Venice
Arrived to Venice mid afternoon, taking a water taxi to our hotel. We did all the must “see’s” and found a few gems that were not on our list during our 4 full day visit. We walked and walked and walked and yes, we did get lost a few times. The crowds were not bad. We did not wait in line for anything which I found surprising. I had booked tours ahead of time so I’m guessing that helped.
Thank you to all who offered advice and answered my questions while I was planning this trip. By the way, the rooftop terrace at Fondaco Dei Tedischi was a fabulous view of Venice.
Hotel - Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo. This was a recommendation from this forum. Great, quiet location away from the crowds and an easy walk to everything. The breakfast staff were so friendly!
Restaurants - These are just a few that stood out to us.
Murovenezia; spaghetti with clams so yummy! And oddly enough....the French fries!
Osteria Mocenigo; right across from our hotel. Good food and good hosts.
Al Grill; sometimes you just need a steak….even while in Italy!
Verona
We took a train from Venice to Verona. When we pulled into the train station, ready to disembark, the doors opened and this man started throwing in about 4 extra large luggage, then grabbed his wife and kid and pulled them into the train. We could not get by his luggage! We had no where to go except up and over his luggage! 2 minutes are up, the doors close and we are off to an extra stop! A 1 1/2 hour later and out a few euros for a return trip to Verona! Ugh!
Needless to say, we arrived a bit cranky! But oh well… roll with the punches. This first day we just walked around to get familiar with the area. I was bummed that the Arena was closed for restoration work through December. Guess I missed that in my planning.
Castel Vecchio, funicular up to the amazing views, Juliet’s balcony (just because we walked by and there were only a few people! )And Churches and art work galore!
Hotel - Hotel Bologna. Small room, tiny bathroom, fabulous terrace! On Halloween, we ordered pizza, drank wine and watched the ghouls from the terrace. What a treat!
Restaurants - Caffe la Ciacola.
Bologna
Easy train ride to Bologna thankfully! We only had 2 full days in here. Perhaps this is why we were not crazy about Bologna? I found it to be a little gritty and dog poop everywhere! Even strolling through the portico’s….better watch where you step.
We did do a tour with Italian Days Food Tour. It was so much fun! Visited parm factory, balsamic vinegar tour and the prosciutto factory. And the lunch! Oh gosh….so much food and it was delicious.
Hotel - AirBnb. It was great! Very, very clean. The host met us at the door, and showed us around. He was so easy to reach and answered all our questions. Have even went out too his way to contact a taxi for us a couple of times.
Florence
I would say that Florence was probably the most crowded of our trip. Although, we still waited in no lines whatsoever.
Art of Pasta Cooking class - highly recommend. It was 3 hours long, great food and wine. Turns out that my husband and I were the only participants this day so we had a private cooking class!
Accademia; David was a wow factor! The Uffizi….what can I say? I really think at this point in our trip we were on art/sculpture overload. I feel like I need to go back to give it the time is deserves.
Hotel - Hotel Balestri. Good location, nice but small room with view of the river. We would stay here again.
Restaurants - Perseus for the Florentine steak. I thought it was good but not Texas good lol.
Thanks again to those that helped me plan and answered my questions.