Yesterday before leaving Venice, we did a boat trip out to the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello. Murano was a bit of a blatant tourist stop with only a visit to a glass factory for a quick demo and then off to their shop. Didn't buy anything though as, although there were many amazing pieces, the prices were outlandish. Burano on the other hand was lovely, much less commercialised. We watched a wee old lady making lace by needle point - you would have been fascinated mum - and then wandered around the island taking photos of their multicolured houses.
On to Torcello, which has the original Venician basilica on it, but by that time we were soooo hot that we only wanted to loll in the shade of the church veranda. Even the Venetian street vendors were complaining about the heat, so we know that it was REALLY hot. On to Rome where it has been so hot today that the pavements are melting! However, we have had some mind blowing history discoveries today, so have been distracted from the heat. This morning we had a tour of the Vatican City and saw the Sistine Chapel. It was so awesome to see the real thing and hear the stories behind it. Photos just don't do it justice at all - it is A.MAZ.ING! We were so impressed with the tour company that we took our Vatican City tour with, that we booked their afternoon walking tour of Ancient Rome. Maybe because of the heat, we were the only ones on it, so had a personal guided tour for the afternoon. Among many things, we have seen where Julius Caesar was stabbed and where Marc Anthony made his "Friends, Romans, countrymen lend me your ears..."speech; we have been in the dungeon where St Peter awaited his execution and we have touched - yes, TOUCHED! - Michel Angelo's "The Christ" sculpture. We finished the day in a terrific (and cheap) restaurant recommended by our tour guide with our heads spinning with what we had seen and where we had been. If anybody is coming to Rome, we have a fantastic tour company to recommend. Tomorrow it is supposed to be hot again, so we will probably hop on an open top bus and get driven around for a bit rather than walk again. We hope to visit the colosseum and some more amazing old stuff, will let you know what we find!It feels like we have been away for a month already, we have seen and done so much.
I am missing family and friends a bit in our quiet moments, but am still waking up excited about what we are doing each day. It has been great to get your comments to kind of keep in touch with home.
Thanks a lot x x x
On to Torcello, which has the original Venician basilica on it, but by that time we were soooo hot that we only wanted to loll in the shade of the church veranda. Even the Venetian street vendors were complaining about the heat, so we know that it was REALLY hot. On to Rome where it has been so hot today that the pavements are melting! However, we have had some mind blowing history discoveries today, so have been distracted from the heat. This morning we had a tour of the Vatican City and saw the Sistine Chapel. It was so awesome to see the real thing and hear the stories behind it. Photos just don't do it justice at all - it is A.MAZ.ING! We were so impressed with the tour company that we took our Vatican City tour with, that we booked their afternoon walking tour of Ancient Rome. Maybe because of the heat, we were the only ones on it, so had a personal guided tour for the afternoon. Among many things, we have seen where Julius Caesar was stabbed and where Marc Anthony made his "Friends, Romans, countrymen lend me your ears..."speech; we have been in the dungeon where St Peter awaited his execution and we have touched - yes, TOUCHED! - Michel Angelo's "The Christ" sculpture. We finished the day in a terrific (and cheap) restaurant recommended by our tour guide with our heads spinning with what we had seen and where we had been. If anybody is coming to Rome, we have a fantastic tour company to recommend. Tomorrow it is supposed to be hot again, so we will probably hop on an open top bus and get driven around for a bit rather than walk again. We hope to visit the colosseum and some more amazing old stuff, will let you know what we find!It feels like we have been away for a month already, we have seen and done so much.
I am missing family and friends a bit in our quiet moments, but am still waking up excited about what we are doing each day. It has been great to get your comments to kind of keep in touch with home.
Thanks a lot x x x
1 comment:
Hey guys,
Sounds like you're having an A.MAZ.ING trip!
Remind me to grab the Rome tour company off of you when you're passing through...
Enjoy and see you soon,
Simon
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