In 2024 we had again a few trips to Italy, including the usual Verona and Garda Lake but also trying a few new places, such as Padova, Vicenza and Bologna and revisiting some places we have not seen in a while, like Venice, Siena, Florence and San Gimignano.
Venice
Though this time we did not stay in Venice, we wanted to spend our anniversary day in Venice, so we went there for the day. For the first time, we booked a boat tour from Venice, that was meant to go to Murano, Burano and Torcello. However, we liked it to much in Murano that we decided to just stay there for the day 😉 Venice was, as usual, magical. Though we’ve been there for many times now, the photos never do justice to how special that place is…
Padova
I really loved being in Padova! It’s cute, not too crowded, has lovely streets and squares, great restaurants and cafes. Really beautiful place! The old university, founded in 1222, is very impressive.
Bologna
I had quite some high expectations from visiting Bologna, having seen photos with the leaning towers before 🙂 However, I did not like it much, starting with the very complicated and poorly signalled parking system. The city was kind of noisy and dirty. It did not help that the weather was also not very nice 😉 Overall, we did not spend much time there…
Vicenza
We loved Vicenza! It’s cute, small and not very crowded. The main market is beautiful.
Florence
Even though this time we stayed near Siena, we decided to take a day trip to Florence. Frankly, I mainly missed the view from the Piazza Michelangelo, so we parked around there and then walked down to the centre. We did not really survive much in the centre, given the huge crowds. We walked around a bit and then decided to just return to Siena and spend the rest of the day there.
San Gimignano
I was very happy that we went to see San Gimignano again! The last time we were there, we mainly passed through. Now we could just stroll and enjoy this lovely place! It is so special…
