Photo gallery from our Italian Trip

Here are links to photos we took during our Italian vacation.

Alberobello                                            

Almalfi Coast                                         

Assisi                           

Burano                                                             

Cassino                         

Cinque Terre                 

Classe                           

Cortina                           

Falzarego Pass               

Florence

Isle of Capri

La Spezia

Lecce 

Milan

Mirabella

Pavia

Piedmont

Pompeii

Portofino                            
                                                                                                                                             
Portoverene

Positano

Rome

Santa Margherita

Sienna

Sorrento

Tivoli

Torre Canne

Venice

October 16 - Port Stanley

Home sweet home.  We got up at 6am Rome time and got home at 8pm Port Stanley time.  That's twenty hours in total.  Thanks Donna & Ron for picking us up.

We'll never fly Lufthansa again.  We flew from Rome to Frankfurt and from there to Toronto.  On the eight hour transAtlantic flight we were crowded in like cattle at a slaughter house.  They took was is supposed to hold a 2 - 3- 2 seat configuration and made it a 2 - 4 -2 configuration.  There was no room to move, the air circulation was poor and the food was pathetic.

I was never so glad to see Toronto, and I detest all things Toronto!

October 15 - Rome

For lunch we decided to try to find the restaurant where we had our first lunch 18 days ago.  After walking two blocks we found a flea market.  It was as good as the Campo de Fiori and a lot closer than the 30 minute walk we took yesterday to get there.  We never did find the restaurant, but the restaurant we did eat at was very good.

You know the expression “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”, well sometimes it just seems wrong.  Today at the restaurant we watched as one of the diners mixed a Coke with their wine.  No way is that going to happen.

We just watched the news and saw that Venice has been flooded because of a high tide and heavy rain.  St. Marks Square is under 10 centimeters of water.

Flood in San Marco, Venice (Newspaper Picture)

Things we’ve learned about Italy

1. You can’t find a bad bottle of wine
2. There is no such thing as too much food at an Italian restaurant
3. Italy measures its history in centuries not decades
4. Driving in Italy is both an art form and a daily suicide mission
5. Don’t blink in Italy as you will miss some masterpiece of art or an important historical building
6. There are more restaurants than churches, but churches occupy more land
7. Street vendors come out at night and are more plentiful than mosquitoes
8. There are good buskers and bad buskers and you are subjected to both at outdoor cafes
9. Graffiti is an urban blight for which there doesn’t seem to be answer
10. There is no such thing as too high heels or too short shorts
11. Trafalgar is not the tour company for those who like to sleep in past sunrise
12. Olive oil is used for cooking everything
13. Despite your best attempt to speak Italian, it will always elicit an English response
14. When crossing the street at a cross walk, stick out your chest and act like you own the road
15. Never trust a travel director on your last day to tell you where you can catch a taxi
16. In a restaurant don’t expect to have a bread and butter plate
17. Be prepared to get lost  when using a city map of Rome, because half the streets are not on the map or street names are not on the streets
18. They have the best sidewalk cafes ever
19. When using the rest rooms be prepared for a new experience every time.  You will find really clean rest rooms to filthy dirty WCs with a hole in the floor and remember to always carry money because for the clean wash rooms you can pay up to €1.50 or $1.95
20. Here they do their laundry every day and hang it on their balconies
21. Italy has beautiful scenery along their coasts
22. It is definitely the country to see mega amount of Roman ruins
23. These are the worst cobblestone streets ever to walk on
24. You will find the best pizza and pasta ever
25. Each four star hotel is different, ranging from the very elegant to the very worn.
26. You can see many couple kissing every where
27. There are lots of weddings everyday of the week
28. Italy is noted for beautiful leather and Morano glass
29. Venice is a wonderful city of water ways
30. Rome is a very busy tourist city, even at the end of the tourist season
31. You can get the best hot chocolate in Italy
32. Some people are very rude and actually push you or bang right into you
33. Never get in a cab in Rome, when the initial conversation is about Formula 1 Racing
34. English language TV is usually CNN International and BBC World Services

Q:        Would we take another Trafalgar tour? 

A:        A big yes!  I can’t imagine that we would have seen as much, learned as much and meet as many people had we planned this trip on our own.  The benefits far outweigh the early mornings, exhausting itineraries and the multiple stops at the “Autogrill”.  I guess that is the difference between an adventure and a vacation.

Q:        Highlights of the trip

A:        Brian - Sorrento, Almalfi Coast and Capri

           Marg - Venice

October 14 - Rome

Today was supposed to be a down day, where we did nothing but sit back and enjoy the good life here in Rome.  But after a six hour walking marathon, I’m ready to down several bottles of wine until I fall into a coma.

We started the day by walking to the Campo de Fiori, one of Rome’s favorite flea markets. Mckenna would love it there with all the jewelry and purses.   I can’t say I was impressed though,  as it was very small and there was not a lot of variety in the stalls.  I guess the redeeming feature is that there are a lot of restaurants and cafes in the square, so it is a trendy place to meet on a Sunday. As a side note, I found out that the square was histotrically used for public executions.

Marg shopping at Compo de Fiori

We then went to Trevi Fountain, so that we could throw a coin into the water.  Tradition has it, that if you throw a coin into the fountain then you assured that you will return to Rome.

Brian throws a coin into Trevi Fountain

We decided then go to Borghese Gardens.  This is a green space in Rome that is similar to Central Park in New York City, or Stanley Park in Vancouver.  We didn’t realize it from the map, but it was a good hike and mostly up hill.  The park was very nice and restful, and we took in a demonstration of rollerblading, which was quite impressive.

Roller Blading in Borghese Gardens

The return trip to the hotel took us down the famous Via Venito, this is where all the exclusive hotels are found in Rome.

Via Venito

I love the Italian dinning habits.  Again we had a long supper at an outdoor cafe, complete with sidewalk entertainment.  We finished eating at 10:00pm.  That’s living.

We have to admit that we all “touristed” out.  I don’t care if we see another church, museum, painting, spectacularly designed building or collection of rubble that used to be someone’s friggin' house 2000 years ago.  We're longing for Mackies fries and Orange drink.  I can honestly say that after 16 days we're ready to come home.

October 13 - Rome

Today we started the last leg of trip to Italy.  We went to our home base for the next 3 days,IQ Hotel in downtown Rome.  It is a modern hotel within walking distance of many of the attractions. It is next to the Rome Opera House. As with most hotel rooms in Italy, it is small but arranged so that you don’t feel cramped.

Breakfasts at the hotels are very much the same.  According to our guide from Trafalgar, most Italians do not have a big breakfast, instead they stop at cafeterias and have a cup of coffee and a pastry.  The hotel breakfasts resemble more what we would see at a Sunday brunch.  They have eggs and bacon, cereals, fresh fruit, pastries, cold cuts, cheese, various yogurts, juice and coffee.  I've grown to like the blood red orange juice.

At noon there was a heavy rain, which the Italians welcomed as they have had a severe drought this summer.  It cleared up around 15:00 and we took a walk to the Roman Forum. On our way passed the impressive monument to Victor Emmuanual. Victor Emmuanual was instrumental in uniting all the city states into the modern country of Italy.

The Forum was the center of the city for the ancient Romans. Here the Romans had their legislative buildings, judicial offices, religious temples and the homes of the Emperors could be found on the adjacent Palantine Hill.

Marg had bought me a guide book authored by Rick Steves. It was informative and came in very handy in preparing to go here.

Arch of Septimius Severus

Temple of Saturn

Temple of the Vestile Virgins

Roman Forum

Argentina at night

We spent about 2.5hrs walking about the ruins and just made it out before it closed.  This could have been disastrous as I had left my credit card with the ticket office as a security deposit for the audio guides.

We then walked to a restaurant called Hostaria Costanza. Here we meet two of Marg’s friends who are also having a vacation in Italy.  Liz was from California and Ruth was from Ottawa.  What should have been a 15 minute walk, turned into an hour walk as we could not find the Piazza and ended walking up and down Corso Vittorio Emanuelle II from the Roman ruins to the entrance of the Vatican. The map we had was not very helpful and a couple of people tried to help us but their directions we not exactly clear, given the language barrier.

Liz, Marg and Ruth at Costanza's

Hostaria Costanza is an interesting restaurant.  The inside of the restaurant is a grotto that was part of the Pompeo Theatre, a huge theatre from ancient Rome that could hold an audience of 20,000 people.  According to legend, it was at this spot that Julius Caesar was first told to beware of the Ides of March and later murdered by Brutus when he disregarded the warning.

October 12 - Sienna & Rome

Well as strange as it seems, the Trafalgar portion of our trip is coming to a close.  Tonight we arrived back in Rome and had our farewell party with the group and said our goodbyes.  It seems exotic to hear people talking about flying to Singapore, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Abu Dhabi, Auckland and taking cross Atlantic cruises.  It was wonderful that a group of 35 adults could get along so well for 16 days.

We travelled about 4,000Km on our trip.  Although the trip was very hectic and we are very tired, we must admit that we would take another bus tour with Trafalgar, should we find an itinerary that was interesting.  Our guide, Barbara, and our driver, Carlos, were top notch.  We would still prefer a holiday where we aren’t packing and unpacking ever day, but how else could you see as much as we did in the past two weeks?

Florence from Piazza Michelangelo

This morning we left Florence and headed to the medieval city of Siena.  Siena was a rival of Florence for commerce during the medieval times.  Unfortunately the power lay with Florence because of the wealth of the di Medici family.  Siena is currently known for the Il Palio,  a horse race that takes place in the town square.  Each of the neighbourhoods in Siena have a horse that is trained specifically for this race.  The town is decked out in colourful flags that represent each of these neighbourhoods and the rivalries are quite evident. The Palio has taken place each year for 500+ years.

Siena - Piazza del Campo

Siena and Il Palio are featured in the 2008 James Bond movie Quantum Of Solace.

Marg had a hot chocolate with lunch today.  It was a cup of melted dark chocolate that she had to eat with a spoon. She loved it!

We then took the main highway south to Rome, through the lovely Tuscan countryside.  It is amazing to see the villas and old villages perched on top the these gentle hills.

We finally saw our first Italian golf course.  We are staying in the Sheraton Golf Resort in Rome.  I have to admit that the course looks in very bad shape.  The fairways don’t seem to be in very good shape.  It costs €72 or $95 for round of golf.

   

October 11 - Florence Part 2

Today we travelled to the center of the Renaissance movement, Florence.  Florence is famous for its history and its art.  It was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time.  In the 15^th century, the di Medici family financed the arts and science as a way of exerting their power and influence in Europe.  Among those who received support were Michelangelo and Galileo. Most of the major Italian masters studied in Florence.

Florence is in the Tuscany region of northern Italy.  Tuscany is known worldwide for its fine food, olive oil, and Chianti wine.   It is also known for its leather goods and gold jewellery.

We had a walking tour of the old city, starting in Santa Croce Square, where Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli are all buried. We then walked along the banks of the Arno River, where we had a good view of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge.  It has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables located on the side of the bridge.  Originally it was full of butcher shops but the Bargello's, a sort of a combination of  mayor, judge and a police, outlawed them when his wife complained of the smell.

Rumour has it that when the German army retreated from Florence at the end of the Second World War they blew up all the bridges except the Ponte Vecchio on the direct order of Hitler.

The Arno River has flooded many times and damaged priceless paintings and books.  A flood in 1966 left a high water mark that was at least 3 meters above the ground level. 

Arno River

We then walked to the Piazza della Signoria where there are numerous statues from the 15^th century, many by Renaissance masters.  This was followed by a stroll over to the Duomo, Florence’s most import church.

Perseus Holding Medusa Head - Cellini

Judith and Holofernes - Donatello

Fountain of Neptune -  Bartolomeo Ammannati

During the walk we came across an electric car recharging station.  Here electric cars can recharge their batteries free of charge.  This has been sponsored by the city.

We finished the tour by visiting Galleria dell’Accademia.  Here we saw the famous Michelangelo statue of the “David”.  Our guide gave us a 15 minute lecture on the artistic merits of the statue.  It was a bit long but quite interesting.

Michelangelo statue of the “David”

Our hotel, Hotel Croce di Malta, was an old Florentine palace.  Our suite had a living room overlooking the garden and the swimming pool.  The bedroom was upstairs and the bathroom was another step up.  The entrance to each room was through a grand arch.

In the evening we went for rural Tuscan dinner at a restaurant known as Tre Pini or the Three Pines.  Ken would have loved this dinner.  It started with an antipasti buffet with 25 items.  This was followed by Ravioli with truffles and a white sauce.  Then we had another serving of Ravioli with a meat and tomato sauce. As a main course we then had prime rib and potatoes.  This was followed by a salad.  To top it off we then had some cake for dessert.  This was served with as much Chianti as we could drink.  There was also some sweet sparkling fruit wine.

We had two soprano singers, who entertained us all evening.  They were very good and had excellent voices.

Getting here was lots of fun.  Carlos drove the bus through the city to get to the highway which would take us to the restaurant but when he got to the entrance it was closed.  He then crossed over the highway and proceeded up into the hills for ten minutes before he decided that this was the wrong route.  He then backed the bus into a narrow country lane that bordered on a steep cliff in a blinding rain storm and returned to Florence.  It then seemed that every road he wanted to take was closed or was full of traffic.  What should have been a thirty minute drive ended up being ninety minutes. He was one frustrated bus driver by then end of the evening.

Note to Jase:  Next time you don’t want to go to school, just remember that Italian children go to school Monday through Saturday.  They only have Sunday as a day off.

October 11 - Florence Part 1

Too much Chianti Classico.




Will post tomorrow.

October 10- Portoverene.& Cinque Terre

I’ve just encountered the stupidest Internet setup ever.  We are staying at the Park Hotel Suisse in Santa Margherita.  You have to go down to reception and get a new account and password every time your computer goes to sleep or you shut down.  I could see this happening if you were paying for a block of time and forgot to logout, but damn it this is supposed to be free. Arghhhhhhh!

According to our good friends Robert and Annette today was going to be one the highlights of the tour.  Our tour was to visit the five villages of Le Cinque Terre and the UNSECO designation heritage site of Porto Venere.

We started off by driving an hour south to the main port of La Spezia.  Here we got on a boat to cruise the northwest coast of Italy.  Pulling out of the harbour we saw Giorgio Armani’s yacht.  We also saw Roman Abramovich’s yacht being built.  He is a Russian oil tycoon.  It will have 6 swimming pools.

Giorgio Armani's yacht

We also saw the headquarters for the Italian Special Forces in La Spezia Bay.

Should Liam continue on his desired path to be a vet, he may have a reference contact in Italy. We saw a sign for vet in La Spezia by the name of Dr. Siegel.  I don’t know if he is a relative of Jonah's.

We then pulled into Portoverene.  Portoverene is a colour medieval fishing village.  To protect the village from invasion from the sea, it was designed so that the houses formed a second and third wall around the village.  The homes although very narrow and tall are currently being used as apartments.

Portoverene Marina

Church of St. Peter

Porto Venere's flag is the Cross of St. George which they adopted from the Republic of Genoa. A local story maintains that England.was so impressed with the fighting abilities of the Genoa navy that entered into an agreement with Genoa to use the Cross of St. George on all its ships.

We then hopped back on the boat and briefly stopped at the five villages of Cinque Terre. These villages had no rail or road access until the 1920’s.  All the towns are now connected by train, but only a couple of the towns allow automobiles.  Our final stop was at Monterosso.  We had long leisurely lunch in a cafe overlooking the sea. This was followed by an afternoon of shopping.

Beach at Monterosso

Monterosso

We did visit a church in Monterosso.  The Oratory of the Dead was unusual because it had many icons and statues dealing with death.

Oratory of the Dead

Monterossa was almost destroyed by a flood last October. This video shows the force of the flood in Vernazza.  Fortunately they have made a full recovery. Unfortunately though the walking trail between the villages has been closed due to the continuing damage of landslides. 

Montorosso

The scenery was quite “spectacular” to quote our good friend Rocky.  The villages were colourful and the coast line was awe inspiring. Would I call Cinque Terre one of the highlights of this trip?  Probably not, but I did enjoy the relaxed pace and ambiance and would recommend it to any traveller to Italy.

Late in the afternoon we came back to Santa Margherita, by train.  While walking to the restaurant for diner I saw a war memorial to the fallen of the war of Liberation, 1943-1945.  In other words they only recognize that Italy fought in WWII on the side of Allies against Nazi Germany.  They have forgotten about the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, Libya, Yugoslavia and Greece, under Mussolini prior to 1943.

October 9 - Pavia, Portofino & Santa Margherita

Today we arrived at the Italian Riviera, in a town called Santa Margherita.  This area is where all the beautiful people in Italy go to show off their boats and tans.

We started the morning leaving the very busy roads of Milan and headed to the village of Pavia, where we visited a Carthusian Abbey known as the Certosa di Pavia.  The wealth Visconti family from Lombardi  commissioned the building of the abbey in 1396 as a gift to the Carthusian order to thank God for wealth and a large healthy family.  It took 300 years to complete the structure.

It is another magnificent church of gothic style.  It contains many brilliant paintings, wonderful stain glass windows and beautifully crafted wood carvings.

Certosa di Pavia

We were guided by an 83 year old Trappist monk.  He had a wonderful sense of humour and a warm smile.  The Carthusian Order left this abbey after the Second World War because they found that tourist trade around the abbey destroyed their ability to pray and mediate in silence.

We then travelled to Santa Margherita Ligure. Santa Margherita is on the Ligurian Sea, which is the northern Mediterranean Sea on the west coast of Italy.  To get there we crossed the Padan Plain, which is a large flat and geographically boring agricultural area, and then ascended into the Piedmont Mountains.  The twisty, winding roads offered many scenic opportunities.  We then descended to the coast at a town called Rapello and travelled south to our destination.

We are staying at the Park Hotel Suisse.  Our hotel room has a spectacular view of the harbour with its many yachts and sailboats.  

View of Santa Margherita Harbour from our hotel

We had lunch at a cafe that was on the waterfront.  I had one of the regional specialities, Trofie with Pesto.  I can’t say I really liked it, but neither was it terrible.  Marg had a pizza with Pesto and it was better.  We had a prearranged dinner at the hotel this evening and guess what they served?

During the afternoon we took a cruise to the jet setting destination of Portofino.  I thought that places this wonderful only existed in Cary Grant movies.  The actor Rex Harrison, of “My Fair Lady” fame owned a home here.  Also sun glass designer Stefano Gabbana of Dolce & Gabbana fame and former Italian prime minister, Silvo Burlusconi have villas on the harbour.

A replica of the village was built in Universal Studios, Orlando Florida.

Portofino Marina

Portofino Marina

Portofino Marina

We have had a medical emergency the last couple of days.  One of the elderly ladies from California, on our tour, developed a bleeding ulcer while in Cortina.  She was rushed to the nearest hospital, where she was admitted to the ICU.  She has had several blood transfusions and is now stable.  It is expected that she will be able to travel to Rome and meet us there at end of the tour on Friday.

It is funny how group dynamics change over a short period of time.  At first there were people that we thought we had nothing in common with, but we now find that we enjoy their company.  Other people who we had dinner and drinks with initially, we now find ourselves trying to avoid them because we find them clingy and overbearing. 

October 8 - Milan

Today we travelled west to the Italian financial and fashion centre Milan.  The highway to Milan reminded me of the Trans Canada highway west of Montreal.  The traffic was very busy and on the service roads parallel to the highway you can find a mix of factories and office buildings.

Milan is a modern city that was rebuilt after it was heavily damaged in the Second World War.  We went on a walking tour of the downtown that started at the La Scala opera house.  This is where the elite opera singers are invited to perform.

La Scala Opera House

Across the street is one of the most famous shopping districts, known as the Galleria.   Here you can find Gucci and Pravda.  People on our tour told us of finding 900€ sandals.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

High end fashion in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" resides in Milan at the Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie.  Unfortunately it was a half hour walk to get there and a long wait without reservations.  So we decided to skip this attraction.

I found Milan to be dirty and boring.  Every inch of wall and each garage entrance is covered in graffiti. I can't figure out how these idiots can think that is art! Even the tour to the Opera house didn’t offer anything special.

The women here in Italy seem to be very fashion conscious.  Shoes, handbags and scarves seem to be very important to the well dressed Italian lady. Many of the men wear smartly cut suits.   Of course you can find the knockoff vendors for these accessories around each town square.

We stayed at the Novotel Milan North hotel. This hotel is new but in a seedy part of town, so there was nothing to do during the evening.

October 7 - Cortina

What a difference a 150Km can make in the culture.  Today we drove north from Venice to Cortina.  The drive was very scenic as the bus traversed the multiple valleys in among the Dolomite Mountains, which are part of the Eastern Italian Alps.  These mountains are smaller than the Swiss Alps but the peaks are more jagged.  Locally they are known as the Pink Mountains, due to the colour of the rocks during sunrise and sunset.  Personally I didn’t see it but maybe I haven’t drunk enough wine.

Each day on the bus tour, we are supposed to rotate to a new seat on a predefined schedule.  It is a simple rotation, because you just move forward 5 rows until you reach the front of the bus and then you move to the other side of the bus and starting moving to the back.  It is funny because each day there is some disagreement between people who can`t figure out where they are supposed to sit.  I think our youngest grandson, Cooper, could ace this schedule and he is only in senior kindergarten.

Along the way we passed a set of villages downstream from the Vajont Dam.  Throughout the summer of 1960, minor landslides and earth movements were noticed; however instead of heeding these warning signs, the Italian government chose to sue the handful of journalists reporting the problems for "undermining the social order.  In 1963 a massive rock slide from one of the mountains caused the water level in the reservoir to rise above the dam which in turn caused a major flash flood that destroyed five villages and caused 1,800 deaths.  The Longarone Flood is still remembered in Italy as one of its worst natural disaster. Today the river bed appears to be bone dry because of this summer has been so hot and dry in Italy.

I have not seen a single golf course while we been here in Italy.  Of course it is impossible to travel the major highways in Canada or the USA and not see a sign for a golf course, so it seems very strange because we know that golf is very popular in Europe.

Cortina was the site of the 1956 Winter Olympics.  These were the first Olympics where the Soviet Union participated.  At the games Canada took home one silver medal in Pairs Figure Skating and two bronze medals for Hockey and Women’s Downhill.

The original `Pink Panther’ movie with Peter Sellers was also shot here.

View of mountains from our hotel

Cortina is an alpine village and bears little resemblance with other major cities in Italy.  The village seems to be more Swiss than Italian.  The villas here are covered in white stucco and have full wooden balconies whereas most Italian villas have coloured stucco, brick or stone walls and have small ornamental balconies.   

Chalet in Cortina

After lunch we went to a World War One outdoor museum.  In the First World War Italy and the Austro Hungarian empire fought each other for control of the Adriatic Sea.  Between 1915 and 1917, the Italians and the Austrians battled for control of the Falzarego Pass, which is north east of Cortina.  Each controlled a set of mountains and would shell each other in a vain attempt to dislodge each other from their defensive posts.  This was a key battle ground because if the Italians could break through in this valley they would be able to control the South Eastern Alps and be able to invade the Austrian-Hungarian Empire through the Brenner Pass.  If the Austrians had been able to break through the Italian lines they could have occupied Venice and controlled the Adriatic Sea.

We went to the top of Mount Lagazuo, via a cable car, where we were able to walk around the trenches and tunnels. From here  we could see the views that the soldiers from the Austrian army had of the valley and the Italian positions.  It was extremely cold and windy up there.  It felt like it was going to snow.  I can’t imagine how terrible the conditions must have been during the winter for these soldiers.  Later we moved down the road about 2 Km and stopped in an Austrian fort, Fort Tre Sassi, where there is a museum with many artifacts from the war.

Falzarego Pass from Mount Lagazuo

In the end the Austrians were able to break through and capture Cortina.  But because of the collapse of Austrian economy in 1918 and subsequent breakup of the Austrian/Hungarian empire, Cortina was returned to Italian rule. 

Snipers post dugout on topof  Mount Lagazuo

To finish off the trip we stopped at bed and breakfast, where we had fresh apple strudel.

Our hotel again met our expectations.  We are staying at the Hotel Europa Cortina. It did have a nice bar decorated in rich wood, instead of the usually Italian marble. The hotels we`ve being staying at all have a least one English TV station, but it has always been a news or business station.  The internet service has been excellent and cheap or in some cases free.  The only problem was in Cortina where service to the entire district had been cut off.

Barbara,our guide told us that when she started working in the tourism trade she worked in a hotel.  She was told by the maids that North American tourist thought that the bidet was used to wash fruit instead of being used for personal hygiene.

For dinner the hotel put on a turkey dinner to help us celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving.  We even had a Bellini to drink.  This is a famous Venetian peach and Champaign drink, that unfortunately we couldn’t get in Venice.

October 6 -Venice & Burano

Wow, it just keeps getting better and better.  We spent another day in Venice and it was just an amazing experience.

The morning started out with a trip to a Murano and visited the Arti Veneziane alla Giudecca glass blowing studio on one of the outer islands.  This factory only employs master craftsmen.   To reach the level required an apprentice must work for 18 years.  After this time only 2% of the apprentices make it to first class and 5% make to second class and can work as artists in the studio.  It was amazing to watch the apprentice sculpt a horse out of heated glass in a very short period of time.  I didn’t put the clock on him but I suspect it was less than two minutes to finish the work and the final product was incredible.

Murano Glass Blowing demonstration at Arti Veneziane alla Giudecca

Most of glass pieces were very, very expensive. I was very tempted to buy a sculpture of couple embracing.  It was an interesting piece because you had to view from several directions before it becomes apparent.  The cost was 1,300€ or about $1,700.  We finally decided that we had no space to properly display the sculpture and passed on it.

On Isola della Giudecca island many famous people have acquired villas.  One of its most famous citizens is Elton John.

We then went to St. Marco Square and took a walking tour of the back canals to see how the normal citizens of Venice live.  We were told how during the 11^th through the 15^th century, Venice was the richest city in Europe, because the merchants has exclusive access to oriental spices and silk.  Their power and influence disappeared quickly when Spain discovered North America and Portugal discovered the route to the Orient via of the Cape of Good Hope.

Back canals of Venice

A friendly Venetian

Back canals of Venice

We stopped for a coffee in one the cafes, close to the square, and meet a lady from Croatia who was here with her priest and other members of her church to celebrate a mass at San Marco Basilica.  As the priest left he blessed both Marg and myself.

We then went on a visit to San Marco Basilica. The church is about a 1,000 years old.  It is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture. The decorated surface is on the whole about 8000 square metres. Byzantine art is a very flat, two dimensional and lacking emotion.  They believe only God can be shown in a state of glory.  The ceiling is covered in gold mosaic.  Mosaic art is small glass pieces arranged in a desired picture and then the glass is covered to provide colour and texture.

Byzantine art in San Macro

San Macro Basilica

San Marco Square

In Venice it is not uncommon to have floods during high tides.  During a flood in SanMarco Square they will deploy a series of boardwalks to allow people to move about without getting too wet.  During an extremely high tide boats cannot get under the bridges that span the canals.

In an interesting use of private financing, many public works are sponsored by major European businesses.  For example the cleaning of San Marco Square is being paid for by an Italian designer sun glass company.

During the afternoon we went to Burano Island for lunch.  Burano is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, and like Venice itself, it could more correctly be called an archipelago of four islands linked by bridges.  Each  house is a different colour running from earthy shades to bright pastels.  It reminded me of Curacao in the Caribbean Islands.  For lunch we had a 5 course fresh seafood dinner with endless wine.  I may never have to eat again.  After lunch, Marg went shopping in the many boutiques that line the canals in Burano.

Colourful homes in Burano

Colourful homes in Burano

Colourful homes in Burano

The young men seem to take great pleasure in flirting with the women on the tour.  Of course it is not limited to the young men.  On Burano Island, the washroom attendant was singing and Marg told him that he should be a gondolier because of his voice.  He gave her a big hug that knocked her sunglasses off her head.

During the evening we went back to the main island in Venice.  The water bus between Lido Island and San Marco Square is very expensive.  It cost 28€ for us to buy to buy a return ticket.

With all due respect to our friends Rigo V and Paul R, but why do Italian mothers allow their little boys to be such whinny little brats.  It seems that a least once a day we see some boy about 5 to 7 having a meltdown accompanied by moaning or shouting.  The girls seem to be better behaved.  As our guide says there is now a generation of “Mama Boys” in Italy.