Floating City

So as not to miss our train we arrived at Como station an hour and a half early but, as we discovered, Italian trains can be as punctual as the British variety and consequently we had about 4 minutes to make our connecting train in Milan (picture me running like a headless chicken, Dan following on with our suitcases!) Nevertheless - we made it to Venice!

Here we stayed at Lola's place, a lovely family apartment just a 10 minute stroll from St Mark's Square. As soon as we arrived, we were mesmerised by the water, the canals, the vaporettos, the bridges giving glimpses of views, snapping away on our camera. Venice is truly a feast for the eyes, so different as the light changes throughout the day, and we spent most of our time wandering, aiming to just get lost. On our first evening we explored the streets of the Dorsoduro area and spotted a charming place to return to for dinner the following night, Al Vecio Marangon. The food was typically Venetian and delicious. Our full day in Venice started early; we were in Piazza San Marco as the sun was creeping up from behind the buildings - the light was incredible. Later we headed up to the Rialto Market, stumbled upon a canal side protest march after lunch and stumbled upon my favourite square, Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio. In the dappled sunlight children were playing football in amongst vegetables growing in boxes. After an exploration of the quiet Arsenale area, including a walk over the sea, the following morning, we were now heading to Florence...