One of the reasons we decided to visit Genoa, aside from the fact my family came from Genoa, is the town of Cervo is a short distance up the coast. We’ve recently learned, after hiring genealogists in Genoa to research our family, that my great-great grandfather (who came to America via Genoa) was an orphan. It’s unclear if he at some point was taken in...
Santa Margherita Ligure We began our first full day in Genoa by leaving town. We took the train from Genoa to Santa Margherita Ligure where we were meeting a guide to take us to Portofino, which is a 15-minute ferry ride from Santa Margherita Ligure. It was just us and 2 other couples in the group. Breakfast at the hotel before we left, and although there were many...
Departing Venice We began the day with an early (6:30am) walk through a deserted Venice. After coffee and cannoli at the only open caffè we could find, we returned to finish packing, then had a more robust breakfast at our hotel. We finished just in time for the water taxi that we booked the night before (with the help of the front desk). They picked us up on the...
Teatro La Fenice We started the day with a fantastic self-guided audio tour of Teatro La Fenice (The Phoenix), a very famous opera house in Venice. It rose to fame in the 19th century when it became the site of many famous operatic premieres at which the works of several of the four major bel canto era composers – Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi – were performed...
Early Start to the Day We were up very early, before our hotel breakfast started, so we took a walk and found a caffè that was open early. The best part about getting up early is the empty streets. So peaceful! By the time we got back, it was almost time for the hotel breakfast, so we went back to the room for a bit before enjoying second breakfast. Libreria Acqua...
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...
Why We Hate Connecting Through Paris! After a nightmarish connection/layover in Paris, we made it to Florence to begin our delayed honeymoon (we got married last September, but delayed our honeymoon until Teresa had sufficient time off – the life of a high school English teacher!) The TL;DR of our connection: the air conditioning at CDG (Charles de Gaulle)...