Venice to Florence.....

So as we say bye to Venice & travel by train for 2 hours to Florence. We arrive at Florence & we both just love it here. Such a pretty place, just so laid back expect for the traffic, just like Paris crazy driving skills tight squeezes but again some how it just seems to work.

Our room is amazing very nice indeed, heaps of room to move, & a bath that is so big & nice.....

So we drop off our luggage & head out, at the end of the street is a massive Christmas tree & The Church of Santa Maria Del Fiore.

We strolled the streets for hours just looking at different things, such a pretty pretty place.....

Off to the Panoramic Observation Deck for a drink & some pictures, we also had dinner up there. After dinner we went back out & looked at the city of a night, so pretty all decked out for Christmas. It is cold here but not as cold as it was in Venice.....

We watch the sunrise over Venice one last time.....

We arrive in Florence....

Street Markets.....

View from the Panoramic deck.....

All ready for Christmas.....

Christmas lights up & ready......

No Momento's from Murano.......

Day 4 in Venice, so we are off to see glass blowing on the island of Murano. We get a private water taxi across that was very nice, & we see how they make glass chandeliers.....This was interesting but not what we where expecting at all.  We saw about 10 mins of them working & the rest of the time looking at their showroom. We were told not to feel pressured to buy anything, but 9 out of 10 people buy something as a token... We liked a silver & red glass canoe shaped bowl & thought this might be our token, oh... no no no it was $2500 yep & that was excluding tax!!! So we get shuffled up the cheaper end & reminded not to feel any pressure to buy anything & if you don't we are still friends just like before, the more he said it the more pressure we felt. So at last I see these cute little drinking glasses (and you can only buy a set of 6) thinking, well this is our token, yep not our token as these were $1400 not including shipping... So we didn't buy a token & remain in that small percentage that didn't buy anything. We then were told we could get a free ride back to Venice, so we sit & wait & wait, I guess this is what they do when you don't buy a token lol.... So finally after about 20mins of waiting we are told your ride is here, so feeling like cheap skates we jump aboard & head for Venice. We get dropped off to a spot we have never seen before the furthest end of Venice & are told to head left & eventualy you will get to St Marco its only 5 mins away. after about 90mins later we get to St Marco...what a morning!!!!

On the way to the Murano Island....

Glass blowing.......

We spent the rest of the day just looking around finding more places we hadn't seen. Venice has been very relaxed as we didn't have much planned thought we would play it by ear, & a frozen ear at that. You certainly want to be heading back to your hotel around 4pm as the night cold sets in very fast, & unfortunetly for me so do all the handbag men selling cheap authentic/stolen hand bags lol....I have decided that no handbag is worth getting frost bite over. I still have Florence & Rome to go, so fingers crossed I find something I like & more importantly can afford. Our holiday budget is still on track, which is great.

I had to laugh today as Paul (my Google tour guide) stopped some strangers looking at a statue & told them about the history & the story of it..... When they asked who were the people in the statue, his reply was dunno??? lol... So here is the history of this statue- The Statue is of the Tetrarchs, in an attempt to stabilise the Roman Empire after the crisis of the 3rd century, the Emperor Diocletian imposed a new Imperial office structure: a four co-emperor ruling plan called The Tetrarchy. This porphyry statue represents the inter-dependance of the four rulers. it was taken from Constantinople, during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, and set into the southwest corner of Saint Marks Basilica- The missing foot (bottom right) was discovered in Istanbul (near the Bodrum Mosque) in the 1960's, where it remains on display.

The Tetrarchs......

Paul has just come back from the supermarket grabbing some essentials, as its too cold for me to go out at night. He came back to the room & told me to close my eyes tight & hold out my hand, so I did He got me a cute little black & white handbag, very nice he did well... So i finally have a genuine leather handbag from Italy...Yay. Paul approached the dodgy street seller & asked how much, he said you tell me... Paul replied NO you tell me, he looked left & right & he said $75 Euro, Paul replied no way mate, my wife has been looking at these types of bags for $30 Euro!!! He looked left & right again & said OK $35 euro don't tell anyone... Paul handed him a $50 & he tried to sell him more bags instead of giving back change. Paul stood his ground & after about 5 mins got his change back.

From our room we can hear the chimming of the bells from the Church of San Moise, it chimes on the hour & every half hour... 24hours a day. This church was rebuilt in the 9th century, & the facade is covered in carvings.

 Masquerade outside the church....

St Mark's Square on Dusk...

My tip for Venice is be home by 4pm & stay in the warmth of the sun as much as possible...

Paul's tip for Venice is to wonder the streets & lane ways & get lost, it truly is fun...

Strolling the streets of Venice....

Day 3 in Venice, so we decide to stroll the streets of Venice  just see where we end up & what we will find along the way....The one thing i have noticed here is there are so many shops markets & stalls down lane ways in the squares, just the more you look the more you find. when you think that you have seen them all, you turn & there is more. We caught a vaporetto to the church Santa Maria Della Salute, this church was constructed in 1631 immediately after the plaque of 1630 in Venice where it claimed a third of the population some 46,000 people, on the surrounding lagoons the number was much higher, some 94,000. it was built & dedicated to the Virgin Mary who was thought to be the protector of the Republic.

The facade has the 4 Evangelists, Mathew Mark Luke & John....

After hours of strolling the streets enjoying the warmth of the sun we came across the Rialto Bridge, this is another famous bridge in Venice. Rialto Bridge is one of four bridges spanning across the Grand Canal. It is the oldest bridge across the canal & is the dividing line for the districts of San Marco & San Polo. Opened in 1591 it's 23 metres wide & spans 27metres.

Railto Bridge.....

So we jump back on a vaporetto & head for our hotel, we stop & go into the Saint Mark's Basilica. It is one of the cities most famous churches. The church burned down in 976 during an uprising. It was rebuilt twice, the last time in 1063. At that time the power of the Venetian Republic had risen dramatically, and the new basilica, consecrated in 1094,would come to symbolise the republics growing power & wealth. This basilica is the one we see today. It was the Doge's private Chapel until 1807, when it became the cities cathedral. This is in St Marks Square which goes under water up to 4 times a day. We have only seen a little water in the square, thankfully!!!

Inside Saint Mark's Basilica....

Detail of the rooftop showing Venice patron apostle St Mark with angles.
 Underneath is a winged lion, the mascot of Venice.....

Enjoying the sun in Venice......

Gondola & doubling up in Venice.....

Day 2 in Venice, Paul says "its going to be a beautiful day in Venice 7 degrees & Sunny. So no need for gloves, scarf or beanie". So I decided not to listen to Paul's advice & I double up with my tights & scarves. With no plans set for the day we head off, about 2 hours later Paul's ears are frozen, he has no feeling in his fingers, & I cant stop laughing as I remind him saying no need for gloves, scarf or beanie today. Even our teeth are cold, I didn't even think that was possible... So we head back to our hotel, where Paul gets scarf beanie & gloves, on our way back from the hotel a gondolier asked if we would like to ride in a gondola, Paul asks about pricing & we continue on. I said to Paul his gondola looked pretty & its a lovely day I think we should go back & go on a gondola today while the weather perfect, remember 7 degrees & sunny lol...

Today was a very relaxing day as just strolled the streets of Venice looking at shops, stalls & hopped on the gondola.... The photo of the "Bridge of Sigh's" history is, it links between Doges Palace & the Prigioni (Prison) though many tourists think this bridge & its name is romantic- it was there to offer the Prisoners of the Venetian Republic a final opportunity to view the city before they were led to their cells or to the executioner.

20 years later & still smiling....

Just amazing.....

Us in front of the Bridge of Sighs....

Look it's me in Venice....

Panoramic View.....

Lost in Venice.....

Day 1 in Venice, after a 6 hour scenic Train ride, we arrive in Venice.....We get a vaporetto card (water bus travel card), my tour guide Paul (researched this) it gives you unlimited water bus travelling, for the time you request. So with some money changed & our vaporitto cards we are ready for Venice. We get off & need to find the hotel, this is so stressful for Paul as he has to be in control & know exactly where to go etc etc. So as the stress & cold started to set in, he walked into a shop & got directions. Then after 5 mins & some swearing he goes into another store & gets directions.... Bear in mind we have all our luggage in tow up & down foot bridges. So we wonder the streets of Venice for about 10 more minutes & yep, Paul goes into another shop & ask for directions. By this time we are both freezing & desperate to get into our hotel, we finally find it!!! Yay!!! I do have to say its a very nice & pleasant ending to a long day....

In Venice....

Us in Venice....

One of many bridges in Venice.....

As the Sunsets over Venice.....

Montreux to Venice........

So as we leave Montreux & head for Venice, our stay here was just magical. I fell in love with this place, something special about it!!! Very relaxed, people are friendly, the views are amazing & the snow so soft & fun to play with....

We have just gone a little over budget here, thought we deserved a splurge after everything it took to get here.

Here are some pictures of Montreux, a very pretty place......

Typical street in Montreux ....

Snow melting away.......

Strolling the streets in Montreux .......

Streets get very slippery when the ice starts to melt.....

Breakfast Room, note all the chandelier's in the reflection.....

Reception Phone....I love this picture......

Simple but pretty ....

My tip for Montreux is everyone should visit this magical place....it won't disappoint!!!!

Paul's tip for Montreux is wear apporiate foot wear for the snow... & bring lots of money!!! It's like spending Monopoly money, a lot doesn't get you much, but you're richer for the experience!!!

Waking up in Winter Wonder Land......

Wow wow wow.....so we finally made it.....got to our hotel at 1am, long day. My last words were feels like I am sleeping on a cloud, the bed was so nice & comfy. I woke up during the night & looked out of our doors at the balcony, I said " it's snowing" I could see the snow falling. So we have breakfast, this was truly spectacular chandeliers everywhere & silver cutlery that was so shinny it was like a mirror. This place is a Palace, I feel like a princess here. The bathroom is wall to floor marble & room to move...

Lake view from our room......

We have fallen in love with Montreux & Gstaad what a magical place this is. This is the highlight of our trip....just magical, this should be on your bucket list if you haven't been!!! As we board 1st class on the train heading up to Gstaad, we move out from Montreux (500metres) and its all ooh's & aaaar's & wow wow wow!!! Every where you look left & right, up & down its a post card views!!! Our horror day yesterday is now a distant memory. We are definitely coming here for a winter sooner rather than later & a summer too so we can soak up the views for all seasons as this place has touched us both.

We played in the snow like little kids who went to the snow for the first time, all the snow you see only fell in the last three days, so the timing couldn't have been better! The cold here is a dry cold- much easier to bare rather than the damp bitter cold of London, yet there is tonnes of snow here??? Anyways, on the way up the Alps, the ticket inspector checked & marked our "reservation ticket" & on the return trip they looked at our rail reservation again and didn't clip it!!! $164 (not charged for) return trip for 2 well deserved after yesterday's debacle & did it in 1st class. Today we had soooo much fun & really fell in love here, the people, the scenery, I understand why so many multi millionaires have property here in the Riviera. It was nice watching snow falling, so pretty & magical..... The only disappointing thing about today is, it will come to an end. The bright news is we will be on our way to Venice in the morning, again in 1st class, the rail travel is so much more enjoyable & relaxing over flying. A new chapter in our travels await us.

Panoramic view of Gstaad.....

How pretty is this Church?......

Just magical......

Just like a Ginger Bread House.....

So much fun...

Having fun in the snow.....

Having the best time ever.....

What are you going to do with that.....

Still smiling....

Well I think our smiles say it all.....the best day ever!!!!!