Easter in Italy

A day in Venice - We arrived by plane and then took the vaporetto (ferry) from the airport. Why take the bus when you can take something as interesting sounding as a vaporetto?  Once again we fell in love with this gorgeous sinking (no longer stinking!) town. The light, the boats, the canals, peeling orchre paint, rusty metal, winding alleyways everywhere enticing you to look........just around the next corner. Somehow Craig managed to keep us on track though to see the Piazza San Marco with the Basilica and Campanile in all their glory.  The Bridge of Sighs was a must see at Yvette's request after seeing "A Little Romance". The bridge was somewhat disappointing as mostly covered in advertising awnings whilst being renovated/repaired - oh well she'll have to come back again some day!

We all loved our brief time there with gondolas, canals and ancient palaces at every turn.  We even managed to squeeze in a quick pastry at Marchini - a delicious find! 

    

Five days in Soave - We met up with our friends Caroline and Tim in Venice and travelled about 100 kms inland to the ancient fortified town of Soave.  The ancient city walls and fortifications are magnificent and particularly striking as you take the road towards the town.  Inside the walls the town is very quaint and un-touristed with peaceful streets, lovely houses and churches and a really relaxed feel.   Whilst there we enjoyed some fantastic food - no less than 10 courses for Easter Sunday lunch at a lovely country restaurant with gorgeous views to the surrounding countryside - a real lunch to remember.  

Side trips  included a trip to Asolo, another beautiful hill top town, again a magnificent lunch with spectacular views.  Also Verona which was an unexpected delight.  We followed Caroline's suggested tour with the odd detour for gelato and the like and had a great day there.  And finally, Lake Garda, which despite the major traffic jams (seems everyone in Italy wanted to go there on Easter Monday!) was also astonishingly beautiful.

Three days in Rome -  We loved the general shabbiness of this amazing city.  Ancient ruins strewn everywhere.  On the side of major roads you'll see a bit of corinthian column cast aside - its almost like they have so many ancient ruins that they don't know what to do with them all.  We visited the main tourist sites of the Forum, Pantheon, Vatican and Sistine Chapel, and our favourite, the colosseum - just amazing and the museum there was of great interest to us all.

Of course we had our fill of pizza, pasta, gelato and lots of other fantastic Italian fare.

Only downside of the holiday was losing a bag at Venice bus station. Many tears shed as teddy and piggy were inside for safe keeping???!!!  But ...... we may be the luckiest people in Italy as it seems the bag has been found and hopefully soon to be returned!