Many of you know that I photographed and wrote about Venice to death back in March of last year, when I was there at Carnival and had an assignment to write about it for Connection magazine (yes, that monthly publication put out by US Army Germany). Therefore, I really don't feel like going into great detail here, and I don't even have that many photos this time.
Anyway...
Monday, Sept. 24
We arrived at Marco Polo airport around noon. Having traveled through Treviso previously, I was unfamiliar with the logistics of getting into Venice from this airport. We needed vaporetto tickets anyway, so we bought 72 hour passes, and then were told to take the #5 bus to Piazzale Roma. From there, we got on the vaporetto and went out to the island of Lido, where we were staying.
Once we arrived at Lido, we had a bit of difficulty finding our hotel. Seems the hotel wasn't as close to the vaporetto station as we were led to believe. It was a 5 minute walk...not bad without luggage, but not pleasant when you have it. But we eventually found it and had no trouble checking in. Luggage was schlepped to the 2nd floor, which is actually the 3rd floor by US standards. There was an elevator, but it was one of those old, scary looking ones.
We rested a bit, and then went out in search of provisions. Lance stayed in the room, but my SIL and I went to a shop down the street and got panini. I got Lance a salami and cheese. For myself, I got bacon and brie on olive bread (it wasn't conventional bacon...more like dried prosciutto). We took the food back to our room and ate.
The decision was made not to go to mainland Venice that day. We just wanted to relax a bit and explore Lido. So we walked around and checked out the beach and other parts of the island, and I seem to remember us ending up back in the room late in the afternoon, where I dozed off for a bit. We had been up very early, since we had a train from Garmisch to Munich, and then our flight.
After the nap, we went to a restaurant down the street that we had discovered earlier. Dinner was okay there...good, but not fantastic. I had an eggplant pizza. SIL and I shared a bit of wine and got pretty happy. We went to another place later on for gelato, and then ended up sitting out with some more wine (I found that I kind of like Pinot Grigio). It was a pretty nice evening. And the weather was just gorgeous.
Tuesday, Sept. 25
Lance and I went down to the breakfast room and found a nice spread. We had a fairly leisurely morning. I booked us on a walking tour of Venice, but it wasn't supposed to start until 11. We were on the vaporetto before 10 and at the royal gardens, where the tour started. We just relaxed in the gardens for a bit. We knew the day ahead would be busy, and we were in no hurry.
The tour started shortly after 11 and lasted about 2 hours. It wasn't good, for reasons I stated in an earlier post. The highlight was supposed to be the basilica, and we never even went inside. And the walk didn't seem to really take us anywhere else, except Rialto Bridge. And the crowds made it difficult to stay with the group.
After the tour, we stayed in the Rialto Bridge area and decided to grab some lunch. We were just looking around for places to eat, and just got pulled into one without really wanting to. The menu prices were obscene, and we were actually just looking at the menu, but the waiter practically grabbed Lance and pulled him inside, and we followed. Once we were seated, I asked if we should stay. I had my reservations due to the high prices and the forceful ways of the waiter. But the decision was made to stay there. It was here that I had one of the most horrible meals of my life. No lie. And I felt very nauseous all day afterwards. Lance and his sister said their meals were okay. I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant, so I could tell you all to avoid it. It had signs all around it that said "Casa della pizza" and "Casa della lasagne"...so if you see those signs AVOID THE RESTAURANT (if the waiters don't see you and accost you first). And I won't even mention the absolutely disgusting restroom there. Oh wait, I just did.
The afternoon was spent in Piazza San Marco. By the time we finished lunch, getting into the basilica was much easier and faster than it had been in the morning (it was high tide in the morning, which closes off two of the entrances). So we visited that and spent an extra 3 euros to go up to the loggia. Well worth it for the views and to see some of the old artifacts associated with the basilica, including the original 4 horses that were once confiscated by Napoleon. Reproductions of the horses grace the outside of the basilica now.
I skipped the Doge's Palace (having been there before), so while Lance and SIL were there, I went across the piazza to the Correr Museum. It was disappointing, to say the least, and took half an hour to walk through. It's connected to the Archaeological Museum though, so if you're going to see that anyway (and I also found that disappointing), then you might as well just see both. Your ticket pays for both anyway (and also covers the Doge's Palace and the Library of St. Mark). We all planned to go to the Archaeological Museum together, so I skipped that and tried to get in to see the Library of St. Mark. It was closed.
I met up with Lance and his sis an hour after we parted ways, and we went to the Archaeological Museum. I was almost denied entrance, because they scanned my ticket when I went into the Correr Museum. So I had to explain to the woman that I was going there to see the other museum. She reluctantly let me in.
Anyway, let me recap: Correr Museum - not really worth your time. Archaeological Museum - ditto. Library - I wouldn't know. Doge's Palace - one of the major attractions in Venice, so you better go there. Same for St. Mark's.
We needed a break after all this museum hopping, so we grabbed gelato (what else?) and relaxed in the square for a bit.
The rest of the day is kind of a blur. I remember taking the vaporetto back to Lido because it was getting a bit chilly and I didn't have a jacket. We spent a short time at the hotel and then went back into Venice, but took the vaporetto that went all the way down the Grand Canal, and then got off at the train station. We had dinner in that area...a place next to where I had lunch my first time in Venice. I just had a cheese omelette since my stomach was still tentative. Afterwards, we got on the vaporetto to go back to Lido, but the route changed after we got on and we were practically out to Murano before we realized it. We had to backtrack and get on a different vaporetto. Good thing we didn't have any particular agenda.
Wednesday, Sept. 26
Overnight thunderstorms woke me up around 6, and they never really let up. We hung out in the hotel until it was almost checkout time. Our flight didn't even leave Venice until 9 PM. We checked out, left our luggage in the lobby, and ventured out in the wind and rain. Once we reached Venice, we just spent our time ducking into shops. We had lunch at a place near the train station. We basically stayed out until we couldn't stand it anymore, and then went back to Lido for dessert, went back to the hotel to pick up our stuff, paid for a ticket to ride the special boat out to the airport, walked about 7 minutes to get to the airport, and then spent the rest of our day there.
Marco Polo airport sucks until you get past the security checkpoints. There is nothing to do before that point. Everyone was at the cafeteria-style restaurant, and we ate there too. They had American-style pizza (??), sandwiches, desserts, salads, and a few other things. While we were eating, they announced that check-in began for our flight, so we took care of that, got through security, and then found a nice variety of shops and food. Oh well. And our flight was delayed too, so we spent half a day at the damn airport.
So yeah...this trip to Venice...not stellar.
Anyway, I promised a handful of photos. Here they are...not my best work, but my previous pictures of Venice were some of my best photos ever.
Showing posts with label italy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label italy. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Monday, October 1, 2007
Innsbruck and South Tyrol (Italy)
Friday, September 21
Our drive to Innsbruck was pretty short...about an hour from Garmisch. It was a bright, clear day that promised to be warm. The drive down was pleasant enough...a lot of pretty scenery. There was some construction as we got closer to Innsbruck, and signs warned us as we were getting near it (the signs in Austria have faces...frowny faces as you get closer to the construction zones, smiley faces as you drive out of them).
The bus parked next to the royal gardens, and our only agenda in Innsbruck as a group was to visit the palace. So that's the first thing we did (no pictures were allowed inside, but videotaping is allowed). It was a nice palace. Not the nicest one we've seen by far, but worth the time.
After that, we wandered into town as a group for a bit...our guide pointed out a few things of interest. Then we were cut loose.
The three of us didn't do much after that. We shopped mostly (Lance discovered this fantastic Christmas store in the main square where we were able to add to our ornament collection). We ate (of course, I had to have some Sacher Torte...when in Austria and all...). And we visited Dom St. Jakob.
Our time there was fleeting. Shame, really, because Innsbruck is a beautiful city. I was glad to go, because one of my long-time online friends is from Innsbruck (Hi Dani!), although she's since moved to the States. I was glad to finally see her hometown. (Hon, I hope my pictures don't make you too homesick!)
We got on the bus at our scheduled time, and drove up to the Olympic ski jump area, where we had fantastic views of the city. After about half an hour or so up there, we headed back toward Garmisch.
I would recommend the Innsbruck tour if you're staying at Edelweiss. Definitely a city worth checking out.
Saturday, September 22
This was the day I would finally return to Italy. Only, this area of Italy didn't look like the Italy I know. South Tyrol once belonged to Austria, so this area still has a mostly Austrian flavor. The main language is German. Restaurants serve schnitzel as well as lasagna. The buildings have a very Austrian/Bavarian look to them. But bits of Italian culture have crept in over time, so it's a nice blending of both cultures.
But before we got there, we had to drive through Austria. We took the same route that we had taken the day before to get to Innsbruck, but we passed Innsbruck and kept on going. We got to experience the Europa Bridge, which is the highest bridge in Europe, and probably the most scenic (also popular with bungee jumpers). We stopped at a rest stop on the way...a rest stop with a McDonald's that probably had the most beautiful view in the world (and this McD's had a pastry shop in it that sold the most amazing looking pastries). There was also an Austrian restaurant, convenience store and a chapel (because you can't go anywhere in Europe without having somewhere to stop every 5 minutes and pray). We had about half an hour to spend here, so I wandered around and got pictures of the scenery.
We arrived in Vipiteno (German name: Sterzing) about 2 hours after we left Garmisch. It was hard to tell we were in Italy at all, because nothing about the landscape or architecture changed. The first thing we did as a group was go to a shop called Mair Mair for a wine tasting...how Italian is that? That was just a short diversion, but Mair Mair also has Italian leather goods and a gourmet food shop (dried pastas, seasonings, oils and sauces). So once we finished the wine tasting, we explored the shop a bit. And I was elated to find the most perfect travel purse in the world. Now that we're getting ready to leave... But I bought it anyway. It was only 15 euros. It had plenty of pockets, yet it wasn't big and bulky. It had a long enough strap to wear across my chest. And get this...THE PURSE HAS A ZIPPER GOING AROUND IT THAT YOU CAN UNZIP TO EXPAND THE MAIN COMPARTMENT! Like luggage. This was very useful to me later on.
Anyway, we had between 1-2 hours to explore Vipiteno on our own, which is actually more than enough time. So we exhausted everything there was to do there long before we had to be back on the bus. But all in all, it's a cute town, and I liked it there. If you go, visit the little church in the center of town...the Tourist Info Center is right next to it, so you might overlook it. But it's worth going in. It's tiny, but has really fascinating frescoes from floor to ceiling.
Once we got back on the bus, we drove a few minutes to Castle Reifenstein, from the 12th century. It's privately owned, but we were allowed to take a tour. Very neat. I didn't actually get a good photo of the entire castle...it was on the opposite side of the bus from where I was sitting, but I got pictures of parts of it as we went through it (except for the prettiest rooms, which were not photo-friendly).
Here's a photo of Reifenstein.
There was another castle nearby that I photographed, but it's closed to the public. The name of that one escapes me at the moment.
Anyway, we spent about an hour, maybe a bit longer, touring Reifenstein. Then we went down the road to a typical Alpine Gasthof for lunch (this is where the schnitzel and lasagna come into play). It was warm by now and we sat outside, enjoying the sunshine...but also a lot of bees that threatened to spoil our meal. We all had pasta, although I must say that my dish, though tasty, was kind of odd. I had macaroni with ham, meat sauce, mushrooms, and peas. The meat sauce and the peas were not mentioned on the menu. Too much meat in it. But it filled up my stomach, and that's what counts. Lance had their house speciality - lasagna - but said it was strange...not like the lasagna he has had before.
After lunch, we hopped back on the bus for the drive to Bressanone (German name: Brixen), which was about half an hour away. Brixen (as it's more commonly known) is famous for its Baroque cathedral, which is a pilgrimage site (this site has had a cathedral on it since the 9th century, but the current cathedral was built in the 18th century). The drive to Brixen was very pretty...passing vineyards and apple orchards everywhere along the way. We had a dramatic view of Brixen, which sits in a valley, from a road high up where we were stuck in traffic for a bit. But we made our way down into town, and to our surprise, there was a festival going on...added bonus!
I should say that normally, this tour out of Edelweiss stops in Brixen first, and more time is supposed to be spent there than in Vipiteno. But it being a Saturday, the itinerary was changed, because the shops in Brixen are normally closed on Saturdays, whereas Vipiteno has "Red Carpet Saturdays" (as you will see in my photos), where the shops are open all day, and a red carpet is rolled down the center of the street.
We had about an hour in Brixen. Not long enough. The town is much more beautiful than Vipiteno. And with the festival going on, there was certainly stuff to do. We visited the cathedral, which I liked a lot, but I was more impressed by the frescoes in its astonishing medieval courtyard. I had never seen anything like it.
All the while, we heard music coming from the stage set up in the town square.
The cathedral and courtyard were pretty much all we got to see there. We stopped for postcards and gelato, and to find a normal restroom (many of the restrooms there have squat toilets), and then we had to leave.
I would really recommend this tour. This area of Italy is often overlooked by tourists, which is a shame, because it's really beautiful. But perhaps being off the beaten path is what makes it so great, because the streets weren't clogged with people.
Pictures here...a little over 100 in this set. (Just some photo advice: all of the photos I took inside churches? Never once used flash. You don't need it unless it's very dark inside. Don't use it.) Also, a few of these pictures could use a bit more re-touching, but lack of time prevents me from doing that at the moment. I re-touched the ones that were really bad.
Our drive to Innsbruck was pretty short...about an hour from Garmisch. It was a bright, clear day that promised to be warm. The drive down was pleasant enough...a lot of pretty scenery. There was some construction as we got closer to Innsbruck, and signs warned us as we were getting near it (the signs in Austria have faces...frowny faces as you get closer to the construction zones, smiley faces as you drive out of them).
The bus parked next to the royal gardens, and our only agenda in Innsbruck as a group was to visit the palace. So that's the first thing we did (no pictures were allowed inside, but videotaping is allowed). It was a nice palace. Not the nicest one we've seen by far, but worth the time.
After that, we wandered into town as a group for a bit...our guide pointed out a few things of interest. Then we were cut loose.
The three of us didn't do much after that. We shopped mostly (Lance discovered this fantastic Christmas store in the main square where we were able to add to our ornament collection). We ate (of course, I had to have some Sacher Torte...when in Austria and all...). And we visited Dom St. Jakob.
Our time there was fleeting. Shame, really, because Innsbruck is a beautiful city. I was glad to go, because one of my long-time online friends is from Innsbruck (Hi Dani!), although she's since moved to the States. I was glad to finally see her hometown. (Hon, I hope my pictures don't make you too homesick!)
We got on the bus at our scheduled time, and drove up to the Olympic ski jump area, where we had fantastic views of the city. After about half an hour or so up there, we headed back toward Garmisch.
I would recommend the Innsbruck tour if you're staying at Edelweiss. Definitely a city worth checking out.
Saturday, September 22
This was the day I would finally return to Italy. Only, this area of Italy didn't look like the Italy I know. South Tyrol once belonged to Austria, so this area still has a mostly Austrian flavor. The main language is German. Restaurants serve schnitzel as well as lasagna. The buildings have a very Austrian/Bavarian look to them. But bits of Italian culture have crept in over time, so it's a nice blending of both cultures.
But before we got there, we had to drive through Austria. We took the same route that we had taken the day before to get to Innsbruck, but we passed Innsbruck and kept on going. We got to experience the Europa Bridge, which is the highest bridge in Europe, and probably the most scenic (also popular with bungee jumpers). We stopped at a rest stop on the way...a rest stop with a McDonald's that probably had the most beautiful view in the world (and this McD's had a pastry shop in it that sold the most amazing looking pastries). There was also an Austrian restaurant, convenience store and a chapel (because you can't go anywhere in Europe without having somewhere to stop every 5 minutes and pray). We had about half an hour to spend here, so I wandered around and got pictures of the scenery.
We arrived in Vipiteno (German name: Sterzing) about 2 hours after we left Garmisch. It was hard to tell we were in Italy at all, because nothing about the landscape or architecture changed. The first thing we did as a group was go to a shop called Mair Mair for a wine tasting...how Italian is that? That was just a short diversion, but Mair Mair also has Italian leather goods and a gourmet food shop (dried pastas, seasonings, oils and sauces). So once we finished the wine tasting, we explored the shop a bit. And I was elated to find the most perfect travel purse in the world. Now that we're getting ready to leave... But I bought it anyway. It was only 15 euros. It had plenty of pockets, yet it wasn't big and bulky. It had a long enough strap to wear across my chest. And get this...THE PURSE HAS A ZIPPER GOING AROUND IT THAT YOU CAN UNZIP TO EXPAND THE MAIN COMPARTMENT! Like luggage. This was very useful to me later on.
Anyway, we had between 1-2 hours to explore Vipiteno on our own, which is actually more than enough time. So we exhausted everything there was to do there long before we had to be back on the bus. But all in all, it's a cute town, and I liked it there. If you go, visit the little church in the center of town...the Tourist Info Center is right next to it, so you might overlook it. But it's worth going in. It's tiny, but has really fascinating frescoes from floor to ceiling.
Once we got back on the bus, we drove a few minutes to Castle Reifenstein, from the 12th century. It's privately owned, but we were allowed to take a tour. Very neat. I didn't actually get a good photo of the entire castle...it was on the opposite side of the bus from where I was sitting, but I got pictures of parts of it as we went through it (except for the prettiest rooms, which were not photo-friendly).
Here's a photo of Reifenstein.
There was another castle nearby that I photographed, but it's closed to the public. The name of that one escapes me at the moment.
Anyway, we spent about an hour, maybe a bit longer, touring Reifenstein. Then we went down the road to a typical Alpine Gasthof for lunch (this is where the schnitzel and lasagna come into play). It was warm by now and we sat outside, enjoying the sunshine...but also a lot of bees that threatened to spoil our meal. We all had pasta, although I must say that my dish, though tasty, was kind of odd. I had macaroni with ham, meat sauce, mushrooms, and peas. The meat sauce and the peas were not mentioned on the menu. Too much meat in it. But it filled up my stomach, and that's what counts. Lance had their house speciality - lasagna - but said it was strange...not like the lasagna he has had before.
After lunch, we hopped back on the bus for the drive to Bressanone (German name: Brixen), which was about half an hour away. Brixen (as it's more commonly known) is famous for its Baroque cathedral, which is a pilgrimage site (this site has had a cathedral on it since the 9th century, but the current cathedral was built in the 18th century). The drive to Brixen was very pretty...passing vineyards and apple orchards everywhere along the way. We had a dramatic view of Brixen, which sits in a valley, from a road high up where we were stuck in traffic for a bit. But we made our way down into town, and to our surprise, there was a festival going on...added bonus!
I should say that normally, this tour out of Edelweiss stops in Brixen first, and more time is supposed to be spent there than in Vipiteno. But it being a Saturday, the itinerary was changed, because the shops in Brixen are normally closed on Saturdays, whereas Vipiteno has "Red Carpet Saturdays" (as you will see in my photos), where the shops are open all day, and a red carpet is rolled down the center of the street.
We had about an hour in Brixen. Not long enough. The town is much more beautiful than Vipiteno. And with the festival going on, there was certainly stuff to do. We visited the cathedral, which I liked a lot, but I was more impressed by the frescoes in its astonishing medieval courtyard. I had never seen anything like it.
All the while, we heard music coming from the stage set up in the town square.
The cathedral and courtyard were pretty much all we got to see there. We stopped for postcards and gelato, and to find a normal restroom (many of the restrooms there have squat toilets), and then we had to leave.
I would really recommend this tour. This area of Italy is often overlooked by tourists, which is a shame, because it's really beautiful. But perhaps being off the beaten path is what makes it so great, because the streets weren't clogged with people.
Pictures here...a little over 100 in this set. (Just some photo advice: all of the photos I took inside churches? Never once used flash. You don't need it unless it's very dark inside. Don't use it.) Also, a few of these pictures could use a bit more re-touching, but lack of time prevents me from doing that at the moment. I re-touched the ones that were really bad.
Monday, March 6, 2006
Viva Veneto! Karina's Italian Adventure, The Exciting Conclusion
Friday, March 3, Day 4 - Venice again
Friday was our last day…at least for me, Emily, and Tracey. Stephanie's husband was coming down to Pisa, so she was taking the train down there to meet him. Her train was scheduled to leave at 8:20.
So we quickly ate breakfast and at 7:20, I got us checked out of the hotel and asked that a cab be called for us. Typically, it only takes a couple of minutes for the cab to arrive. The first place he contacted couldn't send out any cabs. So he called the second place and the phone was busy. He tried for 20 minutes. After being unable to get through, he advised us to go to the tobacco shop across the street and buy bus tickets. So we did that and waited for the 8:05 bus, which didn't come until 8:15. It was really cold and it started snowing while we were standing there. Finally, the bus came, but by the time we got to the train station, Stephanie had missed her train. She was able to get on another one that got her down to Pisa a half hour later. We got our train tickets to Venice, which ended up being on the EuroStar, the high speed luxury train. They cost a bit more, but it was Emily's birthday, so we figured it was worth the splurge.
Ironically, the high speed train was 20 minutes late. And when it arrived, it came in on a different track. Fortunately, it was the track next to us, so we didn't need to rush to get to it.
We arrived in Venice, checked our luggage at the left luggage counter, and then set out. This time, we stopped in many souvenir shops on the way. I got a Murano glass pendant with my initial on it, and a ceramic handpainted mask, as well as a Murano snowman ornament. We slowly made our way toward Piazza San Marco, since our goal was to actually see the inside of the basilica and the Doge's palace. Instead of lunch, we grabbed some ice cream cake at a gelato stand. When we stopped at McDonald's to use the restroom, Emily and Tracey had decided that some protein might be nice, so they each got a hamburger. When I saw them eating, I caved and got one too. Yes, I understand the irony and the sacrilege of eating McDonald's in Italy. But I had to say, it hit the spot.
Finally, we arrived again at San Marco, which was not nearly as crowded as it had been 3 days before. We went into the basilica, and I immediately got a sense of déjà vu. It reminded me of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Turns out, it was modeled after the Hagia Sophia, so it's no wonder I made the connection (I actually read this in The Historian later that day - a novel that has nothing to do with Italy, really, but it was mentioned. I thought that was pretty cool. And the novel is based on fact, so I assume that the San Marco/Hagia Sophia connection is true). We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, which is a shame, since it's gorgeous. But I managed to take some pictures right outside the entrance. You can take a virtual tour here:
http://www.basilicasanmarco.it/eng/index.bsm
After touring the basilica, we went next door to the Doge's palace, but not before I had a sudden impulse to feed the pigeons. I hate them, so I'm not sure what compelled me to do it, except that Emily videotaped it and she thought it was funny. I asked her for some crackers and she gave me some butter cookies out of her purse. Within a minute or two, I had pigeons all over me. I got smacked in the face with their wings and everything. But I didn't get pooped on. Miraculous.
Okay, so Doge's Palace…we could only take pictures in the courtyard, but the inside was very impressive. The prisons were a bit cramped though, and my slight claustrophobia made me somewhat uncomfortable.
Once we toured the palace, we figured we'd call it a day, since we needed to start moving toward the train station to work on getting home. We wanted to eat first though. Emily found this restaurant that seemed a bit high priced to me, but she really wanted to eat there, so I agreed and we went inside.
It was disappointing. I had minestrone soup. At least, that's what I ordered. What I got was vegetable soup with microscopic bits of chicken in it. There were no beans, which is what I thought made minestrone minestrone. I complained to the waitress and she was really snotty with me. Emily and Tracey ordered shrimp scampi, which was a bit charred. The bill for the 3 of us was 81 euros. My soup alone was 9 euros - an outrageous price. In fact, I'm pretty sure the prices inside were higher than what was posted outside. And the food was terrible. At least mine was. We were angry and we felt we got ripped off.
So unfortunately, that was my last meal in Italy. It left A LOT to be desired.
We got to the train station, got our luggage, and got our train tickets to Treviso. There was some confusion. We looked at the arriving trains schedule instead of the departure schedule, so we were waiting at the wrong place and the wrong time. When we finally realized it, we had been sitting for quite awhile. So Emily asked at the information counter which train we should be on, and we got straightened out.
We had some time to kill, so Emily went to the restroom, and I just happened to glance at the train ticket, realizing that it was only for one person! The entire time, all our fares had been printed on one ticket. So I pointed this out to Emily, and in a huff, she got in line at the ticket counter again and waited for the same person from whom we bought the tickets. She was prepared to yell at him, but when he saw her, he said he was glad that we came back, because he had our two tickets still with him. So he gave them to her, she blew him a kiss and thanked him, and we found our platform.
Got to Treviso and needed to take the bus to the airport. There was some confusion as to where we caught the bus. There were about 10 different bus stops. The very last one we checked was the one we needed. So we waited. And then our bus arrived.
It took us through a different part of Treviso than what we saw the first day - right in the center of town. Treviso looked very nice and seemed to be quite a happening place on a Friday night. It's only about 15 km. outside of Venice, yet it looked like the place to be.
So we got to the airport for our 9:20 flight, which left a bit late since somebody checked on their luggage and never boarded the plane. When we got back to Charleroi, it was 11 pm and Emily had mistakenly told her husband that we were getting in at midnight, so we had to wait almost an hour for him to arrive. It was freezing out, and one of the night workers tried to kick us out. But we refused to leave. Finally, he arrived and we headed home. I walked in my own door shortly before 2 am, exhausted.
Ciao, Italy. It was nice knowing you, if only for a few days.
Last day photos
Friday was our last day…at least for me, Emily, and Tracey. Stephanie's husband was coming down to Pisa, so she was taking the train down there to meet him. Her train was scheduled to leave at 8:20.
So we quickly ate breakfast and at 7:20, I got us checked out of the hotel and asked that a cab be called for us. Typically, it only takes a couple of minutes for the cab to arrive. The first place he contacted couldn't send out any cabs. So he called the second place and the phone was busy. He tried for 20 minutes. After being unable to get through, he advised us to go to the tobacco shop across the street and buy bus tickets. So we did that and waited for the 8:05 bus, which didn't come until 8:15. It was really cold and it started snowing while we were standing there. Finally, the bus came, but by the time we got to the train station, Stephanie had missed her train. She was able to get on another one that got her down to Pisa a half hour later. We got our train tickets to Venice, which ended up being on the EuroStar, the high speed luxury train. They cost a bit more, but it was Emily's birthday, so we figured it was worth the splurge.
Ironically, the high speed train was 20 minutes late. And when it arrived, it came in on a different track. Fortunately, it was the track next to us, so we didn't need to rush to get to it.
We arrived in Venice, checked our luggage at the left luggage counter, and then set out. This time, we stopped in many souvenir shops on the way. I got a Murano glass pendant with my initial on it, and a ceramic handpainted mask, as well as a Murano snowman ornament. We slowly made our way toward Piazza San Marco, since our goal was to actually see the inside of the basilica and the Doge's palace. Instead of lunch, we grabbed some ice cream cake at a gelato stand. When we stopped at McDonald's to use the restroom, Emily and Tracey had decided that some protein might be nice, so they each got a hamburger. When I saw them eating, I caved and got one too. Yes, I understand the irony and the sacrilege of eating McDonald's in Italy. But I had to say, it hit the spot.
Finally, we arrived again at San Marco, which was not nearly as crowded as it had been 3 days before. We went into the basilica, and I immediately got a sense of déjà vu. It reminded me of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Turns out, it was modeled after the Hagia Sophia, so it's no wonder I made the connection (I actually read this in The Historian later that day - a novel that has nothing to do with Italy, really, but it was mentioned. I thought that was pretty cool. And the novel is based on fact, so I assume that the San Marco/Hagia Sophia connection is true). We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, which is a shame, since it's gorgeous. But I managed to take some pictures right outside the entrance. You can take a virtual tour here:
http://www.basilicasanmarco.it/eng/index.bsm
After touring the basilica, we went next door to the Doge's palace, but not before I had a sudden impulse to feed the pigeons. I hate them, so I'm not sure what compelled me to do it, except that Emily videotaped it and she thought it was funny. I asked her for some crackers and she gave me some butter cookies out of her purse. Within a minute or two, I had pigeons all over me. I got smacked in the face with their wings and everything. But I didn't get pooped on. Miraculous.
Okay, so Doge's Palace…we could only take pictures in the courtyard, but the inside was very impressive. The prisons were a bit cramped though, and my slight claustrophobia made me somewhat uncomfortable.
Once we toured the palace, we figured we'd call it a day, since we needed to start moving toward the train station to work on getting home. We wanted to eat first though. Emily found this restaurant that seemed a bit high priced to me, but she really wanted to eat there, so I agreed and we went inside.
It was disappointing. I had minestrone soup. At least, that's what I ordered. What I got was vegetable soup with microscopic bits of chicken in it. There were no beans, which is what I thought made minestrone minestrone. I complained to the waitress and she was really snotty with me. Emily and Tracey ordered shrimp scampi, which was a bit charred. The bill for the 3 of us was 81 euros. My soup alone was 9 euros - an outrageous price. In fact, I'm pretty sure the prices inside were higher than what was posted outside. And the food was terrible. At least mine was. We were angry and we felt we got ripped off.
So unfortunately, that was my last meal in Italy. It left A LOT to be desired.
We got to the train station, got our luggage, and got our train tickets to Treviso. There was some confusion. We looked at the arriving trains schedule instead of the departure schedule, so we were waiting at the wrong place and the wrong time. When we finally realized it, we had been sitting for quite awhile. So Emily asked at the information counter which train we should be on, and we got straightened out.
We had some time to kill, so Emily went to the restroom, and I just happened to glance at the train ticket, realizing that it was only for one person! The entire time, all our fares had been printed on one ticket. So I pointed this out to Emily, and in a huff, she got in line at the ticket counter again and waited for the same person from whom we bought the tickets. She was prepared to yell at him, but when he saw her, he said he was glad that we came back, because he had our two tickets still with him. So he gave them to her, she blew him a kiss and thanked him, and we found our platform.
Got to Treviso and needed to take the bus to the airport. There was some confusion as to where we caught the bus. There were about 10 different bus stops. The very last one we checked was the one we needed. So we waited. And then our bus arrived.
It took us through a different part of Treviso than what we saw the first day - right in the center of town. Treviso looked very nice and seemed to be quite a happening place on a Friday night. It's only about 15 km. outside of Venice, yet it looked like the place to be.
So we got to the airport for our 9:20 flight, which left a bit late since somebody checked on their luggage and never boarded the plane. When we got back to Charleroi, it was 11 pm and Emily had mistakenly told her husband that we were getting in at midnight, so we had to wait almost an hour for him to arrive. It was freezing out, and one of the night workers tried to kick us out. But we refused to leave. Finally, he arrived and we headed home. I walked in my own door shortly before 2 am, exhausted.
Ciao, Italy. It was nice knowing you, if only for a few days.
Last day photos
Viva Veneto! Karina's Italian Adventure, parts 2 & 3
Day 2 - Nove (March 1)
Nove is a small town outside of Vicenza, in fact, you go through Padua to get there. Unfortunately, I was unable to see much of Padua, which looks like another amazing place to sightsee.
Anyway, we started our morning with breakfast at the hotel. There is nothing like a fresh baked croissant with cream cheese and jam. They had other things too, but if I see that on the breakfast buffet, that's the only thing I want.
After breakfast, we called a cab to take us to the Army base. There is a small military installation in Vicenza. I shouldn't really say that it's small - it's larger than the Army garrison we have here. This seemed quite large by comparison. But it's considered small.
Anyway, we needed to pick up a rental car, so we asked around and finally got directions to the Europcar office on base. The cars were parked on a lot about 7 km outside of the base though, so we couldn't pick up the car right away. We had a little over an hour until the shuttle would come get us to take us to the lot, so we stopped at the commissary and bought some more snacks and water and we stopped a few other places in an effort to kill time.
At 11, this blue school bus came and got us. The guy spoke no English, so he had trouble understanding where we were trying to go. Finally, he picked up another passenger and that person explained to him where we were trying to go. So he dropped us off there and we located the Mercedes that we reserved. That was the one thing we spared no expense on during this trip. We wanted a good sized car with a roomy trunk and an automatic transmission. Split 4 ways, the cost per day wasn't bad.
After figuring out all the bells and whistles and plugging our destination into Emily's GPS system, we were on our way to Nove. It didn't take us too long to get there…maybe half an hour, slightly longer. Nove isn't a spectacular town or anything. They have a nice bell tower in the center of town and a pretty impressive school building, but there is nothing striking beyond that. You can see the mountains in the distance though, which is cool. Nove's claim to fame is its dozens of ceramics shops, and ceramic shopping was our order for the day.
Well, I should say it was THEIR order for the day. I didn't particularly care to go shopping, but since I'm writing an article about Nove ceramics for a magazine, I had to go. If I didn't have to go, I would've gone off to Verona for the day.
I bought a few things. The mosaic pottery was beautiful, so I bought a piece for myself. I got some gifts. The pottery is really cheap. You can get Lenox or Tiffany china there for a fraction of what you pay in the States. But it was mostly white stuff, and all white stuff bores me. I like color. And the pottery I bought was colorful.
So the entire day was spent shopping. My companions bought A LOT of pottery. I was mostly interested in getting pictures for the magazine. We visited some shops that had pretty handpainted things, but as I was not in the market for any pottery, I didn't see the point in buying it.
Nove is so small that there weren't many places to eat. We stopped at a place that had sandwiches, and I got some kind of wrap with thin sliced beef and cheese. Also, Nove is off the tourist radar enough that they still have squat toilets in most public restrooms. We only found one regular toilet the entire time we were there. Believe me, I was thrilled.
While we were shopping, we ran into two people from here at our base. Small world, after all. And we ran into a lady who is trying to start her own business selling Italian pottery. I think she spent about 15,000 euros...she spent 8,000 just in one store. Anyway, she seemed really nice, and her name was Karen. She is the one who called me "Karina" and told me that it means pretty in Italian.
Once everyone was satisfied with the shopping (actually, it was time for the shops to close), we headed back to Vicenza, stopping at the base to get some cash out of the ATM machine. We asked a nice couple to recommend a restaurant for us, and they told us about this place called Giada's and gave us directions to it.
So, bellies grumbling, we set off for Giada's. The restaurant is located inside an elegant looking 3 star hotel. We ordered 2 appetizers to share: fried stuffed olives and fried mozzarella. I had a nice fruity white wine which reminded me of Riesling. We had a basket of mixed breads AND bruschetta brought to our table. The bruschetta was delicious, as were the appetizers. For the main course, I ordered angel hair pasta with crab legs. They didn't bring me a little fork to get the meat out, so I had some trouble, but what I was able to eat was excellent. Finally, we ordered dessert. I got a lemon sponge cake that was absolutely delicious. Total cost for 2 appetizers, 4 main courses, a side dish, 1 liter of wine, a Diet Coke, and 4 desserts - 69 euros. Astonishingly cheap. We were very pleased and it was the best meal we had on the entire trip.
After our wonderful meal, we headed back to the hotel for night #2.
Day 3 - Vicenza (March 2, if you're not keeping track)
After breakfast, we headed back to the base. We had an appointment with the post office to ship all the pottery. The pottery shop where we purchased the most stuff was delivering it to the base for us. We had to wait awhile for them to show up, but they finally did, we helped unload the boxes, and then we labeled everything and slapped on the customs forms and shipped them back here. (And in case you were wondering, the shipping doesn't cost us anything).
After that was done, we drove into Vicenza for a day of sightseeing there. We found a place to park next to a really pretty park with a beautiful church. So we walked through there first and then headed toward the market square, where a flea market takes place every Thursday.
We got there and perused the flea market for a bit. There was nothing different there from what we usually see in the local markets here. So we gave up on that. We stopped at a place for lunch and ordered pizzas. Mine was vegetarian and came with giant strips of zucchini on it and large pieces of pepper and eggplant. It was a very odd looking pizza and honestly, it wasn't very good. I had a nice rose wine with it though. I don't know what it's called, but it was good. As we left the restaurant, I saw a small dog walking around inside, collecting sugar packets off the floor. His owner, an elderly gentleman, seemed pretty distressed about it, so I called the dog over to me and plucked the sugar packets out of his mouth. As I was leaving, the man stopped me and said "Thank you" in English and then wished me goodbye.
Our car was paid up to park until 2, so after walking around a bit and exploring various streets and alleys, we headed toward the car so we wouldn't get a parking ticket. Tracey was getting tired and wanted to go back to the hotel to nap. So we dropped her off and then drove to a better parking spot closer to what we wanted to see: the Teatro Olimpico, Europe's oldest operating theatre, built by the famous Italian architect Palladio in 1580. The theatre was breathtaking. And we found out that they were performing Romeo and Juliet there only 2 days later - the day after we left Italy. Oh, the heartbreak! Especially since Vicenza is Romeo and Giulietta country (so is Verona, but the original author is buried in Vicenza).
There was an art museum across the street, and our Teatro Olimpico tickets admitted us into that museum as well, so we decided to check it out. We didn't spend much time there. It was mostly religious art, but nothing really famous. Some of it looked familiar though.
After the art museum, we wanted to stop and sit awhile, so we found a coffee shop and got some ciacolatta calda (hot chocolate).
The church were Luigi Da Porto is buried (the aforementioned author of the original Romeo and Juliet) was close by, so we decided to go there to see if we could find his grave. Supposedly, the church also houses a thorn from Christ's crown of thorns. We saw neither. The church was pretty though. It's the Church of Santa Corona.
After the church, we pretty much had enough sightseeing. We were near a pastry/gelato shop that I had seen earlier in the day that had really cute heart-shaped pastries and other lovely delights, so I wanted to take Emily and Stephanie there to show them. We decided to have some gelato, since how can you go to Italy and not have some? So we went inside and they ordered tiramisu and chocolate, I ordered strawberry.
After our treat, we headed back toward the car, but not before a cosmetics/candle store caught my eye. I went in and bought some bath stuff and then hopped in the car and we went back to the hotel.
Stephanie and Emily decided to return the rental car. They left me with the task of picking up something for dinner. So they took off to get rid of the Mercedes and I stayed in the hotel room for awhile to read, since I knew they would take awhile. Tracey was also in the room with me, working on puzzles. It was the first real moment of quiet I had the entire trip, other than when we slept.
An hour after they left, I figured it was time to pick up dinner. We actually wanted to avoid Italian this time…Chinese sounded good to all of us. But when I asked at the front desk, they indicated that the nearest Chinese place was quite a distance from the hotel. I wasn't comfortable being out after dark, alone, in a strange city. So I decided to just get food at the closest place I could find, which ended up being a gelato/snack shop about half a block from the hotel. The guy working there spoke no English at all, so with my very limited Italian, I was able to order 2 pizziola sandwiches and 2 ham and fontina cheese on foccacia. While he was toasting my sandwiches, he was talking with a guy who had a beagle. The beagle kept looking at me and then jumping up to hump the guy's leg. It was hilarious. But I pretended not to see. After what seemed like ages, my sandwiches were toasted, he wrapped them up to go, and I went back to the hotel. I divided each sandwich in half so we could each try a bit of both. They were delicious.
After the sandwiches had gone cold, Stephanie and Emily returned. They had some problems with the car rental return, but it got sorted out, and they came up to the room with 2 glasses of red wine for themselves and a glass of champagne for me (they had no white wine at the bar). They ate and told us about their car rental return adventure. Since Emily's birthday was the next day, we surprised her with a card and a tiny gift - a silver violin that was purchased earlier that day. Emily is an accomplished violinist.
And thus ended day 3. One more day to go.
***
I published an article about Nove in the
Stars & Stripes, European Edition in October 2006. My photos are included too.
Days 2 & 3 photos
Nove is a small town outside of Vicenza, in fact, you go through Padua to get there. Unfortunately, I was unable to see much of Padua, which looks like another amazing place to sightsee.
Anyway, we started our morning with breakfast at the hotel. There is nothing like a fresh baked croissant with cream cheese and jam. They had other things too, but if I see that on the breakfast buffet, that's the only thing I want.
After breakfast, we called a cab to take us to the Army base. There is a small military installation in Vicenza. I shouldn't really say that it's small - it's larger than the Army garrison we have here. This seemed quite large by comparison. But it's considered small.
Anyway, we needed to pick up a rental car, so we asked around and finally got directions to the Europcar office on base. The cars were parked on a lot about 7 km outside of the base though, so we couldn't pick up the car right away. We had a little over an hour until the shuttle would come get us to take us to the lot, so we stopped at the commissary and bought some more snacks and water and we stopped a few other places in an effort to kill time.
At 11, this blue school bus came and got us. The guy spoke no English, so he had trouble understanding where we were trying to go. Finally, he picked up another passenger and that person explained to him where we were trying to go. So he dropped us off there and we located the Mercedes that we reserved. That was the one thing we spared no expense on during this trip. We wanted a good sized car with a roomy trunk and an automatic transmission. Split 4 ways, the cost per day wasn't bad.
After figuring out all the bells and whistles and plugging our destination into Emily's GPS system, we were on our way to Nove. It didn't take us too long to get there…maybe half an hour, slightly longer. Nove isn't a spectacular town or anything. They have a nice bell tower in the center of town and a pretty impressive school building, but there is nothing striking beyond that. You can see the mountains in the distance though, which is cool. Nove's claim to fame is its dozens of ceramics shops, and ceramic shopping was our order for the day.
Well, I should say it was THEIR order for the day. I didn't particularly care to go shopping, but since I'm writing an article about Nove ceramics for a magazine, I had to go. If I didn't have to go, I would've gone off to Verona for the day.
I bought a few things. The mosaic pottery was beautiful, so I bought a piece for myself. I got some gifts. The pottery is really cheap. You can get Lenox or Tiffany china there for a fraction of what you pay in the States. But it was mostly white stuff, and all white stuff bores me. I like color. And the pottery I bought was colorful.
So the entire day was spent shopping. My companions bought A LOT of pottery. I was mostly interested in getting pictures for the magazine. We visited some shops that had pretty handpainted things, but as I was not in the market for any pottery, I didn't see the point in buying it.
Nove is so small that there weren't many places to eat. We stopped at a place that had sandwiches, and I got some kind of wrap with thin sliced beef and cheese. Also, Nove is off the tourist radar enough that they still have squat toilets in most public restrooms. We only found one regular toilet the entire time we were there. Believe me, I was thrilled.
While we were shopping, we ran into two people from here at our base. Small world, after all. And we ran into a lady who is trying to start her own business selling Italian pottery. I think she spent about 15,000 euros...she spent 8,000 just in one store. Anyway, she seemed really nice, and her name was Karen. She is the one who called me "Karina" and told me that it means pretty in Italian.
Once everyone was satisfied with the shopping (actually, it was time for the shops to close), we headed back to Vicenza, stopping at the base to get some cash out of the ATM machine. We asked a nice couple to recommend a restaurant for us, and they told us about this place called Giada's and gave us directions to it.
So, bellies grumbling, we set off for Giada's. The restaurant is located inside an elegant looking 3 star hotel. We ordered 2 appetizers to share: fried stuffed olives and fried mozzarella. I had a nice fruity white wine which reminded me of Riesling. We had a basket of mixed breads AND bruschetta brought to our table. The bruschetta was delicious, as were the appetizers. For the main course, I ordered angel hair pasta with crab legs. They didn't bring me a little fork to get the meat out, so I had some trouble, but what I was able to eat was excellent. Finally, we ordered dessert. I got a lemon sponge cake that was absolutely delicious. Total cost for 2 appetizers, 4 main courses, a side dish, 1 liter of wine, a Diet Coke, and 4 desserts - 69 euros. Astonishingly cheap. We were very pleased and it was the best meal we had on the entire trip.
After our wonderful meal, we headed back to the hotel for night #2.
Day 3 - Vicenza (March 2, if you're not keeping track)
After breakfast, we headed back to the base. We had an appointment with the post office to ship all the pottery. The pottery shop where we purchased the most stuff was delivering it to the base for us. We had to wait awhile for them to show up, but they finally did, we helped unload the boxes, and then we labeled everything and slapped on the customs forms and shipped them back here. (And in case you were wondering, the shipping doesn't cost us anything).
After that was done, we drove into Vicenza for a day of sightseeing there. We found a place to park next to a really pretty park with a beautiful church. So we walked through there first and then headed toward the market square, where a flea market takes place every Thursday.
We got there and perused the flea market for a bit. There was nothing different there from what we usually see in the local markets here. So we gave up on that. We stopped at a place for lunch and ordered pizzas. Mine was vegetarian and came with giant strips of zucchini on it and large pieces of pepper and eggplant. It was a very odd looking pizza and honestly, it wasn't very good. I had a nice rose wine with it though. I don't know what it's called, but it was good. As we left the restaurant, I saw a small dog walking around inside, collecting sugar packets off the floor. His owner, an elderly gentleman, seemed pretty distressed about it, so I called the dog over to me and plucked the sugar packets out of his mouth. As I was leaving, the man stopped me and said "Thank you" in English and then wished me goodbye.
Our car was paid up to park until 2, so after walking around a bit and exploring various streets and alleys, we headed toward the car so we wouldn't get a parking ticket. Tracey was getting tired and wanted to go back to the hotel to nap. So we dropped her off and then drove to a better parking spot closer to what we wanted to see: the Teatro Olimpico, Europe's oldest operating theatre, built by the famous Italian architect Palladio in 1580. The theatre was breathtaking. And we found out that they were performing Romeo and Juliet there only 2 days later - the day after we left Italy. Oh, the heartbreak! Especially since Vicenza is Romeo and Giulietta country (so is Verona, but the original author is buried in Vicenza).
There was an art museum across the street, and our Teatro Olimpico tickets admitted us into that museum as well, so we decided to check it out. We didn't spend much time there. It was mostly religious art, but nothing really famous. Some of it looked familiar though.
After the art museum, we wanted to stop and sit awhile, so we found a coffee shop and got some ciacolatta calda (hot chocolate).
The church were Luigi Da Porto is buried (the aforementioned author of the original Romeo and Juliet) was close by, so we decided to go there to see if we could find his grave. Supposedly, the church also houses a thorn from Christ's crown of thorns. We saw neither. The church was pretty though. It's the Church of Santa Corona.
After the church, we pretty much had enough sightseeing. We were near a pastry/gelato shop that I had seen earlier in the day that had really cute heart-shaped pastries and other lovely delights, so I wanted to take Emily and Stephanie there to show them. We decided to have some gelato, since how can you go to Italy and not have some? So we went inside and they ordered tiramisu and chocolate, I ordered strawberry.
After our treat, we headed back toward the car, but not before a cosmetics/candle store caught my eye. I went in and bought some bath stuff and then hopped in the car and we went back to the hotel.
Stephanie and Emily decided to return the rental car. They left me with the task of picking up something for dinner. So they took off to get rid of the Mercedes and I stayed in the hotel room for awhile to read, since I knew they would take awhile. Tracey was also in the room with me, working on puzzles. It was the first real moment of quiet I had the entire trip, other than when we slept.
An hour after they left, I figured it was time to pick up dinner. We actually wanted to avoid Italian this time…Chinese sounded good to all of us. But when I asked at the front desk, they indicated that the nearest Chinese place was quite a distance from the hotel. I wasn't comfortable being out after dark, alone, in a strange city. So I decided to just get food at the closest place I could find, which ended up being a gelato/snack shop about half a block from the hotel. The guy working there spoke no English at all, so with my very limited Italian, I was able to order 2 pizziola sandwiches and 2 ham and fontina cheese on foccacia. While he was toasting my sandwiches, he was talking with a guy who had a beagle. The beagle kept looking at me and then jumping up to hump the guy's leg. It was hilarious. But I pretended not to see. After what seemed like ages, my sandwiches were toasted, he wrapped them up to go, and I went back to the hotel. I divided each sandwich in half so we could each try a bit of both. They were delicious.
After the sandwiches had gone cold, Stephanie and Emily returned. They had some problems with the car rental return, but it got sorted out, and they came up to the room with 2 glasses of red wine for themselves and a glass of champagne for me (they had no white wine at the bar). They ate and told us about their car rental return adventure. Since Emily's birthday was the next day, we surprised her with a card and a tiny gift - a silver violin that was purchased earlier that day. Emily is an accomplished violinist.
And thus ended day 3. One more day to go.
***
I published an article about Nove in the
Stars & Stripes, European Edition in October 2006. My photos are included too.
Days 2 & 3 photos
Sunday, March 5, 2006
Viva Veneto! Karina's Italian Adventure
Day 1 - Tuesday, February 28, 2006 - Carnevale in Venice
As we drove further into Belgium toward Charleroi airport early that morning, the snow fell harder and harder, making me glad that I was leaving. Surely the weather would be better in Italy. We arrived at Charleroi, checked in for our flight, and waited. Our flight was slightly delayed, but not by much.
The Ryanair flight was reasonably short - about 90 minutes - and I had a positively breathtaking view of the snow-capped Alps before we began our descent into Treviso airport. As our imminent arrival was announced, I looked out the window and gazed for the first time at the Italian landscape below. It was much browner and drier than Germany. The sun was shining. There was NO SNOW.
Once we departed the plane and tried to get our bearings, we had a decision to make: take a bus all the way into Venice, or take a bus to Treviso's train station, and from there, take the train into Venice? We chose the former, figuring we would get a nice view of the scenery as we drove by. The only problem was, we had no idea where the bus would drop us off in proximity to Venice's Santa Lucia train station, which is where we needed to go to store our luggage. A look through a guidebook revealed that it was only a short distance from where we needed to go. Whew. We sat back and enjoyed the ride and watched stately villas come into view. Already, I was smitten with Italy.
After a 45 minute ride (give or take), the bus arrived at Piazelle Roma. We debarked, found our luggage, and walked about 10 minutes to the train station. Everywhere I looked was a photograph - postcard perfect. But with luggage in tow, it was difficult to get out my camera and take photographs. Alas, I could not, if I wanted to keep up with my friends.
Once we located the train station and stowed away our luggage, the first order of business was getting food. Since the Carnevale festivities take place in Piazza San Marco - a reasonably long trek from where we were - we decided to start making our way in that direction, and stop to eat wherever looked good. This time, I had my camera at the ready, and I snapped away - Venice is a shutterbug's heaven. I frequently got behind my travel companions, but I always managed to catch up.
Eventually, we stopped for lunch at some nondescript place tucked away in a small square. Stephanie had been to Venice before on her honeymoon, and she recalled eating in that area, so we stopped at a place that she recognized. I ordered spaghetti carbonara, my favorite Italian dish. It was good, but I've had better. I had tiramisu for dessert. It was a satisfactory meal, but it didn't blow me away.
Recharged after our meal, we again made our way toward Piazza San Marco, occasionally stopping to browse in shops or take photographs. Carnevale events were well underway by the time we arrived. The Masque Parade was taking place on a stage that was set up at the end of the piazza, opposite Basilica di San Marco. There was such a crowd that I was unable to see anything. I focused mainly on taking pictures of the people around me who were in costume. Emily, being the tallest one of our group, was able to hold up her video camera to record the parade, and we watched it on the small screen of her camera.
After the parade, some of the participants came out to pose for photographs. Tracey, Emily and Stephanie decided that they wanted to buy some masks, so we visited several of the souvenir stands set up in the piazza until they all found what they wanted. Dusk started settling in, so we decided to go in search of dinner. I took a few more pictures as the lights started to come up around Venice, then we headed back toward the train station. We found a little café and ordered calzones.
We took our time getting to the train station, enjoying the allure of Venice at night. As we were getting closer to our destination, we stopped in a grocery store to get bottled water and snacks, and then walked to the train station to pick up our luggage and get on a train to Vicenza.
Once on the train, we noticed that it was much different from the reliable, efficient German rail. For one thing, the stops are not announced, so we had no idea when we were going to arrive in Vicenza. Every time we pulled into a station, we looked out the window, frantically searching for a sign to tell us where we were. Finally, we asked a passenger how many more stops until Vicenza. She told us that the next stop was Padova (Padua) and then 2-3 stops afterwards was Vicenza.
Once we got off at Vicenza, we immediately hailed a cab to take us to our hotel, about a mile and a half away. Since it was a holiday and nighttime, we were charged quite a bit for the ride, but it was better than trying to navigate the streets at night without a map and whilst carrying luggage. After a short drive, we arrived at the hotel. The lobby was very attractive and clean, so we felt good immediately upon entering. Once we made our way up to the room, we were impressed to find that it was huge, clean, and despite its shabbiness, it was charming. It was also very cheap - the four of us shared a room for about $120 each night. We had two twin beds and a queen bed. I immediately claimed one of the twin beds. We settled in, two of us took our showers to help save time in the morning, and then we were asleep.
***
An article was published about this trip in the January 2007 issue of Connection magazine. (I was also supposed to do the entire photo spread, but they only used about 5 of my photos at the most, and the absolute best one that I took wasn't even used).
This is the best photo I took there. It was published in a photography anthology in December 2006:
See the rest of the photos from day 1 here
As we drove further into Belgium toward Charleroi airport early that morning, the snow fell harder and harder, making me glad that I was leaving. Surely the weather would be better in Italy. We arrived at Charleroi, checked in for our flight, and waited. Our flight was slightly delayed, but not by much.
The Ryanair flight was reasonably short - about 90 minutes - and I had a positively breathtaking view of the snow-capped Alps before we began our descent into Treviso airport. As our imminent arrival was announced, I looked out the window and gazed for the first time at the Italian landscape below. It was much browner and drier than Germany. The sun was shining. There was NO SNOW.
Once we departed the plane and tried to get our bearings, we had a decision to make: take a bus all the way into Venice, or take a bus to Treviso's train station, and from there, take the train into Venice? We chose the former, figuring we would get a nice view of the scenery as we drove by. The only problem was, we had no idea where the bus would drop us off in proximity to Venice's Santa Lucia train station, which is where we needed to go to store our luggage. A look through a guidebook revealed that it was only a short distance from where we needed to go. Whew. We sat back and enjoyed the ride and watched stately villas come into view. Already, I was smitten with Italy.
After a 45 minute ride (give or take), the bus arrived at Piazelle Roma. We debarked, found our luggage, and walked about 10 minutes to the train station. Everywhere I looked was a photograph - postcard perfect. But with luggage in tow, it was difficult to get out my camera and take photographs. Alas, I could not, if I wanted to keep up with my friends.
Once we located the train station and stowed away our luggage, the first order of business was getting food. Since the Carnevale festivities take place in Piazza San Marco - a reasonably long trek from where we were - we decided to start making our way in that direction, and stop to eat wherever looked good. This time, I had my camera at the ready, and I snapped away - Venice is a shutterbug's heaven. I frequently got behind my travel companions, but I always managed to catch up.
Eventually, we stopped for lunch at some nondescript place tucked away in a small square. Stephanie had been to Venice before on her honeymoon, and she recalled eating in that area, so we stopped at a place that she recognized. I ordered spaghetti carbonara, my favorite Italian dish. It was good, but I've had better. I had tiramisu for dessert. It was a satisfactory meal, but it didn't blow me away.
Recharged after our meal, we again made our way toward Piazza San Marco, occasionally stopping to browse in shops or take photographs. Carnevale events were well underway by the time we arrived. The Masque Parade was taking place on a stage that was set up at the end of the piazza, opposite Basilica di San Marco. There was such a crowd that I was unable to see anything. I focused mainly on taking pictures of the people around me who were in costume. Emily, being the tallest one of our group, was able to hold up her video camera to record the parade, and we watched it on the small screen of her camera.
After the parade, some of the participants came out to pose for photographs. Tracey, Emily and Stephanie decided that they wanted to buy some masks, so we visited several of the souvenir stands set up in the piazza until they all found what they wanted. Dusk started settling in, so we decided to go in search of dinner. I took a few more pictures as the lights started to come up around Venice, then we headed back toward the train station. We found a little café and ordered calzones.
We took our time getting to the train station, enjoying the allure of Venice at night. As we were getting closer to our destination, we stopped in a grocery store to get bottled water and snacks, and then walked to the train station to pick up our luggage and get on a train to Vicenza.
Once on the train, we noticed that it was much different from the reliable, efficient German rail. For one thing, the stops are not announced, so we had no idea when we were going to arrive in Vicenza. Every time we pulled into a station, we looked out the window, frantically searching for a sign to tell us where we were. Finally, we asked a passenger how many more stops until Vicenza. She told us that the next stop was Padova (Padua) and then 2-3 stops afterwards was Vicenza.
Once we got off at Vicenza, we immediately hailed a cab to take us to our hotel, about a mile and a half away. Since it was a holiday and nighttime, we were charged quite a bit for the ride, but it was better than trying to navigate the streets at night without a map and whilst carrying luggage. After a short drive, we arrived at the hotel. The lobby was very attractive and clean, so we felt good immediately upon entering. Once we made our way up to the room, we were impressed to find that it was huge, clean, and despite its shabbiness, it was charming. It was also very cheap - the four of us shared a room for about $120 each night. We had two twin beds and a queen bed. I immediately claimed one of the twin beds. We settled in, two of us took our showers to help save time in the morning, and then we were asleep.
***
An article was published about this trip in the January 2007 issue of Connection magazine. (I was also supposed to do the entire photo spread, but they only used about 5 of my photos at the most, and the absolute best one that I took wasn't even used).
This is the best photo I took there. It was published in a photography anthology in December 2006:
See the rest of the photos from day 1 here
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)