Gail and Neil : July 2022

Saturday 30 July 2022

Homer 2022 : Venice

Friday 1 July to Monday 11 July 2022

Venice may just be my favourite city in Europe, possibly the world.

It's pretty touristy but it's also a lot more than Piazza St. Marco, which is by far my least favourite part. Piazza St. Marco is packed with tourists!

Go once if you have to but the rest of Venice is SO much better.

If you want to go into the Cathedral or Palazzo Ducale book skip-the-line tickets ahead of time.

This year we did go to Palazzo Ducale but only to see the Anshelm Keifer exhibition.

We camped at Serenissima for 6 nights with Stephen and Vivienne before they left to head home and then we had 5 nights with Larry, Jean and Rina in an apartment in Cannareggio.

One year I'm going to stay here for a few months. Popping out for a morning cappuccino, strolling half lost through the narrow streets and alongside the canals.

Visiting all the outlying islands and maybe we'll even get a little boat.

Although I do like riding the vaporettos. (water busses) Buy the weekly vaporetto ticket when you arrive. Saves time and hassle and if you accidentally get on the wrong boat, it's no problem.

Vaporettos get crowded so for a great ride down the Grand Canal catch the line 1 from Piazzale Roma to St. Marco early (8.30am) and you'll have the boat to yourself.

We spent 2 Saturdays and half a Sunday in The Irish Pub watching the Rugby Championship and Wimbeldon tennis. This little corner was like our private living room.

2022 is an art Biennale year so the city is filled with art. We spent 2 days at the Biennale.

We also went to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and enjoyed the special Surrealism exhibition on there.

We did 2 day trips to Murano and Burano.

La Perla Ai Bestei on Murano is my hidden gem. Book early, arrive by noon and you'll be eating with locals and workers.

The place may fill up with tourists later but you'll be on your way by then.

Get to Burano later in the afternoon when the lighting is great for photos.

You have to work hard to avoid touristy restaurants in Venice. We have our favourites.

You won't go wrong spending all your nights in Cannareggio, especially around Fondamenta Misacordia.

See if you can find the only bridge in Venice without a railing.

Paradiso Perduto is my favourite restaurant in Venice but they don't suffer stupid tourists lightly. Don't be late or complain if your table isn't ready on time and the menu is only in Italian.

Osteria Antico Dolo is a third generation family run place.

If you do go to Osteria Contemporanea da Riccardo, make sure you eat from the menu and ask for wine prices or your bill will be a shock. A big shock.

Cicchetti Bars dotted all over the city serve beer, wine or spritz with little tapas style snacks, mostly toppings on pieces of bread.

Some are quite historic, some have views, some are a great mix of tourists and locals.

A few favourites this time..

Bacaro Risorto

Cantina Arnaldi

Corner Pub

Cantina Do Spade

Cantine del Schiavi

Naranzaria

Osteria Al Squero

Put away your Google map and just wander. Around every corner, across every bridge and down every alley, you'll find something amazing.

Tuesday 26 July 2022

Homer 2022 :Central Italy

Thursday 23 June to Thursday 30 June 2022

Leaving the South coast and heading inland we stopped in quaint Ascoli Piceno for lunch at the historic Caffee Meletti

Italy has hundreds of historic towns and its great to explore some of the lesser known places.

We headed up into the Appenine Mountains and the Sibillini National Park.

In 2016 there was a terrible earthquake in the area and the destruction is still very evident.The poppy fields in the valley are an Instagram hit. Neither Vivienne nor my attempts at striking the right pose will go viral so here are uncurated pics of the flowers.

Our best campsite of the trip was Camping Il Collaccio with mountain views, an infinity pool and a good restaurant.

Spoleto is an amazing hilltop town in Umbria. Public transport includes a series of very long covered escalators taking you all the way up to the castle at the top. Then you can wander back down through the town stopping for coffee and lunch along the way.

We arrived at the campsite at Bevagna, an Umbrian wine region on Friday afternoon. Homer wouldn't start and we were stuck in the reception parking with a diesel pump issue. ADAC sent a mechanic and a flatbed trailer.

No luck, so we had to stay in camp the whole weekend. Stephen and Vivienne headed on and we turned the terrace into our living room.

Actually, we enjoyed the chill out time. And the local wine. The owners were so friendly and helpful. On Monday Homer was taken to get fixed and we checked into Portica 10 in Assisi. An aircon, en suite and breakfast is a real treat after 7 weeks of camping. 10/10 for the best BnB I've stayed at for years.

Assisi is beautiful. Popular with day trippers and Catholic pilgrims but wonderfully quiet and peaceful in the evenings. There are many churches in Assisi. This one has interesting portico frescoes.

And this one has a Roman temple as a facade.

On Tuesday Homer was ready to go again and we caught up with Stephen and Vivienne in Modena. Drinks, a stroll and a good dinner at the famous old Resorante Danilo.

On Wednesday it was off to the Ferrari Museum in Maranello.

But more importantly, I got us a table at Ristorante Cavallino. Part of the Ferrari story since 1950, it reopened in 2021 - Massimo Bottura's latest project. Oh, the food and such impeccable service! And award winning decor with pixelated prancing horse wallpaper and shiny engines as art.