I'm a few days behind, but I'll try to fill in the gaps....
Day 6-
Our last full day in Venezia.....Luckily, despite the weather forecast calling for rain the entire time we were in Venice, we were blessed with fairly clear skies! It was obviously cold and a bit overcast, but nevertheless we counted our blessings for no rain and especially no more sickness!
We started our day with visiting the Palazzo Ducale di Venezia, the Doge's Palace, constructed in early 1300. For those that don’t know the Doge was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Not only was this a palace, but it was also a prison for a period of time and was graced with the presence of none other than, Giacomo Casanova (who apparently escaped through the roof, re-entered the palace and was let out). Great addition to the prison, wouldn’t you say? LOL. During our tour of the palace, not only did we get to see the rooms and council halls where members of the government met, but we also had the chance to tour the prison cells. It was intriguing to see the vast difference (obviously) between the extremely luxurious and lavish living and social quarters of the elite inside the palace and the bitter desolation and ghastly conditions of the cells below. We were bundled up in coats and other winter attire and we still froze as we explored the prison cells….I can’t imagine how it was for those prisoners that made their beds down there!
After touring the Palazzo Ducale, we decided to spend the rest of our day shopping and walking the streets of Venice. We didn’t really get much accomplished when it came to shopping, but we did manage to try some delicious desserts and pastries as we simply spent time relaxing, sipping cappuccinos. It was wonderful!
Day 7-
We woke up early, packed our bags and headed for Verona. I know many feel a trip to Verona is senseless, seeing as the even existence of Romeo and Juliet is debatable, however….this hopeless romantic couldn’t resist at least seeing the place with which one of my favorite movies is based upon. So we hopped on the train, left our bags at the baggage deposit in the train station and maneuvered our way down to the Casa di Giulietta (House of Juliet). If nothing else, I saw the house for which Shakespeare’s inspiration stemmed from and the filming location for several movies. Touring the Capulet house was definitely interesting, at least for me. I guess I imagined a more grand residence, especially considering the way it is depicted in the movies, and yet in its own way, it was still beautiful! Maybe it was the romanticism behind the old walls, I don’t know…but I enjoyed it! We also saw La Tomba di Giulietta (the tomb of Juliet), which was both interesting and a little creepy. I guess I’m just not accustomed to seeing death from that side, but the care they took in burying their loved ones was touching.
After seeing some of Verona, we got on our train to Firenze. Unfortunately, our train from Verona was running about a half hour late, which in turn made us late for our connecting train in Bologna. Luckily during this time, we met a kind older Italian lady, from Tennessee, but whose parents were from Italy. Apparently, her family has a villa in Sicily and after talking with her for close to 2 ½ hours, she actually gave us her card and invited us to stay at her family’s villa any time we wanted to. So we actually got a nice surprise out of the whole ordeal! After finally being put on a train in Bologna to Firenze, we arrived in Firenze and checked in to our hotel. I will say, we’ve been blessed to stay at some nice hotels and this one was nice as well…..but odd. There is a bidet (or at least I think it was a bidet….mikey thinks otherwise) and a shower and sink in the room with you, with carpeted floors! Odd yea? Anyways, after such a long day, we ate dinner and called it a night.
Day 8-
We woke up early and headed to Pisa…debating whether or not it was worth the time and money, we decided the leaning tower would be a sight we’d hate to miss, even if we were disappointed. Fortunately, we weren’t! I thought it was fascinating to see this world famous faux-paw! Plus the design and architecture of the building is magnificent! Sadly, the majority of the places we’ve visited have been under some sort of reconstruction or repair so there have been scaffolding and various construction platforms around them, but it was still great to see! After walking around taking pictures of the leaning tower, the church and the original city walls and gates to Pisa, we came back to Firenze.
Once back in Firenze, we shopped a bit and found a charming little ristorante with lovely outside seating, called Za Za. Man, was I happy to find this place! It was probably the best food I’ve had since we arrived in Italy! In fact, it was so good I bought their cookbook and Mikey had the cook sign it for me! So now I’ll get the chance to attempt to make these yummy Italian dishes at home!
Day 6-
Our last full day in Venezia.....Luckily, despite the weather forecast calling for rain the entire time we were in Venice, we were blessed with fairly clear skies! It was obviously cold and a bit overcast, but nevertheless we counted our blessings for no rain and especially no more sickness!
We started our day with visiting the Palazzo Ducale di Venezia, the Doge's Palace, constructed in early 1300. For those that don’t know the Doge was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Not only was this a palace, but it was also a prison for a period of time and was graced with the presence of none other than, Giacomo Casanova (who apparently escaped through the roof, re-entered the palace and was let out). Great addition to the prison, wouldn’t you say? LOL. During our tour of the palace, not only did we get to see the rooms and council halls where members of the government met, but we also had the chance to tour the prison cells. It was intriguing to see the vast difference (obviously) between the extremely luxurious and lavish living and social quarters of the elite inside the palace and the bitter desolation and ghastly conditions of the cells below. We were bundled up in coats and other winter attire and we still froze as we explored the prison cells….I can’t imagine how it was for those prisoners that made their beds down there!
After touring the Palazzo Ducale, we decided to spend the rest of our day shopping and walking the streets of Venice. We didn’t really get much accomplished when it came to shopping, but we did manage to try some delicious desserts and pastries as we simply spent time relaxing, sipping cappuccinos. It was wonderful!
Day 7-
We woke up early, packed our bags and headed for Verona. I know many feel a trip to Verona is senseless, seeing as the even existence of Romeo and Juliet is debatable, however….this hopeless romantic couldn’t resist at least seeing the place with which one of my favorite movies is based upon. So we hopped on the train, left our bags at the baggage deposit in the train station and maneuvered our way down to the Casa di Giulietta (House of Juliet). If nothing else, I saw the house for which Shakespeare’s inspiration stemmed from and the filming location for several movies. Touring the Capulet house was definitely interesting, at least for me. I guess I imagined a more grand residence, especially considering the way it is depicted in the movies, and yet in its own way, it was still beautiful! Maybe it was the romanticism behind the old walls, I don’t know…but I enjoyed it! We also saw La Tomba di Giulietta (the tomb of Juliet), which was both interesting and a little creepy. I guess I’m just not accustomed to seeing death from that side, but the care they took in burying their loved ones was touching.
After seeing some of Verona, we got on our train to Firenze. Unfortunately, our train from Verona was running about a half hour late, which in turn made us late for our connecting train in Bologna. Luckily during this time, we met a kind older Italian lady, from Tennessee, but whose parents were from Italy. Apparently, her family has a villa in Sicily and after talking with her for close to 2 ½ hours, she actually gave us her card and invited us to stay at her family’s villa any time we wanted to. So we actually got a nice surprise out of the whole ordeal! After finally being put on a train in Bologna to Firenze, we arrived in Firenze and checked in to our hotel. I will say, we’ve been blessed to stay at some nice hotels and this one was nice as well…..but odd. There is a bidet (or at least I think it was a bidet….mikey thinks otherwise) and a shower and sink in the room with you, with carpeted floors! Odd yea? Anyways, after such a long day, we ate dinner and called it a night.
Day 8-
We woke up early and headed to Pisa…debating whether or not it was worth the time and money, we decided the leaning tower would be a sight we’d hate to miss, even if we were disappointed. Fortunately, we weren’t! I thought it was fascinating to see this world famous faux-paw! Plus the design and architecture of the building is magnificent! Sadly, the majority of the places we’ve visited have been under some sort of reconstruction or repair so there have been scaffolding and various construction platforms around them, but it was still great to see! After walking around taking pictures of the leaning tower, the church and the original city walls and gates to Pisa, we came back to Firenze.
Once back in Firenze, we shopped a bit and found a charming little ristorante with lovely outside seating, called Za Za. Man, was I happy to find this place! It was probably the best food I’ve had since we arrived in Italy! In fact, it was so good I bought their cookbook and Mikey had the cook sign it for me! So now I’ll get the chance to attempt to make these yummy Italian dishes at home!
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