My week long Holiday Trip to Northern Italy – Part 1

We recently returned from a fabulous holiday in Northern Italy celebrating our 25 years of marriage. It was absolutely wonderful. Every single place we visited was memorable and gorgeous. Our holiday trip included Venice, Florence, Pisa, Genova and Lake Garda. We stayed in major touristy areas but in nice, quiet hotels for convenience of gluten free food choices. This also saved us time and money on ferry trips, trains, or taxis.

 

Venice (Venezia)

Venice has always been on our must visit list for its sheer beauty in its narrow cobblestone streets, canal system, bridges and elegant Venetian buildings.  It finally came to fruition and it is definitely worth visiting.

We cruised into the waters of Venice on Saturday afternoon and checked in to the hotel in San Marco.  On our first day we walked in and around Piazza san Marco often known as St. Mark’s. It is in the heart of Venice, filled with centuries old history. It has the grand St Mark’s Church at one end, the Campanile bell tower rising in the center, the Doge palace nearby, and an arcade of cafes, shops and a library on the other three sides with offices above. You can’t possibly rush through without admiring the incredibly beautiful square.

 

 

It is also one of the largest open spaces in Venice, always buzzing with people. It was pure joy being in the middle of it all and just soaking up in the lively atmosphere of the square, especially at night when the restaurants have live music playing outside. I had my little camera and phone handy to capture every moment.

 

 

There were many places to eat in Venice but not a decent selection of gluten free food.  The pesto pasta I had for lunch had so much salt and the risotto for dinner was watery. The hotel we were staying at had their own restaurant and was able to accommodate gluten free meals for me, but I was longing to eat at different places.

 

 

So the next day, after eating breakfast at the hotel, we took an inland stroll and went looking for the gluten free shop Mia Libera tutti, as mentioned on some blogs to be a luxury for any gluten free hunter. We walked holding the map going left and right on the streets of Venice, crossing canals looking at the street names and numbers, but we could not find the store. I was frustrated that the numbers were not in order and the locals didn’t know about the store. My husband didn’t want to give up as we had walked for over 1 hour and were in the 5000 number district in the Cannaregio area when the shop was in the 3000s. We were in Venice for only two days and I didn’t want to waste time looking for just one shop. During my pre travel gluten free research I had read on many blogs that gluten free eating was easy in Italy and was lulled into a false sense of security.  I thought it would be easy but I am disappointed to say Venice was not as accommodating as I had expected. There were no doubt a lot of places to eat out, but it was a complete waste of time asking every single restaurant if they are celiac friendly or can accommodate gluten free requests.

 

 

My husband was a little unhappy with my research. We stopped at a café bar and  he downloaded the free app “Find me gluten free“. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this before. It was a really handy app in finding restaurants in our area that had gluten free menus and options, along with customer reviews. The app also gave directions, took you to the restaurant website, or let you call for reservations. It was easy to use and well laid out. I had a nice pasta at L’Osteria All’Ombra.

 

 

After, my husband really wanted to go on a gondola ride so we came back to San Marco. The Venice Gondola is perhaps one of the most common images people have when Venice is mentioned.  They are expensive but worth doing. We paid 80 euros (the official rate) and enjoyed a 40 minute ride through small peaceful canals. We don’t regret it one bit. It is the most memorable thing about Venice.

 

 

The Rialto Market is a great place to get a feel for the real Venice. They sell different types of pastas, fruits, vegetables, and fish. I didn’t stop there for long as I wanted to go to the rialto bridge. It was still under maintenance so it was not possible to see it all. We did walk across it though, past the lovely little shops on the bridge and restaurants around it. We spent some time on the Calle delle mercerie.  It links the area near Rialto bridge to Piazza san marco. This street has the most  expensive designer boutiques and was very busy. One of the markets I enjoyed the most was  the antique market  of camp san Maurizio. My heart fluttered seeing the well-stocked tables with antique glass, cutlery, lamps, jewelry, clothing and other miscellaneous objects. I didn’t buy anything but it was so much fun browsing the marketplace.

 

 

At night we ate at our hotel’s restaurant and the chef offered a special appetizer, grilled octopus in bbq sauce with wild potato. I was quite reluctant about trying it but I took a small bite, and to my surprise it tasted really good. I was extremely happy with the dinner our hotel restaurant served.

 

 

Florence (Firenze)

We filled up on scrambled eggs, cheese, fruit, cereal, yogurt and cappuccino at our Venice hotel and  headed toward Florence in the car. I was not interested in renting a car as I have read the train and bus service is good in Italy but my husband loves driving and he wanted to do it. It’s good to familiarize yourself to  the driving laws in Italy before you hit the road. Italian road rules are similar to Canadian ones but there are, however, some important differences.  Speed is monitored by cameras on the highways and tickets are issued automatically and sent to drivers (or car rental agencies) in the mail.  Posted speed in the fast lane is  130 kmph (80 mph) on the Autostrada and 110 on main highways, but cars do go over the speed limit. In addition, the exit and entrance ramps have very tight curves. Someone wrote on the blog that Italy is not for timid drivers. I guess I did the right thing by not driving at all.

 

 

Besides the knowledge of road rules you require a good GPS or google maps.  We relied on google maps and it gave us information about congestion, construction, and blocked roads. We mostly used WiFi wherever available and kept our device in airplane mode otherwise, but while driving on highways we had to use roaming. The saved maps are not helpful for long drives as they don’t give current information.

If the highways of Italy are wide and fast, Florence on the other hand is congested. I saw more motorbikes, scooters, bikes than cars. It is actually a two wheeler and pedestrian friendly city. There are strict parking rules with signs posted for ZTL (Zona Traffico Limitato) where only local license plates can drive, a category in which a rental car would not fall. As we were aware of the parking restrictions we booked our accommodations where it was easier to park without any charges from 8 PM to 8 AM. During the day we parked at the main train station called Santa Maria Novella. Situated in the city center, it is conveniently close to the major tourist attractions and opens from  4.15 a.m. to 1.30 a.m.

Florence is a gorgeous city with wonderful streets to wander, shopping, beautiful architecture, and of course,  great Italian food. We saw Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia gallery,  which really was amazing. The statue was larger than I expected. Everyone has seen photos of it, but seeing it in person is a much different (fascinating) experience.  It was the highlight of my trip to Florence.

 

 

The gallery also houses a number of other works, from religious paintings to more modern ones, and sculptures of various kinds. However, you need to buy tickets in advance. It is easiest to do it through a tour since you get to enter at a certain time and can go straight in. If you don’t buy the tickets then you may have to wait outside for three hours in a long queue. Having a tour guide is excellent, He/ she tells you many things that you would otherwise not know or notice on your own.

 

 

Other than the David, the Duomo is the most recognizable site in Florence.  It is exquisite and definitely a must see. We stood outside for a while and stared at the awe-inspiring architecture of the building. It has dark green/teal, white, and the pale pink stonework, and the attention to detail is fantastic. I took snaps from every angle.  While the access to the church is free, there are tickets to climb to the top of the Duomo.

 

 

There are over 400 steps and the stone staircase is so narrow that you’ll have quite a workout by the time you reach the top. And they only get narrower the closer you get to the dome. But the view is so worth it.

 

 

During the climb we also had awesome views of the interior of the Duomo, an amazing Byzantine mosaic ceiling and geometric patterned floor.

 

 

The market near Duomo is a great place to walk. Superb view and excellent location with plenty of bars, ice cream shops, coffee shops and shopping nearby. Eating gluten free is not difficult at all here. There are celiac friendly menus and options at walking distance from the station and the Duomo.  I discovered Schar gluten free foods and bought some mini cakes for a snack. Next, we bought takeout food and headed to our car for the drive to Pisa.

 

 

PISA

It took us a couple of hours to reach Piazza dei Miracoli (Miracle Square) where the leaning tower stands. Next to the entrance of the leaning tower was a large carpark. I was blown away to discover a humongous church right next door to the Leaning Tower. In all of the photos & book references, I’d never realized that there was a church next door. It’s huge! It practically dwarfs the tower! Anyways, the tower is awesomely constructed and wonderfully beautiful.  Seeing it in person was quite a sight. We all know it’s slanted and sinking on one side, but I was in awe to see such a large and heavy structure not fall over from being slanted that much. It really is something to marvel at, not just because it’s leaning but because it’s wonderfully crafted. There were lineups to climb the tower but we just saw it from outside. I think the real view is the tower itself. I took a couple of snapshots, had coffee and left for Genoa. It was a quick trip to Pisa but I enjoyed it.

 

To be continued…..