Camp La Conchiglia Chioggia

... steps to the top) and the Piazza del Signoria, a great, bustling pedestrians-only town square. We grabbed a gelato and took a short people-watching break before continuing on to Ponte Vecchio and finally, the day’s climax- the Uffizi Gallery.

The Uffizi has been described as the greatest collection of Italian paintings anywhere! But it is so much more. It is laid out in a way that walks you through the transition of style, content and technique from the ...

... She wonders where the money went.
OK: now we are driving in Italian traffic. These people drive as if they have nothing to live for. And, yet, we have not seen a single accident. Regardless, driving is nerve-wracking. But we made it safely to Padua, where we visited the Scrovengi Chapel, painted in frescos by Giotto in the early 14th century. It was commissioned by a man whose father was a very bad ...

... endowed a museum of modern art, which seems especially radical in Venice, with its nearly universal focus on the Renaissance.
After dinner and a rest, we finished our day with a night at the Opera! We saw “The Barber of Seville” a great, silly romp of an opera - and to add to the fun, it was performed inside one of the old Venetian palaces, with each act taking place in a different room. (The small audience followed the players and the Piano Quartet from room to room.)

... gave up on the sun ever coming up around seven and took off. The days here are extremely short: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. tops.
Our hotel here is amazing: they were happy to check us in at 7:30 a.m. and could not have been more accommodating. We slept a couple of hours and hit the streets - no, canals - around eleven. Our hotel recommended a restaurant where we had by far the best meal we have had in Italy before starting our sightseeing day’ ...

... pillows and as many makeshift covers (aka jackets and sweatshirts) to another compartment and sprawled out on the seats. When we got to Venice, it was very early in the morning, so we had to find our way to our hostel in the dark. But we made it there, only to find out that it was closed for another two hours (that's what happens during low season). So we wandered around, found a market to get a few ...

... Burano, an island off the coast of Venice (considered part of Venice) to see the vibrant colors of the buildings. As our tour guide at the Vatican would have said, the colors were super natural. Definately worth a visit. It was in Venice that I was asked if I was fluent in Italian, by an Italian man I should add. Obviously, my pronouciation of my limited word list is doing me well. :) The attention ...

... but good, and for the 2nd time had stuffed squash blossoms that I love. We had a 4:15am wake up call the next day and spent forever getting home. The flight from Frankfurt to SFO was great and we watched a movie and tried to sleep. It was a wonderful vacation and I will never forget all the fun the three of us had. But I'm glad to be home with my kitties and my TV and my family. Ciao

Loved Venice. It was a bit too hot in peak season in the middle of summer but it was still amazing. We stayed on the separate island, Lido where u just catch the vaporetto from st. marks square for 20mins. Venice is the best for getting lost in..so much fun working ur way through the mazes of the alley-ways. What we learnt was that u are normally going in a circle without knowing it.

... and bingo tables and would see the cruise ship not as a nemesis but as a friend. Our first destination was to see the Cathedral Saint Mark's. We checked our bags since none were allowed in and shuffled in the line as it made a large square through the cathedral. Of course it was impressive but again I wish I knew more about its history and art. Right before we passed through the outer doors Collette flicked one of her "street straws"3 she is endeared with into a confessional booth ...

... pushing ****** souveniers on the droves of tourists. All I could think was "this is not my kind of place." But, within a short time, Laura had led us far away from the common tourist track where we found a glimpse of true venetian life. We found an incredible old basilica that wasn't even on the tourist map. We found a really inexpensive and tasty lunch, taken at a table in a narrow street where locals passed ...