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Published: October 4th 2009
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For our annual travel adventure, Jeanine & I went to Northern Italy. We started off in the Lake District, Lake Como (loved it all, but I have a special place in my heart for Lake Como). We came a day early (from our tour group) and arrived at 6:30 am, took a train to our hotel (with all of the massive luggage) and since it was too early to check in, we dropped off our bags and started to walk around town. We found an amazing 14th century cathedral (where I was asked to leave due to my bare shoulders, making me feel like a harlot), and sat at an outside cafe where we had Cappuccino. We found a great outdoor market, which sold everything from produce to jewelry. I bought a purse from a man from Senagal for 10 Euros. He was sweet. My first impression about the Italians: very fashion conscious. The uniform for women (in the heat and all - hey, it was September), a mini skirt, boots, a long-sleeved blouse with a scarf. Always a scarf. Many people ride bicycles and do not hesitate to ride with high heels and business suits. No exaggeration. We checked into
our hotal to see that our room was lovely, with a view of the Duomo. We ended up having vino rosso at a nice outdoor restaurant (actually, ALL of our meals were outside, that is they way we liked it!). We went on the "funicular", which took us up to a town on the hill, where we wandered. As Jeanine says, "we always like to get to the top". I guess it is where we can find the best view.
The next morning, we went by ferry (right outside our door!) to Lake Bellagio, where it was hilly, quaint and gorgeous. The ferry ride was a bit longer than we thought and we ended up running late to meet with our group, who had arrived earlier that day. We were 15 minutes late and gained ourselves a reputation for the rest of the trip. The people on the tour were amazing, wonderful, seasoned travelers who made our time in Italy even more interesting. We had dinner with the group and then went off to find ourselves some more "vino rosso".
We woke up early with our group on our third day, had croussants and "Caffe Americano" and went
on an "excursion" to Lake Lugano across the border in Switzerland for strolling and shopping. Afterwards, we went to Lake Maggiore. At Lake Maggiore, we sailed to Isola Bella and visited a floating castle, Boromeo Palace. The palace was spectacular and had old, OLD furnishings and beautiful gardens. We strolled around town and split a yummy lasagna lunch with Cappuccino and water "with gas". After arriving back to our "palace" in Como, we showered and went out for dinner and drinks. We met some Italians who literally followed us back home. We didn't have much to say to them since A. they followed us home and importantly B. They did not speak English. Or shall I say, we did not speak Italian.
The next day was "at leisure", so we took a walk to the amazing Villa d'Este, where the plan was to try to get onto the grounds and take a look (it is verrry exclusive). We thought we would make dinner reservations. On the way, we saw 13th century "villas" (more like palaces) and found a quint outdoor market. When we arrived, the friendly guard gave us a day pass. The place was stunning, with gardens and
it's own castle on a hill. The jogging path led us to the castle, where we had the place all to ourselves (not another soul in sight) and we explored. It had a beautiful view of the massive grounds and of Lake Como. How lucky are we? That evening, we found our Turkish friend (we met him the night before and since Jeanine had just arrived back from Turkey, we were interested in speaking with him)who gave us baklava and beer. I only just found out that one little piece of baklava is 335 calories, good thing we did alot of walking! While we were there, we ran into Dave & Ruth, a couple on our tour who we loved immediately. Dave bought our beer for us, which endeared us even more!
The next day we moved on to the Italian Alps, where we stayed in Bolzono, which is the largest city in Italy located in the Alps. The hotel was more than adequate and was actually, very elegant. We loved the bathrooms (all bathrooms, by the way, supplied us with a "bidet", which is no big deal for Jeanine, since she has one at her apartment in Puerto
Lake Como
Taken from the ferry to Lake Bellagio. Rico but it is quite a novelty for me)! It had a fountain in the back, with a swimming pool. It would have been nice to hang out by the pool, but we had touring to do! Our guide took us for a walk around town and that evening, we went to a brewery, which was fun and of course, al fresco. We arrived back from drinking and decided on one more vino rosso outside of the hotel, where we met an interesting man who went to MIT and works mysteriously in "finance". I think he may be a loan shark. Or something interesting like that.
The next morning, we went to the Iceman museum, which was also a "mummy" museum. Very interesting! This man lived 5000 years ago and we could still see his clothing, shoes, and figure out how he lived. The mummys were creepy, but a great snapshot of life that we cannot imagine today. Afterwards, we took a train to amazing Merano, took a ski chair like thing to a town, where we walked uphill to the 13th century Castle Tyrol. Amazing! While at the castle, we looked up and just when we thought we
were on top, we realized that there was a cable car that would take us even further up to the tippy tippy top (always going to the top!). We scrambled uphill (quickly, because we didn't know when it stopped running and we were getting close to 6:00 pm) and breathless, found it in time. We were awarded with access to a village that seems to exist much like it must have for centuries, with quaint old cottages with flower boxes and goats wearing cowbells. Here, we had our first glimpse of the magnificent Dolomites.
We left for Venice and on the way, visited Cortina d'Ampezzo, the Olympic ski resort. The place seems to be pretty exclusive, but not very crowded, since we were there in the "off season". We finally arrived in Venice, where we stayed in an "out of the way" place that has regular shuttles for its inhabitants (and many guests) via ferry. No cars in Venice, no honking horns, no smell of gas, no waiting for a light to turn green. Quite nice. The walk into the main area was about two miles so we walked instead taking the ferry. We saw St. Mark's Square and
had a dinner outside. I had a local dish, cuttlefish with polenta.
The next morning, we met our guide for a trip to the Basilica and the Doges Palace with the Bridge of Sighs. We also went on a gondola ride with our group, which of course is touristy but you have to do it! We were serenaded. We got lost walking in Venice, happily so, and would be treated to picturesque scenes of old palaces and churches when we turned onto a new street. Venice is stunning, but really touristy, with street after street of shops selling murano glass (or "like murano" glass) and masks (for the annual Mardi gras celebration). I purchased two scarves, a vase and a necklace. We went to the Ca'Rezzonico Palace and saw the Rialto Bridge.
Finally, we left Venice and went to Milan, where we had a whirlwind visit to the stunning Duomo, the glass-domed Galleria, and the Sforzesco Castle.
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