Advertisement
Published: June 13th 2008
Treviso canal
Treviso has a river winding its way through the town. It'snot like Venice but very beautiful.June 9th.
Time to leave Rovinj and Croatia. Headed out towards the Autostrada and we just got onto the ramp and I mentioned to Fran that we would probably need some small Euro coins for the tollways and She said “Shit! we gotta go back, the money belts still in the hotel safe”. Cost us an hour but I’m glad we realized then and not when we got to Venice. We eventually arrived in Treviso about 1.30. Treviso is a small walled town about 30 Km outside of Venice. Fran had noticed how expensive it was to stay in Venice and the difference was substantial to stay in Treviso. We had booked a B&B which turned out to be a thriving little business where there ran it from their home but you actually stayed in a purpose built 2 storey house with about 7 rooms with en-suites and a separate main bathroom and separate kitchen room. No laundry though!
“Twas too late to actually go into Venice because we weren’t going to eat there, so we had a look around Treviso, instead. Treviso is a lovely place! Hardly any tourists, although, I don’t know why. Naturally, we started looking around just
as all the shops were closing for siesta. They stayed closed till about 4.30 The prices in the shops were normal, not tourist prices. The Duomo is nothing to write home about, so I won’t. The main piazza was an absolute hive of activity. So many people enjoying espresso’s and glasses of vino rosso. We joined them and enjoyed the atmosphere as we waited for dinner time. About 7.30 we had a walk to look at 3 restaurants from the travel book we have. The first was closed Monday nights. The second was open but the fare seemed a bit too rustic. The third was very nice looking in the window. Looked expensive tho’ So we did some more walking around as it was still too early to eat. We came across a knife shop where Fran bought me a pocket knife and pen set for my birthday. Both were brands I like. Victorinox and Cross. The kitchen knives in that shop were to die for. The lady proprietor obviously loved what she did and we talked for ages about the various makes of the kitchen knives.
We had decided “What the hell” and went to the nicer restaurant and
Evening in Treviso
The street lights against the old buildings are a wonder. entered. Yes, they had a table for 2 and the Maitre’D gave us menus in Italian which were very hard to decipher so we asked if they had any in English. We received a gruff “No” and he walked away. OK, we thought and ordered the best we could. The Maitre’D who was probably the owner was about 70 not out and dressed in a suit and quite intimidating. I asked for the wine list and the Maitre’D asked if I would like red or white. I said red and he brought a bottle, showed it to me and I nodded like an idiot and he opened it and gave a taste. It was very tasty so again I nodded and he poured and as he was pouring, I noticed the words “Graves” on the label. Oh Bother! I thought. Graves’s wines from France can be up to the thousands of dollars a bottle. As soon as he walked away, I picked up the bottle and checked it out. Italian, thank God! May only be in the hundreds. hahaha Entrees arrived and they were sublime. I had ravioli stuffed with something covered with a sauce of something. Divine! Fran had
Water feature
On the way back to the car after dinner, we got lost as per usual, but came across this park. Getting lost is the best way of finding unusual spots. a thick soup of a bean variety. Scrumptious. My steak was tender and Frans’ chicken breast moist. The waitress wheeled out a double-decker trolley with a myriad of roast vegetables on one level and salads on the other. Desserts arrived on another trolley for Fran and liqueurs for me on another. That liqueur trolley would have been worth $5,000! The dreaded bill came and we were pleasantly surprised by the very reasonable cost.
June 10th
Venice was on the agenda for the next day so we drove to the Treviso railway station and caught a train in. Venice was beautiful from the moment we walked out of the station. We bought a Venice Pass. You could only buy a 3 day pass for a shipload but as the Rome Pass had been so good, we outlayed. It gave you unlimited public transport and 6 museum passes. We traveled the length of the Grand Canal and got off at the stop near Piazza San Marco and had a bite to eat before going there. The cost of that was doubled, which reassured us as to our decision not to dine in Venice. The Piazza San Marco rivaled St Pieter’s Square in
Outside the railway station
This was the sight that greeted us when we stepped out for the first time in Venice. Rome. Went into the Cathedral and also a museum of the Palazzo Ducale. Again it was over the top in it’s’ grandeur It is in a gothic style and each room was bigger and better than the last. The armoury was lethal. Their imagination of the worst ways to kill people was incredible.
After leaving the Palace, we decided to take a Gondola ride as you must in Venice. I quickly arranged a second mortgage on the house and off we set. We smooched under the Bridge of Sighs and the ride was over too soon. The gondolier showed us Casanovas’ house and also the high water mark. That was very high and I asked how often it reached that mark… every 30 years or so, I suggested. “No, every November” he said. Those blokes earn more than window cleaners! I’ve gotta put my prices up! Caught the ferry over to Murano Island to watch a glass blowing exhibition and also had a look at the glass museum.
By that time we were buggered. We took a vote and headed back to the train station for home. We know why they give 3 day passes only. One day was enough
Gondola traffic jam
Some areas are very popular! for us tho’. Nice place to visit but it was very tiring with the crowds and the street vendors. 99% tourists. The water was not clear, of course, but did not smell. The river traffic was intense. All forms of river vehicles imaginable.
It was nice to get back to Treviso. Dinner that night was in the Piazza and quite cheap as well as good food. We met a German couple at dinner, who were going into Venice the next day so we gave our Venice Pass’s to them. He flew acrobatic Tiger Moths.
Wednesday 11th
We left Treviso and joined the main highway across the top of Italy towards the centre. The route took us towards Milan before veering off towards Lake Como in the Lombardy sector. The highway is a major truck route and must be seen to be believed. Huge semi’s doing 130 kph in a line in the rhs lane bumper to bumper. Same on the other side coming the other way. We were doing 140-150 in the centre lane. Arrived in Menaggio, a lakeside hamlet and caught the ferry over to Bellagio. We realized later that we could bring the car over too, although
Wall Coat of Arms
This was an unusual sight on the Grand Canal. The skull seems to feature in a few spots. you can’t drive in the township of Bellagio. We did this later. What can I say about the views of Lake Como? The pics do not do it justice. The Hotel Bellagio is nice, but not on the waterfront and as we had not brought the car, we were overloaded with luggage. The steps up to the hotel entrance was nearly the end of us. We made it. The lake, itself is quite misty and the towns are dwarfed by the mountains behind them.
Football (soccer) is really big here at the moment. The European Cup is on. Croatia won while we were there and you shoulda seen (and heard) the celebrations. Everyone there was wearing the red and white checks. Italy plays tonight!
Hi everyone! Fran here. Hope you are all well as we both are. One month into our holiday! Brett said to me yesterday as we were sitting by the lake “I feel like I am in a Getaway program”. And I guess so do I. Each place seems more beautiful than the last. We have both really loved Italy - the food, the wine, the history, the scenery and of course the people. The women Piazza San Marco
Rivals (almost) St Peters Square in Rome. are chic, the men handsome and both are always incredibly groomed. It will be sad to leave tomorrow when we head to Cannes. We have an apartment there for several nights and plan to do day trips along the Riviera.
Really looking forward to seeing you soon Lib! Have you started packing yet? Well, I am getting the wind up now - we’re off on a ferry ride for the day. Keep well everyone. Lots of love, Fran XXXX
Advertisement
Tot: 0.192s; Tpl: 0.021s; cc: 10; qc: 45; dbt: 0.1432s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Alicia
non-member comment
Always a good read
What can I say - it's always a good read to hear what you are up to. Love the photos of you both together. You look relaxed and like enjoying yourself. Love, Alicia