Sunday got off to a late start but all was well since Florence is also a little slow on Sunday. The crowds are here but several things seem to be closed. We tried to do a cooking class but they didn’t seem to work out with our schedule or what we wanted to eat. So we just planned on having a long lunch and hitting the flea market, food market and perhaps the vendors for a few more trinkets.

We started at the cafe with the extra large cappuccino that Christina likes and then headed out. We walked back to the flea market and once again it was a wasted trip. Everything said it would be open but completely shut down. It didn’t look like it would be open at all in January. In the light of day the neighborhood didn’t look as bad as it did the first night we walked down (by night I mean 5 it gets dark early in Italy). However, nothing really to look at so we were just collecting steps.

From the market we headed back to the train station area to go through the vendor stalls again. Christina wanted to look at a sweater but unlike yesterday we only found one vendor selling it and he would not bargain so we walked away. I bought a few things but with fewer people out the vendors seemed more aggressive and we decided we had enough.

It was time for lunch so we tried the food market. The market area was closed but the food court was open. We were too late, it was a madhouse with people circling like vultures for any open seats. Although things looked delicious we were not up for the craziness and headed back out to search for a restaurant

We checked around the square and found one that looked good and took seats inside. One thing very different in Italy is that they cram tables in everywhere and separate four tops to two with only a few inches between. Our table was against the wall and they pulled out the other two seats and sat another table right beside us. An Italian couple set down and he proceeded to make anything I have ever seen an American do seem like nothing. The tables were not level and rocked quite a bit. He was very bothered with this and proceeded to shake the table like a child. He also kept his chair pushed way out so that people could hardly get around.

Regardless of our obnoxious neighbors the lunch was one of our better. We started with a cheese plate and then split pasta and pizza. We had truffle sauce on our pasta and a vegetable pizza. Both were tasty and went well with our bottle of white. First bottle of the day.

After lunch we wandered a bit more then headed to the Hotel Cavour. We had reservations for drinks at the hotels rooftop terrace. The hotel is just blocks down from the Doumo so the views from the terrace were amazing. We enjoyed our second bottle of white taking in the rooftops of Florence.

Drinks were a little (ok really pricey) so we just had the one bottle and headed out. Even though the sun was setting it was only 5 and a little too early for dinner. We were really close to the apartment but decided that if we went up we would likely not come back down so we set out to find a bar for a few drinks. In Treviso every restaurant was a bar between 5-7 and packed with groups drinking. Not so much in Florence at least not in the touristy areas. So we stopped in one of the restaurants around the duomo and had another bottle of wine. Bottle number 3 if your counting.

The restaurant had a few other tables and the food didn’t look all that good so we headed back towards the hotel Cavour for the ones we had seen earlier. We picked one and got seated right by the hanging side of beef. Christina was not impressed. However. the food was really good. We had bruschetta and a Greek salad. Then Christina had chicken with mushroom sauce and I had pasta with sausage. All this with a bottle of white. Which was bottle four that led to a bottle of Prosecco and dessert.

Maybe the last bottle of Prosecco was one bottle too many. It was a good thing we didn’t have far to go and it was a straight shot back to the apartment. For some reason we found the scaffolding around the duomo very funny and couldn’t quit laughing. We thought it looked like they ran out of materials and installed some Home Depot doors to finish out the work. We texted the photo out to several people so I apologize if you received it. We had much better pictures from the day but somehow this one was worthy to be sent as a text.

Thankfully we made it back to the apartment and quickly called it a night. One more day in Florence until we head out to Orvieto.

As if we didn’t shop enough yesterday or more importantly spend enough yesterday, today we are shopping our way through Florence.

We got a relatively early start for us. I got up and got dressed and headed out to see the inside of the church. Christina had no desire to see it and I just wanted to pop in. Surprisingly it did not open until 10:15 so I had to wonder a bit but it was a pretty morning so I just walked around and looked at the art vendors who were setting up. Finally got into the church just to see the dome painting. The rest of the church is pretty bare but the dome has an elaborate judgement day painting of heaven and hell. Jesus is in the middle with angels all around but then demons are grabbing people along the bottom and dragging them to hell. I suppose it is encouragement to be good but the hell scenes are more eye catching. So wh I knows. Pop

Met up with Christina at the cafe outside our apartment for coffee and breakfast/snack (is it wrong to call pizza breakfast). After our fortification we headed out to explore Florence.

First stop of the day was the Ponte Vecchio for some window shopping. It wasn’t horribly crowed so we were able to window shop over the bridge. But again what is the fun of looking if you can’t buy so we found some silver (the stores are mostly gold) and I made my first purchase of the day. I originally picked out some earrings shaped to resemble the cathedral dome but couldn’t resist the matching pendent on a sparkly silver chain. Christina found her own sparkle in the store so we both purchased jewelry on the bridge.

Now on the other side of the river Arno is a bit more peaceful. It is crowded right around the bridge but it soon clears out and the stores are not as crowded so easier to shop. We pass our first glove store so I am off to spend more money. The first couple of times I was in Florence there were gloves stores everywhere. This trip I haven’t seen any around the Duomo or up by the train station. So I was excited to find this one.

From the glove store we hit the paper store I fell in love with on my last trip. I purchased a few things and we were off again. Sadly they were not doing the paper demonstration. I would have liked to have seen that again.

We headed back across the river to find the old pharmacy Christina had read about and the vendors we bought from yesterday walking to the bus. The pharmacy was more luxury creams and perfumes than pharmacy but they did have some elixirs to tie it to it original purpose. Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella was originally established by the monks back in 1221 making perfumes and “medicines”. The pharmacy is now housed in a chapel built in appreciation for the monks for healing a wealthy merchant back in the 1600s. We couldn’t pass up trying the goods and both of us left with new products to help heal our skin.

Christina wanted to purchase a few CG souvenirs she had seen on our elk to the bus yesterday. Yesterday we walked down one block with vendors on both sides. Today we get to the area and there are vendors everywhere. Not sure if we were just so focused on getting to the bus that we didn’t look down the side streets or if the vendors multiplied like rabbits overnight. Anyway we wandered through and although it seemed vendors had the same things she couldn’t find what she saw the day before. We wandered through several times with everyone trying to get you to stop and look at their goods. Christina finds a vendor who has all the things she is wanted to buy and proceeds to try to haggle for a better price. He keeps adding in additional stuff trying to get her to buy this bag or matching wallet. He got a little too pushy for me so I walked away. Christina held firm and got the price she wanted. She did end up with an extra bag but she seemed happy with it.

I found some other things to buy but since they are gifts I can’t say what but I was not as good at haggling as Christina. I bought 4 items and paid the full price for each. Still way cheaper than they would have been in the states and I appreciated the less pushy salesmen. He showed me what I wanted to see and didn’t try to get me to buy anything else. So in the end both of us had the kind of experiences we wanted.

After our shopping excursion we took our treasures back to the apartment to make plans for dinner. The 46 stairs are getting old especially when you are hauling packages and have to go to the bathroom. We rested, regrouped and decided to try one more time for the restaurant recommended by the first guy we met in Florence when we bought our first purses, the Acqua al 2. It looked a little fancy in their website and the menu didn’t have prices but we made reservations and decided to splurge. It was a short walk so we had plenty of time to change into fancier outfits basically out of our tennis shoes and head out. Surprised when we got there to see that the prices were not ridiculous.

Turns out it it was the best meal we have had all n the trip. Surprisingly only 9€ more than last night fiasco. Christina’s chicken was delicious and my steak pie/pizza was fantastic.

After dinner we stopped and got a bottle of Prosecco and some sweets and headed back to the apartment to wrap up the day.

One of the things o have been wanting to do was got the high end outlets outside of Florence and today is the day.

We did not get an early start to the day so we missed all the morning bus times and had a couple of hours to spend before we could catch the 2:00 bus. The bus runs pretty much every hour except for 1, not sure why they skipped it but it through are schedule off. Anyway, Christina needed coffee so we planned to stop for breakfast and pastries but decided since it was close to noon we could have a bottle of wine so we went straight to lunch. In honor of Lisa Marie we chose this cute little vintage cafe called Twist Bistrot (yes they have added a “t” to bistro) for lunch. We had a bottle of wine and toasts, which are warm bread sandwiches. Nothing special but the place was super cute so all was good.

We got sidetracked on our way to shopping with some open air market shopping. I ended up with a turquoise purse that converts to a backpack and Christina got a poncho type wrap. I paid too much for my purse but more on that tomorrow. The shopping slowed us down a bit and we had to hurry to the bus. Sadly it was a cash only enterprise but determined to get there I spent my last $13 to get us to the mall.

The drive was 50 minutes so a bit longer than I thought and had told Christina it was only 30. Not sure she was excited about it as I was but she didn’t grumble too much. I can’t say the drive was pretty. We were really just going through the suburbs of Florence. You did get to see some of the hills but nothing like the drive through the Prosecco area. The bus finally arrives and drops is off right in front of Gucci, which is the store I am hoping to find treasures. Before I know it I have 2 purses and 3 billfolds in my stack. not all for me. In fact I had planned to shop for my sister and was texting her photos and calling to get her pjs before the purchases. It was like a Wall Street trade going on. I would get the price take a picture and send it and wait for the ok to put it in the stack. The prices were so good compared to the stores it was hard to pass up any of it. But I did but not for long.

We went and shopped the rest of the stores but they were not as big and the deals didn’t seem as good. However, I would have bought this super cute Burberry crossbody if I hadn’t just bought one at Gucci. Also saw some super cute Chloe booties but that was late in the day while waiting Ron the bus and just didn’t fell like messing with them then.

I was in hopes to find some fabulous heels but they were all too spindlely for me. So I had to go back to Gucci and buy the heeled loafers. Actually that purchase was Christina’s fault. She wanted the Gucci tennis shoes and if we bought both we would get the tax back. So anything for a friend and now I have a great pair of Gucci shoes to go with my purse and wallet.

We finished up right before five and had time to run to the bathroom before the 5 bus. As we wait where the bus left is off we wondered why it was running late. Based on the times it was leaving Florence it should be 10/15 minutes between turn arounds and there was no bus in sight. Until we saw it driving down the road and zipping right past us.

Sadly just like the lunch break the bus took a 2 hour evening break as well so we were stranded until 7:20. Instead of paying the exorbitant price of $85 we decided to go to the bar and wait for the later bus. The bar was actually pretty good we had a couple of Spritzs and two slices of pizza. The vegetable pizza was surprisingly good. Some of the best we have had on the trip and we have eaten a lot of pizza.

Now that we knew where pick up was we didn’t head out into after 7 which again was a big mistake because the bus was already full and we had to carry our bags to the last few seats. Regardless we made it back to Florence. The walk back to the apartment was not to bad. We stopped and picked up a glass of Prosecco and a cannoli to finish up our day admiring our purchases lounging on the couch.

All in all a good day of shopping. I would highly recommend the outlet shops at The Mall if you are looking for one of Italy’s high end brands.

Today we got to an early start. We had to catch the 8:13 train to Florence which was the only direct option for the day. We decided it was better to get up early then to have to lug our stuff on multiple trains. Catching the train wasn’t going to be the hard part getting a taxi was the issue. I tried to book one the night before but could not get the app or online to work. Our host gave me some numbers to try in the morning so I wanted to make sure we were early enough that if we had problems we could still make it. We got up, got ready and out the door in record time. I was able to get an English speaking dispatch so I thought all was well but sadly no. The cab driver called because it didn’t understand the location. We had walked around the corner thinking our street was pedestrian only and tried to provide the name of the square. He continued to say he didn’t understand until finally a kind woman walked by and gave him our location. He showed up within minutes and proceeded to turn and drive right by our apartment (a street name I could say) and swept us off to the train station. We arrived early enough to have coffee (Christina) and chocolate croissants before boarding our train. Getting the luggage on was not great but not as bad as I thought. Still dreading the move to Orvieto. We decided to hire a driver to go to our Rome airport hotel so that one hopefully will not be too bad.

The train ride went smoothly and we arrived in Florence at 10:30. Check in was not until 3 so we stored our luggage and headed out to town to have lunch and wander around. We soon passed a leather store with a bright pink bag just waiting for me to walk by. We started not to stop but went back to check out the prices. Three purses and a restaurant recommendation later we headed out for food. And if you are wondering I only bought one.

The suggested restaurant didn’t open until 5 so we walked on and found another place and again shared a bottle of wine pizza and a pasta dish all for less than I would normally spend for a meal and one drink at home. After lunch we wandered a bit and went by to check out our apartment location. It is in the Duomo piazza with a great view of the side of the church. We also checked out a vintage store but it was not really what I was expecting. It was full of old Levi’s and sweaters but nothing really Italian. I was hoping to find a great silk scarf or something but nothing caught my eye.

It was finally close enough to three so we headed back to the train to get our luggage and cab back to the apartment. Again we are in a pedestrian only area so we had to drag our luggage the last bit but finally made it in. Christina refused to use the elevator so I made a few trips with the luggage and we got into the place. And that is when the drama began. The smoke detector was beeping like low battery so we tried to fix it with the ladder we found but it was not enough to reach the ceiling. We contacted the host who first asked us just to take the batteries out but then said she would send someone over. So we headed out to try to find a flea market.

The flea market website said it was open until 7:30 we arrived around 5:30 but it was closed down. We had of course walked 30 minutes passed anything else to do to get to it but I guess January hours were not updated. We decided to go back to the recommended restaurant for dinner and luckily had the receipt from the purses so we could find our way. Sadly it was closed. So we went back to the square and picked the first one we came to. Not our best selection. We have had good luck with food until tonight. We decided against pizza and went with a caprese salad to start and then I got lasagna and Christina shrimp skewers and a Caesar salad.

Her salad came out with the caprese salad and it was the weirdest Caesar dressing I have ever seen or tasted. I thought it was tartar sauce pile on top of the salad or maybe a chicken salad but it was just the dressing and equally as bad as it looked. But the big issue is that I forgot to warn Christina that the shrimp might come whole. I wish I had taken a picture when they set the plate of 10 shrimp eyes looking up at her on the table. She just smiled and said it was fine then tried to cover the heads with the carrots that came on the side. She played with them a little but finally gave up. I think they were overcooked because she really couldn’t even get the tail meat out of the shell. My lasagna looked normal but it wasn’t very good. It was basically just the meat sauce and no cheese which was sad. the bottle of wine was the highlight of the dinner and it was nothing special. This was also the most expensive meal we have had by close to $50. We will have to pay more attention here in Florence to avoid a repeat of last night.

We picked up some dessert and headed back to our apartment to hear the alarm ringing as we climbed the stairs. I reached back out to the host who did not respond so I had to contact airB&B which took sometime to get someone who spoke English. He reached out to the host and I guess he took his call and told him she thought it had been fixed. I don’t think anyone came in the apartment the ladder we had tried to use was still out and surely they would have put it away. She then messaged me and said it only needed a reset so I just needed to pop the breaker which was conveniently located by the front door. This worked and the beeping stopped. I don’t know why she didn’t tell me that in the afternoon. It could have been fixed quickly and not near as frustrating. But in the end the apartment is in a great location has plenty of room so all is good. Now if only we could get the heat to work.

They say if you’ve never been lost in Venice you have never been to Venice…well I’ve been to Venice.

The day got a late start. Both Christina or I are still struggling with the time change or it might be the alcohol consumption but regardless I am still up in the middle of the night and sleeping in much later than usual. So we got a late start on our trip into Venice and did not arrive until after noon.

The walk to the train station was much better when we figured out how to get the map to do walk instead of drive and we were soon on our train. We did forget to validate the tickets so I spent the whole time worried we would get yelled at in Italian but no one checked so we had no problems.

We arrived and decided to walk down to Saint Mark’s Piazza and shop along the way. It all started so well the main path was wide and lined with shops and people headed in the same direction. We went in a few of the shops and made a few plans to return if we found nothing better along the way. As we got further in the streets got narrower and weaved and turned and easily defeated my maps app and my navigation skills. We walked in circles for a bit coming back to a narrow street with Christmas lights still up a number of times. We finally asked a local (dressed in the classic gondola striped shirt and black pants) if we were going on the right way which of course we were not. He tried to explain but then told us we could wander another 30 minutes or he could give us a ride there. We opted to splurge for the ride.

I had not taken a gondola ride on my first trip to Venice so this was a new experience. Getting in the boat was a bit awkward as it really felt like it would tip over but it did not and soon we were gliding down the canals. Venice in January was not very crowed but we completely got away from the crowds on the canals. Our guy gave us a the history of Venice pointed out the highlights as we passed and talked a lot about the tide. He confirmed that November is the worst month for flooding (which was when I was there before and the whole town was covered in water). He serenaded us a bit which I tried to record but only got a bit. At every turn he had to yell out to let others know we were coming so the singing never lasted long. We went with him to get a new oar which took us a bit off the beaten path in the more residential areas where we saw more of the small power boats parked along the canals. All in all I highly recommend a gondola ride. To see a peaceful side of Venice and hear nothing but the oar splashing through the water and perhaps your guy singing was worth the price.

But back to the theme… he drops is off and says take two lefts and you will be in the piazza. We were once again lost in Venice. We definitely took the wrong two lefts and wandered for awhile before finally seeing a sign guiding us to the Piazza. I know sooner walk into the square where my phone which has been in and out of service due to the buildings finally has service and I get a call from someone at work. I send her the picture of St Mark’s I just took and tell her who she can talk to until I am back from Italy.

I convince Christina to go into the church. It is my all time favorite and do not intend to miss it on this trip. It is still fabulous and even Christina likes all the gold shiny mosaics on the walls and ceilings. I love the floor tile work which to me doesn’t seem very churchy. I do not know what the birds symbolize but I love them and take several pictures as we wander through.

After the church we stop for lunch and split a pizza some pasta and a bottle of wine. Fortified and rested we start our way back hoping to be on the same path to hit some of the store we saw earlier. After a few wrong turns we finally get on the Main Street and our headed back in the right direction. We return to the shops where I buy several of the mosaic picture frames I like and some other souvenirs which I hope I make it home with. I did spend way too much on some fondue sticks so I will be serving fondue at all parties for the foreseeable future. The picture frames were much cheaper than I expected so I bought more than I needed but couldn’t resist. Christina even bought a new rolling suitcase to help carry everything home.

We made it back to the train station with all our goodies and headed back to Treviso. We dropped everything back at our apartment and headed out to dinner. Last night we were to early for dinner and today we were to late. Seems like 7-9 are the golden hours for eating in Treviso. We found a bar that had snack foods so we ate what they had. I had a ham and cheese toast (which is basically a white bread sandwich) and Christina had several vegetarian bites and a strange looking price of fried fish along with another bottle of wine. It is crazy to be able to get $18-25 bottle of wine with your meal. No reason to just get a glass. We finish our bottle and head back to the apartment to pack up to head to Florence early in the morning. Here’s to hoping the sleep goes better tonight.

Today started off early. We scheduled a private wine tour through Tour Leader Treviso for a full day of Prosecco tasting. We were to meet the driver at 9 at the train station. Neither of us had slept great. I blamed mine on the great sleep I had on the plane but regardless 7:30 came early and we rushed around to make it on time. I spent about twenty minutes looking through everything for the card key to the door. And I do mean everything even things still in my bag I had never opened and the five different trash cans (one for different kinds of trash) that we hadn’t used. Deciding to give up and just ask the host for another one I found it in the slot to make the lights work on the way out the door. Panicked for nothing and mad at myself for not seeing it when I turned on the light to make it easier to search for it. But we were off and met our diver just a couple of minutes late so no real harm.

As we leave Treviso we were surprised to see the snow capped Dolomites within view for most of our day. Fist stop was for coffee (Christina) and chocolate croissants at a small cafe outside of town.

The drive to the first vineyard was quick and by 10:30 we are tasting our first Prosecco of the day. The winery is Tenuto Baron. We start the tasting with a brisk walk around the villa where the owner lives. The grapevines surround the house and go down the hill. All the grapes are hand picked and processed on site in their cellar facilities. There are also olive trees which add the only color in January as the vines are primed for the winter.

The tasting begins with their Prosecco and their Prosecco Rose. Both are quite tasty and we buy a couple of bottles. I also try their red Conamore that was developed by the owner. They say it won the Milan wine Fest in 2019. Our tour guide declared it was his favorite red but he might of course be biased. Regardless he did not skimp on the pours and we are now about 5 glasses in for our tasting day.

While we were tasting the owner and his wife stopped in to say hello. As Christina said had she not been dripping on diamonds and wearing a fur coat you would not have known they owned the estate.

We buy six bottles from our tasting and then can’t pass up 2 decorative bottles and leave with 8 bottles. Not having any idea how we will get home with all this wine but we are happy with our purchases.

After our tasting we headed into Asolo, a medieval village up on the hill overlooking the Asolo valley which lends its name to the style of Prosecco produced in the valley. The village was tiny but had a castle which we climbed up to to check out the views.

Back in the car and now heading out on the official Prosecco Road between Valdobbiadene and Conegliano. Prosecco produced in this area is the DOCG of Prosecco (or as we have been calling it the Snoop Dogg of Prosecco). We are more into the hills with the vines terraced right up to the road. Before harvest I bet the views are spectacular with the vines green and full of grapes. The difference between the styles is that the Asolo Prosecco is smaller and less bubbles than the DOCG variety.

We had a brief stop at the very trendy Prosecco vending machine. Not quite the experience we were looking for. You bought your glass from the machine and then the bottle came from the fridge in the honor system cafe. There was picnic tables to sit and enjoy your wine while looking out over the valley. However the peaceful ambiance was ruined by the lady trying to split wood with an ax. She hated to put her bottle down so it took several tries for her to split the wood into pieces small enough for the stove. Not sure what the stove was used for so kind of thought she was working out her frustration. She never acknowledged us so we gave her a wide berth and headed back to our car.

We had lunch overlooking the valley as well. Equally as confusing we ordered what we thought were sandwiches but actually plates of cheese and prosciutto. Thankfully they gave us some bread as we needed something to soak up all the Prosecco. We ordered a bottle with lunch so we were well on our way to way too much to drink.

Back in the car we had out to the largest vineyard in the area. The very fancy Giusti Wine. Here we get a full tour of the facilities that look brand new. It a much more modern feel to it than the places I visited in Tuscany on an earlier trip.

Here the tasting was upstairs in a bar area and again 5 tastings which for me included some red. Giusti makes multiple wines with 3 different Prosecco’s. We tried their highest quality one and it was the best I have tasted. They also had some good whites and reds. As I said we have been drinking all day and the tastings were close to full glasses, so when they told us the shipping charge we didn’t even blink and just chose 12 bottles and headed on our way.

This was our last stop so from here we headed back to Treviso. We were to early for dinner (didn’t start serving until 7) so we had a couple Aperol Spritz and some snacks while we waited. Dinner was worth the wait. I had a great mushroom lasagna. After dinner we were back to the apartment for an early night.

Drunk on a plane

Flying out to Italy at 7 on Sunday evening is much harder than anticipating. You have all day and nothing to do so a pre trip bottle of bubbles before leaving for the airport sounds like a great idea. Only problems is that this can lead to a couple of bottles at the airport because you are way early to the airport and then…drunk on the plane.

Of course that doesn’t sound so bad if you were not in a front seat with no place to put all your stuff plus the piece of pizza which sounded like a good idea before you got on the plane. Oh and did I mention the family across the aisle with three kids under 3. Here’s to 8:30 more hours of fun.

I just got the super hot towel to wake me up for dinner. I have been on the plane 30 minutes. Not sure why they want me wide awake. Maybe they don’t want me to miss the screaming kids or maybe I need a better hold on my bottle of water and slice of pizza which have both been on the floor. Don’t worry pizza is in a sack. I still plan to eat it. Though I will say BA gave me a printed menu, so who knows maybe I won’t eat the floor pizza. But I am pretty sure I wont be carrying it off the plane. My carry on glass of wine is empty so maybe I will sober up but I doubt it. Here comes the drink cart.

After that it all got a bit fuzzy. I did eat the pizza instead of the chicken dinner but then immediately fell asleep. I didn’t even notice them pick up the food tray. Woke up later to go to the bathroom and was shocked to see that there were only 2:30 hours left. I don’t know if I have ever slept so soundly on a plane. Of course the last 2 hours were crazy long but still the best flight I have been on in a while.

London airport wasn’t too bad. The lines for customs was bit manic but processed through quickly and onto our short flight to Venice.

Arrived in Venice at 4:30 already dark and raining so it felt much later. We headed out to Treviso in a taxi. The ride went well until he couldn’t find the place. The apartment was in the historic city center and some of the steers were not open to traffic. He tried to get down a few of them but would have to back up and try a different route. I could see that we were close and kept saying we would walk from the main square but he refused to accept defeat. He did turn off the meter so we were no longer be charged for the search but I was ready to be done.

He finally admitted that he couldn’t do it and off Christina and I went in the rain with our luggage. Turns out we were less than 5 minutes away so not too bad. The apartment is super cute and we are happy with our choice so all is good (until we need to cab to the train at the end of the trip).

Our hosts gave us some recommendations for dinner so we quickly settle in and head out for pizza. The restaurant is in the main piazza which had been set for Christmas with a huge Christmas tree and carousel.

The pizza was delicious the bottle of wine cheap (Italians don’t really upcharge for wine at restaurants our bottle was only 18 euros). After dinner we looked in a few store windows before heading back to our rooms to crash.

I am not one of those travelers who likes to go but then is ready to come home or loves to come home, I could stay gone forever. However I guess I did have to come back to reality.

The flight home was uneventful. We got our premium seats on this flight which made me realize how much we were screwed on the flight going over. I don’t think $500 was enough. We made to the airport without any problems and because we had entered our test results we breezed through check in and headed right in. There is pretty good shopping at Heathrow so we were able to spend our time. Although I went back on my plan of never using anything without wheels for a carry on and learned again why I made that decision. Next trip my carryon for the return must have wheels. Val’s was even worse so it was a bit awkward wandering through the airport. but we got on our flight and 3 movies and a little blog writing later we touched down at DFW.

It was a great trip even with the Covid issues I have no regrets of traveling overseas. I hope the testing requirements are gone before my next trip but I would do it anyway (Val probably not). I am so ready to retire so that I can travel whenever I want and stay gone as long as I like. Hopefully a few years and I’ll be on permanent vacation. Until then I have a lot of books to read.

Can’t wait for the next adventure.

Today is our final day of the trip. We fly home tomorrow and first thing on the agenda is the Covid test. We tested negative on the rapid tests I brought from home and now need to go pick up the ones we do with the video at a local testing facility. The location was about a mile so we decided to walk. It was a new direction for us so we saw a more residential part of Kensington. It did open up to businesses and we found a good bakery for breakfast. Wish we had found this area earlier since there wasn’t much food around our hotel. Anyway it took longer than we thought to find the place. Google maps is not always the most accurate. But asking direction finally got is where we needed to go and we headed back to hotel to take our tests.

The video tests were both easy and difficult. Something went wrong for both of ours but eventually we got it to work and were just waiting the confirmation from whoever was “watching” the videos. We got our negative certificates in 15 minutes so all was good.

The initial plan for the day was to go out to the Portobello antique market early in the morning. By the time we finished our tests it was around 10:30 so we got a later start than I hoped. The market was already crazy busy. The weather was beautiful and it looked like anybody that was going out that day decided to go to the market. This led to a disappointing shopping experience. Things were also over priced. We found much more reasonable items in the smaller town antique shops than we did at the market. However, I had always wanted to go to the Saturday market and now I have and I can check it off my list.

We walked through fairly quickly (as quickly as you can through throngs of people) and decided it was time for lunch. We did buy a few things. Having become obsessed with tea I bought a set of tea spoons with a cute little sugar cube tong. I looked at some jewelry but all overpriced. I expected to find some of the coin love charms but I did not see any. Oh well always next trip.

We had passed the Churchill Pub in the taxi (yes we took a taxi to the market since we were running behind) so we decided to try it for lunch. Sadly the Churchill pub serves Thai food. It was very British with flags hanging and flowers decorating the outside so not what I expected. We had a beer and a coke then off to find a better lunch option. We did pass the cutest cookie and sweets place called the Biscuiter. They make the cookies that were being sold at the palaces for the Jubilee. I bought some really cute chocolates and wish I had bought the cookies as well.

We did eventually find a pub and had our last meal of fish and chips for the trip. it was delicious.

We continued our walk back and did a little shopping. I found a new clothing store and bought a few dresses. I had been looking for the store we shopped at last time but there was only one in London and no where near things we were doing. This new one I saw in Bath but it was closed so very excited to find it on our walk back to the hotel. It looked like it was going to be expensive they even had a guard at the door but the dresses were under 100 pounds so not bad.

We shopped a bit more then decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for our theater night. We had tickets to see Mary Poppins that evening.

Mary Poppins seemed like an appropriate show to see in London. (Six, about Henry’s wives was sold out) It was at one of the smaller theaters so not a big elaborate place but nice and we had great seats. Since we were dressed up and not in our comfy shoes we decided to cab there. Not our best decision because traffic was terrible. It was like 3 miles and it took us about 40 minutes. We drove through Piccadilly Circle which was the big choke point. People were everywhere. We did make it on time so all was good.

The show was fabulous. Mary Poppins and Burt were really well cast and put on great performances. It is a lot of fun to be at the theater in London and I from now on I will always plan to see a show while I am there.

After the show we decided the crowd was to crazy to get a cab or Uber so we headed to the metro. Of course we walked away from Piccadilly Circle to avoid the crowds but sadly the metro on the map was under construction and not opened so we had to walk quite a ways to the next station. But we soon arrived back at our hotel and wrapped up our last night in London. Having our negative test for the flight tomorrow alleviated our anxiety and we were able to get a good nights sleep.

Friday started early with breakfast at Sky Garden. I found the Sky Garden online looking for new things to do in London since we have done most of the big ticket places. It is was close to where our tour was starting so it made for a perfect place for breakfast.

Sky Garden is on the 35th floor of one of the modern buildings in the area of the Tower, Tower Bridge and St Paul’s. You could see them all from the windows and the outside viewing platform. Breakfast was good. Better than expected for such a touristy place but it was nice to enjoy the view of London while enjoying my morning tea.

The outside opened after breakfast so we went out for a few pictures. It was crazy windy and cold so we didn’t last long before we headed down. It was a nice stop and I would do it again for breakfast. By the time we left the line for the elevator was getting long. It would make a great place for evening drinks but the line is likely to be long. It is free to go up but they do require timed tickets to manage the crowd.

From breakfast we headed over across the Thames to meet up with Siobhan who was giving us a guided tour of the Southwark area. We walked down to cross the millennium bridge. Mother and I had crossed it back in 2002 to go to the Tate Modern Museum. It was our last night and one of my favorite memories of that trip. This trip it will stand out as well but for totally different reason.

As we crossed the bridge Val got a message from one of the women we had been traveling with informing us that she had tested positive for Covid that morning. This definitely put a damper on our day. We had another day in London before we needed to test for our return flight. But Val was really worried that we needed to test and get home before we tested positive. We did decide to continue on with our day but there was a little dark cloud on the day.

We met Siobhan through the tour. She works begins the scenes and does guest relations for Alison. She is also a historian and writer (I brought home two of her books) and works primarily at Hamptons Court but is a licensed tour guide. If going to London let me know and I can hook you up with her. She is amazing.

The first part of our day was Southwark which back in the 1500/1600 was the area for the average person and also where entertainment was available. The Globe theater was and is in that area a long with other medieval finds. We walked past the current Globe and then where the original was. One fact we learned about Shakespeare is that they did not create costumes but just wore clothes donated to the theater. So when you see a Shakespeare play in modern dress that is actually how they were originally performed. Shakespeare himself did not require authentic wardrobes.

We also saw the ruins of Winchester Palace home to the Bishop of Winchester. The Bishop pretty much ran the are and was in control just like landed gentry would control the people working on their land. In a weird twist of fate that meant the Bishop licensed “entertainers” and I am not talking about the actors at the Globe. The women were referred to as Winchester’s geese. The Palace’s was built in the 12th century and all that survives today is a few walls with a rose window. Actually it was built into other buildings and warehouses and was rediscovered in the 1980s

We also saw one of the George Inn and Bar. It is the last surviving gallery coaching inn in London. This one was rebuilt in 1677 after fire destroyed most of Southwark. It is similar to the Tabbard which is where Chaucer started the Canterbury Tales. Siobhan told us that back in the day they would put on plays down in the courtyard and patrons would stand on the gallery walkways to watch the plays. I wish we had time for a beer but will save that for another trip.

We also saw what is now the Southwark cathedral. It is where Shakespeare and Harvard (of Harvard University fame) worshipped. The church was gothic in style and dates to the 10th century. It was also where the Hershey trials were held under Queen Mary. There was some nice stained glass but we walked through very quickly. We did find on if Siobhan’s books on sale in the gift shop which we bought and she signed for us.

We also walked through a nice little food market under one of the bridges. It was worth a second trip and I will keep in mind for my next trip.

We walked by a copy of the Golden Hinde which was the ship Francis Drake circumvented the world in 1577. It was closed for some repairs so that it is ready to sail in the Jubilee festivities.

One very unexpected stop was a museum to a women’s surgery near the university of London. Apparently there was a hospital beside a church to accommodate the woman’s surgery they asked the church if they could use their attic. When the hospital moved the church just bricked up the attic access and never looked again. When someone was researching the old woman’s surgery they asked to visit the church’s attic and were surprised to find the surgery still complete intact. Nothing had been done they had just locked the access and walked away. It was a crazy little stop on our walking tour. My sisters would have loved it. I found it to be pretty creepy.

This is an often overlooked part of London and it is worth a visit.

From here we walked to the Tower of London along the river. There are great views of the Tower Bridge along the way. We stopped for lunch just outside the Tower then headed in.

We were very lucky it was not crowded at all. We were able to pretty much free flow right through. We went through the medieval areas first which compared to the other Tudor period things we saw this was very stark and seemed plain and sterile. a lot of it predates the 1500s. The white tower is the first section built soon after William came from Normandy in 1066. It is still the center of the Tower. The chapel was open when we were there and we were able to see the final resting place of Queen Jane Queen and Anne Boleyn. Along with others that met the end of their life in the Tower. There were not individual graves basically just under the floor with a later marker placed on the ground.

Other highlights include the staircase where the princes were found, the tower with the carvings from prisoners in the tower including Jane’s husband Gilfoy and personal chapel where Henry VI likely was killed. The carvings that were made by these imprisoned during the Tudor period is the highlight of the tour. (Where Jane and Anne were held are not open to the public. Anne’s spot is no longer standing and Janes is part of the current queens lodging if she were ever to stay in the Tower (which of course she never will). Also saw the pageant of kings which is thought to be the first tourist attraction. Basically they set knight armor up on horses. And lines then in a great hall area of the tower. Now the armor and horses are displayed separately. There were several sets of Henry’s armor both skinny and fat Henry. I was quite surprised at how elaborate the armor was. Most were very ornate. It did not seem like something you wore to battle.

Who am I kidding the highlight is the Crown Jewels. Generally all of the Crown Jewels were melted down by Oliver Cromwell during the Reformation. The only original price is the coronation spoon. Seems someone purchased it and then returned it when Charles retook the throne. So although amazing these are not the jewels worn by the Tudors.

We had a great day touring the Southwark neighborhood and the Tower. After a worrisome start to the day we ended up deciding to continue are original plans to fly home on Sunday so there was no rushing out to get the test. That would be tomorrow’s challenge.