Eating and drinking around Italy: part 2

The annual Illumina Festival was happening in Pisa so that's the next stop. Tourist dodging is required here but the leaning tower is nevertheless always an amazing sight. All along the river Arno, the buildings have been covered in wooden frames, ready to hold thousands of candles. In the afternoon there are cranes all along both sides of the river as hundreds of volunteers light special tea lights and place them in the frames.

People started to gather early and after our dinner we emerged into a swarm of people heading towards the river. It's a spectacle of light with a massive street party but it was really too crowded to enjoy so we ducked out early.

Pisa

1000's of candles along the river Arno

The next stop was Lucca, one of my favourite Tuscan towns but it's too hot to really enjoy it...still we managed to find a bar to watch Rugby; Springboks Vs France and have dinner in our favourite place; Antica Locanda dell' Angelo.

By the 18th we were in Sienna, which has a marvelous campsite with a great pool. Sienna is another great Tuscan town. We did a day trip to Montelchino, to enjoy the wines and the Tuscan vistas. Back in Sienna we had dinner at Zest, downing local wines with a beautiful view of the Duomo as the sun was setting.

Sienna

view from Zest

The holygrail

The next stop was Florence and the heat was unrelenting. We ate great steak Florentine at Natalino and finished off the evening with live music and cocktails at the Off The Hook bar. Florence is very touristy, so it's worth avoiding Piazza del Duomo and Ponte Vecchio bridge, to find the slightly off the beaten path places. We did the Uffuzi anyway and to duck out of the heat afterwards I can highly recommend Osteria Al Antico Vinaio on Via Del Neri for a platter of meat and cheeses, washed down with wine.

crowds in Florence

Venus for real in Uffuzi

Half a day in Bologna en route to Venice was our next stop.

Tour of the anatomical theatre at the university dating back to 1088 ✓

Camparis and crisps at a street cafe on Piazza Maggiore✓

Drinks in the Mercado di Mezzo✓

Amarone tasting at Enoteca Osteria✓

Dinner at Trattoria Annamaria✓

Drinks at La Stanza; trendy bar in a converted church✓

After Venice we did a night in Verona which was not that touristy, except for the Romeo and Juliet balcony. En route we stopped in Soave, famous for the Italian white wine of the same name and had an excellent lunch at Enoteca IL Dragon.

In Verona I highly recommend Antica Bodega Vini for a drink. They have 40 different Amarone wines for sale by the glass. And then a highlight...Dave treated us to dinner at Il Dreco and a bottle of Biondi Sante!