Venice, Italy, Day one
Still sad to be leaving, we packed our bags and left Castello di Montegonzi. We headed back towards Siena, with Katie taking the corners in the Fiat like a seasoned rally driver. Very scary, but very well handled! We made it back and, much relieved, left the car with a full tank of diesel at the rental depot.
Then we were headed to the station to catch the train to Florence, and from there to Venice. Getting off the train and seeing the canal filled with water taxis and buses made Katie’s day and she was grinning from ear to ear as we tried to find our accommodation, no small feat in Venice. Naturally, we ended up completely lost before eventually tracking down our one-star hotel, Casa alla Fenice. Turns out that one star ain’t so bad in Venice! We checked in to the Casanova room (!!!) which looks like it was decorated by Franco Cozzo when he was toey. Big red curtains surrounded the ornate bed and windows and a larger-than-life nude painting occupied the main wall. Understated to say the least :)
Still reeling from the room, we headed out to visit St Mark’s square, his basilica and the palace next door. Katie loved the pink lampposts and we stayed to listen to the musicians outside of Florian’s and the other cafes before slipping out of the overpriced square (6€ each just to sit down!) for a low key dinner. Slowly walking home down the narrow alleys and over the canals, we stopped for a nightcap near the hotel before retiring to our riotous room for the night. More exploring to be done in the morning! Simon
