We took the kids to Italy again, this time to Florence, Venice and San Miniato in Tuscany region to see the sights and enjoy the Mediterranean beaches on the northern west coast.
We flew into Florence from Boston after a long layover through Barcelona, Spain. Our apartment was pretty centrally located - a mile walk from most sights - but it was during a heatwave (~90+ F) and the apartment only had air conditioning in 2 of the 3 bedrooms and no common areas. Needless to say, it was hot! We made the most of our time attending a pasta making class, seeing the Ponte Vecchio, the Galleria dell'Accademia (statue of David), the Piazza del Duomo, Boboli Gardens and lots of shopping. Though Florence was nice, it wasn't quite as nice as our next stop ...
On our fourth day, we took (almost missing) a morning train to Venice (~2.5 hours). Our cab cancelled while en-route to pick us up for the station, so a quick scramble for a last minute large Uber to fit us all ... and it turns out, the train was delayed arriving at the station, so we had ample time to spare after all. That made departure somewhat exciting and not to be outdone, our Venice arrival was quite interesting as well (save that story for another blog entry). Once in Venice, a quick cab ride to our apartment ... wait, no cars in Venice. We'll just walk our suitcases from the train station over 7 bridges - including Ponte degli Scalzi, the Everest of bridges over the Grand Canal with all the other tourists lugging suitcases up and over. Once settled though, the aparment was unique, 2 bedrooms with a loft and a roof deck, which the kids loved - and air conditioning throughout!
We did the usual Gondola ride which was interesting and fun. We compiled a walking tour of famous bridges and sites and spent the better part of a day walking our way through Venice to seem them all:
- Ponte di Rialto
- Saint Mark's Square
- Bridge of Sighs
- Gondola Bacino Orseolo
- Ponte dell'Accademia
- Giardini Papadopoli
- Constitution Bridge
- a return home over the Ponte degli Scalzi,
- ... and many other bridges and squares along the way!
We of course ate at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Our next day was a boat tour around the lagoon and seeing Venice from the sea. We left from Church of Madonna dell'Orto and circles San Michele island, by Lido, into the bay at Saint Mark's Square and back through the rio del'Arsenale.
On our seventh day, we took an early morning train back to Florence to pick up a rental car and drive 40 minutes west to San Miniato and the Tuscany Villa Claudia. The rental car rental was a bit complex as we arrived early and they (without telling us) cancelled our current reservation and booked an entire new one with a larger car to accommodate all our luggage and passengers. The charge was obscene since we had already prepaid so after speaking with someone else who explained the situation much better, we ended up needing to wait 5 hours until our original reservation. We walked to the Mercato Centrale Firenze for a great lunch and to sit in the air conditioning while we awaited our car reservation. Finally, two trips from the city (first to drop off the older kids and large suitcases at the villa, the next for me and the youngest and the remaining luggage) and we tried to settle in. Dinner was an eventful drive, chase and failure, eventually retuning to the villa after a long day and cooking some pasta at 10pm so we could retire and sleep in.
And that we did, not waking until well after 9am and then setting a plan for the week.
- Thursday (today): pasta class and catered dinner by the villa's host family
- Friday: Nautilus Beach Club
- Saturday: Gladiator House and the town of Pienza
- Sunday: Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Monday: boat tour around the bay and islands of La Spezia with a nice lunch and walk through the town of Portovenere
- Tuesday: Chimera Beach Club
By Wednesday, 2 full weeks in Italy was done and we drove the rental car back to Florence airport for our flight home!
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