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Open House, Open Gardens. The gardens behind the canal houses in Amsterdam are secret hidden places. The narrow streets of the city are picturesque, bordering canals, often laced with trees and lined with dancing houses, but they are never quiet. Cars, the occasional horse-drawn carriage, and the ubiquitous bicycle vie for space and demand attention. The pavement often disappears swallowed by steps down to former servant’s entrances, parked ‘bakfietsen’, and café terraces. Horns blast, cyclists shout as they weave in and out of traffic. It’s beautiful, but it demands attention and requires energy to stroll the city streets. To climb up the stone steps to a 17th century canal house is to rise above this confusion. To walk through the house into the garden is to enter another world entirely. Imposing canal houses needed stately gardens. ... read more

Travel Tips. We stayed at Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo. Santa Croce 2063, 30135 Venezia. Tel +39 041 524 47 97 www.alpontemocenigo.com Euro 150 per night. Experience the Venice of the 1700’s. Murano glass chandeliers, wooden beams, antique furniture. Good friendly service. Nice breakfast served in a tiny courtyard where geraniums and classical statues abound. Two excellent restaurants very close to the hotel in a ‘Venetian’ area of Venice. Muro Pizza & Cucina. Campiello Dello Spezier, Santa Croce 2048, VE. +39 041 52 41 628 www.murovenezia.com closed on Tuesdays. Italian food with a modern twist. Trattoria Capitan Uncino. Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio, Santa Croce, 1501 VE. Tel +39 041 721 901 Closed on Wednesdays. Venetian fare. Reasonable prices. Great sweet trolley. For Cicchetti try Un Mondo Di Vino. Cannaregio ... read more

Vino en Baccari. Act like a Venetian. Stop off at a ‘baccari’ or two and sample some Cicchetti (bar snacks) - traditionally served with an ‘ombra’ - a shadow of wine in a small glass. At lunch one day we stopped at the Trattoria Ca’d’Oro. An old fashioned place, dark wooden tables - and probably the best meatballs in Venice! There were a few tourists seated at tables eating lunch but most of the clientele seemed to consist of neatly dressed old men - all of them sixty or over - wearing sharply pressed open necked short sleeved shirts and slacks. They came in small groups of twos and threes - the odd loner also ambled in - but they all chatted to each other with gusto, laughed a lot, drank one small glass of wine, ... read more

Charles VIII of France's ambassador called it "The most beautiful street in the world". Although he made the remark in 1495 it still holds true today. The Grand Canal sweeps through the heart of Venice. To travel down the Canal is to be transported back to the glory days of the city. 'Palazzi' hundreds of years old, line either side of the waterway. Gothic arches and carved windows, fluted columns and capitals, and excessive ornamentation catch the eye at every turn. Many palazzi still bear the names of the once great families that inhabited them - it's like reading a Who's Who of Italian nobility. The final stretch of the Canal has to be the most breathtaking. The glorious Baroque church of Santa Maria della Salute dominating the right bank. And in the midst of such ... read more