Airone Caorle

Day 7, Florence

If Rome and Venice were “aerobic sightseeing,” Florence was a triathlon! Three world-class museums (plus lunch,, Rick Steeves’ “Renaissance Walk” and two harrowing bus rides in and out of town) all in about nine hours!

We started the day with a bus ride into the city center of Venice. (Even though we have a rental car, the city center is what is called locally a “no go zone’” This is a ...

Day Six, Venice to Florence:
Today was a travel day for us: getting out of Venice, picking up a rental care, making our way to Florence by way of Padua.
How we hated to leave Venice! We agree that a month here would just scratch the surface. Around every corner is a new piazza and a new adventure. We will be back!
Michele was intent on seeing the Calatrava bridge before we left Venice. For ...

Blog Day 5 (Venice 2), Wednesday, December 9
We rose well-rested and after enjoying the hotel’s breakfast buffet, set off for St. Mark’s Square, where we spent most of our day. With the national holiday crowds dispersed, it finally paid off to be here in the off season! There were no lines for the Basillica or any of the “extra” (“for a small fee”) attractions on the square. It is no longer allowed to feed the pigeons, with the positive result ...

... places where you can observe art in the setting it was created for. Titian considered this his home church and, besides having many of his creations there, he is buried in the main church.
We had to hurry back to our hotel, or to our neighborhood. We had stopped in a little shop nearby, planning to bring some snacks and drinks back to the hotel later. We asked the shopkeeper how late he would be open. He stated firmly, “I close at 8 o ...

... All of us girls crashed on the bed and Steve decided to go explore since he didn’t have as long in Venice as we did. We all eventually woke up and took showers, then met Steve to go exploring. Venice is a very beautiful city, though it does smell somewhat like fish but that didn’t bother me. We walked for hours. Winding around the back streets and bridges, trying to see what treasures we ...

... a connection, and given that Turano has about 80 residents, the wait was more than an hour to the next one. So instead it turned into an extended ferry ride back to Venice, but it did give us excellent close-up views of the Mose project, where they are building some permanent breakwaters and gates in the lagoon that can minimise the impact when King Tides occur that currently flood Venice and ...

... too. The food was great! JeNelle tried Escargot for the first time and loved it. I had Lobster Bisque. It wasn't what I expected but delicious nonetheless. We both chose Duck for the main course and I had Cherries Jubilee for dessert and JeNelle had Strawberry Cheesecake. We thought the cocktails were still free so we ordered the fanciest ones. Turns out...those we had to pay for. ha ha After ...

Iki Venecijos liko vos 10 kilometrų, o juos įveikiam gana greitai. Privaziuojam Venecijos prieigas, kur visi palieka ratuotas transporto priemones ir sėda į plūduriuojančias. Apsukam kelis ratus, tačiau nieko tinkamo nerandam, kol galiausiai mums parodo, kad kemperių stovėjimo aikstelė yra kiek į soną - Tronchetto saloje (Isola del Tronchetto). Nuvaziavę ten randam mokamą ir tusči ...

... not subjected to the typical flooding that can occur. (A few days after we left St. Mark's square flooded by almost 4 feet!) With no internet in our room, Jeff has started to go into withdrawals. And since the TV is all in Italian, he can't escape through the tube either. So we ventured out and found an internet "hot spot" (after getting lost of course). Our hotel was charming. There was a woman who served the breakfast (along with doing every ...

Almost immediately after our audience with the Holy Father on this Wednesday, we take a 4-5 hour bus drive to Venice. From our arrival, I am utterly enchanted with this place. I can't imagine a city more jam-packed with history, friendly people, unique shops, and beautiful architecture all around you.