Along the Western shore of Lake Como sits the small village of Cadenabbia. The town of Como itself is actually quite large and ugly, but the lakeshore is dotted with tens of quaint little villages. We stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast there called Alberghetto della Marianna. Our host is the owner and chef at the adjoining restaurant where he serves up local delicacies. We had fun chatting with him over breakfast. He laughed when we told him about our difficulties driving in Milan; he said "You should see Napoli, it's much worse!" He also explained the difference between the [View Full Entry]

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This morning, we had planned to take the Venice Aquabus to its furthest destinations, the islands of Burano and Tronchetto. Burano is supposedly like a smaller Murano, and Tronchetto is the first island settled in the area and full of history. Unfortuantely, it was very foggy this morning, so we decided to move inland to Milan. Milan is only about 90 minutes from Venice and is on the way to Lake Como, so we decided to stop in to see the Duomo Cathedral and have some lunch. Little did we know, driving into and around this massive city is no easy [View Full Entry]

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We arrived in Venice in the evening. There are virtually no cars in the city, so you must park in a gargantuan garage upon crossing the bridge to the island. Luckily, the hotel we booked was very near to the garage so we didn't have to lug our bags onto the aquabus and through the labyrinthine streets of the city. We had been advised to stay in the Mestre, which is on the mainland just about 5 minutes drive from Venice, but at this time of year, hotels in Venice aren't priced high enough to justify staying off the island. We [View Full Entry]

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Just outside of Grado is the town of Aquileia, home to the Archeological Museum and a large number of Roman ruins and artifacts. Apparently Aquileia was one of the 4 most important cities in the Roman empire at one time, with a key location for trading with northern peoples. We spent several hours in the museum and surrounding gardens. In the museum, we saw oil lamps, jewelry, coins, pottery, glass perfume bottles, and many other artifacts of daily Roman life. There were slabs of rock with Latin writings and pieces of [View Full Entry]

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Grado is on an island, about an hour's drive north of Venice. It's harbor is in the middle of town, with a canal leading out to the Adriatic Sea. We strolled around town in the evening and stumbled upon some Roman ruins, all lit up with glass walkways over the top. Can you imagine going to build something and digging into Roman ruins? Amazing! We ended up at a popular basement restaurant serving local seafood and, of course, pasta. We noticed several other parties drinking a white liquid after dinner. It looked like milk, but they were sipping it slowly as [View Full Entry]

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En route to Grado, Italy from Milstatt, Austria, we stopped for lunch in Udine, Italy. Driving from the autostrada to the center of town was a bit of a trick. In Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, the center of town is denoted on road signs as "Zentrum." When we got into Italy, this disappeared and I (correctly) deduced that a simple target symbol meant the same thing. We diligently followed the target signs which took us past a shopping complex, a sports stadium and into what we can only describe as looking like the parking lot of a Nordstrom's back home! None [View Full Entry]

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Our friendly Salzburg tour guide suggested we stop for the night in Milstatt - a small resort town on Milstattersee, a beautiful alpine lake. It was definitely slow season here as there were only a handful of accommodations and restaurants open. We can imagine it is a booming place in summertime though! It was a treat to discover the town is home to the Stiftskirche, a Romanesque Benedictine Abbey founded in 1070. We found the church empty the next morning, except for an older lady who was tending to the flowers on the altar. As we sat contemplating the age of [View Full Entry]

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Not far from Oberammergau sits the Benadictine Abbey at Ettal. Founded in 1330, it is still an active monastery today. We had been advised by a nice lady also staying at the guesthouse that we should make a stop here - she was right, it is truly a special place! Behind the Abbey, there is a "cheesery" or "Schaukäserei" where we enjoyed samples of the local cheese and a wonderful slice of cheesecake. Just a note about cheese in Europe - it's really difficult to find Cheddar anywhere except England, which is strange given the hundreds of types of cheese available. [View Full Entry]

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Our first stop in Innsbruck was the Bergisel Ski Jump, home to both the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. It was overpriced for sure - 8.30 Euro per person plus 3.40 to park your car - but interesting nonetheless. The views of the city from the top of the platform were incredible. It was also quite windy up there as you can see from the photos. I cannot imagine launching myself off on skis from that height! Schloss Ambras is a castle just outside the city built in the 11th century and acquired by Archduke Ferdinand II in 1564. We spent [View Full Entry]

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You should arrive in Salzburg: A) after dark B) without a hotel reservation C) during a Mozart year D) with a car E) while battling a cold None of the above! Unfortunately for us, we did all of the above. We had hoped to stay for 2 nights (Thursday and Friday), but quickly learned that 2006 is the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth and so there is no low season. This meant hotels were packed for weekend concerts and there were no rooms to be had on a Friday night. The Old Town area is pedestrian only, many of the streets [View Full Entry]

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