tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-219976802011-10-03T11:52:12.766+01:00Travelling blonde and solo around Italy ...travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.comBlogger211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-21731137255688329222007-07-29T12:50:00.000+01:002007-07-29T13:04:23.431+01:00

On a hot day in last week I decided to take a day trip from Venice to Lido di Jesolo. I caught the motonave (a double-decker passenger ferry) from Riva degli Schiavoni, and enjoyed a pleasant journey cruising over the waters of the lagoon, with a very welcome breeze.The ferry's terminus at Punta Sabbioni was packed with day-trippers travelling in the other direction, heading from Lido di Jesolo

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-20360802698890333342007-04-15T22:22:00.000+01:002007-04-15T22:33:52.250+01:00

For the moment the Travelling Blonde has slowed down the travelling. Having rented a tiny flat in Venice I'll be spending the next few months getting to know the city better, and exploring the surrounding area: the lagoon and the Veneto. For rather more helpful reports on Venice, see the web resource I'm compiling: Italy Heaven's guide to VeniceLiving in Venice – the practical stuffI arrived on

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-82347811357554622412007-03-29T09:57:00.000+01:002007-03-29T10:06:43.786+01:00

Day 5: Back to the UK through Marco Polo Airport> Previous day: pottering around Venice Once more I took the ATVO bus between Piazzale Roma and Marco Polo Airport. I noticed that I was the only passenger to receive the driver's assistance with getting a suitcase onboard (and again the other end to take it out of the luggage hold).Once more I appreciated the calm atmosphere in the departure lounge

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-39758017278372087612007-03-28T23:09:00.000+01:002008-12-08T21:54:06.679Z

Day 4: Wednesday - Pottering around Venice> Previous day: A trip to TrevisoIn the morning it occurred to me that I hadn't even been near St. Mark's this trip.After viewing the studio I was thinking of renting I wandered to the Rialto and enjoyed tea and cake at a canalside table next the the bridge. I watched some men manoeuvring boats loaded with boxed goods for the nearby shops. My biro ran out

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-44840139628541923832007-03-28T10:27:00.000+01:002007-03-28T23:24:32.762+01:00

Day 3 - Tuesday: Venice to Treviso by train> Previous day: a tour of the islandsThis was just a four-day trip, and I was already panicking about not being in Venice for long enough. One of my goals was to find a flat to rent for a longer stay, and I hadn't even started looking. I spent half the morning nervously considering letting agencies (but they're hard to locate, as are all addresses in

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-88918006484713767132007-03-27T10:17:00.000+01:002008-12-08T21:54:06.830Z

Day 2 - Monday : A tour of the islands> Day 1: From London to VeniceCurrently writing my journal on the LN ferry to Mazzorbo and Burano. Can see snowy mountains; a glorious day. The light is incredible this trip. I walked to the Fondamente Nuove stop across the Rialto and sometimes during the walk I could hardly breathe for admiration of the town's beauty. Gondoliers perched on bridges, old

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-56398443072560849262007-03-27T09:18:00.000+01:002007-03-27T10:29:44.391+01:00

Day 1 - Sunday: Arrival3:50 alarm clock. Walk through the City of London to St. Paul's to take the number 8 bus to Victoria. Revellers after their night out, bleary eyed. Some Russian-looking girls and a young man sitting awkwardly next to a pool of sick left by a previous passenger. The Gatwick Express was a smooth journey but without a trolley service (I needed tea). It was a scenic journey;

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1152200351591113852006-07-06T13:18:00.000+01:002006-07-06T17:11:32.263+01:00

Venice & Rome, May 2006: Day 5> Previous day: Venetian glass, art and shopping; Murano and Dorsoduro I had worked out that it would be probably be quicker to walk to the railway station in Venice than to take a vaporetto along the winding Grand Canal. But the thought of pulling my suitcase down narrow lanes and over bridges didn't really appeal, so I set off early and enjoyed one final boat

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1152117043662887362006-07-05T16:42:00.000+01:002006-07-08T22:28:39.256+01:00

Venice, May 2006: Day 4 (part 2)> Previous entry: A Venetian honeymoon gone wrongIt was a sunny day, though windy, as I set off early to see some art. The gorgeous paintings by Carpaccio in San Giorgio degli Schiavoni provided a lovely start to the day - very refreshing for the soul after the troubles of the night.Next on my list was Santa Maria Formosa (Curvaceous St. Mary). The church is pretty

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1152107674548090152006-07-05T14:35:00.000+01:002006-07-08T22:30:32.683+01:00

Venice, May 2006: Day 4 (part 1)> Previous day: The Lido, a Venetian quest and a new hotelMy hotel in Venice was lovely, but I didn't enjoy the good night's sleep I was expecting. The night turned out to be memorable for entirely unexpected reasons.Long after midnight I was woken by two fellow-guests; a German couple in a room around the corner. There were knocks, remonstrances and strings of

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1152033479572599182006-07-04T16:45:00.000+01:002006-07-05T14:57:10.156+01:00

Venice, May 2006: Day 3> Previous day: Torcello, Burano and an evening on the Grand CanalI was changing hotels today, moving my base from the Lido over the Lagoon into the centre of Venice. I thought I ought to explore the Lido first, so after breakfast I headed out for a walk. The Lido is a narrow strip of land separating the lagoon from the Adriatic, and I was rather disappointed that, apart

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1149754690292930002006-06-08T09:11:00.000+01:002007-03-23T22:51:50.470Z

Venice, May 2006: Day 2> Previous day: Venice in the rainSunshine! I arrived at the quay to a beautiful view: the lagoon glinting green - the warm brick-and-stone towers of Venice - a mountain backdrop, peaks capped with white snow – the sun dancing on little waves – like opening a jewel box.I was exploring the lagoon today, so from my base on the Lido I caught the large ferry which ploughs along

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1149633160287841722006-06-06T23:25:00.000+01:002006-07-05T14:26:47.376+01:00

Day One in Venice - May 2006This was my second visit to Venice and it started off in the dark and in the rain. My delayed flight arrived at Marco Polo Airport at around 10pm and I didn't see much on the ferry journey to the Lido. Murano appeared out of the night, looking picturesque, then vanished again. The Lido itself was unromantic – streets and cars rather than the canals and gondolas of

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1148851852492623282006-05-28T22:12:00.000+01:002006-07-06T23:40:35.330+01:00

I recently returned from an eight-day trip to Rome and Venice. It was a pleasant week, although surprisingly lacking in comic or disastrous events.May is probably the best month for visiting Italy, with plenty of sunshine but without the searing heat of high summer. I experienced some weather extremes on this trip, though. My first day in Venice was memorable for the heavy rain which fell without

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1147091232075213602006-05-08T13:00:00.000+01:002006-05-08T13:27:12.116+01:00

We were two girls out on the town in Venice, and we'd been rather disappointed with the town's nightlife (or lack of it) up till now. So after a large meal, helped down by a generous pitcher of strong white wine, we followed our guidebook's directions to Campo Santa Margherita. This long open square is apparently the busiest and most buzzing area of Venice at night. Well, there were two bars open

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1143649641265287692006-03-29T17:11:00.000+01:002006-03-29T17:27:22.563+01:00

March 2006* Arriving by bus, boarding a vaporetto and travelling the length of the Grand Canal before arriving at our hotel, marvelling the entire way. Just like the pictures!* Our first evening meal in a cheap and friendly bar/restaurant we found by chance. Two free rounds of drink to entice us to wait for a table (sparkling white wine on tap, which greatly impressed our party). Nice plates of

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1141740780520690392006-03-07T14:02:00.000Z2006-03-07T14:16:25.693Z

Thanks to J for the reminders of two more 'that wouldn't have happened if we were boys' occasions. Late night drinks with the owner in a Positano bar (see photo) and an entertaining boat trip on Lake Garda. We took the boat up the lake and somehow ended up sharing the crew's delicious meal below decks. After lengthy chats in halting English and Italian, a photo-session on deck and a wickedly

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1141405162082654402006-03-03T16:50:00.000Z2006-03-03T17:06:12.413Z

Sicily Travel Journal Part ThreeSunday evening:By mid-afternoon the sightseeing has taken its toll, so I head back to Casa Mia for a rest, to catch up with the football and to see a bit of peerless tv show Buona Domenica. Walking back downhill I saw many traditional 'RIP' posters pasted to the walls. These are usually put up in memory of recently-deceased locals. But one, rather peeling now, was

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1139740307696968722006-02-12T10:21:00.000Z2006-03-03T17:10:41.893Z

Sicily Travel Journal Part TwoSunday is my first full day in Siracusa (Syracuse) and starts with breakfast, taken at a large table in the lofty front room of the family apartment (bedrooms are in a kind of annexe out the back). I meet a nice Canadian couple who've been in Sicily a couple of weeks already. Breakfast is a vast spread, and includes Nutella, rolls and lovely cakes.It's a drizzly

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1139222377495530172006-02-06T09:54:00.000Z2006-02-12T10:50:54.960Z

I spent a memorable week in Sicily in Spring 2004 and, nearly two years later, have decided I might as well stick my journal online for any Sicily/travel obsessives.Sicily Travel Journal - Part OneIn which you learn what it's like to travel half the length of Italy in a ten-and-a-half-hour journey on a noisy train (I experienced it so you don't have to), the extremes to which Italian football

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21997680.post-1139165051856123412006-02-05T17:59:00.000Z2006-02-05T20:42:09.920Z

It's not just being blonde, course. It stands to reason that a lone female in her twenties or thirties ends up with different experiences to fellow travellers, particularly in countries with a lingering chauvinistic culture. But in Italy, where colouring is generally dark, I'm pretty sure that the blonde makes a difference too. Anyhow, everyone's travel journals are from their own perspective,

travellingblondehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11751217745848570670noreply@blogger.com0