A milestone birthday deserves special attention and whilst Eastern Europe has been rewarding, adventurous and economical for the last three months, we wanted to do something decadent to celebrate Andrew’s 40th birthday. For nine glorious days we would forget about the budget, ignore the concepts of balanced eating and portion control, and get away from our usual basic hotel style rooms. The birthday boy chose to return to an old favourite, and having spent some time in Northern Italy in 2008 we knew we would be able to create a birthday festival that ticked all boxes.
Cruising into Venice is one of those pinch-yourself moments that feels like a fairytale. Yes its ridiculously expensive, yes it is swarming with tourists, yes you will get duped by a restaurant or two that will be a total tourist trap, but the beauty of the city captures your imagination and even though you know in your heart that two cappucinos and two croissants SHOULD NOT cost AU$30 you will spend it anyway because it is Venice. That said, when you do your research and are prepared to get out of the high traffic zones there are gems to be found that don’t hurt quite so much.
Although it was our second time here, we managed to find so many new areas to explore and in one day clocked up 18.5km wandering the laneways and bridges, of which there are said to be over 400 across the city. We also spent some time exploring the Doge’s Palace on the Piazza San Marco, an architectural wonder that was a work in progress for over 200 years between mid 14th to 16th centuries. The ticket to the palace allows access to other museums on the square also as well as a biblioteca (library) where books are displayed dating back hundreds of years. Tickets are AU$28 each and surprisingly good value for this city.
Checking out of our Venetian lodgings, it was on to a taxi boat with our luggage and back into a car to hit the road, headed south to the region of Umbria. Driving in Italy can be a little bit of an adventure in itself, and the rewards for staying off the motorway and travelling through the small towns and villages are many. Medieval towns, ornate churches and buildings, and coffees that do not cost AU$9.50 each (thank you Venice!) are all on offer and we stopped at a few special places.
In the small town of Ravenna we came across possibly the most spectacular interior of a church we have ever seen (and the Lord knows we have seen a few); in the village of Stra we wandered the gardens of a grand old villa and conquered a hedge maze; and in the walled town of Gubbio the gothic architecture created a fantasy-like experience as we looked out over the city and its central palace.
The pick of our Umbrian towns though was Orvieto, a walled town perched on the top of a hill with its glamourous 14th century cathedral and too many restaurants and bars to choose from. This place definitely deserves more than one night. San Marino on the other hand, does not. The Republic of San Marino is a microstate within Italy and technically recognised as a country (another one for the true country collectors!). It looked promising as we climbed the hill to get to the old walled centre of the town but for us it lacked warmth and energy, and with every other store selling mass-produced tourist junk we were done exploring within an hour. Basically we have been so you don’t have to.
One thing has been constant in all our stops so far – we have been spoiled at pretty much every meal and have almost eaten our bodyweight in bread and drank it in wine. Pastries for breakfast, paninis and bread baskets with lunch, another bread basket with dinner. Add to that the pasta, polenta, game meat, rich sauces and tiramisu every night……. it’s a good thing this Festival has a time limit!
no fixed address... 
Some awesome photos with this post
LikeLiked by 2 people