Bongiorno Italy!

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An early morning - pack, breakfast, leave for Italy. At breakfast I make a sandwich (ham, cheese on a bread roll) for myself and slip it into my bag for later. The bus trip begins again! The first stop is the lion’s monument in Lucerne. It’s a dying lion carved into a stone wall. WOW! It is amazing to think one person carved it.

Lugano
Back on the bus we travel for a couple of hours to Lugano. Lugano is by the water at the border of Switzerland and Italy. There are paddle boats on the water, boats, and ducks. It is a small town almost like a village. We stroll through the farmer’s market where they sell fresh bread, fruit and vegetables, meat, and antiques. The stores there are designer boutiques like Louis Vuitton, Versace, etc. They also sell a lot of Swiss watches and Swiss Army knives. Bakeries! Oh there are lots of bakeries! Todd and I resist as lunch in Milan is soon.

Milan
Lunch in Milan! Well it was outer Milan. Not in the city centre. The food was fabulous! Also very cheap! I had linguine with pesto and parmesan cheese and Todd had spaghetti with a tomato sauce. With a beer and juice it only came up to 10 Euro! We sit with the retired American couple from Iowa. Back on the bus we get…I sit back and relax and have nice nap all the way to Verona.

Verona
At Verona we see the balcony where Juliet stood when Romeo called for her. There is also a statue of her. Lots of people pose with her, and of course to be funny hold her breasts! On the walls near the statue people have written messages of love. There are even pieces of paper with their messages stuck on the wall.

We stroll around Verona while eating Italian gelato in a cup. Oh it tastes so much better than Gelatissimo! We wander through a flea market selling souvenirs and fresh produce, little boutiques, and then use the restroom.

Restrooms! Toilets! Bathrooms! Whatever you want to call them! You have to pay every time you want to use one in public! Usually 50 Euro cents. Of course if you eat at a café or restaurant you can use theirs for free. It is so weird asking yourself if you really need to go and if it’s worth 50 Euro cents!!! 

Venice
Finally arriving in Venice we settle into our hotel. It’s 15kms from the city centre in the middle of nowhere! Oh there is a big factory outlet 100m down the road but is closed by 7.30pm. We arrive about that. For dinner we head down there. We’ve had a long travel and don’t feel like going for the optional dinner in Venice. A few others come along for the walk. We’re all hoping to find something cheap and decent. In the end 13 of us walk to this shop. We are all disappointed that everything is closed. Even the supermarket (SuperMercato). We ask the locals if they know anywhere but say nothing is close enough to walk to. A cab ride to Venice city is 45 Euro and no one wants to pay. That is just a one-way trip for 4 people!!! The buffet dinner at the hotel is 20 Euros. Half of the group go and pay. Todd and I go back to our room and make Mi Goreng. We’re happy with that as we had a big lunch in Milan. We’ve also saved ourselves money for shopping tomorrow!

Just finished laundry in our bathroom sink. Hopefully it will dry by the time we leave Venice. Tomorrow we have a city tour of Venice city. I’ve always wanted to go Venice as long as I can remember. I’m really excited about going! Can’t wait to see the canals and gondolas!

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Photos

Verona
Messages of love

Washing clothes
2 night stays means washing time