Italy 2017- Prep work
Well once again I find myself preparing for a trip to Europe and suffice to say, after the recent attack in Barcelona I am a little apprehensive. Strangely enough we were in that city towards the end of last September and while there was a noticeable police presence it felt relatively safe, especially compared to Turkey. I guess one can never be too safe and our past journeys have often involved uncomfortably close calls with protests, riots and explosions. Shit Happens seems to be a mantra that often crops up in my description of our various journeys across several continents.
Our trip this time focuses mostly on Tuscany with our main stops being Florence and Siena. Our journey starts with a landing in Venice where we will stay for 2 nights in the Cannaregio district. Having spent 3 nights there last year there is very little we haven't seen. Our primary stop will be St Marks Basillica. The line-up last year stretched well across the Square so we decided to skip it. It turns out there is a fast pass available for 2 euro which allows you to skip the line- live and learn!!!
This will actually be our third trip to Italy, but hopefully not our last. We still have to explore the eastern side of the country as well as Sicily. But that will have to keep for another year, another visit.
To say the least, this has been an interesting year. An diagnosis of lymphoma in January led to the cancellation of a trip to Colombia, one that had been on my "to do" list for quite a while. The remainder of the year was a blur of chemo treatments and radiation which appears to have successfully eradicated the tumour. Some ongoing issues with fatigue have slowed me down of late. Hopefully my depleted energy levels will not impact my travel plans too severely.
As I approach my 65th birthday I need to accept the fact that I'm not quite as young as I used to be and that I can no longer blaze trails like I used to, leaving much younger people struggling to keep up to my cloud of dust!!
Internet access being somewhat spotty in Europe, there may or may not be accompanying photos depending on upload speeds. However I am sure that there will be the odd upload to Facebook of the various sights and sites. I've already bookmarked all the best pizza restaurants in Venice, Florence and Rome but I doubt we'll be eating pizza the whole trip. We will be in the vicinity of the Chianti wine growing region so I may enjoy a pleasant pickling now and again.
More details to follow as they happen
Our trip this time focuses mostly on Tuscany with our main stops being Florence and Siena. Our journey starts with a landing in Venice where we will stay for 2 nights in the Cannaregio district. Having spent 3 nights there last year there is very little we haven't seen. Our primary stop will be St Marks Basillica. The line-up last year stretched well across the Square so we decided to skip it. It turns out there is a fast pass available for 2 euro which allows you to skip the line- live and learn!!!
This will actually be our third trip to Italy, but hopefully not our last. We still have to explore the eastern side of the country as well as Sicily. But that will have to keep for another year, another visit.
To say the least, this has been an interesting year. An diagnosis of lymphoma in January led to the cancellation of a trip to Colombia, one that had been on my "to do" list for quite a while. The remainder of the year was a blur of chemo treatments and radiation which appears to have successfully eradicated the tumour. Some ongoing issues with fatigue have slowed me down of late. Hopefully my depleted energy levels will not impact my travel plans too severely.
As I approach my 65th birthday I need to accept the fact that I'm not quite as young as I used to be and that I can no longer blaze trails like I used to, leaving much younger people struggling to keep up to my cloud of dust!!
Internet access being somewhat spotty in Europe, there may or may not be accompanying photos depending on upload speeds. However I am sure that there will be the odd upload to Facebook of the various sights and sites. I've already bookmarked all the best pizza restaurants in Venice, Florence and Rome but I doubt we'll be eating pizza the whole trip. We will be in the vicinity of the Chianti wine growing region so I may enjoy a pleasant pickling now and again.
More details to follow as they happen
Comments
Post a Comment