Europe 2023

After a light brekkie - we head into the hills. Our first stop is Perugia - the capital town of Umbria (with a population in excess of 160,000 - it's a big place)! At 8:30am the traffic  through the main business district is heavy. Once we get up into the "centro storico" - it's quiet (too early for the tourists). A view across the main square Another magnificent cathedral, & no matter how many there are, every one has a different look & feel.  And more magnificent views from the top of the town over the valley below. After a coffee stop, we leave Perugia and head back into Tuscany on our way to Cortona - made famous by Frances Mayes in her book "Under The Tuscan Sun" later made into a movie starring Diane Lane and Sandra Oh. Nowhere is on the level in this delightful Etruscan hilltop town! The view from our lunchtime table (in Ristorante Tonino) is so incredibly good! And the food here (Brenda's dish of breadcrumbed anchovies and deep fried praw...

We make an early start as we are driving a lot today. Our next Airbnb is a large rural farmhouse a few miles out of Acquapendente - a medieval town which borders the regions of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio. We have ten full days here and we plan to mix them up some. Seven days of chillaxing by the pool interspersed with 3 very hectic days touring some of the great hilltop towns these regions are known for. Our drive to Acquapendente today will have us detouring through the towns of San Gimignano, Siena, and a new town for me, Montalcino (which produces great red wine, and is why I added it to the list)! San Gimignano - known for its 14 towers (7 of them tall enough to be seen from the valley below) Sam Gimignano is a world heritage site - and is only this free of tourists if you get there before 9am! With stunning views over the valley below Following breakfast in San Gimignano, it's time to head off to Siena. After parking the car, we are treated to a ride on six consecutive escalato...

We have had three great weather and fun filled days here in Florence. And now it's time to move on. Our last day was a busy one. It started early before the heat of the day settled in. We crossed the river and walked up to the Boboli Gardens. On a steep hillside, the gardens command impressive views over Florence.  Originally designed for the Medici this historic park, which sits directly behind the Pitti Palace, was opened to the public in 1766. Looking back down the gardens to the rear of the Pitti Palace A view from the top end of the gardens At 9am in the morning the sun is not too hot to make the steep climbs required to properly view the gardens. After an hour or so though, it's time to seek some shade. For Brenda, that means another bookshop! For me, I will wait it out with something cold in a nearby bar. Then it's time to wander the narrow alleys and browse the market stores as we amble our way back to the center of the city. We eventually end up in the Piazza del D...

We wake up early to another fine day. We are out the door by 8:000am and we grab a quick capuccino and apricot filled croissant on our way to the Uffizi gallery. The queue to get in looks like a mile long already. But I anticipated that and got those "skip the queue" tickets back when I first planned this trip. So off to our special entrance to the gallery - let the culture begin! I could show you over 200 pics that I took - but don't worry, I won't. Just a few select ones.... My favourite painting - Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" circa 1485. Classic Italian Renaissance art. Sculpture by Baccio Bandinelli of Laocoon and his sons wrapped in the coils of Poseidon's sea serpent. Painted on a shield by Caravaggio circa 1598. The Head of Medusa (depicting the point she knows it has been severed from her body). "Adoration of the Child" by Gherardo delle Notti - circa 1620 This last picture above is not a work that I am familiar with. But I ...

We are welcomed to Florence by a significant increase in temperature and a significant increase in traffic (not so many cars in Venice!). It is so nice to be back in the city of the Medici's. To get here, we drove down the A13 to Bologna - about 150 klms. The autostradas put our kiwi roads to shame. Great tar seal and no pot holes - though it can be a bit frightening to see traffic zooming past you at 150 kph (the speed limit is 130kph but no self-respecting Italian sticks to that)!  At Bologna we stopped for a look around the city and a spot of lunch. The Piazza Maggiore is the man square in central Bologna The Basilica di San Francesco (circa 1263) is the most imposing building in the Piazza The inside of the Basilica is truly stunning Our eating philosophy while we are touring Italy is to dine out at lunchtime, enjoying just a small "primi piatti" (entree size) dish. Then we will self cater f or our evening meals when we get back to the Airbnb. For the self catering - ...

Our last full day in Venice, so a must-do was a self-guided tour of St Marks Basilica. The original building of this church started in 829 and took seven years to complete. However, it was completely rebuilt in 1063 - the rebuild taking 31 years to complete. The central dome (or cupola) is a staggering 43 metres high - that's like a 14 storey office block! Here are some pics: Looking aloft in the Basilic to view some of the many beautiful cupolas that dominate this building. A view down the central nave All of the stunning artwork is formed using very small mosaic pieces covered in glass to reflect light OK, that/s the culture bit done - time to eat. Being our last day, we thought we would eat out at night. We chose a nice restaurant that fronted the lagoon. Spaghetti Carbonara for Brenda and Tagliatelle with scallops and zucchini for me. Then a late night stroll back through the square one last time to our Airbnb. All the restaurants now closed up for the night At high tide the sq...

Our weather here in Venice has been very "italian" - a little temperamental and unpredictable. All four seasons in one day. We have dodged a few showers - but it hasn't stopped us doing what we planned to do. This morning the sun is shining and the locals (and us) have smiles on our faces. Yesterday we took the boat out to the island of Murano. We walked both sides of the island's central canal past dozens of shops loaded with all sorts of goodies - but mostly the handcrafted glassware that Murano is famous for. I rather liked a full-sized solid glass violin mounted on a light base to illuminate the glass. But at 48,000 euros I decided to pass it by! Here are some of the pics we took: View down the central canal on Murano Glass in all directions Brenda enjoying the view from our canal-side table while waiting for the food Our chef - surveying his outside clientele! What a character! His food was "molto bene" (Penne Amatriciana for Brenda & Sea bass Ravio...