Italy, 6 cities, 15 days.

Venice - Can I have some more time please? We had to leave this morning to get to the next stage of our journey. On our previous brief Venice trip we stayed in nearby Mestre, the town at the shore end of the causeway.  Staying in the city was so much better so, after this trip we know exactly where to stay next time.  It will be the same apartment which we used this time.  It's really near the train station but quiet and we now know two restaurants, a bar and a bakery round the corner from the flat all of which are excellent.  On this trip we avoided the conventional tourist hotspots and concentrated our efforts on finding artwork in the many chuches.  Titian, Canaetto and many others.   We are also now Venice public transport veterans.  At one point Jacqueline was giving directions to other tourists.  We haven't done the gondola trip yet.  Maybe next time. Today we caught the train to Verona.  The train was just gre...

Yes there are quiet parts of Venice We started today by getting a 2 day unlimited public transport pass.  In Venice that means boats rather than bus or underground.   The system works really well.   We chose to head away from the tourist hotspots and with only a little difficulty were soon in parts of the city visited only by the more intrepid travellers armed with the best guide books. No shortage of things to see.  We were concentrating on churches with the best works of art.  Nothing less than Titian or Carivagio and were not disappointed.  PM he made a point of getting lost for a bit, then headed for a vaporetto (bus) stop to go to Murano, the island where all the glass is made.  On the way we hopped off at the cemetery island and found two graves of particular interest.   Diagalev, the ballet dancer and the composer Stravinski.   On Diagalevs tombstone were several pairs of ballet shoes while someone had marked o...

Nice fish, great view, splendid evening. Our first night staying in Venice.  We opted for a small restaurant round the corner from the apartment.  Guido suggested it but explained that it isn't always open.  If the umbrellas are up it.'s probably open. The umbrellas were up and the waiter explained that they have only fish and no choice, just what they decide to cook. We ended up with a great meal.   Starter was tapas style of shared dishes.  Squid, starfish, sardines, sea bass and pollenta. Then seafood lasagne which was really great. Mixture of various types of fried fish Panna Cotta desert. All washed down with a dry white wine which came out of a beer tap on the bar. The meal was great.  Pictures include me with my slimmed down Bradshaws.

Train from Treviso to Venice was on time, clean and quiet. Our apartment is splendid.  Modern, spacious and comfortable. The owner Guido met us at the station, took us to his apartment and had a cake and prosecco prepared for us. The apartment is a few minutes from the station but in a quiet part of the city.   We have a couple of restaurant recommendations from Guido.  Tomorrow we buy a pass for the public transport system and do some serious sightseeing. There is a lot to see.

All set for our Ryanair flight to Venice.  We have priority something on the flight. I think that means you get to sit in the plane rather than on the top of the fuselage. Q has booked the no 1 lounge at Edinburgh Airport.   Good decision as the Highland show is on at Ingliston and the airport outside the portal of the lounge is very very busy. Let's hope the flight is OK. Looking forward to Venice tomorrow.

Day zero I'm not entirely sure how the plan for this holiday developed.  It started with a TV programme about the Paleo in Siena, the worlds most insane horse race.   We thought wow wouldn't it be good to go.  Once Jacqueine got into full holiday planning mode things developed.  So we are now doing a Siena sandwich with some truly remarkable cities and accommodation at either side of the main event.  Details will follow as we go depending on wi-fi and levels of blogging enthusiasm.    We are travelling by train except for the Ryanair bit at either end and I have been studying carefully my 1913 Bradshaws guide so that we can be sure to catch the correct trains on the way.  I'm hoping they haven't made too many changes to the timtables. Watch this space for our news and pictures. John and Jacqueline