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Italy

Four days at the end of April 2016, from the canals of Venice to Florence and Pisa, and a last long day on the cliffs of the Cinque Terre.

Four days, five stops

We rode the train across the lagoon into Venice on 29 April 2016 and spent that night in Mestre, on the mainland. By the next afternoon we were in Florence, under umbrellas. On 1 May the sun came out, and after a morning in Florence we went on to Pisa. Then we gave a whole day to the coast. We walked the high paths of the Cinque Terre from Manarola, and stayed in Vernazza until the harbour lights came on.

  1. VeniceNight in Mestre · 29 AprTrain across the lagoon
  2. Florence30 Apr–1 May
  3. PisaNH Pisa · 1 May
  4. Manarola to CornigliaCinque Terre · 2 MayOn foot
  5. VernazzaCinque Terre · 2 May
The Grand Canal from the Accademia bridge, with the white domes of Santa Maria della Salute at the far end
Meenu and Praddy in St Mark's Square, in front of the basilica's domes and archesA quiet side canal lined with moored boats, with a footbridge further along
Visited
29 Apr 2016
Stayed
Best Western Hotel Bologna, Mestre · 1 night
Getting in
Train across the lagoon

Venice

We came in by train. Outside the window the lagoon stretched flat to a low line of buildings, and soon after two o'clock Meenu was smiling on a bridge over the Grand Canal. From there we wandered the side canals, past moored boats, speeding water taxis and small footbridges, and down narrow alleys between the houses.

Late in the afternoon we stood on the Accademia bridge. The Grand Canal ran away from us, busy with boats, to the white domes of Santa Maria della Salute. Then came St Mark's Square, with the basilica's domes and arches and the tall brick bell tower. Down on the waterfront, San Giorgio Maggiore stood on its island across the water.

By evening Meenu had her leather jacket on. Our last photo of the day is the green copper dome of San Simeone Piccolo, across the Grand Canal from the station.

Florence under grey cloud from Piazzale Michelangelo, with the Duomo's red dome, Palazzo Vecchio's tower and Santa Croce, and pink flowers in the foreground
The Duomo's red-tiled dome and marble-banded walls against a blue skyMeenu and Praddy smiling cheek to cheek above the city, with Santa Croce behind them
Visited
30 Apr–1 May 2016
Weather
Rain, then sun
View
Piazzale Michelangelo

Florence

Florence met us with rain. We walked round the Duomo and the Baptistery under umbrellas. The Duomo's marble is striped white, green and pink, and it stood out even on a grey day. Palazzo Vecchio's tower rose into heavy cloud. Beside it, under the arches of the Loggia dei Lanzi, marble figures twisted on their plinths.

We found a counter lined with salads and little glass pots of fruit and cream. In the evening we went up to Piazzale Michelangelo. The cloud was still low, but the whole city lay below us: the Duomo's red dome, Palazzo Vecchio's tower and Santa Croce, with hills behind.

The next morning the sky was blue. Meenu posed on the steps of San Lorenzo, and we went back to see the Duomo's dome in the sun. We found a café with bright pink egg chairs, had a lunch of tomato and mozzarella, and walked past the green domes of the synagogue before we left for Pisa.

Meenu and Praddy sitting on a railing on the lawn, with Pisa's cathedral and the Leaning Tower behind them
The Arno lined with yellow and orange houses, and the small white chapel of Santa Maria della Spina on the bankPraddy in profile beside the round marble Baptistery
Visited
1 May 2016
Stayed
NH Pisa
Square
Piazza dei Miracoli

Pisa

We got to Pisa in the late afternoon sun and walked along the Arno first. Yellow and orange houses line the river, and on the bank stands Santa Maria della Spina, a small white chapel covered in spires.

Then we went to the Piazza dei Miracoli. The cathedral, the Baptistery and the tower stand on a wide green lawn, all white marble, and the tower really does lean. Praddy posed beside the round Baptistery, and we sat on a railing with the cathedral and the tower behind us.

In Pisa we stayed at the NH Pisa.

Meenu and Praddy on the vineyard slope above Manarola, its painted houses piled on the rock below
Meenu high above the sea, with Corniglia on its headland and the coast running away behind herMeenu on a narrow dirt path along the cliff edge, the sea far below
Walked
2 May 2016
Started
Above Manarola
Passed
Corniglia, on its cliff

Manarola to Corniglia

We gave 2 May to the Cinque Terre coast. By eleven we were on the slope above Manarola, among the vineyard terraces, looking down on the village's painted houses piled on their rock above the sea.

We kept climbing. By noon we were high above the water, looking along the coast to Corniglia on its headland, with the railway tucked along the shore below it. Around half past one Corniglia was right below us, on top of its cliff above a turquoise sea. The path narrowed to a ledge along the cliff edge, then ran on into green woods.

All afternoon we kept stopping to look along the coast, and Meenu posed against it again and again.

Vernazza's harbour at blue hour, the church tower and houses lit up and their lights reflected in the water
Meenu by Vernazza's harbour, with the church tower and pink and yellow houses behindPraddy's silhouette on the rocks against the last orange light, with a sailing boat on the sea
Visited
2 May 2016
View
From the path above the village
Stayed until
After dark

Vernazza

By half past five we were in Vernazza. We sat on the layered grey rocks by the sea, then walked round the little harbour, past the church tower and the boats pulled up on the slipway. Meenu stopped at the Gelateria Vernazza.

Then we climbed the path above the village. From up there Vernazza is a cluster of pink and yellow houses around the harbour, with the castle's round tower out on its rock. The low sun turned the houses gold.

We watched the sunset over the sea, with a lone sailing boat out on the water, and Meenu made a heart with her hands against the sky. Back down on the rocks, Praddy stood watching the last orange line on the horizon. Then the lights came on around the harbour, and we stayed until the water turned deep blue.

From our bookings and photos

  • Consider a night in Mestre. Our one night for Venice was at the Best Western Hotel Bologna on Via Piave in Mestre, on the mainland. A double room with breakfast cost £140.53 (US$202.26) through Agoda in 2016. We crossed the lagoon into Venice by train.
  • Take the card you booked with. Agoda's voucher said to show the card used for the booking, and photo ID in the same name, at check-in. Otherwise the hotel could ask for payment again.
  • Pack for rain. Florence was grey and wet on the afternoon of 30 April, and blue and sunny the next morning.
  • Stay in Vernazza after sunset. We went up the path above the village at about half past seven, when the low sun lit the houses, and watched the sunset from there. Back at the harbour, the lights came on just before nine.

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