VENICE

Our last stop - Venice.  We stayed in the Dorsoduro section and it was perfect.  Our apartment was on the corner of two canals and we even had a private patio where we could sit and watch the boats go by.  It was close to the Grand Canal and San Marco Square but was quiet and out of the crush of tourists that are always in Venice.

We hooked back up with the Livermore Glascos and were happy that we were going to be able to experience Venice with them.

 Venice is known for its seafood and we were more than ready to partake.  Connor, our most adventuresome eater, tried the cuttlefish in ink with polenta while Hayden opted for the tuna.  Madelyn was happy with the calamari and added a few grilled veggies to round out the meal.

All in all, excellent choices and the plates were clean at the end of dinner.

We spent our first day just meandering around.  This is a really easy city in which to get lost.  Not only do the maps make no sense - there are no real addresses!  However, between Madelyn and Hayden we were golden.  They always knew exactly where we were and could get us back to our apartment with no wrong turns.  I was very impressed . . . and thankful!

It did rain our first day but it didn't stop us from exploring.  The Livermore Glascos just nosed around looking at all the shops while Madelyn and we toured the Doge's Palace.

We crossed the Accademia Bridge many times during our stay and enjoyed all of the locks that have been placed on it by lovers.  It is literally covered with them.

We did all the "tourist" things.  



A gondola ride . . . . 
















a day at the beach on Lido Island. . . . 
















 with a water taxi ride back to our place.

We also went to a Vivaldi concert.  As Vivaldi was born in Venice and wrote most of his music here it was appropriate that our last night in town was spent listening to his fantastic Four Seasons.  It was a great way to finish off a wonderful time in Venice.

But all good things come to an end and so we must put everyone on a plane for home and bid our final arrivederci to them.  It was a great two weeks and we loved having everyone here.  They're now back in the states and we are off to Budapest.

Caio!

FLORENCE

Florence - a city like no other.  Unlike Rome, which is quite spread out, Florence is very intimate with a small town feel.  It is easy to walk the whole of the city with no need for public transportation.  One of the aspects we particularly enjoyed were the many fruit and vegetable markets.  Some of the best fruit we've had on the whole trip.

This one was right around the corner from the "Italy by Segway" Tours.






The Livermore Glascos had taken a segway tour in Rome and thought it was fantastic so we all put our helmets on and went off to explore Florence.  Not only was it a great way to get an overview of the city but we ended up being one of the sights for all the other tourists!  We turned a lot of heads.











The architecture in this part of Italy is, in my mind, some of the most beautiful I've ever seen.  The facades of most of the churches and major buildings, including the Duomo and Clocktower here in Florence, are covered with white, pink and green marble.  The result is stunning.











But there's more to Florence than the religious buildings.  Here are the grandkids in front of the famous Ponte Vecchio.  This is the only bridge in Florence that wasn't blown up by the Germans in WWII.  





It is thought that Hitler fell in love with it when visiting Florence and instructed the troops to spare it when blowing up all the other bridges to hold back the allied troops.  It has a long history and connects the Uffizi with the Pitti Palace on the other side of the Arno.  It used to house butchers but the Medici didn't want to have to deal with the smell when traveling between their two palaces so they kicked the butchers out and installed jewelers who still sell their wares today, 1,000 years after it was first constructed.


 And, speaking of the Uffizi, here is a shot of one of the famous corridors in the Uffizi.  As you can see, we again beat the crowds as we were there very early with our guide, Cindy.  The ceiling of this corridor not only depicts all the artists, philosophers, scientists, writers, etc, etc of the time but along the top of the walls are paintings - a "Who's Who" of the leaders of the world in the 15th Century.  And, they've been hanging in the same spot since the 15th Century!  Quite mind boggling.

The Uffizi is truly unique in the world of art museums as it tells the history of art through the ages.  

After the Uffizi we went to see The David at the Accademie.  It was a great way to end our fabulous tour of the museum and our day with Cindy.





 That evening we hopped over to the other side of the Arno to take in the Basilica di San Miniato.  Cindy told us that at 5:00 in the evening the monks sing Gregorian Chants during Vespers.  We couldn't miss that!  









The church itself was a jewel - again that white, pink and green marble inside and out.



Unfortunately for us, it was Saturday night and instead of Vespers we heard the start of Mass.  Beautiful but not quite what we had come to hear.

But between the beautiful architecture and the stunning view over the Arno to the main part of Florence we couldn't complain.

The Livermore Glascos had taken off for a few days in Switzerland where they crawled around in ice caves and did some paragliding off the mountains so it was just Madelyn and us for the remainder of our time in Florence.

We spent our last two days taking a couple of day trips.  First to Siena with its famous "square" (really a half circle).  They were getting ready for the annual horse race that takes place in the Square.  We thankfully missed it by a week but were able to see all the preparations that had been done.

We thoroughly enjoyed just meandering around town taking it all in.



And, yes, there was more of that white, pink and green marble as you can see on the picture of the church below.

Our last day in Tuscany we drove to San Gimignano and along the way I finally got a picture of the smiling sun flowers.  We had been driving through these brightly colored, happy fields ever since entering Italy but I was never able to get my camera out in time.  Finally, I got a great picture.  Don't they just make you smile?

And then we arrived in San Gimignano, one of our favorite old walled cities.  Here Madelyn and I are about ready to walk through the main archway into the town.

It's known as the city of towers because it was one of the centers for cloth dying and they used the towers to hang the long pieces of cloth to dry.


As you can see, there's quite a view from the top of them.

The best part of visiting San Gimignano, though, was not the quaintness of the town nor the imposing towers.  It was the gelato.  Dale and I were here on our last trip to Italy and, though we've had some terrific gelato all over Italy, none compares to that from San Gimignano.  

It was so good that Madelyn had to go back for seconds!











On the way home we stopped in another walled city, Certaldo, and found it to be the home of Boccaccio, author of Il Decamerone.  We had to take a funicular up to the town and it was a pleasant little surprise - very few tourists and charming.



Our last night in town we had a great dinner at a neighborhood restaurant and took one final walk though town to say arrivederci to this great city.  And, I am going to close this post with one of our last sights of Florence - the carousel in the Piazza della Repubblica.  

Next stop - Venice!

ROME

 We have said "cheerio" to the British Isles and are now heading to Rome.  On our way we had to cross (or more accurately go under) Mont Blanc.  Although it took over an hour sitting in a queue to get through the tunnel, it was a beautiful drive.  Here you can see the glacier in all its glory.

And, speaking of tunnels, we realized we were once again in Italy when we were met with tunnel after tunnel.  These Italians are quite the engineers.  If we weren't going through tunnels for the most part we were going over bridges.  Sure makes for some interesting driving!



After three days of driving through France and Italy we made it to Rome and had a day to get settled before the first contingency of family arrived.  Here are Jeff, Denise, Connor and Hayden (aka The Livermore Glascos) right after picking them up at the airport. 

Troupers that they were, after dropping the luggage in their apartment, off we went exploring.  

Our apartments were only a short distance to the Vatican so that was our first stop.  Talk about timing.  Just as we arrived at St. Peter's Square who should be addressing the crowd but the Pope himself!  Yes, that little white dot in the window is none other than the Pope.  

Not bad, huh?

As we had tours set up to see the Vatican and Ancient Rome the following days, we decided to get an overview by taking the Hop On Hop Off bus.  It was great particularly since it was unbelievably hot!







The combination of no sleep, jet lag and a really great dinner finally caught up though and it was time to call it a day.













The next morning, while the Livermore contingency slept in, Dale and I headed back to the airport to pick up the last of the family to arrive - our granddaughter, Madelyn.


 Again, it was drop the luggage in the apartment and set out to see the sights.  





We covered a lot of ground.  In addition to cruising around on the Hop On Hop Off bus we took in the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Jewish Quarter and Piazza Navona.

After a bit of a rest in the late afternoon ,we met up with the Livermore Glascos for dinner near Piazza Navona.  It was a magical night.  Not only was the food spectacular but the scenery was amazing.  We sat outside and this was our view while chowing down on some of the best pasta ever!

And, to top it all off, we sauntered around the corner to the Piazza Navona for some tartuffo.  This dessert should be called death by chocolate - it's a ball of incredibly dark, rich chocolate ice cream covered in incredibly dark, rich chocolate.  Oh so good but we were all in sugar comas afterward.

Our next day started with a tour of the Vatican.  We were in excellent hands with our very knowledgeable guide, Cinzia.  We started early in the morning before the crowds and the heat of the day (we were dealing with 100+ temps - not fun) and were able to see the museum,











St. Paul's Cathedral


















and, of course, the Sistine Chapel.







Then it was time for lunch and Cinzia suggested a restaurant not far from the Vatican where we not only had divine gnocchi but ran into some friends, Butch and Gail Winslow, who were also vacationing with family in Rome.  Talk about a small world!

One more day in Rome and we spent it again with Cinzia touring the Ancient City.  As you can see by the umbrellas we were again dealing with sweltering heat so we got a very early start.  

The added bonus to that early start was the crowds hadn't hit yet so we got to take it all in without the mad rush of other tourists.  It's hard to believe that these structures, over 2,000 years old, are not only still standing but exist in the middle of a very vibrant city!

Our afternoon was spent touring Le Domas Romane at the Palazzo Valentini.  If you have plans on visiting Rome I strongly recommend this place.  I happened upon this site while searching for something to do inside during the heat of the afternoon.  While I don't have any pictures, trust me when I say it was one of the highlights of Rome not only for the adults but for the kids as well.

But our time in Rome is now over and we are off to Florence.  On our way we stopped in Assisi to see the wonderful frescoes in St. Francis of Assisi's church done by Giotto.  

We also enjoyed just roaming around the very quaint walled city.

So, as they say in Italy . . . . arrivederci, caio.  See you in Florence!