This morning before catching the train to Florence we decided to venture out to the island of Murano by public ferry. It was a great and inexpensive way to do a little bit of last minute touring (15 euro return) before we made our way to Florence. Our hotel was in such a great location that it only took us a couple of minutes to get to the ACTV boat platform. There are three islands Murano, Torcello and Burano – if we had been organised we could have seen them all yesterday but thems the breaks, I guess that means we will have to return. Murano was selected at the recommendation of the concierge of our hotel as it is the easiest of the three islands to visit and we could fit it in before heading to the train station for our 2.35 pm departure to Florence.

Walking on the cobbled roads of this pretty little town and watching one of the locals glass blowing was a truly wonderful way for us to finish our stay in Venice (and its surrounds). Accordingly to the guide book the glass blowing industry has been around for at least 1300 years.

As well as the Murano glass there are a couple of churches to go into, the Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato was certainly a contradiction. It looks really simple on the outside but inside there is the most amazing mosaic floor, which is being repaired by hand. It is pretty special, the floor was laid in about 1140 with the mosaic dome dating back to the 12th century.

A quick ferry trip “home” and back to the hotel for a late checkout.

The moment we were dreading getting from our hotel to the train station..500 metres with a Venetian bridge in the middle, not any old bridge but one with stairs. On you way to the bridge you are accosted by porters who will willingly take your suitcases across, in my view this would be money well spent..ah but no. As a result the good work of freshening up is gone in minutes… we are sweaty and tired and ready for a shower. 😀

I said ciao to Venice knowing that I would return again someday to spend more time there and enjoy all three of the islands.

Almost three hours later we arrive at Florence railway station and are accosted by the noise and the people. Again Dave and Pip have booked us into a fab hotel. We are staying at the Cerretani Hotel Firenze it is a truly beautiful hotel that is again in a fantastic location. After a quick freshen up we head out for our first view of the city.

It is one of those places where around every corner this is a surprise. Surprise number one – the Basilica of Saint Mary of the flower is just around the corner from us. We can’t wait to get inside tomorrow.

Surprise number two the very cool Ponte Vecchio which is a medieval stone closed bridge over the Arno River which has shops built on it, I only have night time shots at present but will hopefully get some more tomorrow. At 11.00 pm at night it is still buzzing with a trio of buskers playing music, people (slightly younger than us) dancing and singing along.

Dinner tonight was at a restaurant called Obica Mozzeralla Bar, where we had fine pasta and pizza and yes a sneaky rose. Yet another place that I would highly recommend, it could be that I am blinded by the sophistication of the Italians or perhaps as a group we make most excellent choices, either way we are enjoying Italy and it’s people. We are certainly loving the vibe of this town and can’t wait to get out amongst it tomorrow.