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The joy of coming home from travelling. View over the Alps on the way back. Thanks for coming on journey!

Snowy alps and clear, sunny skies as seen from the airplane.

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Watching the sunset on the back to Venice was an evocative experience.

Sunset over Venice. Light orange bleeds into pink and violet with wispy clouds across the sky. The Venice skyline is in shadows in the distance.

Early sunset with orange and light blue sky from a boat en route back to Venice.

Dark waters with the sunset over Venice. Cloudy across the orange, pink, and blue skies.

The beauty of Burano is really about soaking up the atmosphere and taking it all in. What a place.

Colourful homes, narrow streets, and boat in the canal. A group of people are gathered outside the souvenir shop.

A main street lined with different shops, cafes, and restaurants. Colourful buildings are on either side.

Colourful homes, narrow streets, and boat in the canal.

A boat on the canal is outside a shop called ‘Neverland’ in a red building.

Burano really is a photographer’s dream. I absolutely loved wandering around and seeing all of the beautiful houses – it was like something out of a story.

Main canal with souvenir shops and coloured houses. A pair of covered boats are moored beside the bridge.

Boat along a narrow canal. Coloured houses line the street.

Houses coloured in orange, green, yellow, and red. Boats are in the canal beside the houses on either side.

Although famed for its lace making, these days the pretty island of Burano is more widely recognised for its colourful fisherman’s houses. It’s a picturesque place to visit with the canals and wooden bridges.

The outskirts of Burano. A fishing boat is moored beside the shore.

The canals is lined with bright and pastel coloured houses.

Cream coloured building with forest green shutters and door frames. Plants line the entranceway of each door.

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Wandered through Murano visiting the art galleries and shops selling extraordinary glass pieces.

Archways and columns with the canal and coloured buildings in the background.

Canal with covered boats moored beside the coloured buildings. A brick bridge connecting different parts of the island is in the distance.

Basilica dei Santi Maria e Donato. Church with mosaic floors and supposed bones of dragon slain by St. Donatus.

The island of Murano is famous for its glass making. I’ve come to see the glass blowing in action in one of the factories.

Boats moored by the brick buildings in Murano on a clear, sunny day.

Entrance to the brick building housing the Ferro & Lazzarini Glass Factory.

Man sat in a glass-making factory creating a clear glass vase.

I also took a darker version of shot.

Two gondolas make their way through a narrow canal with peach/pink coloured brick buildings either side.

Boat ride to explore the island of Murano. Elected for a speed boat, rather the water bus (which stops along the way).

View of Venice centre from a boat on a sunny day.

Venice in the distance on a sunny day as seen from a boat in the Venetian lagoon.

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The walk towards St. Mark’s Square from the outskirts is a splendid one.

View of the Venetian lagoon from the bridge. A boat is passing through.

A large tree is in front of a historic brick and yellow building.

Canal with wide pavements to walk alongside. A tower is in the distance.

Narrow canal with a boat passing through.

Walking to the meeting point for a trip to the other islands of Venice - Murano and Burano. Exciting stuff.

View of the Venice skyline and Venetian legion with St. Mark’s Square in the distance.

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Concluding the day with a plate of seafood, followed by pasta (obviously).

Grilled seafood platter (prawns, sardines, scallops, and calamari) with garnishes, pickled vegetables, and pates.

Plate of pasta and anchovy sauce with crushed toasted breadcrumbs on top.

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Spectacular views across the Grand Canal from sunset late into the evening.

Venice Grand Canal at sunset on a cloudy, foggy evening. Small boats make their way up the canal.

Narrow canal at night with a bridge in the distance.

Church of Santa Maria della Salute. It’s white marble set against the night sky.

Standing on the terrace of the Peggy Guggenheim museum overlooking the Grand Canal at dusk was pretty special.

Foggy, cloudy day on the Venice Grand Canal at sunset.

The painting of night and day was my favourite of the entire collection. The works were more intense in a small, intimate home setting than the large halls of other museums.

Empire of Light by René Magritte. A painting of night and day, with a door-less, partially shuttered house in which two windows are lit.

Different coloured brushstrokes and splatters.

Sea=Dancer by Gino Severini. Choppy brushstrokes in different colours in which the dancer and sea are fused together.

The works of Pablo Picasso, René Magritte and Max Ernst, and many more awaits in the museum. All these modern art masterpieces are housed in Peggy’s palazzo, once her home.

I found my way to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice. What a treasure trove it is.

Peggy Guggenheim museum building on the banks of the Grand Canal in Venice

The city itself is literally an open-air museum to be admired. Simply wandering the alleyways of Venice is something to do here.

Narrow canal with a bridge in the distance.

Narrow street with streams of sunlight illuminating the canal. People are heading on the little bridge over the canal.

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Snagging one of the coveted spots in the open-air section of the boat meant fantastic views of the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, the edge of St. Mark’s Square, and everything else.

Coloured buildings at the shore of the Venetian lagoon, seen from a distance on the water.

Church on an island opposite St. Mark’s Square. The church occupies most of the island.

St. Mark’s Square on a cloudy day with choppy waters on the Venetian lagoon.

Perfectly timed to arrive at sunset. Riding the water bus (called vaporetti) to navigate my way to the other side of Venice.

Sunset over the Venetian lagoon on a cloudy day. An island with a church is in shadows in the distance.

Sunset over the Venetian lagoon. An island with a church is in shadows in the distance.

Venice, quite possibly one of my favorite cities in the world. The real joy of Venice is found in the quiet corners. Onwards!

Narrow canal with buildings either side, a speed boat is moored to beside one of the buildings. Sunlight illuminates the water.

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Truth be told, there’s only one city I’m heading back to as my final stop. Because a day in Venice is never enough, I’m returning for the sheer magic of walking over a tiny bridge while the sun sets over the canal.

Pasticceria Giotto pastry shop employs the prisoners of the "Due Palazzi" prison, who work in its professional pastry laboratory. This is their collaboration with the prison of Padua, where the laboratory bakes all the artisanal desserts they have. Delicious!

A plate with a Mille-feuille: three layers of crisp, delicate puff pastry stacked with vanilla pastry cream and is topped with a dusting of icing sugar.

Assortment of bite-sized pastries: fruit tartlet, choux bun filled with vanilla cream, lemon meringue tart, and tiramisu.

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The city of Padua is nothing short of picturesque, with a dense network of cobblestone streets and communal piazzas. It effortlessly blends grandeur with charm.

Covered walkway with columns and a patterned tiled floor.

Cobbled side street with covered arcades.

Caffe Pedrocchi is an elegant place to stop for coffee. It is also the oldest cafe in the city, established in 1831, and has an interesting history.

Assorted plate of bite-sized chocolate pastries. In the front is three layer chocolate mouse cake.

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The complex houses also the oldest surviving permanent anatomical theatre in Europe, built in 1594 for anatomical studies.

Wooden library room with rows of chairs.

View of the anatomical theatre from below. It is a wooden construction in a funnel-like shape, with an oval base and six concentric sets of steps rising around an anatomical table. The balustrades are made of engraved wood.

Art installation of a book with red redactions. Made of canvas and paper on a wooden support.

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Palazzo Bo is the seat of the University of Padua. It is the second oldest university in Italy, behind Bologna.

The inner courtyard and the Aula Magna are covered in coats of arms, portraits, and other memorabilia.

Steps leading to the first floor. The walls are painted with a scene.

Palazzo della Ragione is a medieval palace that was once the seat of the local law courts.

The open loggia on the second floor with frescoes on the ceiling.

The interiors are a treasure trove of frescoes on astrology and items such as a giant wooden horse (commissioned in the 15th century for a public carnival).

The Scrovegni Chapel is one of the highlights of any visit to Padova. However, it was sold out. So I headed to the two former palaces in the city instead.

Piazza dei Signori and the Clock Tower. Overlooking the Piazza dei Signori is the imposing astronomical clock tower that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest in the world.

Narrow cobbled side street with artwork on the wall.

Palace with columns and covered walkway underneath.

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Arrived late into Padova. Standout pasta dish of the trip so far.

Cavatelli (shell-like ridged) pasta with salt, pepper, and prawns.

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After much debating, I’ve headed back north to Padova. It’s a city that gets often overlooked with Venice as its neighbour.

Piazza with covered walkways and a church in the background.

Bologna is a city to savour slowly - it has an allure that is hard to describe. From its leaning medieval towers to miles of terracotta-toned porticoes, you will lose yourself in its red and orange hues.

Statue in the centre of a piazza behind a cathedral.

Brief break at a patisserie whilst o contemplate my next town or city to visit on the journey.

Assorted plate of bite-sized pastries. There are two fruit tartlets and two choux buns filled with Chantilly cream. The choux bun is at the centre of the photo with the remaining pastries in the background.

Assorted plate of bite-sized pastries. There are two fruit tartlets and two choux buns filled with Chantilly cream.

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Wandering along the corridors of the Archiginnasio and its library hall is like opening a history book.

Vaulted ceilings with frescoes and stone doorways lead to individual rooms.

The Archiginnasio is one of the most evocative reminders of Bologna’s great academic tradition. The walls of this place seem to echo with the voices of the great minds of the past.

Wood door entrance with inscription above the doorway.

Coats of arms painted in the corridor of steps leading to the ground floor.

The Teatro Anatomico, along with the library, is an incredibly interesting place. It has been rebuilt to its former glory using original pieces due to being heavily bombed during World War II.

Carved entirely out of spruce wood, an elaborate teachers chair and canopy held by the two famous spellati statues (carved ‘skinless’ men) is at the front of the room. In the centre of the room lies a marble table, where cadavers were once dissected by medical students and teachers.

Carved wooden ceiling motifs full of astrological symbols.

Statues of famous doctors carved out of spruce wood line the walls of the room.

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There’s just something special about traipsing the halls of the oldest university in the western world. The Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio, a 17th-century anatomical lecture hall at the old medical school, is an intriguing place to spend time.

Courtyard and clock tower of the old medical school.

Vaulted ceilings and columns. There are frescoes on the ceiling and walls.

Stone steps leading to the first floor. A coat of arms is at the top of the steps.

Frescoes adorn the ceiling of first floor walkway.

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Heading towards the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio.

Piazza with a decorated Christmas tree in the centre. The public library building is behind it.

Unfinished church off the Piazza Maggiore.

Small piazza and tower between streets with a restaurant set up for lunch service.

Bologna used to have a network of canals dating back to the Middle Ages. The majority of the canals are now obscured, however there are a few locations where you can still get a sneaky glimpse of them.

A partially uncovered canal runs between the colourful buildings.

Another day of wandering in Bologna. I’m off to find one of the few remaining canals in the city.

Terracotta brick covered walkway and columns.

Some of my favourite moments in Bologna are the quiet ones.

Frescoes on the ceilings of the portico covered walkways.

Terracotta vaulted ceilings, columns, and porticoes.

Vaulted ceilings, columns, and porticoes.

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Cremeria Cavour came recommended as the best gelato in Bologna, so I knew I had to visit. It was truly excellent - the best gelato I’ve eaten on this trip.

Two scoops of gelato - custard and chocolate - in a waffle cone, topped with a circular waffle disc at the top.

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If you've followed me for a while, you'll know there's nothing I like more than gelato (and cake).

Fresh pasta on open display containers on the counter.

A scoop of hazelnut gelato in a waffle cone with a circular waffle biscuit on top.

One of the things to do in Bologna is to eat—and eat well. And the food just is that good. The richness of the sauce and the texture of the pasta was absolutely delicious.

Bowl of fresh pasta with fresh tomato and basil sauce.

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As someone who likes to wander aimlessly, this is a city that invites you to follow your own pace.

Terracotta buildings and columns in a narrow side street.

A terracotta medieval building - Palazzo della Mercanzia

Two towers - Le due Torri: Garisenda e degli Asinelli. One of the towers is leaning.

Bologna is the kind of place that reveals itself slowly, one portico-covered street at a time.

Piazza at the rear of the basilica. The statue of Luigi Galvani is at the centre.

Piazza Maggiore. The main square lined with medieval and renaissance buildings.

One of the largest and oldest squares in Italy, Piazza Maggiore is the epicentre of the city. It’s also home to the unfinished Basilica of San Petronio.

Basilica of San Petronio. The unfinished church has a half marble, half brick facade on the exterior.

Interior of the basilica with terracotta columns and vaulted ceiling.

Terracotta columns frame the entrance door.

And there are patisseries to stumble upon hidden under the columns and porticoes.

A plate of assorted bite-sized pastries: chocolate mousse, two lemon meringue tartlets, cheesecake tartlet, and butter biscuit.

Rows of bite-sized pastries and desserts.