It was a sad Ciao Bella when we departed Italy this morning, following two out-of-this-world stops in Florence and Venice (while, obviously being in this world-no intergalactic travels on the agenda yet). Our farewells to Italia (yes, Kristina has a pizza on the water taxi):
First up….Florence [insert sigh] Florence, oh Florence, how I miss ye so…I’m sure there’s also an incredibly romantic sounding way to say this in Italian. We arrived via our first Euro-rail experience, which of course went seamlessly, as those Europeans know how to build and operate an efficient train system (ahem, America). We dropped our bags and then jumped right into things with a ½ day wine tour of Tuscany. I will admit (Kristina don’t kill me) that neither of us realized that Florence was actually IN Tuscany- we thought we were going to a whole new place on the wine tour. Although if felt like we were, as the bustling streets and churches of Florence were replaced by lush rolling mountains, dotted with olive groves and vineyards. It truly looks like a painting- Diane Lane had the right idea for sure!
We went to two vineyards and learned all about Chianti, which was underappreciated in my world of wine before this trip. We also sampled an assortment of delicious cheeses and balsamic vinegar. I really never thought twice about balsamic in the past and I’m pretty sure I buy the Safeway brand (as well as in the “glaze” format, that the balsamic maker seemed horrified by). In Europe, and mostly stemming from Italy, they have their balsamic situation figured out (similar to their rail system…hmmm). Their stuff is not mostly sugar, as our ‘merican versions are, AND they have a quality control system so you know what you’re getting is the real deal. We sampled balsamic that was 25 years old and I have to say it was amazing. This superior product does come at a price, however, and a smallish bottle of the really good stuff runs upwards of $150!). When I’m rich (hopefully from partnering with George Clooney on his next tequila venture) I think I’ll only buy the top of the line balsamic. Everyone has their thing, right?
After the vineyards we swung by a castle on the way back to Flo, as one does in Tuscany. Not shockingly, Kristina and I made some friends in our tour group- two lovely couples (we met one couple at each winery). Jess and Matt were travelling from Brisbane and Alexandra and Oscar were on travels from Finland. Talk about coming from different places! We brought our new friends together and the six of us had dinner together after the tour. It was a relaxed and thoroughly enjoyable dinner with a lot of laughs, as we learned about each other and our respective countries and cultures. More pics from the day:
The next day we powered through Florence, touring the Doumo, which included a beautiful cathedral and climb to the top of the cathedral’s Gothic dome. It was most definitely worth the 463 winding steps that it took to get there! I would not recommend this climb for someone with claustrophobia but even then maybe you could just suck it up, as the 360 degree view of the city from the top are phenomenal.
We had wanted to see the real statue of David while in Florence but learned too late that the Gallery dell’Accademia is closed on Mondays (bummer but we rebounded quickly), so we “settled” for the replica, located in the Piazzale de Michelangelo. This trek required many more vertical steps, but we made it, and just in time for sunset. It was truly spectacular! While not the real David, the backdrop may have made it more breathtaking and you ever go to Venice you need to do this- trust me. We topped off the day with a drink and a snack (olives and potato chips seem to be the snack of choice Italy) at the restaurant overlooking David and the city. Here’s a few pics from our date night with David:
Onward to Venice! So, I’d heard a lot about Venice from friends and some mixed reviews, including lore of the city being smelly/dirty and over-run with tourists. While there were a lot of tourists navigating the narrow streets in places, we also found places where it was just us and the locals. And we learned from our tour guide that the new water system they’d employed fairly recently took care of the smell problem (at least while we were there).
The first day we roamed the beautiful city streets, squares, and bridges (there’s over 400!) admiring the canal views, with a consistent soundtrack of that Italian restaurant music (but so much better and with a real Italian person playing it). I was smitten. We water bused (the way to get around) to a rooftop bar with the “best” view of the city. And while we’d been spoiled in Florence, this Venetian sunset was also spectacular. Loving the world-wide sunsets I’ve been collecting in my memory bank so far (and on my phone…but they never quite translate).
We met a couple at dinner that night (you may notice a theme here), who met in Hungary and now are both doctors living in New York City. They were “swinging through” Venice only to see an art exhibit…the same art exhibit that we had purchased tickets for for the next day. Unlike the Hungarians, who had made a special trip, we had just learned of the exhibit that afternoon and we’re lucky to get tickets. The exhibit is called “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” by Damien Hurst in the Palazzo Grassi museum. It’s been a controversial exhibit, as basically Damien got his hands on a huge collection of old pieces of art/artifacts from the mid first and second centuries. The stuff was being shipped to ordain a temple the collector was building when sank and lay at the bottom of the Indian Ocean for TWO THOUSAND years before it was discovered in 2008. The artist took the sculptures (some of which were unrecognizable after, ya know, after just a few thousand years on the ocean floor) and restored them, adding a contemporarty flair to depict what they would have looked like, encrusted in coral and other marine life. Some of the pieces actually include water to show them submerged. The reason for the controversy is that some peeps are a little judgy about these ancient artifacts being used this way and altered from their original form. Personally, I really enjoyed seeing the exhibit and thought it more interesting than a bunch of unrecognizable statue blobs. But that’s just me.
After a lunch and gelato respite (never too much gelato!) we embarked on a guided tour of the city, including the stunning St. Mark’s temple, with an inside that is covered in REAL gold. Literally covered. No pictures are allowed inside but I took one before I knew this (swear!)
We had a final Venetian meal of pasta and pizza, and I can honestly say it was the best pasta I’ve had in my entire life. Italy would not do well on the Atkins diet.
We’re currently in a car driving from Venice to Zagreb, Croatia where we’re meeting up with a Flashpack tour group for adventure travels throughout the country. It appears to be raining (okay, it IS raining) but we’re trying to be positive this will clear up as soon as we arrive. Nothing like wishful thinking!
P.S. this was actually written yesterday so I’m a day behind. Stay tuned for a Croatia post…