We headed out of Croatia to return to our beloved Italy. We were traveling in 3 countries in one day. Amazing. Breakie was in ZADAR , Croatia. Again the mountain drive was rather spectacular and the roads were good. We took a picnic lunch which we had roadside in Slovenia, and then continued onto into Italy for a 3 night stay in Udine , In north east Italy in the Friulli- Venezia region.

Udine has been ruled in past years by Austria and the Venetians. Our apartment was in a fabulous location, only a flat 10 minute walk into the Old Town. We had to get our heads around the electronic lock system of the apartment. Opening doors with a mobile phone was a little weird to begin with.

Piazza del Liberta is the main square and is known as the most beautiful Venetian square on the mainland. Beautiful buildings adorn the entire piazza. The Loggia del Lionello is a palace built in the Venetian Gothic style and is known to be a version of the Doge’s palace in Venice. Now it is the Town Hall and it dates back to the 15th century but was partially re built after a fire in 1876. We loved it, especially the portico area.

On the other side stands Loggia Di San Giovani or The Porch of St John and dates back to the 16th century. Its clock tower was rather impressive and based on the one in St Marks Square in Venice. The statue with the Venetian lions.so stands proudly in the square.

We headed into Piazza Matteotti for our dinner on the first night and it is the 2nd oldest square in Udine and once housed the city market. We had an aperitivi before deciding on a pizza for dinner.

The Udine Cathedral, although a tad plain on the outside had magnificent frescoes inside, it was quite stunning.

We loved wandering the streets, seeing all the beautiful buildings, and Greg was always eager to find a new friend.

Udine’s Castle is located on a hill in the city’s historical centre, and was built in the 16th century. We walked up but decided it was better for Greg’s knee to take the elevator down!😂

We had a “local” just down the road from our apartment so that was our hang out for our pre dinner aperitivis. People watching can be very fascinating. One night our in house chef cooked us a great pasta dish, it was delicious…..as per usual.

We decided to lash out on our last day and we took Jude to a winery to “do lunch”. We had been there before when we had stayed in Cividale del Friulli. We called into the town first to do some reminiscing then we headed to Alturis Winery.

We began our lunch with an eggplant pie which was absolutely divine and the mains of beef tartare and the Frito ( a fried potato and cheese pie) was just as good. It was washed down with a lovely bottle of Friulli wine.

We enjoyed our stay in quiet Udine after the hustle and bustle of Croatia. Here in Italy, the drinks are cheaper and you get “food” with your aperitivi……and it’s free. Next it was onto Brescia where we are now. We are gradually catching up with our blog now that the pace has slowed down.

Speaking of slowing down, it’s time for a quiet drink.

The weather temperature has increased to the mid 30’s but not as hot as Southern Europe, and thankfully no wild fires here.

Greg’s knee is holding up well considering some days we have walked over 10 kms, albeit with a few stops along the way to lubricate the knee and the throat.😂

Ciao ciao

Lots of love

Greg and Rhonda and Jude.