My Italian Adventure

So my lack of recent blogging has been due to my recent adventure, travelling the North of Italy with my good friend Laura! I managed to cross off a number of things from my Bucket List whilst enjoying a lot of wine, art and excellent carbs.

The adventure started in Florence, home of some beautiful squares and the Ponte Vecchio bridge, my favourite place to look at diamonds and drink Prosecco overlooking the river.

We spent a day, as any tourist should, at the Uffizi Gallery where I saw hundreds of pictures of Jesus but also some incredible paintings.

I got exceptionally excited to see Michelangelo's 'Doni Tondo'. I love Italian Renaissance art and Michelangelo has always been an inspiration for my own paintings, so crossing this off the bucket list was a mega highlight.

During our stay we also had a day trip to Siena, an amazing historic town with the most beautiful building I've ever seen, the Siena Cathedral, or Duomo. I was genuinely left speechless by the architecture and floor to ceiling decor inside, incredible.

Florence was also full of amazing wedding dress shops and vintage stores, packed with various designer shoes and clothes that made me wish I was a millionaire. 

However I was able to afford a lovely vintage Italian dress that I later wore in Lake Garda, our next stop.

Staying in a little caravan overlooking the view, it was a great chance to rest our tired feet, catch some rays and enjoy some of Italy's cheap and wonderful wine! 

We also spent a day cycling around the river where I felt like Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. 

My highlight of Lake Garda was finding a beautiful spot right next to the water where me and Laura shared a bottle of wine and the best takeaway pizza on more than one occasion. 

After some relaxation time, we hopped on a bus to Verona. Here we rented a beautiful apartment complete with a walk in wardrobe and balcony. 

We spent a couple of nights in cooking some delicious Italian dinners made with the freshest ingredients and washed down with Prosecco.

In the city known for the classic love story, I was able to write a letter to Juliet and leave a not so traditional mark on her wall.

Our last night was spent at the opera, another one off the Bucket List. For just €19, we sat on the beautiful historic seats at the top of the Arena di Verona watching Aida over a glass of red wine. It was truly incredible.

The last stop on our adventure was no other than the floating city of Venice. 

Here we enjoyed wandering the streets full of live Italian music family owned restaurants and Venetian treasures. 

We ended on a high with some traditional lasagna, a few glasses of Prosecco and some spontaneous entertainment.

Inspired by our Veronian apartment and the Italian artists, I'm now looking into house or pet sitting in Italy for a couple of weeks to enjoy some time away and get back into my painting. So if you know somebody...