The Veneto

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Leaving Lago Maggiore was hard after such an amazing time with Luisa and Eduardo. We packed up the Fiat and drove about 4 hours to Vicenza where we had set up accommodations at a small studio apartment, sleeping on a futon. We knew nothing of Vicenza, only that it was a good home base to explore Venice and Verona. The apartment was very cute and Vicenza turned out to be a very mellow, classy town filled with beautiful architecture and many small cafés. We decided to drive up into the Dolomites our first day. We passed many small typical Italian villages with red roofs and tall clock towers on the way. We spent some time in Asiago cruising around town, drinking espresso and people watching. On our journey we came across a large wedding taking place in the Cathedral in the middle of town. People stood on the front steps while the groom stood in the square in front of the church. All of a sudden we heard lots of honking and yelling and a bright orange convertible Volkswagen bug drove up with the bride in the back. As the groom helped her out of the car the bells in the Cathedral’s tower started ringing. Everyone outside cheered and then followed the couple into the church. After watching the spectacle we decided it was time to buy some cheese. What kind you ask? Asiago of course. The next day we decided to make the trek to Venice. It was a cheap and easy train ride so we geared up in our tourist outfits (Michael has a money belt which I call his secret fanny pack.) Venice is such a beautiful and unique place but the tourists are crazy and we hit high season. We rode the water taxi down the Grand Canal and stopped along the way to explore the different islands. We had a nice meal on the water and then headed home, exhausted and very happy to get away from the public. I am happy to report that no pigeons touched me in the flying rat-infested St. Mark’s Square.  On our way out of town we spent the day in Verona. It was so much more than we expected and one of the most beautiful and charming towns I have been to in this area. The coliseum in the center of town is enormous and completely untouched by renovations. Every street was picture perfect and clean. Nothing was fake and the city felt very old and untouched. We will definitely return to Verona for a longer stay. Next up was Vienna where we were meeting up with a couple of friends. Once again the language change jolted my brain in another strange direction. German is a crazy language.

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