Trains and Water Buses We took the 9:20am train from Florence to Venice. Good thing we pre-booked, as the train was packed! It’s only a 2 hour and 15 minute train ride, with brief stops in Bologna, Ferrara, and Padova. Once we arrived in Venice, we took a vaporetto (water bus) from the train station to our hotel (Hotel Cà d’Oro), which is charming. We...
Cornetti con crema al pistacchio (pistacchio cornetto) and a cappuccino at Caffè Degl’Innocenti We were up early to visit the Opera del Duomo Museum (Museo dell’Opera del Duomo di Firenze), the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (aka Duomo di Firenze, aka The Duomo), and the Crypt of Santa Reparata (Santa Reparata Cathedral ruins that lie beneath the...
Since we woke up later than usual, we were able to take advantage of the included breakfast at our hotel, rather than grab something out and about. Breakfast was serviceable, but nothing great. Our pre-booked “skip the line” tickets to the Accademia Gallery (to see the Statue of David) was at 8:45am, so we headed straight there after breakfast. La...
Breakfast and a Morning Walk Pastries and cappuccino at Caffè degli Innocenti We woke up early and walked across the street to Caffè degli Innocenti for pastries and cappuccino, since our included hotel breakfast wasn’t open yet. We had pre-booked an Uffizi Gallery tour, but it didn’t start until 10:40am, so we had plenty of time to explore. The streets...
Trip Overview Teresa and I were married in September 2022, but delayed our honeymoon until the following summer because the school year had already begun. This would be Teresa’s second trip to Italy, and there was a lot she wanted to see, so we packed a lot in a relatively short time. That’s not how either of us usually prefer to travel (slower is...
Our normal breakfast placed is closed on Mondays, so we had a voucher for a nearby place: Italian BreakPast. It’s primarily a pasta place, but they serve coffee and pastries in the morning. Our cappuccini and pastries were delicious! Archiginnasio of Bologna After breakfast we headed to the Archiginnasio of Bologna, which was once the main building of the...
We took an early train to Verona, which is just under an hour north of Bologna by train. We were blown away by Verona! It’s such a charming city, with a rushing river providing a soothing background noise in many parts of the old town. Verona is second only to Rome in the number of visible ruins from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD. It even has a Roman...
Basilica Sanctuary of Santo Stefano – Complex of the Seven Churches Another full day in Bologna. We got an early start. After coffee and pastries at Pasticceria Santo Stefano, we explored the Basilica Santuario Santo Stefano – Complesso delle Sette Chiese (Basilica Sanctuary of Santo Stefano – Complex of the Seven Churches), a cluster of chapels...
A day full of Christmas shopping, sightseeing, and food! Our second full day of the trip, but our first devoted entirely to Bologna. We began by exploring the areas around our B&B. We were right in the heart of the old city, so it wasn’t hard finding fun things to check out! We admired the architecture, visited many shops, checked out a couple different...
Dinner on Thanksgiving night in Modena was the highlight of the trip. So much so, that I had to sleep on it and collect my thoughts before writing in my journal. First, a tiny bit of background: Since opening in 1995 by Massimo Bottura and his wife/partner Lara, Osteria Francescana has twice been named Best Restaurant in the World (it’s also been named second...