Part 2: Italy & Vienna

…continued from Part 1:

Next stop…Bologna!

Here I am on the train to Bologna (via Florence) with a packet of Fonzies on my birthdayWe arrived in Bologna just in time for lunch and tried a little Trattoria down the lane from our hotel.The owner/waiter spoke no english so Dan impressed me with his new italian skillsYou could almost miss this place. It was very authentic and off the tourist trap...just what we'd wanted!Here is one of the 2 remaining towers in Bologna. This one is the tallest and the one that we climbed up.When in Bologna...The surrounding towns of Bologna are known for their varieties of yummy cured meatsHere is the shorter tower. There was once 200+ towers like these in the city.Here's some of the many porticos (sheltered arches) that are everywhere in Bologna.The tiny wooden stairs of the tower Asinelli were much scarier to climb than the marble ones in the tower of Pisa.Looking down at the other tower and the road belowThe wooden staircase!We walked back thru the university district. This is Europe's oldest functioning universityThat night we pigged out on pizza (which wasn't hard to find).Our hotel room was in the terracotta coloured building you can see over the canal.This city felt a lot like melbourne and had a big student vibe.The next day we walked under a covered walkway with thousands of steps and 666 archways to the San Luca Church at the top of a hill.We were exhausted by the time we reached the top but the church was beautiful.We hung out in the courtyard and protected this lizard from trodden death with small rocks.Walking back down into Bologna...Eating more good food ('pesce' which is fish)We wandered around on Saturday night and it seemed like everyone was out in the city...even this guy!A nutelleria? Just what I felt like, a nutella baguette (!!)After 2 nights of exploring and feasting we walked to the train station to catch a train headed for Venice.

Then onto…Venice!

Waiting for the train...one of our favourite past times in Italy. Here I am waiting for the train to take us from the mainland of Venice to the island.Our first glimpse of Venice from outside the train stationOur hotel was in an old converted monestary just around the corner from the station. So we popped in and dropped off our bags then raced back out into the city of canals!There were more tourists along the main thoroughfares so we took a left, and then a right and then another left into the backwaters...so to speak.Everywhere we went it seemed the first thing we did was find some lunch!Even with all the tourists about, Venice really is as beautiful as people say it is.This little restaurant was in the Jewish quarter and we came back here that night to eat dinner.Yep, we'll keep going...right after I have this coffee!That afternoon we wandered around the northern suburb of Cannergerio...through the maze of canals and bridges with the afternoon sun on our faces...mmm.It was a welcoming change from snowy Oslo!Venice definitely held it's own as a beautiful and magical city.Who could get tired of this?This is the main canal that runs through Venice.My big head and a canal :)This is the view from our hotel window. The room was small but felt really cosy and the bathroom had a bath (woohoo! said our feet)The hotel also had this large lobby / bar area to relax inHere we are eating at that restaurant you saw the outside of earlier.Can't talk...eating. It's fun to find these places off the main track because it's easy to pay a lot in Venice if you don't!The water police!The next morning we caught a ferry to this neighbouring island to get a good view of Venice.Then we caught another ferry to the main square, Saint Marco's. Walking past many canals along the way!At the square we noticed all the pigeons landing on people.We found a cheap sandwich shop and came back to eat in the square.Sitting in the sun we decided where exactly to go next.We watched the pigeon covered tourists for a while before deciding to go to the island of Murano. Famous for it's glass making.There are shops everywhere in Venice selling locally made glass items. Here is a guy making a necklace ornament in his shop.We had to walk to the other side of the city to get a ferry. Along the way we had a gondola ride!It's a must do cheesy obligation when you're in Venice....and I loved it!If it wasn't so expensive I'd have gone again!This is the first bridge that was built in Venice.The gondola dudes had to duck under some of the lower bridges.ARE WE HAVING FUN YET??!Waiting for the ferry to Murano. This island is the cemetary!Here we are arriving at MuranoWe walked thru one of the glass making factories...and some guy started following us so we wandered back out :)The morning before we left Venice we picked ourselves up an authentic italian coffee maker.

And finally…Vienna!

That afternoon we boarded a train for Vienna. As it headed north into Austria the scenery turned mountainous and cold!Getting ideas for my future home...It was 7hrs to Vienna so we whiled away some time in the food cart.That night we were exhausted (well we were pretty much in a perpetual state of exhaustion by then) and after checking into our hotel we promptly fell asleep.The next morning we tried to contact Gareth, and after having no luck we ventured into the heart of the city.The weather being what it was...it didn't take long for us to turn irritable. So we looked for somewhere warm to sit...and eat schnitzel.Around 5pm Gareth finally checked his phone and realised we were in town and arranged to meet us here.We headed to a polish pub and met his friends...one of whom (Christian) proceeded to eat this entire pizza.Now that was an effort :)It was great drinking cheap beer and catching up with Gareth. Oh the cheap beer!I shared this pizza with Gareth and Dan ate some delicious sea bass...er...schnitzel!It was a fun night where we got to meet Michaela (Gareth's gf) and crazy Austrian's Olli and Christian.The next day Gareth took us to the Royal Palace (because that's what ya do in Vienna).It was a beautiful sunny day and the boys were in a happy rule breaking mood.They have such rebellious soulsHere it was, a sunny 20 degree day and there was still ice in this pond!Dan waited for the truck to be in shot before he took this...we had no idea!This is what it was supposed to look like :)It was so much fun seeing Gareth again. The last time we'd caught up had been about 3.5 years ago when he visited us in Hong Kong!We had this fabulous japanese lunch too...yum!Something Josef is proud of?That afternoon we relaxed and chatted over cups of tea.Then we headed out for dinner and drinks. I love how dogs are allowed on trains and in restaurants here!We had the best time ever (as you can see here) and then said goodnight and goodbye to Gareth and Michaela. Hopefully we'll seeya again soon guys! Collecting the cheap cheap alcohol on our way back to Oslo.The first meal Dan cooked after arriving home definitely had an Italian influence :)And the food tasted even better now that Dan had his own Gladiator apron to wear :)

Best holiday ever! Now how are we gonna top that??