Kilometres walked : 13

Wednesday 26th April, 2023.

Starting off slowly again today we finally discovered the bakery just around the corner. What a treat that was, beautiful fresh bread for lunch😋 Then of course once we explored a few more different streets we found the fresh fruit & vegetable shops and the butcher. It always seems to take a couple of days to find out where the locals shop & enjoy an espresso ☕️

Noticing that for the first time there wasn’t anyone lining up to access the Tower Guinigi, which happens to be just outside our apartment we took the opportunity to head on up whilst it was quiet. Perfect timing I must say, with only a few other people on top of the tower we enjoyed the panorama from above the city. With a sea of terracotta tiles and lovely little terraces and courtyards dotted everywhere. Mountains rising out from the surrounding countryside and with a big blue sky above us it was quite magical. The tower itself is 44.25 metres high and on top is a garden with seven beautiful old oak trees. A rewarding piece of paradise after climbing 230 stairs to reach it.

We then set off to find the canals coming in through the wall on one side of the city which runs right through to the wall on the opposite side of the city.

Lunch was thoroughly enjoyed back at the apartment with our beautiful fresh bread. After relaxing for a little while we headed for The Botanic Gardens for a lovely meander and enjoying the turtles sunbathing on the edge of the pond, and then of course we went for our afternoon stroll along the wall😊

25th April 2023

LEST WE FORGET

Kilometres walked : 13

Oh Lucca, you are beautiful. Wandering around in amazement at the spellbinding architecture, grand entrances, cobblestone alleyways and mouth watering cuisine 🧀🫒

Discovering Palazzo Pfanner we went exploring. The Palazzo is still owned by the Pfanner’s and they still reside there. With just a small but fabulous section open to the public and a beautiful Italian Baroque Style garden you won’t be disappointed. The grand entrance through luscious lemon trees in aged terracotta pots and marble statues representing the seasons draws you in to a fabulous water feature. Then you can just casually relax in the sun and enjoy your surroundings.

After heading back to the apartment for lunch we went for our passeggiata pomeridiana around the wall. And of course on the way found so many more things to photograph.

Ciao

Kilometres walked : 10.4km

Afternoon stroll!

Monday 24th April, 2023.

Hello Lucca. Just a short train ride from Florence we have found paradise. Arriving into Lucca today was like taking breath of fresh air. This is Italy. Situated on the Serchio river it is best known for its well preserved Renaissance walls encircling its historic city centre. Wide tree lined paths along the top of these walls are the perfect place for a passeggiata serale.

After battling the crowds in Florence it’s a lovely change to have some space and fresh air. I think a stroll around the walls will be a daily occurrence this week. Treating ourselves to a mouthwatering panini for lunch we then wandered around to get our bearings. Mr horse stopped us in our tracks as he made straight for a particular shop doorway for his obvious daily snack. And of course my door obsession continues. What a beautiful city.

We already wish we had booked a longer stay here. Oh well we may just have to come back.

Kilometres Walked : Friday – 5.9 km, Saturday – 8.5 km, Sunday – 6.4 km.

Sunday 23rd April, 2023.

Our last day in Florence. The last couple of days have been spent relaxing, sleeping in, wandering cobblestone streets, admiring the architecture, battling the crowds of tourists, drinking espresso, eyeing off all the leather goods that we can’t possibly fit in our backpacks, staring up at random frescoes, enjoying the sunshine along the Arno and my favourite thing of all, taking photos of the marvellous sets of timber doors and the equally beautiful door knockers. I’m sure we’ll see many more across Italy, but I just love them.

You’ve been beautiful Florence. A tad busy for our liking but the history of this place is just incredible.

We didn’t visit the Duomo due to the extraordinarily long lines. But wandering around the outskirts of it, it’s completely amazing as was most of Florence !

On the last evening we decided to check out our super local down stairs 🍺 we watched these guys set up for a few evenings, from behind a roller door. Turns out they serve fabulous beers and wine 🍷 We also met some fellow Aussie’s, which just capped our night off perfectly 😊

Arrivederci Firenze, you’ve been magical!

Kilometres walked : 14

Thursday 20th April, 2023

Gazing up at the grandeur of the building as we walked through to the Boboli Gardens first, the sheer size of it stopped us in our tracks. Palazzo Pitti. How on earth did they build such a place? Look at the size of the stones. Everything about the Pitti Palace was grand. Grand doorways, grand windows and grand archways. With a blue sky above us we started off exploring the garden first whilst it was quiet. Even the garden is on a grand scale. Beautiful, majestic, sculptured, magical and inspiring. So many different words to describe this place. Marble & Stone sculptures beautifully decaying at every turn. Tunnels of greenery to explore. Expansive views across the city. Path ways leading in every direction. Fountains and water features and sweeping stone staircases kept us entranced for over three hours. Such a very special place.

Downing a quick espresso at the cafe bar we next ventured into The Palace itself. Oh wow. We were both rendered speechless. How is this opulence even possible? Originally built in 1458 it oozes wealth and style. The ceiling frescos and plaster work in almost every room are just completely unbelievable. The detail is phenomenal and when you think you have finished you turn the corner and several more rooms appear before you. Massive doors and windows with magnificent marble architraves, spectacular terrazzo floors in every room, again with marble kicks all the way around, views across the city and the gardens, huge fancy chandeliers, jaw dropping detail everywhere you turn, we just couldn’t fathom that people had actually lived here and the amount of money and time it would have taken to complete it was even possible.

Last but definitely not least we headed over to the Bardini Gardens which were also included in our ticket for the day. With our feet almost ready to fall off we slowly strolled around admiring more beauty. The arbor of wisteria was an absolute stand out. The fragrance completely enveloped us. The Italian’s do garden’s beautifully and their use of water features, grotto’s, staircases, statues and pebble paving is something to aspire to.

Kilometres Walked : 14

Wednesday 19th April, 2023.

Up bright and early with the sun shining we headed to The Uffizi Gallery to get a good head start on the hoards of tourists. Famous for its outstanding collections of paintings with particular interest in Botticelli’s – ‘The Birth of Venus’ & ‘Primavera’. Getting in much quicker than expected (it’s good to be early) we were first completely stunned by the ceiling frescoes lining the hallway. They just continued and continued. I still can’t quite fathom how they were so intricately painted on a ceiling and that after several hundred years, they are still there. Regularly taking a seat on one of the many benches along the hall, I sat back to take it all in.

And then there was Botticelli. My absolute favourite of the day. The extremely impressive Primavera (Spring) being the one I loved the most. All of his work is quite amazing and his attention to detail is fantastic. The Birth of Venus is obviously the other beauty but there was something about Primavera that just stopped me in my tracks. Wandering back and forth several times to take it in, I realised that it’s been a while since a particular piece of art has really got me. Eventually we moved on to the rest of the gallery. Now there’s only so many Madonna & Child paintings one can look at. Luckily there were more amazing ceilings to qawp at, a few very impressive Rembrandt’s and one beautiful room I didn’t manage to get a photo of as I set the alarm off reaching in to far to try to take the photo 😳 we moved on quickly after that one😆 Caravaggio’s Medusa and more extraordinarily detailed Roman marble statues finished the morning off nicely.

Three hours later with heavy feet we headed back to our apartment for lunch and then spent the afternoon wandering around the cobblestone streets again craning our necks and enjoying the scenery.

Kilometres walked : Monday – 12.1 km, Tuesday – 14 km.

Tuesday 18th April, 2023.

Well hello again Florence😍 Visiting this beautiful city 23 years ago with Boo, it is just as magical now as it was back then. Jaw dropping architecture everywhere you look. Buildings steeped in history. Cobblestone streets built several hundred years ago. Marble sculptures beautifully worn with time. How is it possible to have this much beauty on such a huge scale that has survived for this long? Intricate carvings on the sides of buildings. Peeling and cracked frescos still visible. Ornate trims around windows. Magnificent doorways and entrances. This city takes your breath away.

Deciding to head across the Arno today and explore the Boboli Gardens, we set off past the food markets on the way. Getting very distracted eying off antiques that we couldn’t squeeze into our luggage and purchasing beautiful fresh produce for dinner and of course having an espresso with the locals we finally found ourselves at Piazzale Michelangelo. With stunning views across the city and beyond we sat mesmerised whilst enjoying our lunch.

Meandering down winding cobblestone streets and and up past the old original city wall we found ourselves completely mesmerised by the beautiful buildings and wisteria in full bloom, huge olive trees, classic fiat’s, old walls, craning our necks to take everything in. Eventually we admitted defeat in the fact we totally took a wrong turn somewhere and weren’t going to make it to the gardens today🤪 Oh well, we have all week. We eventually found our way back to The Ponte Vecchio and crossed back over the Arno and into a sea of tourists. We thought Amsterdam was busy, we’ll I’m pretty sure Florence is busier and crazier. At least we learned how to side step everyone and keep an eye out for bicycles and cars at the same time at the last stop😳

Florence, cradle of the Renaissance, romantic, architecturally mesmerising, home to some of the world’s most famous art, surrounded by rolling hills, cobblestone streets and amazing churches, I think I’m in love💕

Kilometres Walked : 7.9 km.

Sunday 16th April, 2023.

Lazy last day in the dam. Venturing out late last night to check the night life out, we were totally gobsmacked at the procession of humans walking in one direction around the red light district. It was just like a Zombie movie where they all follow each other🧟‍♀️. We joined in for brief moment then scampered off to a nearby bar for a 🍷 We definitely don’t remember it being like that four years earlier. People just meandered around in different directions doing different things but last night watching everyone just go around literally in circles was just bizarre.

We just love this place though and will always visit when in Europe. The Dutch have living in a small space worked out perfectly and they can cycle like no one else. I’ve never seen so many people of such a varying age this fit and able to swerve and hit the brakes to avoid the tourists wandering all over the place and keep their cool at the same time. It’s a very liveable city indeed and we both look forward to visiting again.🧀🫒🌷🚲

Bicycle’s🚲, Tulips🌷, Tourists🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️, Stag nights, Art🖼️, Chess♟️, Cheese🧀, Coffee Shops🌿, Canals, Houseboats, Quirky Architecture, Greenery, Beer🍺,Thank You Amsterdam!

Kilometres Walked : 11km

Saturday 15th April, 2023.

After a slow start we sipped our coffee whilst watching the city start to wake up. Not to many people are early risers in Amsterdam. Noticing a market being set up in the next square, we set off to investigate 🫒🧀🌷 And what mouthwatering delights we found😋

We delved back into the Art world next, heading to The Rijks Museum, most famous for it’s Rembrandt collection. With a beautiful big blue sky above us we wandered around the gardens first and enjoyed a coffee & sandwich whilst sitting in the sunshine watching the big kids play in the water feature 😆

‘The Nightwatch’ Rembrandt’s largest and very famous painting wasn’t quite what we expected. Whilst very large and slightly impressive, the feeling we got when we saw it was just like going to The Lourve and seeing ‘The Mona Lisa’. “Is that it” 😳 To top it off it is currently being restored, so there are huge glass walls surrounding it and the frame has been taken off. Anyway moving on. We then set off in search for the two Vermeer’s which are usually on permanent display only to discover that they had been removed for the Vermeer Exhibition in the next building ☹️ ( which has been sold out for weeks) There were some other lovely pieces in the gallery including several more Rembrandt’s. Whilst he isn’t really my cup of tea his attention to detail on some of his portraits is very good. I can’t say we were really into much more of the Art on display but luckily found the extra exhibits downstairs which included Armoury, Delft, China, Porcelain, Jewellery, Beautiful Detailed Cabinets and Timber Ships.

Kilometres Walked : 11

Friday 14th April, 2023.

Sensory overload. Who knew there were so many varieties of tulips out there in the world🌷 Keukenhof, the annual tulip festival in The Netherlands is an absolute must do. Yes the crowds are astronomical and at most times not rude ( just a few exceptions of course ) but the colours, varieties and the beautiful design of the gardens are just incredible. When the sun shines on those flowers it’s just completely wow🤩 The Hyacinth, which I think is now one of my favourite flowers were in abundance and amazing. The fragrance enveloped you as you wandered by.

After a lovely canal cruise in Lisse, the Keukenhof was a fabulous way to finish the day. You can never see to many flowers in my mind😊 Meandering through those flowers today though we overheard a fellow Aussie talking, after hearing that twang over the top of all the European accents I can totally understand why foreigners can’t really understand us all the time 😆 it’s funny how you don’t realise how we sound until your on the other side of the world 🇦🇺

Friday night, thousands of people, the sun is setting and we can watch it all from our window whilst enjoying a 🍺 & some 🫒