We were going to go to southern Italy this year, but we got such a good price on flying into Milan, we couldn't pass it up. Emirates Air, from JFK to Milan round trip, a direct flight, $400.00. Take the train from Milan to Venice, $50.00, it's a no-brainer, and not a bad view from the airport...
We stayed in a vacation rental apartment, the Tilly's House. I cannot say enough about how happy we were with our choice of places to stay. The location was perfect, about a one minute walk to the Rialto Bridge, slept four, clean, everything we needed, relatively inexpensive. I would absolutely stay there again. I am adding a few links here, so you can find the Tilly's House with ease.
Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4. Ok Francesca I think I got most of them. The Tilly's House was perfect for us, and I believe it would be for most, but peoples' needs are different, so you should do your own research. We only got to meet Francesca for a few moments at the end of our stay, unfortunately. I would like to say now, thank you Francesca for the use of your beautiful home, and hope that we meet again, and have time for food and wine!
Our first full day, we did a Cicchetti and Wine Tour, a pub crawl with food. Our guide was great, we got a lay of the land, a little history about Venice, and had great food and wine for lunch. I would absolutely recommend Urban Adventures to anyone. We did one other tour, a tour of Doge's Palace, also great. If you are interested in the history of Venice, I would recommend this tour also. Understand, we had what I thought were great guides, I am sure there are as many bad guides as there are good ones.
A walk across the
Bridge of Sospiri ( Sighs ) is part of this tour. The bridge of sighs, because the prisoners would sigh, or so it is said, as they were escorted across the bridge to their sells, and got their last look at Venice.
We also went out to one of the surrounding islands, Murano, famous for it's glass blowing. The glass was beautiful to look at, a little pricey for Day and I though. It was a nice way to spend the day, if your looking to get away from the city for a day. Take a waterbus to one of the surrounding islands, if you looking for a change of scenery.
The rest of time was just spent wandering around the allies of Venice, exploring and getting lost. Getting lost is easy in Venice, there are over 400 bridges crossing the numerous canals, but finding your way back is not terribly difficult. For us, once we saw a sign for the Rialto, we were back on track. There is no shortage of great food, wine and photo opps, so go ahead and get lost.
Venice was everything we had hoped it would be, and more. This has been our second trip to Italy, and I think it is fair to say, we loved it, and cannot wait to return. Our trip is not over yet though, we fly out of Milan, so we are going there a few days early, and we are suppose to meet our friends, S and P.
After some texting back and forth, we decided we would jump on a train from Mestri to Bassano Del Grappa, where S and P would pick us up, and spend the day with them. We met them as planned, and we had a great time. I wanna talk about this a little more, so I will dedicate a post to this, so on to Milan.
Milan will be quick and painless, maybe. Milan was not a disappointment, but, two days was enough for us there. We flew in and out of Milan because of the cheap airfare, and took a train to and from Venice.
Above is the train station in Milan. The trains were relatively inexpensive and fairly easy, so Milan is a great place to fly into. After Venice, we thought a couple of days by ourselves might be nice, so Milan it was.
Our hotel, The Westin Palace, was absolutely perfect. Day did a spectacular job picking this one. The location was good, the price was reasonable, and most important, the water pressure in the shower was great. Who doesn't love a good shower? Or, a good "selfie?"
You might not appreciate the humor here, if I had a nickle for everyone who tried to sell me a "selfie" stick, or for everyone taking "selfies," Day and I would be rich. So of course, anything to amuse myself and challenge Day's patience, I had a "selfie" day. And what "selfie" day would be complete without, a "selfie" in front of the Duomo?
The Duomo, is a big beautiful church. Duomo according to the Oxford English Dictionary is derived from the Latin word "domus," meaning house, as in, house of God.
Now this one is pretty nice, but the Duomo in Florence, Italy, wow!
Sorry Milan, Florence beat ya on this one. The Duomo in Florence, dominates the city, it is huge and beautiful, and the dome is amazing. The real winner of our Milan stop though, was Eataly!
What is Eataly? The most amazing grocery store ever. Yes you read that correctly, grocery store.
The produce was gorgeous to look at, like art, beautiful edible art.
I love dessert, and these desserts were calling for me.
Your local market should have a good meat selection. This is not the Big Y. Fridays are for fish though...
And lastly, what goes better with dinner than wine.
You have to love bringing in your own bottle, and filling it with wine from a barrel.
Well that's Milan, and just about the end of our trip. I do wanna write about the friends we had met, affectionately know as S and P, but I want to dedicate a full post to that/them. Meeting with them is why I write this blog, those rare moments that happen on vacation, that stay with you for a lifetime. For now, Ciao!
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