Near our apartment in Paris (and a block away from Gare du Nord), we dropped by this bakery to grab a light breakfast before our day's adventures. I think Lauren bought a raisin roll type thing but I don't exactly recall.
Sometimes you had to wait around for bike parking spots to open up. Here, we waited patiently just a block or so from the Luxembourg Gardens.
Dessert from Les Cocottes. I can't recall what you see above, but it tasted amazing. I think it might have been panna cotta (or something similar) with strawberries. I'd like to reiterate this restaurant as one of the most delicious places we dined during this entire trip.
During our walk around Paris on our last night before Italy, we did stop by for a pic outside of the Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre Metro stop for a view of the quirky Place Collette entrance. The colored glass beads of the two cupolas represent day (presumably the red side) and night (the blue side, under which you see Mari & Lauren) and markedly contrast with the very traditional surroundings.
Onward to Italy (Venice in particular)! Here we have a view of a narrow section of the Grand Canal, looking from the San Polo district out to the Cannaregio district, just north of the Rialto Bridge.
Adjacent to the Venice Fish Market, they also had a produce market with fresh fruits and vegetables. This area, known as the Mercato di Rialto gave us both a glimpse of the traditional market life and also an opportunity to buy some delicious sun dried tomatoes. Here I am, practicing my Italian ("quattro cento grammi per favore").
On our climb up the Duomo (formally, the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore), we went from narrow, spiral staircase to narrow walkway to narrow stairwell. Throughout strenuous climb, we remained in good spirits.
More food. This time, we have the panna cotta dessert from La Casalinga. Despite having just put away a massive, ~1kg Florentine steak, we collectively had room for this (and a slice of cake).
No pictures! Well, not when you see the Uffizi guard looking at least. Lauren got an even better pic of Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus".
Here we have a beautiful set of pictures of the pizzas we enjoyed from Gusta Pizza. All delicious:
Calabrese: tomatoes, spicy salami, basil and mozzarella.
Margherita: tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, olive oil.
Caprese: cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella.
Hope that helps to fill in some of the gaps! I'll keep dropping in a post or two when I can as I still have quite a bit of catching up to do.
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