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Published: August 27th 2015
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La Travatore B&B
This half of a large mansion has been fully renovated into a very tasteful B&B. The other half will no doubt be completed over the next few years. We checked out our very nice accommodation and figured that it would be worth while visiting in another few years when the other half of the house/mansion has been renovated. The half already done is very tastefully done and lacking nothing in the way of luxuries. We had a very nice breakfast outside Villa Trovatore then packed and left for an exploration of Aquileia for a couple of hours. This town is very worthwhile visiting if you want to skip visiting Rome. It has the remains of the original shipping canals and store houses alongside, a forum, a museum housing many tombs and details of the history and a magnificent 1700 year old Basilica. The tiled floor in the Basilica is worth visiting just to see the mosaics of people, animals, fish and other designs. This church represents the very early Christian era when religion changed from pagan and Jewish influence to Christianity. Alongside the basilica is a bell tower of a similar age which you can walk up and see over a vast area of the surrounding countryside and out to Grado by the sea. As we were pushed for time we didn’t visit the museum or finish the whole
Part of the mosaic floor tiles in the Basilica at Aquileia
You will see people, fish, animals, boats, birds and trees in the mosaics. They are really lovely and amazing given that they are almost 2000 years old walking circuit.
Our next stop was near Trieste at Grotto Gigante which is just what it says – a giant cave. We had visited it before a few years ago and it was still worth a revisit. From 30 degrees we reduced to 11 degrees in the cave so did take jackets to keep warmer. Our Guide took us through the history of the cave and descriptions on what we were seeing. There are 500 steps to walk down into the bottom of the cave which has magnificent examples of stalagtites and stalagmites as well as an enormous cavern.
Since our next stop was at my cousin’s at Annone Veneto not far from Portogruaro, we set the GPS to take us there on the fast route – the autostrada. Strangely, it took us right past Portogruaro for many kilometres before we got off it and went back to Annone Veneto. The more obvious route would have been to the town first and then Annone Veneto, so the fastest route is not necessarily the shortest route.
Here we met Diego, Pierina and Piero again after a 4 year break from our last visit. We were given a warm
The inside of the Basilica built in the 300s AD
The mosaics cover the floor and there is an unusual shaped ceiling with other intricate pattens in wood. The design is quite different from the later churches of the middle ages welcome, we introduced Karilyn and Neil and met several others who were helping prepare for the wedding on Saturday. We also met Daphne who is John Pye’s (another cousin) daughter in law. It is a very busy time for the family preparing for the wedding with setting up the marquee, seating, food areas, drink areas, a tent for the children and a music tent. There is a lot to do without worrying about us as well. We had a look around the house which has finished being renovated since our last visit, helped out with decorating the chairs then went to our accommodation not far away on a vineyard. We were welcomed by the family and sat around in an outside tasting area to sample some wines and talk about life here and at home. At 8.30 we went back to the farm for dinner which Piero had prepared and had many laughs with our stilted conversations (lack of English or Italian) and with one of their friends called Nico who is a bit of a hard case.
Finally, back to our accommodation to settle in.
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