When we left you all, we had just pulled into Venice. We spent June 15-17 camped at Fusina campground just south of Venezia. The campground was right on the water & loaded with amenities—bar, restaurant, w/d, showers etc. The ferry came to the dock across the street at the top of every hour for the 20 min ride over to the island. On Tuesday the 16th, we slept in & recharged the batteries and caught the afternoon ferry over. The first stop off the bridge was a Gelato stand—Jen got lemon & I had pineapple—Jen won. We were immediately captured by the architectural style and layout of the city. Venice is beautiful! Did we say we loved Paris? We really love Venice!

From there we strolled through the narrow streets window shopping for glass & sampling the local fare along the way to St. Mark’s square and the Correr Museum. The museum was loaded with 15th century paintings, sculptures, coins and weaponry that we couldn’t possibly do justice with a description. It was surreal to stop and think about where we were and putting the pieces of history lessons from years past together using the actual visual aids—truly amazing. After the Correr, we crossed Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal to have dinner at Osteria al Pesador. Wine, great food and service right on the water capped off a wonderful and relaxing day. Again, Paris was great, but we could tell that the pace of Italy was what we were looking for. We caught the last ferry back to camp at 10:30pm and the ride was beautiful.

Wednesday, we woke to more beautiful weather and headed back to Venice for tours of St. Mark’s Basilica which was built in 1063. There were mosaics that covered every inch of the ceiling of this massive building that depicted stories from the bible in brilliant colors with gold background. The whole ceiling shimmered and our necks were a little sore after the tour. Doge’s Palace exterior paled in comparison to St. Mark’s Basilica but the inside was packed with beautiful pieces of art including the largest oil painting in the world, Paradise, at 570 sq. feet. The prisons located in the depths of the palace were a reminder that medieval justice was harsh. Not only were Venetians tried and sentenced for wrongful acts right there in the palace, they were forced to walk across the Bridge of Sighs getting their last look at Venice before they were imprisoned.

We have decided that Gelato is like taking a daily multivitamin – you have to have it! Picking a flavor is a reflection of our personalities and much like eating Mexican food with Jennifer. Just as the #5 combination is a sure thing there, lemon is Jen’s flavor. I on the other hand have to try many flavors—some times good and others not so good. I’m not sure who wins here but it’s interesting to notice the parallels.

We love the Italian culture and language! Their ability to not “sweat the little things” is something we can all learn from. It is all big picture to the Italians. We left Venice headed south to Ravenna along the coast with no specific plans. We stopped for a bite to eat in Rosalina. This ristorante was the equivalent to Bob’s in Madison or Chaney’s in Eden. We were approached by a young girl who didn’t speak English but she quickly called for her Pa-Pa who sat us. His wife took our order, Spaghetti Bolognese, and grandma got up to make our order from scratch. When we received our meal, we realized that the simplest ingredients make for the best meals – pasta, meat, olive oil, butter and tomatoes – you can’t go wrong there. This meal was PHENOMENAL – the best we’ve had thus far. The sense of family that the Italians have is evident in everything they do.

We spent the night in Lido de Nazional and headed for the beach the following day which was just a short walk away. The beach here was not like our beaches of North Carolina. There wasn’t a wave in sight, just a slight current in and out but the cool water temperature allowed for a refreshing escape from the heat. From here, we headed southwest to Florence. The drive was amazing as we drove through Alpe di S. Benedetto with stunning views of Toscana and deep gorges. We were getting a little nervous about driving our RV through the hairpin turns but since I can drive anything with wheels on it we made it through the narrow switchbacks and curves unscathed. Little did we know that this would be an appetizer for the even narrower, stone wall lined roads to come. The ascent to the campground in the hills of Florence was insane to say the least. In fact, as I write this, I am an hour or so from the descent and my stomach is getting a little queasy. At one point, we had 6 cars behind us and had to fold the mirrors in to pass through a section of the road. After some dirty looks and elevated heart rate, we reached Fiesole and Panaramico Campground. The view from our site is of Florence’s city center and the rolling hills of Tuscany. It was worth every nail biting minute of the drive.

We spent two wonderful days in Florence (June 19th-20th) which we will describe in our next blog. Today, it’s our anniversary and we’re off to Siena to celebrate. Thanks for following our blog. Keep the comments coming; we love to hear from everyone.

Jen & Bert