Blogs from Trentino Alto Adige, Italy, Europe - page 14

We had one weekend off during camp, and so a bunch of us counselors drove to a lake in the very northern part of Italy, with a fascinating history. I was going to write some of it here, but I will just take the shortcut and give the link to the Wikipedia article if you want some background on this cool place. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Resia... read more

Venice! SO COOL! Did you know that Venice is made up of 117 islands? It makes sense, doesn't it, that a city famous for its nurmerous canals that those canals carve up the land into islands? But I hadn't ever thought of it that way. So, every bridge Jan and I walked across was fun because we were crossing over to another island by just walking over a bridge! The canals do make Venice a special place, and the buildings which loom over them are enchanting. The city itself is surprisingly dead, in that there are more tourists than there are Venetians now. More and more of the old buildings quickly fall into disrepair, and charming old back streets become errie. It is sad to see it now, for what it once was, especially at night. ... read more

Thursday 19th June Another early start and an efficient pack-up, and we’re soon en route to the campsite in Ca’Vio. Verona is also not a possibility for a stop, as it’s too far for Freddie’s drivers hours, but we take a chance on Trento for an hour, which actually turns out to be the perfect size for this kind of stop - and turns out to be the city of painted walls. Very nice, a real Italian market, Cathedral, unusual other buildings, and beautiful other decoration, plus our first taste of Italian Gelati! The campsite is a bit further than expected, it’s pretty hot, and the toilet on the bus has packed up, so we’re grateful when we arrive, although it’s a bit later than expected. One of the most complicated check-ins have ever done and ... read more

This morning dawned way too early again, but with ski departure of nine thirty planned (for the others, not me, don’t get your hopes up!), we needed an early start. First, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, thanks to one latecomer, and then the skiers were off. My dad and I packed up some of our things in anticipation of tomorrow’s departure, and then rested downstairs, reading and napping. We were to meet the skiers at one-thirty for lunch at Furcia Pass, a point along the mountain that turned out to be much higher than I initially believed. The restaurant was Gran Foda, so we got directions from Joanna's brother, Giulio, and set off. We initially got a little bit lost, thanks to the terrible GPS system in the car, which constantly wants us to make unnecessary ... read more

Alors, je suis arrivée, finalement! I know, I know, I’m not traveling to any French-speaking countries on this trip, but I’m practicing for my upcoming French class. And the arrival of our French lawyer later tonight. But anyway, let’s begin at the beginning. I left New Jersey on Tuesday evening, just about making it to the airport in the allotted time, since my car’s driver felt the need to test out almost every highway in NJ. The flight was Lufthansa, which I had high hopes for, since they usually have more comfortable seats. However, this was a newer plane, with a lot less room and a lot more people, and since it was full, we were packed in like sardines. That, combined with two crying babies and a guy behind me loudly reciting some sort of ... read more