Our first stop was Lake Bled in Slovenia. It's a small picturesque lake town with a beautiful church on an island and a castle perched high on an outcropping of rocks with low hanging clouds and a backdrop of the Alps. The first day we just took in the view, walked around the lake and hiked up to the castle for the view. The next morning we rented a row boat (guess who did all the rowing...) and explored the island.
As beautiful as Bled was, we were a bit disappointed by how developed it was. I think we were expecting a more rustic, national park type of experience instead of fully-exploited recreation area. Luckily though, only a 15-minute drive away we found a beautiful gorge that gave us our fill of a more natural beauty.
After a short drive, we found ourselves in Venice. We spent one night in the city (because we couldn't afford a second). It's as beautiful and exceptional (and expensive) as its reputation boasts. The city is truly a world wonder, particularly with the famous streets of water.
Aside from the canals, we also enjoyed seeing Saint Mark's Square and shopping for the perfect Venitian masks.
Next, we spent four nights in Florence, the birthplace of the Rennaissance. We spent days wandering the streets and admiring the architecture and the ambiance of "the Eternal City." And really, that was our favorite thing to do. I think I could spend a lifetime there and never get tired of imagining the history there. The whole city was drowning in priceless works of art and architecture.
Of course, we also popped into a few museums. Eden loved looking at the paintings in the Uffizi, while Fox spent much of his time sitting and sketching his own masterpieces. What I loved was that, although we paid a steep price to see Michaelangelo's David at the Academy (well worth it), we could admire countless other sculptures and fountains in virtually every city square. The city itself really was like a museum.
The Duomo is the most famous church in the city. And it was within view of our apartment (or at least it would have been if Andrew had held my feet while I leaned out the window). A highlight of the trip was climbing to the top of the dome. The frescoes were surprisingly graphic for a church setting.
Well, since we were less than an hour's drive from Pisa, we had to go see the famous tower (even though Fox was too young to climb it--and he's still raw about it). That thing is really leaning. The pictures don't do it justice; you really have to stand in front of it understand just how precariously this thing stands.
Our final stop in Italy was Lucca, a town famous for its perfectly preserved and well-manicured walls. We rented bikes and rode along the ramparts before enjoying a stroll through the center of town.
Of course, the real highlight of the trip for me was the great Italian cuisine. And by cuisine, I mean gelatto. We maintained a steady diet of two scoops each after lunch and dinner every day. It was even worth the clean-up crew needed to make Fox presentable again.
On the way home, we stopped for the night in Ljubljana, Slovenia's charming little capital. We didn't get much time to explore, but plan to go back soon. The only disappointment there was the ice cream--one lick and I had to face the sad reality that my gelatto addiction would never again be satiated outside of Italy.
No comments:
Post a Comment