Just like The Italian Job

Friday, June 5, 2009
We woke up and showered and then headed to the bus stop to go to Venice. We arrived early, especially in Italy standards, and found a bakery to grab some pastries from and then Caffe Ateneo so Greg could get a coffee. Let me just say this, I cannot tell you exactly where we went or what bridge we went over, all I can say is we walked ALOT. We walked over more bridges than I have ever seen in my life and through more canals than I knew could exist, and I have been to Amsterdam. We went into most shops to look at masks and other souvenirs.

A gondola in front of Pont Rialto:


We finally made it to San Marco Square and the famous San Marco's Basilica and Doge's Palace. This is the iconic Venetian spot with the large cathedral, on the waterfront, and the thousands of pigeons around. Interestingly we found out that this is the ONLY spot that you can legally feed pigeons. We didn't go in, the lines seemed massive, but the buildings were amazing. Doge's Palace is even pink. (When we made it back to London we immediately pulled up the Italian Job and it looks exactly the same as it did in the beginning of the movie)

San Marco's Basilica:

Yes, pink lamppost:

Towers in Piazza San Marco:

Piazza San Marco:

Doge's Palace:


We had been walking for hours at this point so we decided to go into Harry's Bar (they supposedly invented bellini's) but with some confusion we could not go in either because Greg was wearing shorts or because they didn't do drinks only until after 6 pm, still not sure which reason it was but either way we couldn't go in. We decided to get on a water bus instead and head to the Rialto Market, the foot market in Venice. When we finally got there they were all packing up, but it was mainly fresh fish and vegetables so wouldn't have been good for what we were wanting anyways. So, we found a place nearby and grabbed some pizzas at Trattoria Antica Torre. We also had entertainment with 2 pigeons that kept fighting.

Canals and gondola's around Venice:




We then continued walking around Venice (I really had no clue it was so big) and bought masks and souvenirs before taking a gondola ride around the city. Yes, it is very cliche and quite expensive, but it was fantastic. The gondolier was great, lots of personality and took us not only through the Grand Canal but also through a lot of the smaller canals. When we got done we did some more shopping at which time it started to rain.

On the gondola:




We ducked in and out of shops during the rain and made it to the Jewish Ghetto. The museums were closed but seeing it and the walls and memorials was really interesting. The city gathered all of the Jews up and made them all live in this one completely enclosed area during the war. There were only 2 bridges that got into the ghetto and they were guarded at all times so nobody could get in or out. It was very fascinating to learn about. We couldn't make a decision on dinner so we ended up back at Brek's before catching the bus back to the hotel. While there
we hung out and had some bellini's with some pastries we had bought before going to bed.

A lone gondolier before we left Venice:


Saturday, June 6, 2009
We left Venice for Florence after having an okay breakfast at the hotel. It was quite an experience getting to Florence. Our train was 40 minutes late by the time it got to us and then around Carmeggio it just stopped for a while. They finally made an announcement (in italian) that there were problems on the tracks between Bologna and Florence. A very nice lady on the train translated for us and let us know what they had said. What this meant was that there was only 1 track and that only 1 train could go through that area at a time, so everyone was having to wait their time. This made us an additional 2 hours later, but it was no big deal at all. We hung out on the train, playing cards, and enjoying the sandwiches that I insisted we buy before we got on the train.

When we got to Florence we picked up our rental car and set about finding our villa. It only took about 50 minutes to get to our villa in Greve in Chianti (Tuscany) from Florence. It was amazing being in this place surrounded by olive trees and grape vines. Mindrey had been getting sick so we let her rest and Greg and I went into Greve and found the grocery store to pick up supplies. Our apartment at Patrizia Faliciana was a full 2-bedroom, 1-bath apartment with a full kitchen, dining room, and living room so we wanted to utilize it. We bought groceries and came back and cooked dinner. Mindrey got up in time for caprese, bread with olive oil, spaghetti, and wine. We even got some gelato to make sure we did not miss a day without it.

Enjoying our first meal:

Around our villa: