A Life, Lived

Travel Tuesdays - Torcello

Today someone I follow on Instagram posted some pics of their visit to Torcello yesterday. It got me thinking of our own visit to the island in the Venetian lagoon.

After wandering Burano for a few hours we took a short vaporetto ride to Torcello - a ghost town many people call the original Venice. Torcello is one of the most popular islands to visit in the Venice lagoon yet it is still extremely peaceful. The main reason for visiting the island is to see the spectacular Byzantine mosaics in the seventh century Cathedral of Santa Maria Dell'Assunta. Much of the island is a nature reserve, accessible only on the walking paths.

Travel Tuesdays - Verona

6 years ago we travelled to Italy to celebrate my 50th birthday. The tail end of our trip was set in northern Italy - starting in Verona. I can't recall why Verona was added to the list - I don't have any real connection with the city. Nonetheless, we spent four days exploring in what was the m=hottest weather I've ever experienced in Italy. Thank goodness the hotel had really good air conditioning!

Travel Tuesdays - Ferrara

A facebook memory stimulated this post.

11 years ago my friend was talking an intensive Italian language course in Bologna. Our friend Sandi and I joined her for part of the time to keep her company. Bologna is beautifully situated for day trips. One day, while Palma was with her instructor, Sandi and I hopped the train to Ferrara. We hung out in the centre of the town, famous for being the seat of the House of Este.

We were amazed at the number of people who were zipping around in bicycles and this became the source of a photo hunt.

Travel Tuesday - Rome

Many of the Italians I follow on Instagram are reporting that Italy is slowing opening up to tourists. This has me hankering for a trip to Rome . . .

These shots are from my last visit to the Eternal City.

Travel Tuesdays - Burano

I am not sure what precipitated it but this week Paul and I fell down the rabbit hole of revisiting our trip to Burano in 2014. Venice was the last stop on my 50th birthday trip. We've been to Venice a number of times so one one day in the city we decided to hop the Vaperetto and head out to visit the surrounding islands. We fell in love with Burano and its vibrant colours.

 

Travel Tuedays - Rome

Some more shots from my week in Rome in the spring of 2018.

Travel Tuesdays - Rome

For the past couple of weeks I have been featuring pics from London - our last real vacation before the pandemic hit. A year before I spent a week in Rome enjoying the sights, sounds, and tastes of the city. Here are some shots from that trip.

 

Travel Tuesdays - Lucca

Have I ever mentioned that we named Lucca after one of our favourite cities in Italy?

We visited it on a day trip during our first trip to Italy. Paul and I liked the walled city in northern Tuscany  so much that we returned for four day stay when we were next in Italy.

Travel Tuesdays - Ravenna

On the weekend I had signed up for a virtual tour of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Emilia-Romagna is a region in northern Italy, extending from the Apennine Mountains to the Po River in the north. It's known for its medieval cities, rich gastronomy and seaside resorts. The capital, Bologna, is a vibrant city with an 11th-century university and arched porticos lining the streets and squares of its medieval core. Ravenna, near the Adriatic coast, is famed for its brightly colored Byzantine mosaics. 

When our guide introduced herself she said that she lived in Ravenna.

Of course that got me thinking about those gorgeous mosaics that I have been lucky enough to see twice.

For this edition of Travel Tuesdays I am going back to Ravenna to look at these fabulous mosaics again.

Travel Tuesdays - Naples

I've started following an Italian on Instagram who lives outside of Naples. She has been posting the most wonderful pics of the city. It got me thinking of my last trip there.