Venice, Italy, May 2013

Our last stop, Venice!  What a great place to end our vacation!  It was everything we dreamed of and more.  We took the train from Florence early in the morning so that we could maximize our time in Venice.  We only got two nights here whereas the other stops were all three nights.  It was rainy and chilly, but we stilled ventured on.  It was absolutely incredible!

We loved the canals and bridges.  The water buses were a great way to travel up and down the Grand Canal.  Shortly after we arrived and unpacked, we hopped on a Vaporetto (water bus) and put in our ear buds and listened to Rick Steves' Grand Canal Audio Tour.  It was very interesting.  Venice really is sinking.  The first floors on most of the buildings aren't usable any longer because of the water damage.  The buildings are crumbling, but the history and beauty are intact.

The Rialto Bridge

The beautiful Venetian Gondolas.  We didn't ride on one, due to weather mostly, but they are a lovely sight, especially on the little back canals.

St. Mark's Square--lots of constructions and lots of puddles.  It was very rainy!

How Nancy looked most of the trip.  She took nearly 4,000 wonderful pictures!  Can't wait to get our book that she's going to make with the best of them!!  She has an incredible eye for detail and beauty.

One of the best things we did was to take a 4-hour boat tour of the nearby islands of Murano, Burano, and Torcello.  They were very beautiful and uncrowded.

Murano is famous for their glass.  We watched a glass blowing demo where the man made this horse.

Beautiful, rural Torcello

The lovely island of Burano is known for it's brightly colored houses and for their lace.

So we didn't get to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but we did get to see this leaning tower!

Back in Venice, we caught the last elevator to the top of the tower in St. Mark's Square.  The views were amazing!  The interesting thing was you couldn't see the canals from that height!

The pigeons in St. Mark's Square.  They have gotten rid of most of them, but they are starting to come back.  They were very friendly!

On our last night, we had a snack and listened to the orchestra play in St. Mark's Square.  We had hoped to do some dancing, but it was just too cold.

On the Vaporetto on our way to the airport!  We are sad to say goodbye to beautiful Italy, but it's always good to go home!  We had so much fun with Nancy and Dale and we thank them for being the fun, experienced travelers who helped us with so many great tips that made the trip perfect!

Arrivederci!  We hope to return someday!

Florence, Italy, May 2013

On Monday, May 27th, we packed up once again and pulled our bags down the hill in Manarola, had a lovely breakfast at an outdoor cafe next to the sea, and took the train to Florence.  Our host in Florence, Mario Cenni, met us at the train station and walked us to our apartment, the Corilla Olimpica House.  It was a very nicely restored 1st Century Palace.  Mozart played here when he was 11.  This is the view from one of our bedroom windows.  We were that close to the Duomo and all of the wonderful sights in Florence!  After unpacking, we did Rick Steve's Renaissance walk.  The Duomo is fantastic, almost looks unreal.  Before dinner, we ate in a restaurant across from our apartment that our host recommended.  It was not a good choice.  Dale ordered some meatballs that seriously weren't recognizable as anything we'd ever seen or eaten before.  We got some delicious Gelato and pizza during and after the walk, so it was a good night! 

This is a replica of the David Statue that was part of the Renaissance Walk.  We got to see the real thing in the Accademia Museum a couple of days later.

The Ponte Vecchio

If you put a coin in the Boar's mouth and it rolls out and lands in the grate below, you will get your wish!

Our second day in Florence started out by going to the outdoor Mercato Centrale and then to the San Lorenzo Market.  We ate fresh strawberries and cream, dried fruits, and a pork sandwich and then looked at all the meat and produce stands.  Later in the day we toured the Uffizi Gallery.  Lots of statues of naked guys and Renaissance art.  Loved the Birth of Venus painting.  We really did love the amazing art and history in Italy--all of it!  That evening, we ate dinner at a wonderful restaurant on the street that had candlelight and overhead heaters.  We had a delicious Florentine steak dinner that the four of us shared.  Of course, we had Gelato on the way back to the apartment!

May 29!  Happy Birthday to me!  How lucky am I to be able to celebrate my 55th birthday in Florence, Italy?!  55 years ago I was born in Florence, Alabama and here I am now in Florence, Italy!    I was thinking positive thoughts when I got dressed this morning and thought since it was my birthday, I would dress up a bit.  This outfit lasted until about lunchtime and then I had to change back into my warmer clothes.  We really didn't get much chance to wear our cute, touristy outfits!

Today we saw the David Statue and it was incredible.  Michaelangelo was truly an amazing, gifted artist.  We also got to tour the inside of the Duomo.  The art cannot be described especially by someone who's not so good with words like me.  Late in the afternoon, we walked up to the Piazzale Michaelangelo which sits up above the city and has spectacular views of Florence.  It's a favorite spot to sit on the steps and watch the sunset.  It was so beautiful!

Another shot of the Duomo

My birthday canoli!

A little American snack before dinner

I chose Hard Rock Cafe for my birthday dinner!  It was so much fun and the hot fudge brownie sundae was delicious!

Florence was incredible and hard to leave!  Next stop....Venice!!~