Sojourn in Italy

A well-earned Spritz in Mestre

Much time was spent in the planning of one of the most exciting aspects of our summer travel.  Our friends Andrea and Brad had spent 8 years living in Italy and they were the most invaluable resource in planning where exactly to spend our treasured two weeks.

We landed in Venice late in the afternoon and managed to get ourselves on a bus from the airport to take us to a place called Mestre, which lays just outside of the Venetian centre.  After a few wrong turns and attempted conversations with people about where to go we finally managed to find our way to our accommodation.  What a find!  It was a lovely apartment right in the heart of Mestre.  We quickly dropped the bags and headed out to Mestre centre to partake in a hard-earned Spritz and dinner.  The kids loved running around the various fountains and staying out past sunset.

A street in the heart of Venice

The next morning it was off to explore Venice.  Living in the heart of where the locals live we believe, always gives us a better impression of the 'real' place we are visiting.  We tackled the crowds on the buses, the trains, the narrow streets and the vaporetto in our exploration of Venice.  The difficulty on our first day became apparent.  Ben would have to detach himself from his beloved pram and walk, because the pram was nothing short of a liability when every 500 m you had to negotiate a bridge.  A lesson learned.

The gondola ride

Around every corner there was something special to behold.  The kids loved watching the gondola drifting by, the leaning clock tower and the children's art activity that we stumbled upon.  They were none too fussed over the landmarks such as the St Marco Square and the Basilica and the Doge's Palace.  But we were fussed.  Totally amazing to see.  The part that captured Lily and Ben's interest in the Doge's Palace was the dungeon area.  They were fascinated as we walked through the barred jail cells and Lily's questions abounded about who must have been there and why.  The roof artworks were absolutely stunning and Ben loved looking at all the weaponry on display.

Murano

In our few days in Venice we fell in love with Murano and simply loved walking through the narrow maze of streets.  Murano provided us with a great afternoon watching glass-blowing and purchasing wonderful pieces to take home.  Probably the highlight for me was the gondola ride.  Although a little pricey, it was such a wonderful way to see this amazing place.  While we glided around the watered streets, the gondolier in front of ours sang a few beautiful Italian songs.  It was quiet and his voice echoed.  Just magic.

Lily in Florence

Visiting Padova (Padua) was also a day well-spent.  We trained out to this lovely town, and enjoyed playing in the local park with the kids, as well as exploring St Antonio's church and the local Duomo.  Tired out from this day, we took a few wrong turns and added probably an hour to our journey back to the train station.  Exhausted, we headed back to Mestre and enjoyed a meal and drink out...and the children enjoyed their ride on a small train in the middle of the shopping area.

Atop the Duomo in Florence

We then trained out of Mestre and headed to Florence.  The thing about Italy as we found it, is that you find something so different in each place you stay.  While we loved the watery streets of Venice, we absolutely loved the architecture of Florence.  We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Duomo and managed to climb over 400 narrow stairs to the top, where we were greeted with a simply amazing view of Florence.  The American tourists we met up the top were captivated by the fact the our 3 year old Benjamin led us all the way up those stairs!  The highlight for the kids though, was our visit underground to the crypt of the church, where they were fascinated by excavations of graves.

Ben at Pisa

Rome again was different but extraordinary.  What an amazing place to visit.  Our first day walking led us along a road to the Piazza Navona with its elaborate fountains and architecture.  Around the corner a little we were greeted with the Pantheon where Lily and Ben enjoyed having a photograph with 'real' Roman soldiers.  We walked a little further on and around another corner we stumbled upon the Trevi Fountain...and that was probably our highlight.  What a magnificent and awesome fountain.  We managed to get photographs in before the place became too populated with tourists, and Jason and the kids enjoyed a sweet morning tea at the fountain's edge.

At Trevi Fountain

While waiting for our open-air bus tour around the city, we also trekked over to the Spanish Steps.  The kids adored filling their drink bottles from the fountain below the steps.  That's one thing about Italy.  You are never far away from a fountain and simply glorious water to partake on the extremely hot summer days.  Our kids did fantastically well it seems in hindsight.  We started most days at around 9.30am and didn't finish till around 6pm and for the most part they walked without too much complaint.  Fancy finding all of these amazing landmarks in just one day!

Our other days were loaded with things to do.  We visited the Vatican City and spent much time wandering around the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel.  Lily and Ben were especially happy to have Rosary Beads bought from The Vatican (they think the Pope has blessed them himself).  We also visited the Colosseum (a real highlight) otherwise known by Ben as 'that broken building' and the Roman Forum.  These historical landmarks were incredible to visit, and the kids were in awe of the size of the Colosseum and were determined to find the lions and tigers they thought would be hiding below.  A lovely refuge from the oppressive summer heat came also from the Villa Borghese, a lovely park not far from the top of the Spanish Steps.  We loved dangling our feet in the pond while another tourist with his guitar sang beautiful melodies in the early evening sun.

Lily, Ben and Friends

A great option to relieve the sight-seeing and heat of the city centre was our escape to Saint Marinella Beach.  About a half hour by train out of the city, this proved a welcome relief from the business of the rest of the vacation.  The cold sea water proved refreshing in the peak of the summer season.  By this time, the kids had just about walked the length and breadth of Italy, and were at the point of needing to chill out, relax and do nothing.

On the day we left Rome we chilled out at an Irish bar "The Scholars Lounge" with Lynlee, Trevor and the kids.  They are friends all the way from Upper Hutt where we live and we've known them forever.  What a terrific thing then, to come half way around the world and have a reunion in both Al Ain and then in Rome.  Despite nearly missing our flight to Croatia, it was one of the best days of our holiday; sharing Rome with friends.

With the Lawrences at the Irish Bar

To be sure, Italy was an overwhelming tourist experience.  Two weeks was certainly enough to have our fill of his magnificent country.   We would recommend it as an amazing place to visit. We feel so privileged to have visited.  The place has certainly left imprints to last a lifetime.  The disappointing factors; well, the begging on streets and trains, the underwhelming local food, nearly being arrested on a local bus, and the poor manners of the local populace.  But truly, these pale into insignificance next to some of the gems of antiquity... places we once never imagined we would be able to visit, and now have.