10D7N Italy | Venice here we come!

 Today we are visiting romantic Venice!

Everytime I think of Venice, I will remember Italo Calvino's Invisible cities... now on hindsight, I probably should have reread that book again before I visited Venice. Invisible Cities is a metafictional guide to Venice, an elegy to a succession of exotic and remote cities that are all versions of Venice, according to the Venetian traveller Marco Polo – who in Calvino's book describes them to the emperor Kublai Khan.

Visiting Venice this time round was so much more memorable because I'm visiting Venice once more with hubs. And it was my first time on a gondola too!

 on our private water taxi, setting out to Venice - built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. It has no roads, just canal and the only means of transport is by sea.

First stop, our guide brought us for lunch - squid ink pasta and fish and chips but here in Italy, squid prawns are also known as "fish" because they are found in the sea!!!

 above: Our Fish and Chips without any fish inside. How ironic.

above:The central square, Piazza San Marco, contains St. Mark’s Basilica, which is tiled with Byzantine mosaics, and the Campanile bell tower offering views of the city’s red roofs.

 and YES! we are on our gondola ride now.

above: Photos taken by our tour guide (Rin) who was very helpful and initiative.

After our gondola ride, it was free and easy time. Both of us settled down in a little quaint cafe and had our cup of cafe latte. Once refueled and recharged, it was time for shopping!!!

 above: Group photo - 29 members!

can't wait to visit PISA tomorrow.

10D7N Italy | Lugano Switzerland

YAY!
Finally it's our annual trip out without the kids!!! I can't tell you how long I have waited for this getaway and also to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary in Europe. After settling our 2 boys at my parents' place, my daughter and helper at my MIL place, my FIL kindly dropped us at Changi Airport where we arrived 3 hours ahead of flight scheduled time.

We had so much time in the airport that I started taking photos of myself and hubs using photo beauty apps and it made me so much younger and slimmer!!!

 above: waiting to board our flight.

This round, we are travelling with EU holidays. It is a first time for us and why did we choose them?

1. They happened to have "Travel Italy only"  which was one of the destinations that we were looking for. Our previous europe trips did not cover Italy before and I have always wanted hubs to see Venice, Pisa and all the beautiful cathedrals for himself.

2. The duration and departure dates were suitable for our schedule.

3. The price was quite economical. We were the last 2 to join the tour and although I know we must be the ones who paid the most, but for 10D7N + 2 free nights in Dubai, price at $2045 was quite attractive for us! 

4. 2 Free nights with half day city tour in Dubai was very attractive for me! I have always wanted to visit Dubai but we only transit there during our europe trips. So it's really a win-win for me!!!

 above: Flight to Italy via Emirates. Transit in Dubai and flew into Milan.

Our flight reached Milan very early in the morning where all the shops were not opened yet, so we did an optional tour to Lugano Switzerland. We visited one of the cathedrals, had lunch on our own, took some pretty photos of Lake Lugano which was situated between Lake Como and Lago Maggiore. It's a very beautiful place surrounded by the Swiss Alps and many little houses built on top of the Alps.

 above: Lake Lugano with terracing little houses built on top of the swiss alps.

 above: We visited the Lugano Cathedral which is also known as San Lorenzo Cathedral.

Lunch on our own. We just popped into a restaurant with many people and had our alfresco lunch there. We ordered a large hawaiian pizza to share. OMG, large was actually too much for us. I had a glass of white house wine while hubs had a red.

above: waiting outside McDonalds for our gathering time to move onto Milan! 

Even the view from McDonalds towards Lake Lugano was magnificant.

10D7N Italy | Milan Italy

First visit in Milan was the Sforza Castle. Castello Sforzesco was originally a Visconti fortress and later home to the mighty Sforzas, the rulers of Milan, who transformed it into a magnificent ducal palace thought to have been decorated by several of the greatest artists of the times including Donato Bramante and Leonardo da Vinci.

 above: 70m-tall “Torre del Filarete”

 a very beautiful fountain sits in front of Sforza Castle

 statue of Leonardo da Vinci located in Piazza della Scala

Above: Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II where the first Prada shop was opened

 above: us in front of Milan Cathedral also known as Duomo di Milano. Gothic Architecture.

above: hubs tired face during dinner. It was a very very long day for all of us. 7 hours to Dubai and another 7 hours to Milan, reached Milan at 8am. Phew...I'm glad we are going back to the hotel to zzz.