Tuscan Hill Towns

Wednesday, May 11,2016.  Breakfast this morning was impressive.  There were so many things to choose from.  Eating here for 4 mornings, we won't be able to put a dent in the selection.  I even had a cappuccino.  Shocking, since I don't like coffee.  I should say I tried a cappuccino.  After a few sips I knew it needed something.  I'm thinking chocolate.  But the only chocolate around was a packet of Nutella.  Why not? If anyone saw what I was doing I'm sure they thought I had lost my mind.  As for how it turned out with the Nutella, I don't recommend it.  I'll be sticking with tea in the future.

We decided our first town to visit would be Cortona.  It was a nice drive and we enjoyed walking around town.  It was up a very steep hill from where we parked, and there were a couple of escalators that took us up, in addition to plenty of stairs.  It was mostly stairs on the way down, except a section of escalator since it was too steep for walking.

We returned to the car and had a little picnic lunch before driving to Montalcino.  This town in famous for Brunello wine.  We were hoping to find a place to taste some.  The first place said we could taste if we were going to buy a bottle.  I remarked to Marie that it wouldn't make sense to obligate ourselves to buying something if we didn't know if we would like it.  We tried another shop.  This one had many choices to taste.  For a price.  Some big prices. Apparently Brunello can be quite expensive.  That would explain the lack of free tastings.  There wasn't much in Montalcino besides a lot of wine shops.  We did find a large fortress on the top of the hill.  Of course there was a wine shop in the fortress.  

We were going to squeeze in another town on the way back to Siena, but I couldn't put a new destination into google maps on my phone because there wasn't cell service where we were parked.  We knew we could find our way back to Siena, so we decided this was our sign to go back to the hotel and get our laundry done.  When we got service we were able to use the phone to find our way.  Down the street from the hotel there is a store called Coop.  We would pronounce that co-op.  They pronounce it coop.  Like a chicken coop.  We stopped in for a couple of things.  That store has everything!  Food, clothes, yard equipment, small appliances, bikes...you name it.  Maybe they are the Walmart of Italy?

The laundry room at the hotel contains two washers and a dryer.  Tokens costing €3 have to be purchased at the office.  Both washers are front loaders, a small and a large.  Something had been left in the large washer, and the load was done. The only dryer also had clothing in it and it was no longer running.  We waited at least 1 1/2 hours for the owner of those things to do something with them.  We took the comforter out of the washer and combined our clothes into one load.  An hour later, when it was done, we took the still damp clothes out of the only dryer so we could use it.  There is a seasonal restaurant at the hotel, so we ate dinner there.  After dinner we went to the laundry room to check the dryer.  It wasn't running and the clothes were damp.  Marie got another token and we started the dryer again.  The laundry we had removed from the machines was exactly where we had left it.  Sadly the dryer seems to have shrunk some of our clothes.  They went from still damp after the first token to scalding hot part way through the second.

Siena

Tuesday May 10, 2016.  Jamie's 28th birthday.  In the morning we had breakfast (including a few extras to take with us) and picked up the rental car.  An Audi A3.  I switched to an automatic after I sprained my knee.  It took a few minutes to figure the car out.  It's a bit strange.  The car seems to shut itself down while idling, then the engine comes to life when the accelerator is pressed.  The drive to Siena was uneventful.  

When we arrived at our hotel we both instantly were impressed.  It used to be a farm and is on a large piece of property.  Our room is in a building with 5 rooms.  The woman who greeted us was kind and helpful.  She had a man who works there make us a spritzer to welcome us.  A spritzer is a bright orange drink that we have seen people drink everywhere.  Lets just say that I couldn't finish mine.  We had that and a little picnic lunch with the stuff from the hotel. We checked out the grounds, which includes a pool up on the hill and quite a few places with chairs tucked away for privacy.  They serve dinner here, and I'm sure we will take advantage of that.  This place has a real feel of Tuscany.

After we settled in we walked into the city center of Siena.  Or I should say we walked, then took an escalator.  We walked to a place that took us down to a tunnel that goes under the train tracks.  An escalator goes through a mall, then up, up, up the hill.  We walked to the Campo.  It's very impressive. It was hot and we wanted to get in some shade, so we enjoyed a glass of wine while watching all the activity around us.  

We decided to see the duomo before meeting Darcy and Doug for dinner.  When we got there it was already closed, as was the tourist information office.  We will have to go back another day.  We were to go to their hotel to meet them.  What google maps said would be a 5 minute walk took us about 45 minutes.  Siena is a very confusing town.  We had a really good dinner with them.  I had a pasta dish with boar sauce.  Very good.

We said our goodbyes and took a taxi back to the hotel.  It was a very long day.

Farewell Verona

Today is Monday, May 9, 2016, our last day in Verona.  I think it was unfortunate to arrive on a Friday night and be here through the weekend.  It was very crowded, and although I have very fond memories of my time here with Jim in September 2010, it wasn't the same.  We had a good time, but we are excited to move on tomorrow.

Today we went to Mantova.  My brother, Dave, suggested it.  It was a short 45 minute train ride away.  Mantova is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Unfortunately, today is a Monday.  Sites and most stores don't open until 1:30 p.m. or later, or are closed for the day.  We walked around the city center and saw the historical buildings from the outside.  The city is surrounded on 3 sides by 3 lakes.  There were 4 lakes, but one dried up in the 1800's.  They were formed as defensive measures.  We had a nice long walk along the shore of one lake.  There were groups of school children everywhere.  We were going to take a one hour boat ride, but when we discovered that there would be a lot of kids on board we passed.  We have nothing against the kids, but we were looking for a peaceful experience.  I'm sure Mantova is very interesting, but we were sadly not able to experience it for the most part.  Things in Verona were also closed or opened late.  I don't know if that's the standard for Italy or just this region.

After returning to Verona we went back to our hotel to take care of some things, then went into town to make a dinner reservation.  While on the train we looked a Trip Advisor reviews, then found a restaurant that look really good and had great reviews.  According to TA it's the #10 restaurant in Verona.  We thought it was worth checking out.  But first we wanted to walk to the rental car office to see how far we would have to go in the morning with our luggage.  It was a piece of cake.  Then we found the restaurant and checked it out.  Yes!  Reservation made.  We walked around Verona for the last time, then went to dinner.  

Graffiti at the entry to Juliet's casa.

Nastro Azzurro is on a little side street near the restaurants that surround the Piazza Bra.  From our table we could see the Arena and the people walking by, but it was far enough away that it didn't interfere with a calm dinner.  Our waiter was Stefano.  He was charming and attentive.  Very unlike most servers I have experienced in Europe.  It is just not their way.  Stefano made menu suggestions, poured our wine and kept our glasses filled, and insisted on taking pictures of us.  He insisted that it is a "full service" restaurant.  Marie got homemade lasagna and I got the prawn risotto.  Delicious!  When we said we were too full for dessert he brought us lemon sorbet.  On the house!  We couldn't have been more pleased with our dinner.

Now it's time to pack up and get things ready to leave for our next destination, Siena.

Lago di Garda

It's Sunday, May 8, 2016.  Mother's Day.  I found cards from Jim and Jamie hidden in my suitcase. They are so sweet and thoughtful.  Mother's Day is always so bittersweet for me.  I always miss my mother, but days like this even more so.  Her passport is with me every day when I'm out and about. I feel like she is traveling along with me.

Today we went to Lake Garda.  My father was there during WWII and I wanted to see it.  Getting there should have been easy enough, but was a bit of a challenge.  We decided to go to Sirmione.  It's a town at the tip of a peninsula that juts out into the lake on the southern shore.  Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy.  We chose Sirmione for two reasons.  We were told that it was a very characteristic lake town, and it would only involve one bus.  Let's just say that the Italians are not always great at instructions or signage.  Or maybe I'm just too dense.  Long story short, with a mixup regarding where to wait for the bus we departed an hour later than we should have.  It was totally worth it after arriving.

We admired the lake after we got off the bus and then spotted a castle or fortress.  We decided to check it out.  It was the Rocca Scaligera di Sirmione.  This is the narrowest part of the peninsula.  It was first a Roman building and was rebuilt in the 13th century.  The castle was made a fortress to protect the town from intruders.  It was a good thing we went when we did, as they closed at 1:00.  Everyone got booted out.

We strolled through the streets, then decided that we would have our main meal of the day here.  We wanted to be overlooking the water.  The problem was that many places close at 2:00 or 2:30 and don't reopen until 7:00p.m. for dinner.  We walked along the shore and enjoyed the beach.  I had to use the bathroom.  For €.50 this is what I paid for -

Further down the beach we found Lido delle Bionde, overlooking the beach.  Perfect.  We both had gnocchi with salmon and shrimp.  The gnocchi was homemade and it was a good meal.

It was a nice day to enjoy the lake, even though there were crowds there too.  When will we escape them?

Marie - Waiting for the bus.

The bus on the way back to Verona was running about 40 minutes behind schedule.  The traffic reminded me of driving back from Tahoe on a Sunday.  To mix things up we had gelato for dinner and called it an early night.  I haven't been getting to sleep until close to midnight most nights.  It's 9:40 now.  I might be asleep by 11:00!  

Fair Verona, How Art Thou

First, let me say that I do like Verona.  Very much.  But it seems far more crowded than it was when I was here in September 2010.  Is it the time of year?  Something else?  Who knows.  It isn't quite the Disneyland experience that Venice became, but it was much busier than I prefer.  Maybe one reason it seemed crowded was that there was a European Bicycling Challenge happening and some other things going on.

In the morning we got up, got ready and went downstairs for breakfast.  There were many choices, so we will not be bored with the selections after 4 days.  Then it was off to the city center and eventually we found the tourist information center (TI).  We bought 2 day Verona cards that would allow us to get into various attractions at no additional cost.  We waited for a short time to take a 2 hour walking tour to see some main sites and learn the history of important parts of Verona.  While we were at Piazza Erbe we saw dogs cooling off in the fountain.  It was pretty warm, and it must have felt good to them.

I had thought that Romeo & Juliet was a fictional story.  That isn't entirely true.  The Montegues and Capulets did exist in Verona. There is no evidence that there was an actual Romeo or Juliet, or whether there were star crossed lovers.  But it's a good story and I like it!  I had also heard that Guilieta's casa in Verona was just a tourist trap.  In fact the Capulets did live there.  The balcony was added when a Romeo and Juliet movie was filmed there.  We didn't brave the crowds to go inside.

After the tour we had a little gelato to get us through until dinner.  With the Verona card we went to the Roman arena, Castelvecchio and Torre dei Lamberti.  I had been to all three places before, but I enjoyed seeing them again.

Arena

Castelvecchio 

Views from the Torre dei Lamberti

We killed a little time walking the streets until time for our dinner reservation at Ristorante Greppia.  It was recommended by someone who works at our hotel.  I felt it was better than where we ate last night.  

After dinner we decided we had enough walking around.  It was time to call it a night.

Farewell Venice

Today is Friday, May 6.  We started our day by taking our bags to be stored at the train station.  We then positioned ourselves to tour the Grand Canal using the Rick Steves podcast.  There were no front seats on the vaparetto, so we sat all the way in the back.  Good enough.  We had already gone up and down the canal many times, but this time there was commentary.  Although the 'tour' ended at San Marco, we did not.  We went to Lido.  Sadly the beach was no where in sight, and our time was limited.  

This is looking back at Venice from Lido.

We walked around a bit, had an okay lunch, and headed back to San Marco Square.  What a zoo.  It really was like Disneyland in high season.  Even watching gondolas on the canals reminded me of the rides ending.  Everybody off!  

And this was a Friday in early May.  What the hell?  It didn't start feeling over crowded until Thursday.  I guess the weekends start early here.  After a nice respite on Lido we re-entered the zoo, but just long enough to pass through.  Darcy and her family were flying in and I wanted to visit a little while.  They live in Idaho, so it's not like we see each other much.  I haven't seen her since lunch in Paris in September 2014.  We waited outside their hotel.  They finally arrived, very tired from a very long day+ of travel. The woman at their hotel was so nice.  As we sat out on the courtyard visiting she brought out some prosecco and snacks.  We discovered we are overlapping in Siena, so we will meet for dinner there.

After a nice visit with Darcy and her family we needed to get back to the airport.  We had a 5:50 train to catch.  Verona, here we come!!

We got to our hotel, the Best Western Firenze.  It was not exactly where I thought it was, but it will do,  the room is very nice.  We went into the old town for dinner.   We've now settled into our hotel.  Time to call it a night.  Tomorrow we will explore Verona.

Cruising The Islands

It's Thursday, May 5.  Cinco de Mayo.  Can you believe they don't celebrate it here?  🙂

Today is our last full day in Venice.  We took the vaparetto first to Burano.  The houses are all painted bright colors and it is very charming.  Besides the colorful houses, Burano is known for their lace.  Of course there were plenty of shops selling things, including lace and Murano glass.  We slowed down by one store to look at a scarf and the guy working there dashed out to show us his wares.  We were trying to be polite and we let him talk us into seeing something in the store.  He showed us everything.  Everything!  And of course he would sell each item for less than the posted price.  He said it was much less than we would pay on Murano.  Marie slipped outside.  Gee thanks for having my back Marie!!  The man told me about a woman who had come in his shop yesterday and found the very same necklace she had purchased in Murano, but she had paid much more.  She cried.  Finally some other people came into the shop and he began talking to him.  I used the distraction to make my escape.  We walked away from the shop and just when I thought I was safe he came running after me.  Yes, running.  I thought maybe he believed I had stolen something.  No, he just wanted to tell me that I would not find prices as good as his in Murano.  He warned me that I would cry when I realized how much I would have to pay.  He actually started rubbing his fist at his eye in a dramatic crying motion.  It was so funny!  For the rest of this trip (possibly longer) the joke is going to be "It will make you cry!"

We went to Murano and I was hoping to see some glass blowing.  I have been fascinated by that since I was a child.  Unfortunately we were not able to locate a place that allowed observe them doing that.  We looked at some beautiful glass things, but resisted the temptation to buy anything.  We had gelato for lunch.  Again.  This might be an every other day occurrence.

This is a large glass sculpture.

When we returned to Venice we went by the train station to buy tickets for our train to Verona. We leave tomorrow at 5:50 p.m.  We will still have much of the day in Venice while we wait for Darcy to arrive.

We had reservations for dinner tonight.  Thanks to David we were going to have a really special meal in a wonderful setting.  The restaurant wasn't too far from St. Marks Square.  We arrived at the square early and were browsing the stuff people sell.  We ended up buying hats to keep the sun off our faces.  The added benefit is that if it is pulled down just a little you can avoid vendors trying to sell you their junk.  No, I don't want to buy a purse!  No, I don't want to eat at your restaurant!  We went back to the hotel that Darcy is staying in to make sure we knew the way.  It's a bit confusing and we didn't want to get lost with our luggage.  Speaking of which, I'm a little concerned about going to that area with our luggage tomorrow.  The vaparetto was so packed we were wondering what the maximum occupancy was.  I'm considering that it might be easier to walk there, then take the fast vaparetto to the train station.  Or maybe take our luggage to the train station early and get it when we are ready to leave.  We will have to figure something out.

Dinner at Ristorante da Raffaele was wonderful.  Such a great way to say goodbye to such a unique city.  The setting was lovely and the food was delicious.  I had sea bass and potatoes and Marie had tortellini with ham and peas.  Then she and I shared a Venetian specialty for dessert, Bicchierino "Avola".  It is a mousse of mascarpone with chocolate and amaretto.  Fantastico!!!

After dinner we returned to the hotel.  Evening is such a great time to be on the canal.  I will miss that.  We got our things together to make leaving tomorrow easier.  Parting is such sweet sorrow, but fair Verona awaits.