Italy... we all know how to speak the local lingo... espresso, ferrari, pannini, piano, pizza, pasta... and that's pretty much our trip there (aside from the ferrari).
Venice is supremely beautiful place, and with not many tourists around (filthy tourists) it was a real pleasure to stroll around the various alleyways, getting lost and buying the odd thing or too.
Being January - the height of the northern winter - it was pretty cold in both Venice and Florence, which gave us plenty of opportunity to experience the cafe culture. Unlike most places in Europe, you pretty much can hazard a decent guess at what cafes and restaurants offer, although the selection is much richer than your stock standard pizza, pasta and capuccino. And of course you get the food and coffee here the way it oughta be done.
Special thanks has to go to EasyJet for leaving Fred's bag in England. EasyJet rectified the situation, alas it was too late... Fred had already hurled a few quiet superlatives before EasyJet came good. Welcome to Venice...
Florence was especially brilliant. A city of colour an culture, we spent many an hour in the Uffizi Gallery which houses some of the most spectacular Botticcelli's - The Birth of Venus and La Prima Vera (The first Spring). A shorter visit to the Galleria l'Accademia revealed the original marble statue of David, perhaps the most astonihing piece of renaissance art there is (good old Michaelangelo at work again).
Duomo, the large dome in the middle of town is a massive structure on top of an even bigger structure - the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Fiore. What a stunning piece of architecture and made from marble (did the church have money or what).
We visited the Boboli Gardens and the Pallazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace) on our last full day in Florence. We shall remember that for a while... we got engaged in the gardens overlooking the city. Oh yeah, for those who don't know, we're engaged. I know, what a bombshell to drop at the end of this diatribe.
If you've reading this, then chances are we sent you the link, so hope you enjoyed reading of our adventures and we wish you a fantastic 2008.
-Fred and Bron
Venice is supremely beautiful place, and with not many tourists around (filthy tourists) it was a real pleasure to stroll around the various alleyways, getting lost and buying the odd thing or too.
Being January - the height of the northern winter - it was pretty cold in both Venice and Florence, which gave us plenty of opportunity to experience the cafe culture. Unlike most places in Europe, you pretty much can hazard a decent guess at what cafes and restaurants offer, although the selection is much richer than your stock standard pizza, pasta and capuccino. And of course you get the food and coffee here the way it oughta be done.
Special thanks has to go to EasyJet for leaving Fred's bag in England. EasyJet rectified the situation, alas it was too late... Fred had already hurled a few quiet superlatives before EasyJet came good. Welcome to Venice...
Florence was especially brilliant. A city of colour an culture, we spent many an hour in the Uffizi Gallery which houses some of the most spectacular Botticcelli's - The Birth of Venus and La Prima Vera (The first Spring). A shorter visit to the Galleria l'Accademia revealed the original marble statue of David, perhaps the most astonihing piece of renaissance art there is (good old Michaelangelo at work again).
Duomo, the large dome in the middle of town is a massive structure on top of an even bigger structure - the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Fiore. What a stunning piece of architecture and made from marble (did the church have money or what).
We visited the Boboli Gardens and the Pallazzo Pitti (Pitti Palace) on our last full day in Florence. We shall remember that for a while... we got engaged in the gardens overlooking the city. Oh yeah, for those who don't know, we're engaged. I know, what a bombshell to drop at the end of this diatribe.
If you've reading this, then chances are we sent you the link, so hope you enjoyed reading of our adventures and we wish you a fantastic 2008.
-Fred and Bron
