Italy part II – Firenze, Burano and Venice

Florence

Florence is an historically rich city. I liked it much more than Rome. We got Firenze cards for our entire stay which allowed us unlimited access to museums and local transportation. On the first day we hung out in the city and had dinner at a local eatery. My husband wanted to see the Renaissance paintings and I wanted to see Michaelangelo’s David (and his glorious butt). We began our tour at Galleria dell’Academia where David is eagerly awaiting his visitors. Then we checked out a couple of museums and ate at a Tuscan café. The store owners did not speak any English but amazed patrons with her Tuscan food. Then we headed to The Uffizi Gallery. It had paintings of Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Rafael (My husband came to Florence for him), Caravaggio and many other Renaissance masters. There were so many incredible works of art that I lost count so I decided to get a book that listed all of the works in the museum’s permanent collection. My husband also gifted me a book on the paintings of Caravaggio.

After drinking espresso at the gallery cafe we headed for the clothing shops to buy a leather jacket for myself. FYI, Italy is known for it’s leather products. We visited 3 stores (rated by Trip Advisor) before deciding which jacket to buy. Before handing over my credit card I insisted that the store owner tailor-fit the sleeves for me, which he graciously did in under 10 minutes. After that adventure we went to a paper store—that’s right, a store which is known for it’s custom paper products. We bought a monogrammed journal where I am planning to document all of my trips from now onwards. When we use up all of the pages we will go back to Florence to get another!

We walked 13 miles that day and were tired to death by the end of the day but it was worth every single step.

The next day we left for Venezia (Venice) at around noon.

Venice

It was 2:30 in the afternoon when we reached Venice. The first thing we did upon arrival was find transportation to our hotel. The entire island is connected by water buses, water taxis, water ambulances and other waterborne vehicles! It was 4pm when we reached our hotel but, shortly after arriving we left for the Venetian island of Burano. I first heard about Burano from my Italian friend Laura Adani when she strongly recommend I visit. I’m very glad I took her advice because all of the houses have different colors and the entire island looks like a colorful Legoland. I read that if someone on the island wanted to paint his or her house, that person has to request permission from the local Government. Then the Government provides a set of colors which the homeowner is permitted to use. There is a reason behind this strict color code. Long ago when fishermen would return from their expedition, they had a hard time finding their home through the thick fog. They decided to color code their houses to make them easier to recognize. Another craft that has traditionally been important to the island’s economy is lacemaking. Burano is the largest exporter of lace in Europe. We bought a couple of gorgeous lace placemats for our silver trays.

Italian restaurants start serving dinner at 7:30 in the evening. We had a reservation at Al Ghetto Nero, a restaurant known for its famous fish risotto. We had a lovely Venetian meal before we headed back to our hotel in Lido.

The next morning we set sail for Venice. We started our day with Capresse and Salami sandwiches at Galleria. After that we checked out St. Mark’s square and the Basilica and took a lot of pictures. Then we started shopping at around 3 o’clock. We bought model Gondolas and venetian masks. I recommend Ca’ Macana for anyone interested in buying traditional Venetian masks. They made the masks for the set of Kubrick’s ‘Eyes Wide Shut.’ After shopping we sat along the grand canal bank for an hour to enjoy the gorgeous Venetian sunshine one last time.

My husband suggested that we eat in Lido so I found a restaurant 3 miles from our hotel that was recommended by my Lonely Planet guidebook. We took the bus and reached there around 8. If you look on a map you can find it far outside of the main land city. The restaurant was owned by a generous Italian man. He not only owns the restaurant but also runs a farm and he only serves food that has been grown there. He welcomed us with a broad smile as soon as we got there. When we asked if we could pay by credit card because we didn’t have much cash he said not to worry and pay him back when we go back to Boston. It’s hard to find that kind of trust in 2015. First he gave us two plates of antipasti. One was breadcrumb-coated deep fried vegetables from his garden and the other was Venetian style fish antipasti. We loved it.

Then he offered us artichoke pasta and spaghetti with clams. When I asked for a tomato and Mozzarella salad he replied that he couldn’t harvest the tomatos yet but would be able to serve us a garden salad instead. I have never tasted a better salad! And the pasta was out of the world! There is no doubt that homemade pasta is the best. He also offered almond cake for dessert.

He does not distribute menu cards to his guests. He offers only what he harvested and prepared that day. I wanted to have an authentic Italian meal on our last night in Italy and what I got was much better than I was expecting. It was about 10:30 when we reached to hotel. I will never forget that meal with my husband.

The next morning we left for Boston. There are couple of things I would suggest to anyone visiting Italy.

1. Get a book as soon as you decide to go. We could have planned the trip a lot better if we had the book. I recommend one published by Lonely Planet.
2. You don’t need do only what is covered in the book. Break the rules sometimes and plan in your own way. We stayed in Pisa, which was not recommended by any book or person. And we loved it.
3. Research the restaurants before you go. I only got to try a couple of restaurants recommended by Lonely Planet and those were the best ones.
4. Unlike restaurants in the US, most restaurants in Italy do not serve dinner before 7:30.
5. This is the 21^st Take advantage of the internet and get museum passes and train tickets prior to travel.