tomorrow!! Ciao! -E

Florence: Day 1

Well today we started our journey to Florence. We hopped on the 8:50 am train and an hour and thirty minutes later we arrived. Hooray!!

  

Little Miss Navigator hard at work again. Wait, didn’t we already take this picture?

As we trudged (literally folks… I’m not exaggerating by using this word) towards our hotel, a Florence landmark quickly came into sight. We approached the Duomo and came face to face with the sign for our hotel. Seriously, we are this close?! As if the proximity wasn’t fabulous enough, the view from our window is unbelievable… seriously.

After we unpacked and cooled off a bit, we decided to take another city sightseeing tour. It was such a gorgeous day and we wanted to feel the wind in our hair!! (lol)

I must start off with this sign. As we drove by I thought “Ugh, I feel like that sign should be posted in the US” (or at least in my life). I feel like I’m always running. And I’m pretty sure that’s the generic pedestrian crossing sign, haha!

One of the first Florence hot spots was the building where Florentine currency was minted.

We then moved on to see various buildings and churches. I quickly began to notice how many window boxes were around Florence. I couldn’t resist capturing numerous shots.

  

  

Before we hit up the Duomo, we took a break from the bus to share some Lemon Gelato. It was so refreshing and tasted like one of those frozen lemonades you eat during the summer.

Next up was the Duomo. As I said before, it is literally right outside our hotel. The structure is magnificent; pictures do not do it justice. It is huge first of all. And all of the detail work is impeccable, as is everything in Italy thus far.

  

This guy was my favorite, it’s as if he’s saying, “What’s up God?”

Florence is SO different from Rome. It is so lush and green… absolutely gorgeous.

Our tour took us to Fiesole next. It is the quaintest little area with amazing views of Florence. Seriously… unreal (okay, I realize I’ve said this a million times already, but it really was).

We then saw the only original bridge in Florence that is still standing. It’s so cool. There were buildings on the bridge. It is where the goldsmiths would work.

Oh! I must mention one of our bus attendants. He was so friendly. He asked a couple at the front of the bus where they were from, and when their answer was “the States… Arizona” he responded by exclaiming, “Arizona Cardinals right?! I LOVE Jerry McGuire!!” LOL

After we finished our bus tour we went inside the Duomo. These Italians know how to decorate their churches. Crazy gorgeous. This one had stained glass, which I love, so that was pretty neat. And the ceiling... as you can see, gorgeous...

We walked around Florence after grabbing a "prosciutto and fontina cheese on focaccia" sandwich (you know what I’m going to say, right? YUM-O!!). Momma spotted her dream Vespa waiting outside one of the shops!

After we walked around a bit more we had worked up a dessert appetite and tried a waffle with Nutella and strawberries concoction. Okay, seriously?! It was SO yummy… definitely an Italian version of a s’more. Just go with it, LOL.

Well that was our first day in Florence!! Ciao! -E