Blogs from Asolo, Veneto, Italy, Europe

So after a day of unsuccessful searching for interesting medieval walled towns we decided to cut our losses and head for yes you guessed it - another one. This time Asolo described in the guide books as bella. A town that had been frequented in the 19th century by young men on their grand tours. In the 20th century by writers and interlectuals. who settled there. We had searched out a free sosta on Forestier which was within walking distance of the town albeit up hill all the way. When we arrived via yet another circuitous Silly Sat Nag route the car park was virtually empty with the exception of a Swiss motorhome whose owner looked to be up town. The lower car park was taken up by the sosta which was guarded by a hedge ... read more

Geo: 45.7933, 11.9128Asolare (v) - the leisurely and agreeable passing of time, unburdened by any pressure of purpose.So, today was our farewell to Asolo. We've loved our time in this little village. The accommodation was perfect (OK, it could have been one bed larger – the internet had said there was a small bed for a child up to 5yo, but it turned out to be a cot! So, the nights that Nonno and Nonna spent here, one of the kids was sleeping on the floor on a nest of blankets, and we were on the sofa bed) and the kids loved having the room to run on the farm. The old couple downstairs said they thought we have beautiful kids, and that they loved listening to the kids play. (The old man said to Steven, ... read more

Geo: 45.7923, 11.9117After a busy day, we try to have a quieter day for the kids the next day, so we stayed home on Saturday, and did some school work. The kids really love the farm – one afternoon, they played being archaeologists, and went down into the vineyard to look for "things" – they uncovered a few broken pieces of pots (though Georgia suspects the pots were broken last summer and not in Roman days) and some interesting rocks! Contented times then spent washing and cataloging their discoveries. That night, we took advantage of being home and booked for dinner at our own agriturismo. Every Friday and Saturday night, we had watched carloads of people turn up – about 80 people – for the home-cooked food. We decided we had to join the crowds! (And, ... read more

Geo: 45.7933, 11.9128On Monday, we started our day slowly – it had been nearly 10pm when we got home last night. We decided to take the kids to see the temple of Canova at Possagno – but forgot until we arrived there that lots of things in Italy are closed on Mondays! Bugger! But we got to see the Temple with the most perfect blue sky! We drove back to Asolo, taking a road that we'd not been up before, and looked at a couple of villas on the road, before arriving at the St Anna church and cemetery. The famous Asolo resident, Eleanora Duse, is buried there, and we had an interesting time walking around the cemetery (not as gruesome as it sounds!) Then to the grocery shop – I was thrilled to buy a ... read more

Geo: 45.7933, 11.9128When we had arrived in S. Catarina on Monday morning, we were told the sad news that Rita's cousin's daughter's husband (are you following this?) had passed away suddenly, so on Wednesday, Rita, Elio and Steven went to the funeral. It wasn't until 3.30pm, so we had some time in the morning, and decided to go to a nearby Villa at Maser.The Maser Villa was designed by Palladio, one of the most famous architects in the world who came from this area (and therefore, THE most important architect in the world in this part of Italy!). He was ahead of his time, demanding that his buildings combine beauty, convenience and blend with the surrounds. It was absolutely lovely – the long yellow building stretching into the surrounding corn and barley fields and grapevines, the ... read more