Since we were leaving Florence at lunch time I made sure I got up super early and to go for a run - not only to get some exercise in and to stretch my legs but also to take some good piccies. I just adore Florence and wanted to run up the hill to the Piazzale Michaelangelo which is where all the gorgeous photos of Florence are taken from. To get there I ran past the Basilica of Santa Croce which is just gorgeous. :) I remember it from last time I was here and I went inside.. this time around I didn't get to go inside but the outside was just as beautiful as I recalled. After getting the piccies I wanted up the top I ran down along the river to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and then back to our apartment. It was a lovely 6km run which was much more exciting than my usual Darwin runs! :)
After getting back from my run we cooked up a big breakfast and then slowly packed up all our stuff. We didn't have to be out of our apartment til 11am, but of course we were out early and walking to the station. I have been really impressed with all our accommodation so far - my favourite would probably be the barn in Northern Ireland but the others have all been fantastic. I will do a big blog post on our accommodation choices, with photos, links and prices when we get home.
So we jumped on the train to head to Venice - which left at 12.15pm. It was another Trenitalia train and was quite good. We were in second class which was just fine. I did notice that first class seating was 1 seat, aisle, then 2 seats, which would have been lovely, but our 2 seats, aisle, 2 seats. We were all seated together and I was across the aisle with a lovely Canadian couple.
The train trip was just over 2 hours, and it flew. It was just enough time for BJ to get some drinks from the bar and the kids to play their iPads, and me to look at the scenery and read some of my book on my iPad. :)
When we arrived in Venice we knew where we had to go. We had to walk to the Guglie Boat stop because we were meeting our airbnb host or their contact there. We were met promptly by a gentleman whose name I didn't catch. He took us to the apartment, gave us the keys and the info and was off. It was so quick and easy. Our airbnb experiences so far have been fantastic, really hard to fault.
Our apartment is in the Cannaregio area which is only a 5 mins walk from the train station which is so handy, and only a 15-20 mins walk from St Marks Square / Rialto Bridge. We are pretty close to the main street which leads us straight to the main attractions.
As soon as we had dropped our bags off we decided to go for a walk to check out the sights, and get some food for dinner. Tomorrow our plan is to go on a gondola ride with some vino, and snacks and to go up the Campanile in St Marks Square. I am going to hopefully walk up the stairs if allowed, and BJ and the kids will go up the lift.
Here are pics from the first afternoon:
