from Verona to Venice

With three weeks left, Aff and I have become tourist machines. In the last month we have taken in Lucca ( a beautiful little Tuscan town, near Pisa), the Vale d'Aosta (Italian alpine country, up in the North West corner), and we have just returned from a 4 day trip that took in Verona and Venice. Trying to keep up with all this on the blog has been quite simply impossible. So, for the moment at least, I pick and choose.

Our trip to Venice was quite deliberately timed to be one of our last hoorahs in the North of Italy before we head south, and home. With Terry flying in from London, this was also the last chance to see my best mate before heading back home. The trip was an absolute highlight of my time here.

Verona was beautifully tranquil, although not without it's fair share of tourists. Verona's two biggest claims to fame are it's famous Roman ampitheatre (the Arena), which plays host to a much anticipated out door Opera season every year, and Shakespear's choice of Verona as the city in which Romeo and Juliet was set. I'm sure it has plenty of other claims to fame as well, but for the travel weary (which I must admit, I am a little), much of these details get missed.

And then Venice. Nothing I can say can do it justice. The photos are coming, I assure you. It is quite simply stunning. You pay for it of course, particularly if you stay on the Island as we did. Even so, to have had three uninterrupted days of playing in this maze of canals and lane ways felt like a luxury worth paying for. Don't believe anyone who suggests you can do Venice in a day. Two days at least!

Venice is like a medievil playground. You just wander around, get lost, eat, drink wine, and take a sh%@ load of photos while you're at it. Sure, you can do the whole Gondala thing, if you have 70 euro to burn, but just watching these boys do their stuff from the side lines is impressive, and satisfying enough (though I must admit, I was a little tempted).

And on top of all this, the company. Venice is best enjoyed with your partner, or good friends. I therefore had the best of both world's, with my wife, and my best mate to play with. It was a great trip, and a fanastic way to start the count down to our final three weeks here in Italy.