Mediterranean Vacation { Florence, Italy }

Our last full day in Italy was spent in Florence.  Next time, we will spend MUCH more time there...it was magical.  What they say about the light in Tuscany is true; even on a cloudy, drizzly day, the city seemed to glow. 

We spent a glorious hour at Il Duomo, necks craned backwards at the beautiful interior of Brunelleschi's dome, trying not to bump into too many people as we walked around. At this point of the trip, we kind of had a "It's Tuesday, this must be Belgium" feeling.  Another European city, another stunning ceiling. 

On the excellent recommendation of a friend, we visited the small museum behind the Duomo, which contains the original Ghiberti bronze doors and an unfinished Michelangelo.  It was a lovely little gallery, uncrowded and full of treasures.  As we were in Florence on a Monday and the Uffizi was closed, we had the opportunity to explore without feeling like we needed to hurry off to something bigger and better.

Then a stroll across the Ponte Vecchio and around the Oltrano.  We scoped out some great places to shop (colorful leather gloves!) and eat dinner, then returned to our hotel for a quick nap.  I was so exhausted after a solid week of travel that I walked back up the Via Calzaiuoli without setting foot in a shop. 

And for our last dinner in Italy, we walked back down to the Oltrano, finally deciding on a small bistro near the Pitti Palace.  We ate a tasty, light meal, drank a great bottle of wine, and capped off our vacation with a gelato eaten while strolling around Il Duomo under the stars.  *sigh.  Such an elegant, accessible city. 

Florence is a whole vacation unto itself.  Plan to take a week - a day just didn't cut it. 

all photos, mine

 

Hello Hue! { Back to Venice }

So of all the beautiful, vibrant colors of Venice, I chose a photo that is practically black and white.  Yep.  I think I was scared of a crazy-clown color scheme.  And Venice by night is a totally different beast than Venice-by-day.  Most of the tourists have gone, the streets are quieter, the alleyways more mysterious.  Plus I love gray and yellow.  I have ever since Sarah did that farmhouse bath.

But lately, gray-and-yellow have been everywhere.  Weddings, nurseries, prints, sheets, fabrics, outfits, dinnerware, and don't even get me started on the chevrons.  It can so easily skew...Pinterest-twee.

{via, with apologies}

So how to capture the dark, secret, aged elegant feel of Venice-by-night in a budget-friendly grown-up bathroom kind of way?  First, paint the walls gray.

 

{Charlie and Co.}

But add a nice dark vanity with a gray and white Carrara marble top. Pottery Barn sells similar styles for over $2500 - without the marble top.  I hate the whole 'buy it for less' deal, because unless it is the actual item you are looking for and you find it at a discount store, it really isn't the same thing.  And it probably doesn't have any of the features you liked about the original (e.g. heft, durability, construction, finish).  So... you'll likely be buying a new one.  Soon.  Which doesn't add up to 'less'.

However, this is not a cheap vanity - just fewer bucks than PB.  It imagine it will be serviceable.  Plus the carved detail is a little Venetian. I don't hate the mirror, but it looks a little top-heavy.  I don't want to worry about a concussion while I'm brushing my teeth.

{vanity}

And add in some carrara mosiac tile (maybe this is a small bathroom, and you can splurge on $10/sf), some aged brass fixtures and, since I apparently have to buy something for every room from PB, some towels. 

{sconce}{fixture}{tile}{towels}

You're practically brushing your teeth in romantic, moonlit Venice!

Mediterranean Vacation { Back to Venice! }

After disembarking our home on the high seas, we had a couple extra days to spend in Italy and decided to stay in Venice for the night before catching a train to Florence the next day.  And extra day in Venice is never a bad idea...plus there was time to get our land legs back so we wouldn't be tripping all over ourselves in Fashionable Florence. 

It rained, of course, so luggage was hauled through the soggy streets...not for the first time, we were insanely happy about our decision to only bring carry-ons.  Watching people struggle over the cobblestoned Piazzale Roma with GIANT suitcases full of cruise-wear (in the rain) was a little horrifying.  

We actually took a vaporetto from the train station - and listened to the fabulous Rick Steves audiotour I'd downloaded in the States.  We loved every second of our trip down the Grand Canal, but the water seemed...kind of high. What's that?  Record-breaking floods all across Italy while we were gone?  People swimming across St. Mark's? 

Yeah.  Our vacations and Natural Disasters.  A match made in heaven. 

 

Our hotel was in the Rialto area - we'd decided to try one night in a tourist hub, and...it was fine.  We much preferred Hotel Dalla Mora and the Dosudoro, but the shopping couldn't be beat in the Rialto.  We found some real gems amongst the tourist kitsch.

Then a walk to a very soggy Saint Mark's.  At this point of the trip my poor feet had walked all over the eastern Mediterranean (having never recovered from our first day in Venice!), so I decided to just wear my Keens and go for it - everybody's feet were wet that day.  And a pair of cheap wellies cost about $25 on the street!

We shopped our way back to the hotel and then took ourselves on a walkabout before dinner.  Saint Mark's had dried out, so we were able to see it in all its glory.  We found a small restaurant near our hotel and, after having a pre-dinner cocktail (awesomely leaning against a stand-up bar in the alleyway outside), decided this was The Place.  We had to wait about 45 minutes for a table, but the staff were very friendly and accomodating, and the whole place felt very...local.  We had such a great time just sipping our cocktails and people-watching. 

 Venice was even nicer when we had time to relax and enjoy it.  Un jet-lagged.  With time to eat copious amounts of seafood pasta.  And drink lots of wine.  *sigh. 

all photos, mine

Hello California!

So I neglected to tell you all- light posting this week because we are in San Francisco! (And Portland and Seattle) It's a whirlwind tour of the west coast and we are having a blast!

Mediterranean Vacation { Dubrovnik, Croatia }

Today we near the end of the cruise - our last port of call was Dubrovnik, Croatia.  This ended up being one of our favorites - I mentioned before that we booked this particular route because it took us to a couple locations in Turkey, the Croatia stop was like a bonus.  We'd done some research on Dubrovnik (mostly because it was where some of Game of Thrones was filmed - yes, super-geeks!) and hoped it would live up to our expectations.
The day was clear and cool - we really lucked out with weather on the cruise.  Ours was one of the last tender boats to dock, so we didn't have time to do the city walls tour, and maybe that was for the best, because we were free to wander the alleyways and make our day what we wanted it to be.  The main street in Dubrovnik we found a little tourist-trap-y, but the whole place was so wonderfully maintained one really didn't mind.

 

Croatia really felt like something out of a fairytale.  The sparkling blue skies, cool green islands, charming modern bridge...and it was our crew's last port before they ended their 6-month tour.  Six long months of straight 12 hour days, doing the exact same itinerary.  Everybody - I mean EVERYBODY was in a fantastic mood.  

We started by walking through all the tourist-y parts (I made mental notes of all the shops I wanted to hit up on the way back) and ended up outside the walls near the working harbor.  I'm not sure why I am standing like I'm ready to do jumping jacks...maybe I wanted to be sure I didn't fall in.  Which, let's be honest, is something I would totally do.

We walked up a long set of stairs near the cathedral and at the top found a lovely man selling embroidered lavender sachets (I bought one, of course) and a mysterious sign: "Cold drinks with the most amazing view".  Always a little skeptical of establishments that so blatantly advertise their wares, we figured we needed to check it out.  I mean, really, the whole place was amazing, how good could this place be? 

Yeah.  Okay.  It's a win for the little yellow sign.  Settled in a white wicker chair at a little cliff-side bar, we ordered ourselves a couple bottles of the best-selling beer in Croatia (it was okay) and relaxed.

It was one of those times in life where you are completely aware that you made the Right Choice.  We watched the sunset, had a lovely conversation with an English couple at the table next to us, drank more beer, watched more sunset, took goofy pictures of each other, and then - I shit you not - a pod of dolphins jumped out of the water and swam right under our noses. 

After that, we figured the rest of our day would be anti-climactic.  I mean...dolphins?!  You have got to be kidding me.  

But Dubrovnik by night was just as enchanting.  We shopped our way back (well, I did - Michael stood by the door and kept me on time...one doesn't want to be late for the ship). We took the long way around and poked through the side streets.  We heard loud bangs and singing and came upon a wedding at the cathedral. (I think Americans are missing the boat on the smoke-bomb/rowdy singing/champagne-spraying church exits.  Rice?  Birdseed?  Eco-fetti?  LAME.)

 

This shop - Aqua - was my favorite - such Cute things!   I would have bought out the whole store if Michael hadn't dragged me away. 

 And we made it back to the ship with minutes to spare. Goodnight, Dubrovnik! You made it to our Go Back For Sure list!

all photos, mine

Mediterranean Vacation { Istanbul, Turkey }

I'm not even sure where to begin with Istanbul.  It was the reason we picked this cruise.  We knew next to nothing about the city before we went, and I'm not sure we know much more now.

Istanbul is massive.  It smells good - like ocean, flowers, incense and street food.  It feels aged and stately and vibrant all at the same time.  It is a melting pot, but not in the New York/LA sense of the word; it is a true crossroads of civilization. It's very apparent that Istanbul has seen and heard more human history than one can possibly imagine.

It is stunning. Your eyes will be exhausted from looking at all the Color and Pretty.  Istanbul is Stylish.  So very, very stylish.  I wore my best pair of 7's and a black trench coat with a pretty silk scarf and thought myself well-appointed.  Not so.  I wish I'd had the time (and means) to purchase an entirely new wardrobe in Istanbul.

And on that note...bring lots of money - you will inevitably want to buy a stunning pair of sparkly brocade ballet flats in the bowels of a subterranean antiques shop on your way back to the port, and you don't want to have to say 'no' and regret it to this day.

Sailing into the Bosporus, we had an amazing view of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia.  

Mediterranean Vacation { Izmir, Turkey }

Izmir was the only port of call where we booked a shore excursion.  We wanted to see Ephesus and didn't have any Turkish Lire, didn't speak the language, and weren't sure about booking a taxi at the docks.  As it turned out, it was a pricey but good decision.  We saw the house where the Virgin Mary spent her last years (after the crucifixion), all of Ephesus, and even had time to tour a rug factory, which was incredible.

Our tour guide was a sweet, very stylish little Turkish woman (she could not have been more than 5 feet tall, but she wrangled a busload of tourists and pulled off the sweater/leggings/boots combo like nobody's business) who punctuated every three words with an enthusiastic, smiling "especially". I burned a lot of memory card for this portion of the trip, so settle in for a tour of Izmir and especially Ephesus.

The road up to the Virgin Mary's house (Meryem Ana Evi) was not so much a road as a continuum of one and a half lane switchbacks up the side of a mountain.  Taken at 50 mph on a tour bus, we felt Super-Safe.  But it was a beautiful view. And we were in Asia at last!  

Mediterranean Vacation {Olympia, Greece}

After Bari, we sailed overnight to Katakolon, Greece.  I'd already arranged a rental car for the day, so when we disembarked, all we had to do was walk a quarter-mile into town, pick up our car, and we were on our way.  We love driving ourselves in other countries - it gives you so much freedom, and it's so much better than a crowded tour bus.  A word about driving in Greece, though... You may think it is a 2 lane country road with a nice, wide shoulder and old Fiats puttering along at 30 mph.  It is not.  It is a 4-lane autobahn and you'd better have nerves of steel and a lead foot.  

We did our own little self-guided tour, and successfully managed to avoid the masses.  There are signs all around Olympia in Greek and English, so we had no problem knowing what we were looking at.

  

 After leaving the ruins, we walked a little further on to the Archaeological Museum, where most of the decorative items from the site are kept.  It was a lovely building, absolutely covered in marble, and very well laid out.

Sculptural pediments from the ruined Temple of Zeus - pretty impressive!

We were lucky in Greece; the weather was beautiful, and we very much enjoyed our drive back to the harbor.  We even squeezed in a little time for shopping (there is a cute little olivewood shop amongst all the kitsch, look for it!) and sitting in the sun by the harbor.

There is always room for a snack!

I had always wondered if the water in Greece was really that color. 

My Keens were waterlogged for days after walking through rainy Venice.  I took the laces out and used our cabin's hairdryer (super-classy, I know!) to de-soggify them before hitting the street in Katakolon.  My feet, however, were sore for the duration of the cruise.  I have no idea why I was so ridiculous with my footwear on this trip.  Travel tip: Bring waterproof boots to Venice. 

 Such a beautiful day.  Greece is on the 'places to go back to' list, for sure.

all photos, ours