Buongiorno! I have finally returned from my 8 day trip to Florence and Venice with Katie, and I have a lot to share. Here are the chronological highlights in pictures in captions - Enjoy! :
Feb 8. - Travel to Florence - Day 1
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| We took Ryan Air from London Stansted Airport to Pisa Airport bright and early at 8:20am. In order to get to Stansted, we got on a bus from London Liverpool Street at 5:30am. Hey at least its all cheap! | |
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| I'm embarrassed to say it, but I put Katie through hell right up until we got on the flight. First, I overslept (something I never do, ever), unconsciously turning off my alarm, and waking to Katie pounding on my window to wake me up at 4:30am and miss our 4:36am bus to Liverpool Street. We were forced to get a cab (which I apologetically paid for) to make it to Liverpool Street on time for our 5:30am Terravision bus to Stansted. Later, at the airport, just as we are about to get on the plane, I realize that I somehow lost my boarding pass (again, something I never do, ever) between security and the gate. Luckily, since I checked in with it in hand, Ryan Air was able to provide me a make shift one from a printer that had to be at least 50 years old for free. Even though we made it to our plane on time and with everything we needed, I certainly made it much more stressful than necessary, prompting this lovely look from Katie (almost certain she wanted to kill me). Fortunately, the rest of the trip went smoothly. | |
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| Terravision transported Katie and I from Liverpool Street to Stansted, Pisa to Florence, and Stansted back to Liverpool Street. An awesome company that was quite inexpensive. | |
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| This was what was supposed to be our hostel, Locanda Rocco, but they overbooked. Luckily, they sent us across the street to another hostel, Hotel Toscana for no extra fee. Hotel Toscana ended up being an awesome experience, primarily due to the friendly and welcoming owners Leonardo and his wife, Monica. |
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| Gelato! |
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| In front of the Duomo |
Katie and I spent the rest of the evening walking around, taking pictures, eating gelato and getting our bearings in the city. We met one of my good friends, Chris DiNardo, who is studying in Florence this semester with NYU for dinner at nice place across the river. Despite the rocky start, the day ended quite nicely - it's always good to be in Italy!
Feb 9. - Florence - Day 2
The next day, Katie and I woke up and got breakfast at Cafe Megara, a nice spot nearby. We frequently stopped in Cafes everywhere in Florence and Venice, since its nearly impossible to have a bad coffee or panini in Italy:
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| Caffe Latte! |
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| Panini! |
We met up with Chris again for some sightseeing: First the Duomo (which we actually climbed to the top of), and then Santa Croce:
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| Entrance to the Duomo! |
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| Inside the Duomo! |
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| View of Florence from the top of the Duomo! |
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| It took forever to climb all 463 steps, but it was worth it! |
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| What a view! |
Climbing to the top of the Duomo was one of the most memorable experiences of this trip, as Chris, Katie, and I had to scale all 463 steps through narrow passageways. When we finally got there, thought, it was truly breathtaking. After spending much time on top the Duomo, we made our way down and over to Santa Croce:
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| Santa Croce! |
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| The tomb of Michelangelo |
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| The tomb of Dante Aligheri |
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| The tomb of Niccolo Machiavelli |
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| Beautiful artwork inside Santa Croce | |
Santa Croce is a sort of
hall-of-fame of dead Italians, and is also a beautiful church in its own right. We spent a lot of time walking around in there and admiring the architecture and artwork inside the church. After parting ways with Chris, Katie and I went out to eat later at
L'Osteria di Giovanni for an excellent meal - I had one of the best veal chops I've ever had accompanied by numerous "free" (since there is a cover charge) sides. I could definitely get used to this...
Feb 10. - Florence - Day 3
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| Katie and I started our day of in the Oltrarno (literally - "the other side of the Arno") markets, which are like big artsy garage sales. It was a lot of fun to see some of stuff that people had on sale. |
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| We ate at Gusta Pizza for lunch, which is supposedly the best in Florence. I thought it was excellent! |
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| We walked around Palazzo Pitti, which is an old Renaissance palace. However, the highlight of our day (but not our night, as I will later explain) was definitely the amazing views from Piazza di Michelangelo, a hike up a hill near the city. I think the view speaks for itself: |
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| Ponte Vecchio! |
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| The Duomo! |
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| Santa Croce! |
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| Florence! (from the even higher up, Piazza San Mignata) |
As I was saying though, this was not the most memorable thing that occured today - that title belongs to the amazing cultural and culinary experience that was our homemade meal with our hostel owners, Leonardo and Monica. We began eating around 9pm and finished at 12am, hanging out, talking in Italian (I know a little) and English (luckily for Katie and our hostel roommate Hugh). The guest list was Leonard, Monica, another hostel worker, a couple from Naples staying next door, our Korean roommate Hugh, Katie and myself. We ate excellent spaghetti, penne with broccoli, bread, wine, coffee, fruit, and cake. We had excellent discussions regarding European and American culture in both English and Italian, which was a lot of fun for me, since I know enough Italian to have a conversation. It was a great meal and something that I will never forget.
Feb 11. - Florence - Day 4
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| This day was probably my favorite day, as it was one without a ton of sightseeing, but more fun with friends. Not that I don't like sightseeing, but its nice to have a break. We met another one of my good friends, Brendan Riley (also studying abroad in Florence with Penn State), here in Palazzo della Republica for lunch at an incredible panini place, followed by gelati dessert nearby. He had to get to class, but we caught up later that night. |
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| Katie and I walked around San Lorenzo church and the surrounds markets for a little bit, periodically ducking into coffee shops to avoid the rain. |
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| I was able to get together with my cousin Jess Jahnle (also studying in Florence with Maryland Institute College of Art) for some coffee, gelato, and hang out time. It was great to see her! |
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| Chris, Brendan, Katie (in the mirror) and me getting drinks and some light food later that night in Florence. It is awesome to have such good friends studying abroad! |
Feb 12. - Florence to Venice- Day 5
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| Katie and I checked out of our hostel (I will definitely miss Leonardo, our friendly and humorous host), and made our way to meet up with Brendan and Chris one last time. We grabbed some paninis and hung out around Santa Croce. It was awesome seeing those guys! | | |
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| Before our train to Venice, Katie, Brendan and I investigated the chocolate fair at Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, near the train station. This right here is the best cannoli I've ever had. |
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| Santa Maria Novella Train Station - waiting for our Italia Rail train to Venice! |
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| We got to Venice at night, on the last night of Carnivale, so it was extra dark. Still, the Grand Canal looks nice! |
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| Katie and I were starving, so we went to Trattoria A Le Colonete for an incredible meal. Check out these Venetian Mussels! |
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| I had veal with proscuitto and cheese. This might have been the best thing I ate on the trip. |
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| Like I said before, we arrived during the last night of Carnivale. There is a huge concert going on, but I couldn't get close because San Marco was flooded with high tide! I don't know how the concert was still happening, but it was certainly a sight - the streets flooded with people in Carnivale masks. | |
Feb 13. - Venice- Day 6
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| After waking at our hostel, Hotel Astoria, Katie and I went on a free walking tour of Venice, which was incredible and quite amazing. Katie found out about it on Trip Advisor and our tour guide, Catherine, an Australian woman living in Venice temporarily was simply incredible. Better yet - the only members of the tour were Katie and I, making for a great personal experience. Here is San Marco Square in the day time, where we met for our tour.. |
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| The big clock in San Marco Square - the bells ring at all times, waking people (like me) up who are sleeping nearby. |
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| This is an old Venetian shipyard, the naval headquarters. |
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| View from the famous Rialto bridge, which became a favorite area for Katie and me to visit. |
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| A lot of alleys in Venice look like this. Main alleys. Like, alleys you would use to travel on foot reguarly. It is definitely jarring at first, but then becomes quite fun and adventurous. |
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| Nothing like some pizza after wandering around Venice! |
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| Me in front of San Marco church. Almost everything you see behind me was stolen and used collectively to build the church. Interesting choice for a monument to God, wouldn't you say? |
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| The ceilings and walls inside San Marco are all gold. |
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| The bell tower in San Marco Square - we actually got to climb up it during our stay! |
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| After a long day of exploring (and getting lost) in Venice, Katie and I had dinner at La Caravella, a lovely Venetian restaurant. Venice really has some awesome places to dine! |
Feb 14. - Venice- Day 7
Happy Valentine's Day! (and 17th birthday to my sister, Bridget!). Today
was easily the most memorable Valentine's Day of my life (and hopefully Katie's too) and probably
will be for quite sometime:
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| We began our day by visiting Palazzo Ducale, the old government building of ancient Venice. Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take pictures inside the palace, but it's pretty awesome. |
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| The palace is connected to the prison via the Bridge of Sighs (named that way because prisoners would sigh as they saw Venice for the final time after leaving the courts in the palace). It kind of looks like our hostels! |
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| View from inside the Bridge of Sighs....**sigh** |
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| This actually is the Bridge of Sighs, and the building it is connecting to is the prison (I am right next to the palace taking the picture). |
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| Awesome steps in Palazzo Ducale. |
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| The next part of our Valentine's Day was a trip around Venice in - what else - a gondola! I think Katie really loved it! (Who couldn't?) |
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| Venice looks amazing from these angles. |
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| Happy Valentine's Day! |
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| After our Valentine's voyage by Gondola, Katie and I went to the top of the bell tower. I think this little logo on the elevator explains a lot of the tourism in Venice.... |
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| The bell tower wasn't as cool as the Duomo, but still an amazing view! |
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| Beautiful! |
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| Later, Katie and I walked around Venice some more, enjoying the spots by the Rialto Bridge (pictured above). It's truly an amazing city! |
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| There is a cycle in Italy that I have gotten used to: Eat, walk, get hungry, eat some more. It's the best. |
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| My family and I stayed here two summers ago when we visited Venice. |
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| I love the water. |
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| For dinner, I took Katie to Bacarando ai Corazzieri (a good local place according to our free tour guide Catherine). There was live jazz music being played behind me. We had a lot of fun. |
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| My lovely Valentine. |
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| Great Ravioli |
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| On the way back from the restaurant, Katie and I stopped by the Bridge of Sighs and enjoyed the night air. The Bridge of Sighs looks quite eery at night. What an amazing day! |
Feb 15. - Venice (Murano and Burano) - Day 8
Today was one of my favorite days of the entire trip and a great way to spend our last full day in Italy. Katie and I went island hopping from Venice to Murano (home of glass-making) and Burano (home of colorful houses). It was an amazing day:
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| We woke up extra early (daylight is crucial in Venice, as the city has little night life) to board a Vaporetto (waterbus) to Murano, the glass-making headquarters of Venezia. |
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| Murano is a pretty quiet island. It is made up of multiple glass factories where glass masters work hard until about 12pm and then maybe do a little finishing up in the afternoon, relaxing the rest of the day. Not a bad life! |
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| We went to a glass factory, Gino Mazzuccato, and watched this glass master give a demonstration. He made a vase and horse, both is about 2 minutes.. The horse was my favorite. |
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| The glass gets hot enough to basically become putty for the master to mold and sculpt. This is the horse taking shape. |
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| Here is the finished product. As you can tell from the center, it is still cooling down. |
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| Murano is beautiful. Side note: We ate a brunch in a local panini spot that had a ton of old men playing cards. It was pretty cool (and inexpensive!). I even overheard these old men saying that Katie and I were a lovely couple (it pays to know a native language, at least a little bit). |
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| All glass. Murano is cool. |
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| All glass. Murano is hot. However, I think I liked Burano even better... |
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| This is Burano, an island about an hour away from Venice by vaporetto. All of the houses are alternating vibrant colors, making for an amazing place to walk around and visit. |
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| Even better is eating outside, enjoying the scenery and good weather with some of the finest Venetian seafood there is - Mussels! (I love mussels, by the way, if you couldn't tell yet). |
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| What a cool place. |
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| I love these houses. |
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| Katie found her house, I think. |
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| After getting lost a little bit on the way back from Burano (the vaporetto schedule doesn't always follow what is listed, unfortunately), we still had some time left on our 12 hour vaporetto pass, so we decided to take it on a trip down the Grand Canal at night. |
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| Rialto Bridge is one of my favorite places in Venice. Just look at it! |
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| Santa Maria della Salute looks great at night too! | |
Feb 16. - Venice to London - Day 9
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Our last day in Venice (and Italy) has arrived:
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| Katie and I got up early, checked out of our hostel, and went to the Rialto markets, which have all kinds of local foods - fruits, produce, meats, fish, and more. It's a very interesting place. |
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| A final look at San Marco Square, as Katie enjoys her gelato. |
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| We stumbled upon an Antonio Vivaldi exhibit in a local Venetian church on our way to the train station. This really struck a chord (excuse the pun) with Katie, who is a premier violinist and personally enjoys playing Vivaldi's music a lot. |
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| Katie loved this church's exhibit! |
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| The old wooden Academia bridge. Not as cool as Rialto in my opinion, but still great. |
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| We decided to do it up big for our final meal in Venice: lunch by the Adriatic! |
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| I'm not sure if you knew this, but I love pizza. |
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| The bridge "back to reality" as we joking referred to it as - it brings you back to the bus station and the first sight of cars in a few days. |
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| Venice was incredible! | |
Final Thoughts
This was one of the best trips of my life. I had been to Italy before (twice actually) but both times were structured and layed out for me - which, don't get me wrong, is a great way to see a place you've never been to before. However, this may have been my favorite visit yet, as anything Katie and I could find out about we decided to do and throughly enjoyed every aspect from planning to execution of those plans. I couldn't think of a better place to spend Valentine's Day than in Venice with my beautiful and incredible girlfriend Katie - this whole trip is something I'm sure we both will never forget. From seeing friends and family in Florence, making conversation with locals, and eating excellent food every night it was truly an amazing time... I can't wait to go back someday. I've been lucky enough to have been to Italy three times now, and I owe a great thanks to both of my parents for allowing me and helping me out financially to do such great things like this trip. THANKS MOM AND DAD! I LOVE YOU GUYS!
Now I'm back in London and will be continuing with my usual blogging habits. Thanks for reading this super-long log of my Italian travels. I can't wait to figure out where I'm going next!
Til then - Cheers!
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