May 2018

Venice

Due to the sweet, sweet combination of jet lag, daylight, cold air, boats on the canal, and excitement, we woke up around 0600. The original apartment we booked was under construction so our host had us stay in another apartment overlooking the Grand Canal.

Here’s a virtual tour of the Grand Canal from Venezia Autentica:

Before we left for the trip, Amanda and I discussed how we were going to pack, and instead of luggage, we both brought 60L backpacks in order to avoid dragging roller bags. Thus, we began the day with our first of many repacks. ( I use this bag from WANDRD). Our host allowed us to leave our luggage at the apartment during the day and we wanted to be able to just grab them on our way back to the train. I recommend clearing this with your hotel/Airbnb before in order to avoid extra charges. We ate protein bars for breakfast, slathered on the sunscreen, and set off to roam the streets of Venice before our first tour of the trip.

It is very easy to get lost in Venice because it’s made up of 121 islands weaved with a combination of bridges, winding, narrow streets, and dead ends. While beautiful, the water is filthy and the smell leaves a lot to be desired. We made our way to St. Mark’s Square stopping at the Rialto Bridge and at several other squares in between. Thanks to offline google maps and the Grand Canal, we were able to make it to the square by 0820. We had booked a tour of the Doge’s Palace through Avventure Bellissime for 0900 and needed to check in early.

Jetlag was on our side because when we arrived at the square it was practically empty. There were a few people roaming about near the square, but nothing compared to the shoulder to shoulder people we witnessed after exiting the Palace about two and a half hours later.

Doge’s Palace

The Doge’s Palace was built as the home of the Doge or Duke of Venice but has been a museum since 1923. Although it was built as the home of the Doge, the palace also housed administrative offices and the political institutions of Venice. It is connected to the prison by the Bridge of Sighs. This tour allowed us to walk across the Bridge of Sighs in the same was the prisoners would have on their way to jail. It is said that the bridge got its name from the sighs of prisoners as they caught their last glimpses of Venice on the walk from sentencing at the Palace to their cells.

After the Doge’s Palace, we set off on a walking tour of Venice. This included the inside of Basilica San Marco (luckily it was not closed due to flooding), several of the famous squares of Venice all the way up to Cannaregio (near our Airbnb), and ended at the Rialto Bridge. Luckily, we had stopped earlier because the area was so crowded.

We raced back to our Airbnb, grabbed our bags, a snack and some water, and made the mile trek back to the train station. It was only 1430 and we had already walked about 16, 000 steps. We were able to catch the 1435 train and made it back to Florence by 1630. Please note: we have yet to eat any Italian food. *facepalm* It is hard to eat when you’re on the move.

Meeting the EF group

After arriving in Florence, and again using offline maps (this is a lifesaver…use this if you ever travel anywhere) we made our way to our first hotel, Hotel Palazzo Ricasoli. Another mile. Check. Amanda and I checked into our hotel, met the first member of our group (the rooms were booked in triples), showered and waited until orientation at 1800. The shower was made of glass doors surrounding a small dip in the floor, which I managed to flood. European fail number unknown.

After orientation we walked as a group to our welcome mixer. What started out as a “10-15 minute walk” turned into much longer and actually brought us right back to the neighborhood near the train station where we had just walked from. The mixer included wine and appetizers and was a chance to meet the other 28 members of the travel group.

Florence

After the mixer, our tour director offered to give us an informal tour so that we could orient ourselves to the area. We walked to the Duomo at the Cathedral di Santa Maria del Fiore and the Ponte Vecchio. We then stopped to get our first taste of “real” Italian gelato . . . well, the joke’s on us because we were drawn in by the towering piles of colorful gelato which are pumped up with gas and are a huge tourist trap. It was still delicious. Tip** Go to the places with small tins that fit down into the freezer. We walked back to our hotel and settled in for the night. 28,000+ steps later…we were beat. However, I think I got about three hours of sleep.

Florence walking tour

Day two started around 0930. We met in the lobby and walked as a group back to the Duomo for a guided walking tour of Florence. We saw differences in architecture during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, walked across the Ponte Vecchio during daylight hours when all the shops were open, and eventually took an old secret passage to the Uffizi Gallery, and ended up at Piazza della Signoria where we saw a replica of Michelangelo’s David (Fake David). On the tour, we saw street artists called “Madonnari” (Here is a brief history of street art from Kurt Wenner), a building with slides inside, and walked by, Il Porcellino, a boar statue which can, apparently, be seen twice in the Harry Potter films.

What I learned about European eating culture

After the tour, we stopped for pizza at a restaurant just off the square. Normally, I would recommend not eating this close to the square due to the increase in prices near tourist sites, but we were really hungry and they had shaded outside tables. This is where we first experienced European eating culture. If you sit down at a table, most places charge a small fee “pane e coperto” which includes bread. Tap water isn’t an option, but you can get still or sparkling water for 2-3 euros per bottle. Secondly, getting in and out quickly is not an option. It takes a few hours for a sit-down meal. If you’re in a hurry to go is your best bet. Lastly, the tipping culture is different in Europe. Minimum wage is much higher and tipping usually consists of a few coins, to round up to the nearest dollar, or at max 5-10%. We all brought cash and just paid our portion. Also, I still haven’t quite figured out how Europeans stay hydrated? Everyone was drinking wine and we were often given only one liter of water for five people. Yes, we carried around refillable bottles, but there weren’t many places to fill them (except in Rome). Being dehydrated did save on bathroom costs…Anyway, the food was delicious.

Free time

After lunch, we had some free time on our hands. We walked around a little more and made an attempt at seeing the real statue of David at the Galleria dell Accademia di Firenze. The line to get into the museum was about two hours long. There was a shorter wait option which included a guided tour of the museum, however, the wait was still almost an hour and doubled the entrance fee from 20 to 40 euro. A similar situation was encountered when we tried to climb the stairs at the Duomo. Check out out this site for off the beaten path towers which offer some of the best views of Florence!

We decided to continue walking around and spent the afternoon trying our bartering skills at the street market and taking in the views from La Terrazza restaurant on the top of the Rinascente Firenze store. We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for a Tuscan winery tour.

Tuscan Winery Tour

We left the hotel around 5 PM and took a bus to a wine Tuscan winery called La Tancia which specializes in amazing Chianti wine. The tour was an opportunity set up by our tour director who had met the family through agritourism. They invited us into their home, gave us a tour of their bottling operation, fed us like we were part of the family and provided plenty of wine.

We ate bread with olive oil (made?.. squeezed?..is there a special word for making oil?… EXTRACTED! at the winery), bruschetta, cured meats, pate, and homemade pasta with pesto. The meal ended with Vin Santo, an Italian dessert wine, which tasted less like the Moscato and Riesling we’re used to in America, and more like kerosene…unless you paired it with biscotti. As we were leaving, we were able to purchase bottles of wine to go which I snagged for our visit to Cinque Terre.

On the way back to the hotel, the bus driver was trying to squeeze the bus down a narrow street in downtown Florence. He was unable to do so and ended up smashing the mirror off a parked car. Without saying a word, he stepped off the bus, put a business card on the window, got back on and drove off.

On return to hotel, we walked to an ATM (Travel tip** this is the best way to get cash when traveling. Airport currency exchanges charge exorbitant fees) to replenish our euro stash. I, also, did some light laundry in the bathroom sink. I always carry this travel clothesline and detergent with me. While my backpack allowed me to carry it in order to avoid dragging it over bumpy streets, it did not allow unlimited space for clothing and I was only able to pack about a week’s worth.

Limoncello on the rooftop

A group of us went up to the terrace on top of the hotel. We stayed up late sipping limoncello and telling ridiculous stories with new friends. I finished the day off with another not-so-great night of sleep.

Warning: potentially NSFW images below.

PS. We saw these magnets at all of the tourist shops. Hilarious.

Next up, Cinque Terre.