Continuing on our Globus tour of Italy’s Great Cities, after leaving Rome, we headed north towards Venice. As it’s a long drive though, we made a few stops along the way. First was an overnight stay in Umbria at Posta Donini, a 17th century villa in the town of San Martino in Campo. This lovely villa has been completely renovated into a luxurious resort and spa – with a wonderful restaurant to go with it. I confess that, while looking forward to Venice and the rest of our tour, it was definitely tempting to want to stay here longer!
Alas, we left the following morning to continue our drive to Venice, with a stop in the town of Assisi along the way. Assisi, of course, is the town of St. Francis, and we spent several hours at the magnificent basilica – high atop a hill overlooking the town below – where the saint is buried. Some of the most important frescoes by the Italian artist Giotto, are located in this cathedral.
(Important travel tip: Italy has a lot of churches and cathedrals, where much of the most famous pieces of art are located. These are still “working churches” – that is, they aren’t museums, and religious services can and will be held at various times while visiting. It’s important to keep this in mind, as visitors are asked to respectfully tour quietly, not use video or flash photography, and to dress appropriately – meaning dresses/shorts at or below the knee, and shoulders covered.)
After leaving Assisi, we finally reached our next destination – Venice! Here we stayed for 2 nights, giving us a good bit of time to explore some of the beauty of this “floating city”. Fun fact: buses couldn’t just drive up to our hotel here, as it was located on the Grand Canal – so water taxi it was! This was a great way to begin to see a bit of what makes Venice such a remarkable place to visit!
Our first night in Venice began with a fabulous meal in the middle of a quaint Venetian courtyard, followed by a nighttime walk through some of the winding walkways of Venice led by our guide Nicholas – ending in the middle of the famous St. Mark’s Square, all lit up. With the lights, and live music playing in the area, it was pretty magical!
Our next day was a busy one with a guided walking tour of the Doges’ Palace, a return to St. Mark’s Square, and demonstration of Murano glassblowing. And that was just in the morning! In the afternoon we boarded a boat to visit the lovely island of Burano, famous for its colorful houses, and the embroidery and lacemaking that is still done by hand. Burano was truly a lovely surprise to me, and we had a wonderful time exploring this picturesque island! Of course, we had another fabulous meal before heading back to our hotel.
Tired (there was a LOT of walking – which is probably good considering all the pasta, pastries, and vino we had) but savoring the sites we had experienced so far, we prepared to leave the following morning on our way to Florence, the capital of Tuscany, and the next stop on our tour! Until next week, ciao!
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