Murano and Burano The next day we used the vaporetto (water bus, 20 euros for 24 hours) to go outside Venice’s historic center and go to the island of Murano. Murano is famous for glass blowing, a centuries old art form with artisans molding glass heated in furnaces. I carried on by vaporetto to the island of Burano, famous for its lace-making and its colorful buildings. Back in Venice The vaporetto took me back to San Marco square. Back in Venice’s center, I found a nice outdoor restaurant in a square, and had a seafood appetizer with white wine and impeccable service. Others in the group had asked me to…

Getting to Venice From Como we took the train back to Milan. Even the dogs were fashionable there. We then took a fast train from Milan to Venice or Venezia in Italian. The fast trains here reach up to 300 km/hr. Covid testing Our train’s arrival time was 2:15 and it was a couple of minutes late. I needed to get a covid test at a walk-in clinic that was a 15 minute walk from the train station. That wouldn’t be a big deal but the clinic closed at 3:00. I would be out of luck If there was a lineup and I would have to make my way to…

Milan From La Spezia, we went on by train to Milan. While on board, a pair of Polizia boarded twice, asking for passports. I was sitting with my travel friend Kiran, a young Indian/Canadian guy. The Polizia seemed to be targeting a guy sitting across from us, maybe they thought he was an illegal immigrant? To make it not look like they were picking on him, they also picked on us to do passport checks. They seemed shocked that we were travelling together so we may have been added to their list. Kiran thought we should have told them he was my sugar baby to see what they thought about…

It’s a bright, sunny day, and we are on our way to Cinque Terre! Last night we were not so sure. First of all, one of the hikes between towns that our tour leader had planned for us is now closed due to heavy rains a couple of days ago. (Tip: Some trails are still closed from a major landslide a few years ago, and things change all the time – always check current status on http://www.parconazionale5terre.it). And if that wasn’t enough, railway workers gave notice of an impending strike. This could affect the trains we planned to take to the villages and in between them. Today only. But, they…

Pisa On the way to our next stay, we spent a few hours in Pisa to of course check out the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. Construction on the tower started in the 12th century. I climbed to the top of this tower the last time I was here many years ago. I remember the worn slippery steps to get to the top. Before the current trip, I checked back to my (film!) pics from last time and found this one I took of a friend at the top of the tower. Shortly after I climbed the tower, it was closed for almost 12 years to restabilize it, and lessen…

We took a day trip from Florence to nearby Siena, by bus. Siena is a medieval city centered by a clam-shaped square at the base of its sloping cobbled streets. Every summer, this square is home to a horse race called the Palio, pitting the different contradas (groups within the city) against each other. The winner is the horse who crosses the finish line first, even if it has no rider! It’s a huge event here. At the top of the slope, there is a huge church dedicated to St. Catherine, an influencer in the 14th century. Her head is enshrined here, since stealing and preserving body parts was the…

As in Rome, the museums and galleries must be booked. I chose to first visit the Uffizi gallery on our free day in Florence. On my first trip to Italy many years ago, one of the my most vivid memories is seeing the statue of David, by Michelangelo, the most famous sculpture in the world. He is a perfect massive statue made from a single block of marble, and he stands in the Accademia gallery. I remember gazing at him in awe. So, since I have already seen him, I decided I should see the equally famous Uffizi gallery first. Very near the Uffizi is Piazza della Signorio, a square…

We had to say arrividerci to Montepulciano the next morning. Some of us stopped at an elegant coffee house on the way down to see the amazing view from its terrace. From the bottom of the hill we took a bus to Chiusi, then train to Florence. Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance, the rebirth of culture in the 15th and 16th centuries. It’s home to world renowned art and architecture. And leather markets! Those markets were one of the things I remembered most from my last time here many years ago, and our hotel is nearby for convenient shopping. But, those markets seem really cheap compared to the…

So much more to see in Rome, but we have to move on. We took a tram to the Termini station, where internal and external trains and metro all meet. Trains go nearly everywhere in Italy, which makes it so easy to move around. Imagine if we had them in Canada, or the US, how much easier travelling would be! The train took us to a small city, where we got on a bus taking us to Montepulciano. This extra step is probably what makes the town a bit of a hidden gem. The medieval town (built in the 6th century) is set in the heart of the Tuscan countryside,…

I could have gone to see the pope in St. Peter’s Square but I wasn’t up for that. Instead, I took the metro train to the Trevi Fountain station. I had seen the fountain briefly on my Vespa tour, but just wanted to see it again on this beautiful sunny day. I decided to follow the crowds from the station, and ended up at the Spanish steps instead. The Spanish steps aren’t Spanish, they just used to lead to the Spanish embassy. At the base of the steps is the Via Condosi, a famous street full of mostly high-end shops. Some of the shops had lineups outside due to covid…