Homa Sweet Homa!

Well, our vacation in Italy is officially over. Catherine and I arrived in San Francisco safely and uneventfully on Saturday afternoon as scheduled with Catherine's husband, George, there to meet us at the airport and drive us back home to Nevada.

I will not pretend to be an expert on traveling to Italy, but I'll share my impressions of the Odyssey tour and generally of traveling in Italy. Being on a tour is a busy but efficient way to travel. We had full days but ample free time as well. Catherine and many of our fellow travelers have been on other tours, with many of them being repeat Odyssey customers; all of them are very satisfied with Odyssey and rank it highly in comparison to other companies. Our tour director, who contracts with various tour companies, including Trafalgar and World Circle, told me that Odyssey is the only company she is impressed with. Without a comparison of my own, I would have to say I was pleased and impressed with Odyssey, and I would definitely book with them again.

In general, Italy is very, very crowded -- Disneyland crowded -- making it difficult to see and appreciate all it has to offer if not on a well-run tour. In most of the cities and towns, including Florence and Siena, tour buses are not allowed inside the city, so they park in designated areas and tourists have to walk quite a distance to see the sites. If traveling independently, not on a tour, that situation could probably be minimized by taking taxis or public transportation. However, the logistics of transportation and baggage handling when traveling independently seems complex, particularly in Venice, where all transportation is via boat and where all the foot-bridges have steps. 

Pick-pocketing is a very real threat and not to be taken lightly. Tricia's wallet was stolen in Rome twelve years ago, and a tour member's wallet was stolen on this trip in Venice. Public transportation and the crowded tourist sites are prime locations for pick-pockets. Best advice for women is to purchase a travel purse with a safety clasp on the zipper and a reinforced handle and bag bottom that cannot be cut. I did not carry a wallet but kept money and cards in a zipped compartment inside my zipped and safety-clasped purse. I'm not sure what the best advice is for men, but the wallet that was stolen was being carried in a cargo-pants zipper pocket. 

A word about airlines. Catherine has had two bad experiences with United Airlines leaving from San Francisco. In both cases, her initial flights were canceled, and when a flight is canceled, the traveler has to start from scratch with no preferential treatment in reaching his or her destination. We also encountered travelers at other airports, including Munich, who were left stranded by United Airlines. Although a major benefit of Odyssey tours is that they include airfare, as well as pickup and baggage handling from and to the airport, it seems as though they tend to book with United. Some other travelers on our tour purchased the land tour only with Odyssey and arranged their own flights, arriving a day early. I guess the situation Catherine and I encountered is, unfortunately, not all that uncommon. 

One More Time

Today we visited the island of Murano and decided it's definitely blog-worthy. Our hotel offered a shuttle to the island, so reaching it was easy. Murano is the place in Italy that is famous for glass making, an art that is passed down through the family.

There we toured a glass making facility and got to see some incredible museum-quality pieces. The chandeliers and glass sculptures are in all sizes, shapes, and colors in styles from elegant to whimsical. It was like touring a museum and reminded me of the American artist Dale Chihuly's work.

The island of Murano is charming and was a nice change of pace from the more hectic pace of Venice. We strolled the main street and made a few small purchases.

We wanted to go to the island of Burano, which is famous for lace making, but the vaporetto (water bus) was just too crowded, so we decided to stay in peaceful Murano and have lunch instead. Venice and its surrounding islands are known for seafood, and Catherine had been craving zuppa di pesce (fish soup), which is similar to cioppino. We found a lovely canal-side ristorante where Catherine had her zuppe and Tricia had lobster spaghetti.

Then, we had to figure out how to get back to the hotel. It was too late to catch the hotel shuttle, so we again had to rely on the vaporetto. Thanks to the concierge at our hotel, we knew which line to take, but we could not find a place to buy a ticket. So, we just got on the boat (this one wasn't crowded) and somehow managed to make the trip for free. We have plenty of Euros and would have been happy to buy tickets, but we never saw a ticket booth and the conductor did not ask us to pay. It turns out we were lucky that we didn't get a hefty fine. Beginners' luck, I guess.

We're now getting ready to pack but had to fortify ourselves with a Bellini, a delicious, low alcohol drink of peach and champagne. We've had an amazing trip and enjoyed the two days on our own in Venice, but Catherine and I both agree that we're ready to come home. Let's just hope the water taxi is there in the morning to take us to the airport and that our flights take off on schedule. Ciao and arrivederci!

Doge's Palace

Today was the first day of our tour extension, which basically consists of two extra days "on our own" in Venice. While still at home, Catherine booked us tickets for the "Secret Tour of the Doge's Palace," so we still had to get up on time and stick to a bit of a schedule. In the olden days, Venice was not part of Italy but an independent government run by the Doge. The Doge was elected but then held the office for life.

Venice is the site of much intrigue and chicanery. Throughout the city were mail slots (the mouth of the carving shown below) where citizens could "tattle" on one another, and those people then were interrogated and often imprisoned or put to death. At first, the informants could be anonymous, but later, they had to identify themselves, along with willing witnesses, and the penalty for false accusations was the same as it would have been for the crime.

On the secret tour, we saw the cell where Cassanova was imprisoned and where he escaped from. We also saw the room where prisoners were tortured in front of a tribunal. The general tour of the Doge's Palace is quite extensive as well. We saw the sites of where the legislatures met and the entire prison. It is not uncommon for parts of Venice to flood during the full and new moon cycles, and the lower cells in the prison were often filled with water.

After our tour, we treated ourselves to a very nice lunch along one of the smaller canals, and we got to watch many gondolas and smaller watercraft cruise by. It was an overcast, humid day today, but still pleasant by the canal. Generally, Venice does not seem stinky or dirty. Garbage is collected every day, and for the most part, it just smells like the sea.

On our way back from lunch, we stopped at a grocery store, which seem to be plentiful in Venice. A very nice woman let us sample cheeses and salami, which we had for a light supper, and we were able to buy a refillable wine carafe, which we filled with vino rosso from a spigot. Tomorrow, we can bring the bottle back and refill it.  For the most part, we have found the Venetians to be surly and unfriendly, but the people at the grocery store were very, very nice.

After returning to our hotel, Catherine made reservations at the spa for us to use the jacuzzi, steam room, and sauna, which is a perk of our five-star hotel. We plan to do the same tomorrow. Tomorrow we plan to visit the outlying islands of Murano and Burano, but we will need to spend the evening packing, so this will be the last blog entry in Italy. When we get home, we will post some information and impressions about our tour with Odyssey. Arrivederci Italia!

Canals & Gondolas

This morning we took a water taxi to Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's square) and had a brief tour from a local guide. Mostly we walked around the city before the it became too crowded. I've got to say that I think Venice is the most beautiful city we have visited. The buildings are ornate and unique, and it's a marvel at how the city was actually built on swamp land. The city is made up of about 118 small islands, all connected with bridges and and surrounded by canals.

We took a gondola ride with some friends from the tour. Our gondolier, Lorenzo, was both handsome and skilled. There are many, many motor boats of all sizes in the canals, so being in a gondola is a bit like being in a mini-cooper on an interstate highway. We had a few harrowing moments reminiscent of the bus ride on the Amalfi Coast. Let's just say it's hard to imagine a gondola ride being romantic amidst all the drama.

After the gondola, we strolled the streets of Venice. It's traditional to let yourself "get lost" in Venice, which means not to worry about where you are but just to enjoy the experience. It turns out there are two major landmarks -- Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge, and all roads seem to lead to one or the other, so it's pretty hard to get lost. Piazza San Marco is very, very crowded, and the line to visit the inside of the cathedral can stretch for blocks.

We were lucky to encounter a lull and only had to stand in line for a few minutes. The inside of the catherdral is awesome -- but no photos are allowed. The floors in cathedrals tend to be impressive, and the floor in San Marco reminded Tricia of quilting patterns -- particularly "flying geese" and Baltimore album style applique. She may try to recreate part of those patterns to commemorate her trip.

So far on our trip, the people we've encountered have been friendly and helpful, but not so much in Venice. This is an expensive city, and it's difficult to find a cafe or gelato stand that offers seating. We were, however, lucky to find a small cafe where we had an afternoon pick-me-up of a funghi (mushroom) and ham roll-up and cappuccino.

Perhaps the highlight of our day was the shuttle ride back to our hotel. This was no ordinary shuttle, but a beautiful boat sent by the hotel to San Marco Square to pick up hotel guests. Catherine and I were the only passengers, and we had an exhilerating ride that bypassed the canals in favor of the more open lagoon. We got to see many islands, some of which are uninhabited, and it gave us a great view of the expansiveness of Venice. We have been so lucky with the weather throughout our trip. The humidity is quite high in Venice -- about 70% -- but with temperatures in the 70s, it's very comfortable on both land and sea.

Tonight the tour officially ends, and we had our farewell dinner. It was sad, really, to say goodbye to Bill and Noreen, our airplane friends who will head back to San Diego tomorrow morning, but we hope to be in touch to share our photos. Our tour guide, Sara, had tears in her eyes as well. She says she gets attached to her "bambinos," and she sent us away with a running journal of notes she kept on the trip.

Catherine and I have two more days in Venice, so I will probably make one more blog entry before we leave. Tomorrow we will visit the Doge's Palace and then Murano Island on Friday. Ciao and buona notte until then.

And Finally, Venice...

Today was mostly a travel day with a rather long drive to Venice. We drove through the Appenine Mountains, which are considered the "backbone" of Italy because they stretch all the way from the top of the country down into Sicily. On our trip, we had lunch at a truck-stop cafeteria, and that was quite an experience -- but even there, the food was great! We had risotto and Soave wine -- a crisp white that was just perfect for lunch.

Upon arriving in Venice, we took a water taxi to our hotel. I didn't realize how much in the middle of the water Venice really is. I always thought it was just a town with canals instead of roads. Some people on the bus said it reminded them of driving into the Florida keys. Our hotel is beautiful, but we've barely had time to settle in.

Shortly after checking in, the hotel hosted a little champagne reception and then our guide, Sara, took us on a walk to orient us to the city and to view the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge.

We then strolled back to our hotel and stopped for some delicious pasta with salmon cream sauce. (Sorry, no photo -- sometimes we just forget). As we ate, we watched the locals and tourists stroll along, many of them walking dogs or pushing strollers. It's a very lively, bustling town. Catherine really wants to go for a gondola ride, but we both think it would be weird to do it together alone. A gondola holds six people and costs the same whether full or not. We're hoping to find some other people on our tour who want to share a gondola. We'll have more and better photos tomorrow.

Under the Tuscan Moon

This is our last day at the Tuscan villa, and we're very sad to be leaving. The atmosphere and ambience of Tuscany simply cannot be described. Movies, books, and photos can't do it justice. Today we visited San Gimignano, a Tuscan hill town that is best know for its 14 (out of an original 72) intact towers.

We enjoyed the relaxing, low key atmosphere and some really fun shopping. Tricia finally met the Italian man of her dreams.

After San Gimignano, we visited a Tuscan winery where we got to see some beautiful vineyards and tour the wine-making facilities. In Italy, the wine must be made in the location where the grapes are grown, and we learned a new word, "vinification," which means making of the wine. We quickly Americanized the word to mean the process of drinking the wine -- so, we really enjoyed the wine tasting portion of the tour during which we got "vinified." San Gimignano is actually best know for its white wine called Vernaccia, but it is also in the Chianti region, and we enjoyed tasing the red wine as well.

The whole Umbrian and Tuscan landscape is made up of Roman and medieval hill towns that can't really be described but have to be experienced. Our stay in the villa was very special and was, for Catherine and me, the highlight of the trip. We also thoroughly enjoyed our room at the villa, and we took turns with our airplane friend, Bill and Noreen, hosting little "cocktail parties" in our respective towers by purchasing local wines, cheese, and salami. Bill and Noreen have become very dear friends and have added a great deal to our enjoyment of the trip. It just goes to show how a dark cloud can have a silver lining.

Tomorrow we leave our villa for Venice, and it will be bittersweet. I think we dream of returning to Tuscany, but for now -- onward!

More (and more) Hill Towns

On trips to Europe, many tourists say their "ABC"s -- "another bloody church" and "another bloody castle." Well, on this trip, we're starting to say the same about "hill towns." Who knew there were so many Roman and medieval cities in Italy? Don't get me wrong -- these towns are fabulous fairyland villages, all with a unique charm and interesting variations. For example, the current city of Perugia (known for its chocolate) is built on top of the intact medieval village that can be reached conveniently by escaltor. We enjoyed the cosmopolitan but low key atmosphere there, along with a few sitings of handsome Italian men. According to our guide, women outnumber men by 7:1, so there's little risk of Tricia returning with an Italian husband.

After Perugia, we arrived at our Tuscan villa. This place is high on a hill overlooking the Tuscan countryside. The 360 degree view is right out of a movie. Catherine and I pulled the long straw here and have the best room in the villa. It's a two room suite with a "tower" room. Yes, a spiral staircase leads up to a room with windows on three sides and a panoramic view that has to be seen to be believed.

This evening, after spending the day in Siena, we hosted our airplane friends in the tower for wine, cheese, salami, and chocolate. Siena is yet another hill city -- the second largest city in Tuscany. It is the rival city of Florence, and that rivalry is still alive and well today. The Sienese people are very, very proud of their city, and rightly so. The cathedral there is the most beautiful we've seen so far, both inside and out. Although not as big as Saint Peter's it contains artwork from most of the major artists of the middle ages and Renaissance, including Bernini and Michelangelo.

The food there was very good, too. Pictured below are gnocchi pomodoro served in an edible bowl of  parmigiano cheese. Molto buono!

Assisi

Today we visited Assisi, home of Saint Francis and Saint Clare. Assisi is a stunning hillside town that can be seen from miles away. It's exciting to approach on the drive up the mountain with the huge Church of San Francis dominating the landscape. Assisi is another medieval village, complete with castle and watchtowers. It has three sets of city gates as the town expanded over the years. In both our homebase of Todi and in Assisi, it's difficult to process how old the buildings really are. I'm simply unable to explain what it's like to know that you're touching and walking on surfaces from the middle ages.

The town of Assisi was busy but not overly crowded. The Church of Saint Clare is on one end of town and the Church of Saint Francis is all the way on the far end of town. We visited both and visited the remains of the saints entombed in their resprective churches.

We saw many priests, nuns, and pilgrims. We ate and drank sparingly, so no food photos for today. Maybe tomorrow we'll be able to report on a sumptuous dinner.

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Orvieto & Todi

Yesterday we left Rome and drove north to Umbria, a beautiful region called the "green heart of Italy." We stopped in the town of Orvieto, a medieval village built high on a hill. This was the site of a eucharistic miracle in 1289, and the pope had a beautiful cathedral built there to commemorate the event.

While in Orvieto we visited a culinary institute and had a cooking demonstration by Chef Carlo.

He showed us how to make fresh pasta (one kilo flour, 11 eggs, two tablespoons oil, and four pinches salt), and we learned about the different sizes from tagliatore to lasagne. The pasta was so thin and delicate it seemed like a crepe. As we watched the demonstration, we ate antipasto and drank the local white wine, which is similar to sauvignon blanc -- and let's just say the wine flowed freely. I can't believe we forgot to take photos of the food, because dinner was an exquisite feast beginning with the pasta the chef made during the demonstration. We then had bruschetta with truffle mousse -- mama mia! -- lasagne with a light pesto cream sauce followed by a main course of guinea hen. Dessert was some kind of fluffy cream with caramel drizzle -- all accompanied, of course, by all the wine we could drink.

After trundling off to the bus and managing to navigate the cobblestones, hills, and the funicular, we headed to Todi, another medieval hill town. This morning (Wednesday), we went on a tour of the village and saw the main church, the underground cisterns, and the museum. Todi was an affluent place to live back in the olden days where the inhabitants were actually Roman citizens, and it still seems like a well kept, prosperous town.

We are spending a quiet day here in Todi to rest and relax after the hectic pace of Rome. The view from the town is spectacular. We had a leisurely lunch at a restaurant with a panoramic view and a liter of local red wine. (Who knew that a liter is so much bigger than an American wine bottle?) Tomorrow we will head to Assisi.

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The Vatican

Today we toured the Vatican, including the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and Saint Peter's Basilica.

Our tour guide was truly exceptional. She covered in depth the history of the popes, Michaelangelo's involvement, Greek art, and the baroque design of Saint Peter's. The Vatican was very, very crowded. Apparently more than 30,000 people a day visit there. The Sistine Chapel was shoulder to shoulder. It's kind of a shame that it's not possible to enjoy a spiritual experience in the presence of all that beauty. But, enough about that!

Catherine and I have adopted Taverna Flavia as our favorite neighborhood restaurant. Catherine loves the food, and Tricia loves the scenery.

In the evening, we took a bus tour to see Rome lit up at night. This tour was quite an experience with three tour guides speaking four different languages, including English, French, Japanese, and Russian. It drove us all around the city and we got to see the major landmarks awash with light. The Colosseum and Saint Peter's are especially impressive at night. The final stop was at Piazza Navona. Our tour guild said it's the most beautiful piazza in Rome, and we believe her! The fountains at night were spectacular, and the piazza is filled with artisans and street performers.

Tomorrow, we're leaving Rome and heading to the town of Todi in the region of Umbria. We don't quite know what to expect!

Via Veneto

We had a very full day touring the Colosseum and the Roman forum. Our tour guide was thorough and knowledgeable, and we came away fulfilled with history and a bit exhausted. But, enough about that.

We visited a pizzaria near our hotel for lunch and ran into our airplane friends. After some delicious pizza (ham, mozzerella, artichokes, and olives), a bottle of Chianti, and some great conversation, our waiter brought us a complimentary limoncello liqueur. It was then we discovered the secret of limoncello -- it was mixed with milk, somewhat like Kalhua and cream or a white Russian. Catherine described it best as tasting like lemon meringue pie. Our waiter overheard us and seemed delighted by our laughter and festivities, so he brought us another. What a wonderful, typical casual meal, al fresco, in Italy!

After that, we were a bit sleepy and retired to our hotel for a short siesta. We decided to walk along the Via Venetto, the place in Rome for meeting handsome men and to have dinner at Harry's Bar, which seems to be an iconic location that has been frequented by many celebrities.

By popular demand, we will now photograph our food. I had a fabulous pasta with lobster, and Catherine had cheese stuffed veal, accompanied, of course, by a bottle of Chianti. We are definitely embracing the local culture and enjoying every minute of it.

Tomorrow, the Vatican. Who knows -- maybe we'll get to see Il Papa. (Catherine is wearing a skirt, just in case.)