Venezia, Trieste, Verona & Milan Italy and Baska Croatia: 2004

VENEZIA:

Arriving in Venezia for the second time having first ventured here in 1999 was like visiting an old friend and when we arrived at our amazing apartment right in the heart near the Opera house we were overjoyed. Ca-Canal was located on the Rio Della Verona and on our first night we were delighted to hear Opera signing and guitarists playing on Gondolas coming down the canal outside our apartment all the time.

We had booked 7 nights here and had the girls joining us after 5 nights but we were having such a great time that we pushed it out a further 2 nights and really took in everything we could.

 

Being here in summer although it was busy was great as early mornings and at night it was so much quieter and great for exploring.

 We spent our first night in enjoying a lovely meal on our balcony after doing a spot of local shopping and the next day we went for an early wander and picked up fresh foods for breakfast which again we enjoyed on the balcony before getting ready to venture out to the Lido for a swim. Got the #1 Vaporreta from St Angelo and after many stops we arrived at The Lido and got a bus to the beach and had a tour of the town along the way. had a swim in the murky water after checking out the crazy beach club prices and then had a nice lunch before heading back to our apartment.

 We enjoyed the next two days before the girls arrived and wandered as we do all over the place and used our weekly vaporetta pass to the max. Went out to Murano Island and of course bought a few small pieces. More wanderings across to san Margarita square and enjoyed the passageta whilst partaking in appreitif time

 We picked up the girls from Airport and see Rod Stewart and his long legged wife on the same flight so a bit of a laugh over how short he was and how tall she was.

John heads off for a walk around the Castello region whilst the girls sleep and then its a nice time on the deck with a home cooked for the awesome foursome again, so good to have all the Touristblobs together on holidays again.

We went a wandering the next day to San Polo, Santa Croce, lunch at campo san margarita then onto zattore and then got the Vaporetta to Pizzale Roma and then onto the canneragio canal so a big day out for all.

 We kept a steady pace and next it was to La Pesaro Palazzo for the Museo of Modern Art and the Oriental exhibition for the Bianalle. Back to campo San Polo and campo de Fiar and back vis the Rialto bridge before rest time.

For our last night in Venice we all dolled up in our finest and caught the vaporetta to san zaccarena and walked to the trattoria de Greco on Rio San Lorenzo where we had eaten at 5 years ago. The meal was great and we all had a good fun time.

TRIESTE

After a bit of fun getting out of the car park we are off on the Autosrada to Trieste and apart from turning off too early we ended up getting a much more scenic entry into the town. people lining the shore sunning themselves on the rocks and enjoying beautiful summer weather. Trieste is located at the end of the Adriatic Sea and was the gateway to Austria in days gone by so most things have an Austrian feel but is now very Italian in everything else. the harbour is full of all kinds of watercraft and the sea is what it is all about.

The first night we take in the town and have a lovely meal in the Piazza del Italia which is massive, one of the largest squares in Europe and being a Saturday night there are people everywhere. but then at around 9pm people start coming from everywhere as we are walking around after dinner they are streaming into town and it is because thee is a huge sale on from 9pm to midnight and they are really going for it.

 the next day was a real treat as we explored both the local Castello and Roman ruins on the hill and the stunning Miramare Palazzo on the waterfront out of town. We had to get a ferry there and the trip over was a bit wet and rough but well worth it as the Miramare is beautiful in every way and as we arrived the sun came out for us so we had lunch in the bay and then spent hours cruising around the Castello as they call it but it was simply one of the most beautiful palazzo’s we have seen.

 it was the palace of the Austrian prince Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian later to be Emperor Maximilian of Brazil and brother to the slain Archduke Ferdinand of Austria who’s murder was one the causes of WW1. It was his much loved home before his move to Brazil.

From every angle this 1860 villa is stunning with its interiors being the absolute height of progressive fashion and design when it was built evoking many art Nouveau styles that would appear 20 to 30 years later. It’s layout is far more contemporary with room structures and flow being of such high standards. the water views are taken advantage of and the light and space use are fantastic.

After our extended time at Miramare we walked back part the way to Trieste and the caught a bus for the remainder and took in the delights of the summer day set out before us.

BASKA CROATIA

we had a bit of a stressful trip from Trieste to Baska through the intersection of three countries, ITALY, SLOVENIA and CROATIA with freeways and backroad getting us very confused but we finally got there and added about 90mins to the journey through wrong turns. but the sights of the islands and coast once we got through all the built up areas around Reijha was stunning.

The bald topped mountains of this rugged region extend right down into the sea in many places and the toughness of the land is certainly seen in the faces of the locals.

Krk island has many coastal towns and ports and we are staying at Villa Adriana in Baska in an apartment which suits our needs perfectly as it is just one block back from the beach and the centre of town. the water is cool but stunningly clean and refreshing so we have no trouble diving in and sunning ourselves at leisure. the beaches are very narrow but long and very crowded so we needed to claim our spot with our blow up lilos due to the rocky big pebble style shore. The restaurants are right on the walkway on the beach so its easy to secure your spot for the day and just cruise as you like for food grazing.

We only did one drive while on the island and that was up to the fishing village of Krk and enjoyed a lunch on the harbour front before heading back to Baska for more beach time when the sun came out.

This was a total relaxing holiday and we swam, ate, swam, sunned, ate and had a great time. we bought a lovely gold necklace for Ann as a nice memory of our stay.

VERONA

Just a quick lunch stop off on the way to Milan for the girls to see Verona and do a bit of shopping as they have a Zara store in town .

We ate at a great sushi restaurant we has discovered a few weeks earlier when we were in Verona and of course we visited the fictitious Romeo and Juliet balcony with all its love note nonsense.

MILAN

 Once we worked our way through the Milan traffic and understood the tram system we were able to get to our apartment in the Claire de Lune building. wow what a stunning apartment and such a great location. We strolled to the amazing Galleria Vittoria Emanuel, The incomparable Duomo, The Opera La Scalia and the Leonardo da Vinci monument all within a ten minute walk.

The detail on the Duomo is like a dribble castle but in carved stone and we explored every nook and cranny right up onto the roof and into the crypt.

The galleria was just so inspiring and as one of the first shopping style malls of the 19th century it was an idea that took off world wide. But nothing compares to the original.

the roof top of the Duomo was stinking hot and to find some shade amongst the stone and lead was such a relief

we spent many hours exploring the museums and shops of Milan and eating the fabulous food that it was a sad time to say farewell