mostly photos and a few words about what we are doing, seeing, eating, and everything else in between... 8/11/2024 - 8/17/2024
Did we mention it was hot in Venice? Any opportunity for shade was taken.And when we couldn't find shade, we found a friend!! Hi Reed!It wouldn't be a Venetian welcome without a spritz and cicchetti. The anchovies were a dice-roll; sometimes great and sometimes a bit difficult to get down. These ones on the right were chefs-kiss.A quick trip to Bologna was nothing short of entertaining. Stanley Tucci set expectations very high, but we weren't quite sure why it felt like a ghost town. Turns out there was an ongoing holiday in August—"2nd to only Christmas"—called the Feast of Assumption. A nice italian couple running one of a few gelato shops still open informed us the entire town shuts down for most of August.and they weren't kidding!After our afternoon gelato we did some shopping, a.k.a., AC hopping, and when we started talking to the sales associate about how hot the weather was, she asked "how do you say not the best [in english]?", followed by a short pause and then, "ah, yes, the worst!" The "feels like" temperature was north of 110 Fahrenheit. We couldn't leave Bologna without some tortellini en brodo regardless of the temperature. And when asked if we wanted wine, Reed said we should have a lite night and then proceeded to order 1L. Tyler needed a Zofran at dinner and then realized that we left all of our travel meds in Venice. Our best option was for Makenna to walk over to the 24 hr pharmacy, claim that she was pregnant, and receive some nausea meds from the Italian pharmacist. Sometimes when you travel, you just have to do what you have to do. We returned to Venice, but the heat never left. We took every air conditioned opportunity possible, even on the boat to and from Murano. Not pictured: the AC vent that Tyler is 100% engulfing with his body.Goodbye Venice! We still loved the canals even with the heat.Tyler's favorite fun fact about Venice is that the ambulances are boats! There's no roads so this was obvious in hindsight, but a fun realization in the moment.Next stop: Florence. We walked, shopped, and enjoyed the beautiful architecture of the city. We were on the hunt for leather jackets and found Buti Italia, a true gem. The sales associate was trying to convince us on an Italian fit, "if you can breathe, it's not tight enough."The sunsets did not disappointNor did the hilltop viewsWe ended the week in Cinque Terre — the touristy UNESCO cliffside that while beautiful, has certainly lost most of its locals......Except for this legend, Luca. His boat ride was the highlight of our time in Cinque Terre. A half day adventure with a man that only knew encouragement, optimism, and a love for the sea. With the heatwave passing through Italy, swimming in the coves along the coast and sipping some prosecco made for the perfect escape.Certainly a view worth seeing from the water.
