On the Train from Venice to Milan

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #17e - September 26, 2009 - 7:00 am

We are about an hour from Milano now -- still on the train. We are moving almost directly east to west with the Italian Alps visible to the north. We are passing through a lot of small towns and we've also passed a good number of vineyards. In fact, we've passed a lot of farmland, with a variety of crops, but I can't tell what they are -- maybe corn, maybe wheat.

Some of the cities we've passed through: Padua, Varona, Brescia, Rovato, Chiari, Romano, Vidalengo, Treviglio, and so many more.

This trip has really gone off with few difficulties. All of the hotel reservations and restaurant reservations and train tickets have worked well and smoothly. And the trains run very much on time! You can literally set you watch based on their arrival and departure.

It has started to rain as we approach Milan. This is our first rain since we were in Rome. Our days in Florence and Venice have been entirely sunny -- almost balmy. What wonderful weather we have had. So we are ready to tolerate a few rain drops now.

Roberto and Barbara are to meet us at the Milan train station and, sure enough, as we depart the train and make our way down the platform, we can see Roberto waving to us. What a warm and wonderful greeting they gave us.

Another Amazing Meal!

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #17d - September 26, 2009 - 7:00 am

For dinner this evening, we had reservations at a restaurant where had dinner 24 years ago with his very good friend, Len Collamore: Corte Sconta. We're not exactly sure what that name means. Dad thinks it may mean "secret courtyard." The restaurant was tucked down an alleyway, but relatively easy to find. It was of average size, but it was unique in that one of the largest rooms was an open courtyard topped by a patchwork of grape vines. We sat at a table just on the edge of this courtyard. It was very pretty.

Our food this evening was a wide variety of fish. Our wine was a pinot grigio.

We started off with what they called their appetizer assortment. It consisted of four different offerings, each served separately and which we shared family-style. The first two were both cold plates of thinly sliced fish -- one was tuna in a balsamic vinegar, the other was a white fish in olive oil and lemon with bamboo shoots. The third was a pate on toasted bagettes. This is not my favorite kind of food, but these were all very nicely presented and so I tried everything -- and most of it was very good!

Next came a large bowl of miniature clams. Again, I am not a fan of clams -- at all -- but these were EXCELLENT! What a shock. They were in some sort of lemon pepper butter sauce and they were great. I could have eaten the entire bowl by myself.

Our last appetizer was a melange of miniature shrimp, squid, octopus, and spider crab. I like the spider crab the best and the octopus the least. Dad and Chris made me try it but, as I had anticipated, it was rubbery and bland and I didn't like the texture.

After all this food, we had a "first course" of pasta. Dad had gnocchi. Chris and I had noodles with tuna (I think). Quite frankly, we had so many different kinds of fish, that it's all a bit of

a blur. The pasta was excellent but, by this time, I was truly stuffed and I had difficulty eating more than half of my serving.

However, notwithstanding how absolutely stuffed I was, there has to be room for dessert. We needed to try the tiramisu -- our third sampling since the beginning of our trip. This one may have been the best of the three. It was served in three little wafer towers with cream in the middle and laced with hardened chocolate. Yum, yum, yum!

Just Start Walking

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #17c - September 26, 2009 - 7:00 am

Upon our return from our islands tour, we split company with Dad. He needed to rest

his leg, and our plan was to just start walking. Our only goal was to walk over the Rialto Bridge which, when you're on it, doesn't feel much like a bridge at all. It feels like a very narrow, steep street that is lined with tons of small shops.

The streets in Venice are very small

-- some of them only alleys. On most streets there is a constant succession of shops. Perhaps the most common of these are glass shops -- selling everything you can think of made of Murano glass: jewelry, vases, trays, letter openers, bottle openers, bowls, pens, glasses . . .

you get the idea. But there are many other types of stores as well -- selling designer clothing, leather goods, books, stationery, shoes, jewelry, etc. And, of course, there are cafe's everywhere.

Some of the neatest shops are those selling masks. I would have loved to buy a mask to take home, but they are rather large and delicate, and I was concerned I would not be able to carry it properly on the plane. And so, I have one more reason to return to Venice some day -- to buy a mask.

Chris and I did a lot of shopping this afternoon. It was time to purchase a few gifts for family. One of my favorite finds (which I can write about because it's already been gifted) was a Spiderman mask for my nephew, Gabriel. He's a Spiderman fan, and this seemed like the perfect gift.

During the afternoon, Chris and I probably walked at least a couple miles. And few times we got disoriented (some might say, lost) and couldn't find where we were on the map, but we ultimately found our way back to the Grand Canal and, finally, back to St. Mark's Square.

We ended our afternoon in the typical Venetian way -- at a cafe several doors down from our hotel. I had a Bellini this time. Chris had a beer. [Do you see a pattern here?] We also drank a very large bottle of Pelligrino. And we watched the people and the boats go by.

Waterways and Boats

Venice - September 25, 2009

There are a very wide variety of boats in Venice - no surprise there. The gondolas are the most beautiful and unique, but they are also extremely expensive -- so we did not indulge. But it's hard not to take pictures of them. Some are highly decorated, and the gondoliers all dress the part -- just for us tourists.

Some of the least attractive boats on the Canal are the public transit boats. They're like buses on water, and they are always packed. They make a lot of stops. At times, it seemed they were stopping every 50 yards.

The Quaint and Quiet Island of Torcello

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #17b - September 26, 2009 - 7:00 am

Back to Torcello -- our third island stop yesterday. This is a very small island. My guidebook says that, long ago, it was home to a thriving community of 30,000. Today, there are about 50 residents! Actually, I find it hard to believe there were ever as many as 30,000 there. It really is quite small. We walked the length of what appeared to be the only street running along a canal that bisects the island. This was only a 40 minute stop.

The dock, obviously, was our starting point. Our end point, and destination, at the

opposite side of the island was a 1,000 year old church. Along the way, we probably passed no more than 20 houses. We also passed some really neat, small courtyard gardens. They looked

a bit tangled and unkempt, but they were still pretty. Also along our route were two very beautiful restaurants. I wish we had had time to stop for lunch!

The church was pretty neat, but we did not go in (there was a fee). But we walked the grounds, which included a wee tiny vineyard and garden.

Back on the boat, we the boat made a bee line for Venice. It only took us about 30 minutes. We were moving pretty fast and we passed every other boat heading to Venice.

A First Class Train Trip

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #17a - September 26, 2009 - 7:00 am

I konked out last night. We had had our usual two bottles of wine with dinner and we had to get up very early (5:00 am) to get the water taxi (at right) to the train station. We are now seated in our 1st class coach and are about to depart the Venice train station (pictured below).

This is our first 1st class train trip. We want to try it out and compare. The seats are slightly wider and there is more leg room, but

really the 2nd class seats are quite comfortable too. The differences seem to be rather minor. But I do like these high speed trains. They move very smoothly and it's a great way to travel throughout Europe.

A Waterway Excursion

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #16 - September 25, 2009 - 5:50 pm

Venice is a very interesting city. It feels a bit like an amusement park. It's a bit over-stimulating. And, of course, as has been the case this entire week, there are tourists everywhere. Without realizing it, we made this trip during one of the busiest tourist times of the year. There are large crowds of people just everywhere and Venice may be the most crowded of all.

This may be because this is a port city. Lots of cruise ships dock here and the passengers swarm into the city. Venice may also be the most crowded simply because it a very dense, overbuilt pedestrian city. There are

absolutely no cars and no motorbikes. I haven't even seen any bicycles. Everyone is on foot.

We had a brainstorm today at breakfast. We'd been talking about taking a ferry to the island of Murano (Dad's idea), and then we spotted a poster in the lobby of the hotel advertising a boat trip to three local islands, including Murano. It seemed perfect for us, so we had the hotel clerk call and reserve three spots.

It was a beautiful day for a boat ride. We left from a dock just about 50 yards from our hotel.

We were on a pretty good

sized boat, with about 25 others, and there was plenty of room to spread out and take in all the views. Our itinerary was as follows: We pulled into the Canale di San Marco and from there we went to (i) Murano, (ii) Burano, and (iii) Torcello. Overall, it was a 3-1/2 hour trip. We left the dock at about 9:30 am and we returned at 1:00 pm. There was a "tour guide" but she was a bit of a disappointment. Her commentary (in four languages) was extremely brief and became non-existent on the return trip. No matter. We enjoyed the boat ride and the cool sea breezes. It was a beautiful day!

Our first stop was Murano. I always thought that "Murano" glass referred to a producer. It does not. Rather, it refers to the entire island where dozens of glass blowing manufacturers are located. Unfortunately, we saw none of the island. Instead, we docked at the pier of

one of the glass shops. We were taken to one of the furnace rooms and given a demonstration of glass blowing. Two men worked on a single piece. In the space of about 10 minutes a

molten blob of glass turned into a horse! It was pretty neat. What skill these guyshave. We were then directed into the showroom where I proceeded to make my most expensive purchase of this trip -- a set of 8 liqueur glasses. They are each a different pale color and each has a gold leaf stem.

Our next stop was the island of Burano, which is known for its hand made lace. At this island, we had greater freedom to roam around, but not much time to do it. It was a really cute little island. The houses are painted a wide variety of bright colors, and the island is known as much for that as for its lace. It created a beautiful scene and, once again, we took a lot of pictures. We made our obligatory stop in a lace shop and made some not-so-obligatory purchases. I hadn't planned it at all, but

I bought a beautiful lace tablecloth with 8 matching napkins. They have lace details and lace edges.

From the linen store, we walked down the main street of the island. Our time was up much too quickly and we had to hustle back to the boat. This island is very small. We probably could have walked the entire island in 10 minutes. One other interesting feature of Burano is a leaning bell tower. The foundation is being eroded away by the water. I wonder if anyone is placing bets on when it might fall over!

Our third and final island stop on this excursion was Torcello. But I am getting very sleep now, so I will continue tomorrow.

Vivaldi's Home Town

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #15 - September 2, 2009 - 7:35 am

Italy has inspired countless artists, composers, writers, explorers and poets. No surprise there. I chanced upon a note in my guidebook to the effect that, that in our very own little Hotel Wildner, the author Henry James completed his novel, Portrait of a Lady, in 1881. Wow! And just down the street is a little building (at left), formerly an orphanage, where Vivaldi worked (he was a priest!) and where many of his concertos, sonatas, etc. were performed for the first time. I hope to pop my head in there today.

Speaking of Vivaldi, we saw a concert last night where a chamber orchestra performed Vivaldi's Four Seasons. There were seven musicians playing stringed instruments (including a harpsichord!). The lead violinist was amazing. The speed of his fingers and the speed of his bow were mind boggling -- so fast!! It was a beautiful performance. And we were in a sm

all hall next to the Basilica that, we were told, approximated the size of a 19th century concert hall -- very intimate.

And then, on our walk home, we were tempted by the sweets in a passing shop window (pictured here). We purchased a very oversized chocolate chip cookie-cake, and we shared it. It was a very nice end to a very nice day.

Rossini Time!

St. Mark's Square is lined with large outdoor cafes, and one of the things that makes them particularly unique is that they each have mini orchestras that play while you have a drink and take in the sights in the Square.

And so, Chris and I had to stop and have our own little drink break. Chris had beer (his usual) and I had a Rossini -- which is Astispumanti and strawberries. It was wonderful!

St. Mark's Square

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #14 - September 24, 2009 - 10:55 pm

This afternoon, we spent several hours at St Mark's Square. We started in the Basilica San Marco. The main attraction here are the gilded mosaic tile pictures in the roof/ceiling. Unfortunately, either due to poor lighting or age, the panels are not very distinct. You're almost better off looking at photographs taken under full light. The most enjoyable part of our tour was the time we spent in the museum on the second floor where we saw illuminated choral books and, most impressive, the four bronze horses that were originally mounted on the front of the Basilica. They are huge and powerful -- really impressive.

We next went to the Doge's Palace where we paid extra for the audio tour phones (which provided a pre-recorded "tour" of the Palace and some armament rooms. We walked through the entire Palace and learned about all the different meeting rooms of the various Venetian government boards and panels of the 15th and 16th centuries. The Doge was the ruling

leader of Venice. He was "elected" by the most prominent families and political leaders of the community. This would appear to be a much coveted position, but the Doge's life was not an easy one. He had tremendous responsibilities and his personal freedom was greatly limited. He was rarely allowed to leave the Palace and even rarer still was he able to leave Venice.

Also as part of this tour, we walked over the Bridge of Sighs and into the prison. This near medieval prison was as bad as you might expect -- dark, barren and smelly! I was glad to get out of there.

One particularly annoying thing about Venice is some of the placement of large billboard ads. There is a very nice custom throughout Europe that when an historic building is undergoing renovation, they cover the exterior scaffolding with huge sheets that contain depictions

of the building facade that is under renovation. It's a really neat effect and it turns something unsightly into something interesting. Venice has an unpleasant twist on this practice. here, they sell advertising rights to the sheets covering the scaffolding. And so, in St. Mark's Square there are two of these projects ongoing and the sheets covering the scaffolding, instead of mirroring the building facades behind, are huge billboard ads for Guess jeans. To add insult to injury, there is also work taking place on the Bridge of Sighs, and three massive panels advertising Chopard jewelry cover the bridge and the walls on either side of the Bridge. It's

awful! I can't believe anyone thought this was a good idea. I can only hope that the city is being paid millions for the advertising rights.

We Are in Venice

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #13 - September 24, 2009 - 6:50 pm

Well, the water taxi was quite a trip. What a way to make an entrance. But it's a good thing the scenery was so spectacular or the actual oat ride would have had few redeeming qualities. First, it was very crowded - SRO - and when you add to that all the luggage we were dragging behind us -- this was yet another traveling challenge. Second, I was lucky to get a seat and even luckier still when the woman sitting at the window left a few stops into the trip. I was able to move into her window seat and took some GREAT photos along the Grand Canal. Third, it's easy to take too many pictures. Every inch of the trip presents a photo op. Fourth, we got off at the wrong stop. We missed getting off where we should have. We realized our mistake immediately and got off at the next stop, but we had a bit of a hike (with our luggage) to the hotel.

Finally, we made it to the Hotel Wildner. The Hotel is in a great location -- just about 200 yards down from St. Mark's Square. Unfortunately, our rooms were not ready. Also, on the inside, this hotel is the least impressive of the three we've stayed in. On the positive side, the bathroom is surprisingly nice. Our rooms are on the third floor (me and Chris) and fourth floor (Dad) -- and there is NO lift. Let's just say, we got our exercise at the Hotel Wildner.

Because our rooms were not ready, and it was late, it made sense to take a lunch break. Conveniently, the Hotel has a restaurant out front. As Hotel guests, we get a 10% discount! We had a nice simple lunch. Dad and I had salad and Chris had pizza. Do you see a theme here? And when we were done with lunch, our rooms were ready.

Dante's House

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #12f - September 24, 2009 - 8:42 am

One unusual spot we chanced upon today was Dante's house! We chanced upon it as we were walking back to our hotel after dinner. There is a bust of Dante on a ledge on one side of the outside walls. Otherwise, it is a totally forgetable building! But Dad got a kick out it because he had seen it with his mother and sister when they visited Italy about 60 years ago!

We will soon be in Venice, where we will take a water taxi to our hotel. That should be fun!

The Baptistry - Shimmering in Gold

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #12e - September 24, 2009 - 8:42 am

Chris and I saw one more site in Florence today. We returned to the central Duomo and went into the next door Baptistry (which has very limited hours and was closed in the morning). The Baptistry is almost empty inside. Once again, the attraction here is the art work on the inside of the dome. But what distinguishes this ceiling is that it is constructed of mosaic, gold leaf tiles. It shimmers! The panels tell several Christian stories including the story of creation, thestory of Mary and Jesus, and the entry

into heaven or hell. These were some of the most beautiful panels we've seen. Interestingly, the individual artists who created these mosaic scenes are unknown.

There is a major attraction on the outside of the Baptistry as well. It is the celebrated doors created by Lorenzo Ghiberti in the 1420's. The doors, called the "Gate of Paradise," were commissioned to mark Florence's

deliverance from the plague. They are quite remarkable. And of course, they are gold. [Actually, the doors we saw are copies. The originals are in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.]

Time to Shop!

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #12d - September 24, 2009 - 8:42 am

I made a few purchases today. I will not describe them all here, because many of them will be Christmas presents. But, this being Florence, I had to buy something (or several things) leather. And I did . I purchase two beautiful pairs of gloves (cashmere lined) and a really spectacular tooled leather handbag. The gloves are beautifully soft, and the bag is two-toned, black on the bottom and brown on the top.

From the Central Market to the Pitti Palace

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #12c - September 24, 2009 - 8:42 am

Dad next wanted us to see the Central Market, which is only a few blocks north of the Duomo. The building that comprises the Central Market houses butcher shops, cheese shops, vegetable stands, spice shops, florist shops, and much, much more (like the dried fruit stand pictured here). Outside, on the east side of the building, there is a farmers' market where the produce looks almost too good to eat. Around the other sides of the building are street vendors selling leather goods, T-shirts, scarves, and trinkets. We bought a few things, but the street vendors are all very similar one to the other. So while it looks like a lot, there's really not that much to choose from.

After the Central Market, we went to the Chiesa San Lorenzo -- our appointed location to meet up with Dad's friends, Mario and Dottie Camparetto. They are on a 3-week cruise, and their ship had docked about 70 miles southwest of Florence, and they had hired a car and tour guide to drive them to Florence. It was nice to get a break from walking so much, and we all piled

into their van and took a drive across the river to the Piazza di Michaelangelo. This is a well known park and look-out spot. The view of the city from here is spectacular and so, of course, we took a lot of photos. The view looks up the Arno, with the city on the right (north) and the Ponte Vecchio straight ahead (to the west).

After this stop, we separated from Dad and his friends. He had lunch with them while we got dropped off a few blocks from the Pitti Palace.

The Palace was a bit of a disappointment. The ticketing was confusing. I did not realize that the tickets I purchased got into the Palace and the living quarters of the Medici family, but did not allow us to get into the Boboli Gardens. I had really wanted to see the Gardens. Oh well, that just gives us a reason to make another trip to Florence some day!

Inside the Palace, we toured the royal apartments where a series of monied families lived. One of the most significant of those was the Medici's. The apartments where they lived are no longer furnished, but the wall coverings and ceiling frescoes are still intact. Additionally, the rooms are now used to house a massive art collection. We saw many works by Lippi and Raphael and many other Renaissance masters. We were only in one part of the Palace, which is absolutely huge. It's hard to imagine a family living here. It was all so formal. Each bedroom area had a series of attending rooms where visitors (of different social rank) waited for an audience with the family members. There was even a throne room!

We left the Palace and headed north, back towards the city. To get there, we had to cross

the river and we did so by walking over the Ponte

Vecchio. The bridge was packed full of people! The bridge is home to scores of jewelry stores. They fully line each side. There is much gold and silver to be found here. We only looked. We did not buy.

The 463 Step Challenge

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #12b - September 24, 2009 - 8:42 am

Yesterday in Florence was adifferently paced day. We got up early enough to get to the Duomo (the central church) by 9:00 a.m. Chris and I planned to walk to the top of the dome -- 463 steps! [Dad waited for us in the Piazza below.] We

entered by a special door - just for those making the climb - and started up. The staircase was irregular and circuitous. At times we were walking in squared off sections; at other times we were in a spiral staircase; and at other times we were in short straight flights of stairs. Sometimes the steps were really shallow and steep. Most of the time, there were railings on the walls to help provide leverage and support. Thank you!

Amazingly enough, we made the climb relatively. There was a stopping point about two-third's of the way up where we found ourselves inside the domed ceiling above the altar! What a view. We were on a platform that extended about one-third the distance of the interior dome. We got

a great view of the four, large circular stained glass windows in the dome and the painting of the Last Judgment on the ceiling. It was wonderful. We got some great pictures.

And then we climbed the last leg to the very top. The stairs got steeper and narrower. Finally, we emerged at the outside platform at the very top of the dome. It was a hazy day but the views were still fabulous. We spent about 10 minutes walking the entire circumference and snapping photos. And then we headed down. On the trip down, our stopping point was a catwalk that was even higher up in the interior dome -- more photo op's! We didn't linger too long and kept climbing down. Remarkably,

the walk down felt longer than the walk up!

Chris and I also went into the first floor of the Church and looked up at the dome from below. This Church is relatively empty compared to some. There is a beautiful mosaic tiled floor and a few tombs, but there are no chapels like we have found in so many other churches.

Veteran Train Travelers We Are Not

Trip to Italy - Journal Entry #12a - September 24, 2009 - 8:42 am

We have boarded our second train -- this one heading for Venice. What a project! We arrived early thinking that would allow us plenty of time to comfortably board and stow our bags. That thinking just shows how naive we are. We may are arrived early, but the train

had not. The train was coming from Rome and it did not arrive in the station until 10 minutes before our scheduled departure time. All passengers wait at a lighted tote board to see what platform will be posted. And as soon as a platform # appears on the board, hundreds of people start swarming towards the platform and jockeying for position in the general area where they think their coach will end up. [We were in coach #6.]

Getting on the trains is a pain in the neck -- given the luggage situation. The steps are tall and our bags were heavy. Chris was very helpful this time. We knew more what to expect this time. He got on first and found the luggage racks. Then he took our bags and stowed them for us. Then we proceeded to take our seats -- which took a while because everyone else was struggling with their own bags. It's really rather chaotic. Finally, we fell into our seats. This is another packed train, just like the one from Rome to Florence.

The trains are very comfortable. The seats are roomy -- much more so than on a plane, and there are fold-out tables between opposing facing seats. There are bathrooms in each coach and there is a car with refreshments in the center of the train. There are also overhead storage compartments -- like on a plane -- but these are open to the aisles. All in all, this is a really excellent way to travel several hundred miles very quickly and comfortably.