Cortona

Breakfast was nice including cakes as well as the usual fruit cereal,hams and cheese.It was not served until 8.30am the latest so far so we had a sleep in.We then drove up the narrow street to Cortona just nearby and walked the streets. There were many artists with their own shops so it was interesting for me .We discovered while we were at the tourist office that there is a train strike on Friday when we planned to travel to Rome. We decided to leave a day earlier to avoid this but it meant a bit of organising. The B and B understood our predicament and allowed us to cancel one day .We also managed to find a hotel in Rome for the extra night .We bought lunch at the grocery store and the kids went swimming in the afternoon .We went into Cortona again for tea and watched the second soccer semifinal before bed. In below photo our B and B is yellow on far left.

Tuscany towards Umbria

We reluctantly left the farmhouse and travelled south towards Sienna and East towards Umbria stopping for lunch at Castiglione on the lake Trasimeno. We then found our B and B at the foot of the hill at Cortona. While any B and B will be a let down after the last one this one was quite nice if decorated in a very eclectic style. It had a different feel being more of a town situation than out on a farm.It did have a nice view and cute courtyard and a swimmiung pool that the kids made quick use of.It also had a sun flower field to overlook that was 'nearly' in bloom and would look magic at the right time!!We had purchased our tea at a supermarket and ate it at the B and B then went upstairs to watch the soccer semifinal at 8.30pm and the sunset from our window.

Tuscany

We had our own breakfast on the terrace overlooking the valley and the english couple recommened Volpaia as a place to go for the day so off we went.We first stopped in Greve to walk around the square and see the preserved bores hanging from the ceiling. It was a bit of a trek to getto volpaia, passing some wild bore and along a dirt road to a castle on a hill with a great restaurant where we ate lunch. Great food great views and we were all happy to have made the trip.We missed the turnoff on the way home and went down some very narrow streets only just wide enought for the car ...and the car is a tiny ford fusion. we did find our way eventually and headed home trying to buy some groceries to make dinner with for tea but the shops were shut for afternoon siesta until 4pm. we managed to get some salad and cheese and made do . We spent most of the evening talking to the American who is very interesting and a christian as well.He told me of a wonderful artist,Fabio Inverni

Venice to Tuscany

We picked up our hire car in Venice and travelled on the freeway to near Florence. It was a Sunday so all the trucks that usually travel where not allowed on the freeway. We decided to hop off the freeway so we could see more of the countryside and went via Fiesole which overlooks Florence. We saw the Duomo from a distance and then found our way towards Greve in chianit though the travel was much slower on these small roads.We had good directions to our farmhouse in tuscany and we needed them as it was on a very small dirt road out in thew sticks .We ascended up the mountsin with vineyards and olive groves and vistas all around to a heavenly farmhouse perched high overlooking a grand view. Tuscany did not disappoint us. The lady has converted part of her old stone farmhouse into 3 rooms.We had one an English couple on their honeymoon had one and an American soldier based in Iraq but on 2 months holiday had the other. We sat and talked with them all then cooked our tea of pasta using a share kitchen .It was great to just talk some english with people. Our room was the lower level of a Xl century tower,walls 2 foot thick and very wonderful. The kids played ping pong on the front lawn and carlie and I also sat and painted the vista.

Venice- Murano and gondolas

After our breakfast we rang Liat Ham who is also in Venice to try to arrange to meet up today. We were both heading for Murano and after a cruise down the grand canal we headed over there. We managed to bump into each other and went for a light lunch together. While at Murano we watched another glass blowing demonstation .We said our goodbyes and headed back home to the hotel. We skyped Ben and then watched a bit of the soccer game in the airconditioning.The temp. today would have been over 35 degrees. While the game was on we headed out for a gondola ride as it was nice and quiet and not so crowded .We then went over to the Accademia bridge to have tea overlooking the canal. While we were eating, a HUGE cruise ship came passed the entrance to the grand canal. It was taller than most of the buildings and looked very out of place. We walked over the bridge and explored a few more streets and then headed home . Joel and I went straight back to near our hotel to sit by the canal for a while as the sun set and Jim and Carlie stopped off at the Rialto for some last minute shopping and to get gelati tart for dessert.

Venice

We went down for breakfast at the hotel and it was in a very quaint courtyard and we were given apricot filled croissants, breadrolls, cereals,juice and fruit with the thickest hot chocolate or coffee.The setting was heavenly.We wandered through the lanes to the Rialto fish and produce market then crossed the Rialto bridge and on to San Marco . Every where were shops of venetian masks and murano glass . By the time we got to San Marco we had to sit in the shade and have a drink.It was very hot and we got in a long queue to go into the Basilica san Marco .We then went into a nearby glass gallery and were able to sneak in to the glass blowing demonsatration using a Rick Steves travel book The kids enjoyed watching the artisan make a vase and a small horse. The heat had made us all think about gelati so that was our next stop.We then managed to get quite lost trying to find our way back to the hotel finding our way back to the gelati shop befreo we got seriuos with the map.It didnt help that the street names didnt match some of the map names.Jim and Joel watched the soccer while Carlie and i went wanderign in a different direction than we had gone this morning.not much was open and we figured everyone in Venice must have been in watching the soccer.We did see a wedding party with all the guests dressed in white .It looked fabulous. We all went out for tea but couldnt find a place we liked more than the night before so we went back to that restaurant After tea we sat beside the canal and watched the sun set.

Austria to Venice

This morning we drove the hire car to Villach around the mountains with the road following the valleys. The view was always spectacular with green meadows splattered with chalets and snow covered peaks rising in the distance. That was my attempt at creative writing!!! We found the hire place in Villach without a map after only one wrong turn that meant we had an unplanned trip around the old town.We then boarded a bus bound for Venice.The 2 hour drive and the 3 and a half hour bus trip resulted in a long weary day that was not helped by a traffic jam on the autobahn created by a semitrailer that had rolled on its side across 3 lanes. We did have the front seats on the double decker bus which was fun. The scenery changed dramatically once we passed the last mountain and for the last part of the trip it was fairly flat and uninteresting. We crossed the water to Venice and another scenery change occured !!!! It was difficult to control the camera which kept popping out at every turn.We got a watertaxi to the hotel which was only 3 stops away and were enchanted by our venician room in the Hotel al Ponte Mocenigo. We hotel had some Rick Steves travel books left by other guests and we found a place for tea which was set in a vine covered garden and served wonderful affordable meals.Thankyou Rick! Joel had bolognaise,Carlie had Carbonara and Jim and I shared a seafood pizza with mussells in shells and prawns and a salad.Venice is a dream come true.