Rome, Part 1

From Florence, we traveled on to Rome. Our B&B was two blocks from the Circus Maximus and Palantine Hill. 

 

Mouth of Truth.

Vatican Museum.

Piazza di san Pietro.

The Basilica.

Florence

After Venice, we went on to Florence. On the walk from our B&B, we found "hidden" courtyards, open to the public, but very easy to miss if you're not curious/rude enough to look through open doorways. 

At the Accademia Gallery, some of the most interesting of Michelangelo's work is the unfinished pieces. 

What I never realized until seeing this work in person is that the dimensions were sculpted so that everything would be proportional when looking up because the statue was intended to be placed on roofline of the cathedral. 

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. 

Uffizi Gallery

View of the Arno River from the Uffizi.

Near the Palazzo Vecchio. 

View from the Piazzale Michelangelo.

Venice, A Pictoral

Ah, Venice

It feels as if it's been ages since we were able to travel. Our last big trip was in November of 2016 to Italy. 

Our travel began very early on a late November Sunday morning when we made the long drive from Wisconsin to about two hours north of New York City. This is somewhere in Pennsylvania.

We finished the last hour of our 15 hour drive on Monday. After a brief visit with DH's cousin and aunt, we boarded a train to NYC in the afternoon and made our way to JFK, then boarded the plane at almost 10 p.m. Part of our flight was over beautiful mountains.

After arriving at Milan Malpensa airport, took a train into Milano Centrale station and transferred to another train to go on to Venice. We finally arrived at the train station in Venice on Tuesday around 6 p.m. and entered the canal area to the ringing of church bells. 

So magical.

St. Mark's square

The bell tower (Campanile).

The view from the bell tower. 

Looking from St. Mark's to the Venetian Lagoon.

Another view from St. Mark's.

The Doge's Palace.

Canal near our bed and breakfast.

Riding on a vaporetto. How I love these boats!

Delicious hot chocolate.

Fantastic sunsets.