Italy

ITALY

October 1998

           Marjorie had 1^st choice for a European trip (Ireland), so to be fair I get the next choice. Italy in the Fall works out because I’m on sabbatical this semester. This is my most complicated trip so far, mostly on my own (w/ some help from AAA) patching together flights, hotels (mostly found via a website, a new experience for our travels), trains, rental cars, etc. I’d originally thought to do an escorted tour, but our friend Karen insisted we would have more fun on our own  ̶  and that we could manage OK even w/ the language difference. Whew, lots to do, but even the planning is lots of fun!

Thursday, 10/1:

          A drive to JFK in the morning, car into long-term parking (guard towers, barbed wire, and security patrols, so it should be safe).  Burger King lunch with son Matt, then takeoff on Delta at about 6:30, sun setting over NYC & Long Island.  Screen periodically shows our position, speed, altitude, etc..  In-flight movie is “The Truman Show” (Jim Carrey).

Friday, 10/2:

          A pretty sunrise over Europe, arrive Rome about 8:30.  A quick “wave” through Customs, exchange money, catch a train to Termini Stazione in downtown Rome.  We pass our 1st ruins on the way, but Marjorie is taking a little nap.  5 blocks thru an Upper-East-Side-type neighborhood to the Hotel Romae.  Very friendly owners speak several languages (including English, thankfully).  A nice room and big key, which seems typical of hotels in Rome.  Like Ireland, bathrooms lack washcloths and sometimes limited pressure in the showers (which have emergency pull cords); different towels, not the fluffy ones we’re used to.  After settling in briefly, we head out to see Italy!  Despite forecasts of rain for the next few days, it’s a nice sunny PM, even a bit steamy.  A few language struggles in a bank, but I finally figure out how to use an ATM here, and buy a book of “Metrebus” tickets. 

          North of Termini to Quattro Fontane (fountains at each corner of an intersection), Piazza Barberini (with its noted Neptune fountain), and Trevi Fountain (where, of course, Marjorie tosses in a coin to insure our return).  Up to Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps (so-named for the Spanish Embassy), a pretty view over the roofs to St. Peter’s. 

In the midst of this we take a break for tavola calda (take-out), splitting a sandwich prepared by a nice older gentleman in white shirt and red bowtie, and gellati (yum!).  A ride on the Metro (subway), pretty much like NYC, complete with graffiti on the cars, back to the hotel to crash a while w/ our 1st view of Italian TV.  The only English TV we get are CNN (European version) and MTV, but it’s fun to surf thru Italian programs: soccer & volleyball are popular, lots of old US movies and TV shows both old & new all dubbed in Italian, shopping network and infomercials, game shows (one seems a combination of Wheel of Fortune and Name That Tune), makeovers (turning plain people into beautiful people, to much applause and selling of beauty products).  It’s particularly amusing to see Babe (the movie pig) and Daffy Duck speaking Italian.  A soccer game has excited announcers using lots of sound effects, a pretty blonde on the sidelines appears to be inviting people to join the game.

          Out in early evening for a brief stroll, cooler and still sunny (until about 6:30).  Into Santa Maria della Vittoria church, every inch covered by frescoes and other decorations.  Our first meal a menu touristico at a trattoria near the hotel: spaghetti & chicken, vino della casa, and acqua minerale (the waiter refrain: gas, no gas?).  We’re very glad not to be driving in Rome!  Lots of traffic, motorbikes darting in & out, parking seems quite daunting.

Saturday, 10/3:

          A good sleep, despite rain during the night and thunder in the morning.  Breakfast at the hotel (as w/ all our hotels), w/ typical rolls and croissants and ever-present cappuccino or caffe latte.  Thru light rain to Termini to take the Metro to the Vatican, where it stops raining for the morning.

A long line to get into the Vatican Museums, but it moves right along (about 30 minutes).  Museums not as crowded as expected; you can move along at your own pace, even in the Sistine Chapel.  The collections in the museums and Chapel, are, of course, fabulous! 

Can't take photos in the Chapel, but a couple here from the internet. 

 We also get peeks at the Vatican Gardens from windows in the museums.  The shuttle bus thru the gardens isn’t in service, so we walk to St. Peter’s Square.  

Restoration work on the Basilica in preparation for the Giubileo de 2000 (a Holy Year) covers the front.  Inside we see the famous Pieta (behind protective glass) and a sculpture of St. Peter with toes rubbed off by countless pilgrims.   

Marjorie almost misses noon Mass  ̶  right church, wrong pew  ̶  but catches the end in a side chapel.  I planned to climb to the top of the dome, but lines too long and feet too sore (and we hear later it’s a very difficult climb).  In the square I chat with an older man selling religious items.  He’s lived in NYC, played horses in Saratoga, gives me a small Vatican charm as a gift from a new grandfather.

          Pretty hard rain after noon, so we take the “pickpocket bus” (as it’s known) from the Vatican to Termini.  The bus is packed, a very belligerent bag lady sits behind Marjorie, shouting insults at children and the driver, chain-smoking cigarettes M swears are made of goat hair, and opens the window for a pretty wet ride.  I’m some distance away, but a group of young men see M’s predicament and create a protective phalanx around her.  And do only tourists bother with bus tickets?  It’s an “honor system” for validating them, a hefty fine if you don’t, but locals mostly seem to ignore it.  We have an early main meal at a trattoria recommended by our hotel hosts, a very pleasant meal sharing (lots of sharing on the trip) excellent vegetable/pasta soup, antipasti, and fettucini bolognese, w/ cappuccino.  A nice break on a rainy PM, plus the rain stops when we leave.   

         Back at the hotel we get a family picture of Lucy & Francesco with their little girl Francesca.  Francesco makes sure to tell us that the namesake for him & their daughter is the patron saint of all Italy, and that tomorrow is their day.  He also gives us some grappa, distilled wine that really warms the insides.  We chat with a pleasant young man from Ethiopia in training at the desk who doesn’t speak much Italian yet.  A bit of relaxation in the room.  Marjorie has a knack for quick naps.

 

         Out again at 5:00, pretty sun and a nice evening.  Metro to San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains).  This, like many churches here, is undergoing restoration with lots of scaffolding inside, but we see the noted sculpture of Moses.  A short walk to the Colosseum, also some restoration work.  Very impressive and moving, Marjorie a bit teary-eyed.  Nice views of the Arch of Constantine, some excavations in front, the Roman Forum across the way.  Beautiful trees, a lovely green area in the lowering sun, several wedding parties taking photographs.  

 Back to Termini.  Ticketing for the trains had seemed intimidating, but we bite the bullet.  Marjorie waits in the information line while I wait in the line for advance reservations.  Between the two of us and a friendly ticket agent who speaks good English we get tickets for Roma-Napoli and Napoli-Firenze (Florence).  Marjorie picks up a little bottle of wine we share walking back and in the room, with some gellati and cookies.  A busy day!

Sunday, 10/4: 

          A beautiful, cool sunny AM, mix of sun and clouds later.  Metro to the Colosseum and touring inside.  Fascinating, much more than the “shell” we expected.  You can really see this as a stadium seating 50,000. 

  The floor is gone, exposing lower areas for gladiators, prisoners, and animals.  

On the street outside you can have your picture taken with Roman soldiers, watch a puppet show, or buy things (mostly junk) from street vendors.

We follow a walking tour thru the Forum, where you can envision the various temples.  The Curia is quite intact, and some excavations are still going on (haven’t they finished yet?).   

Around the Piazza Venezia w/ its massive Vittorio Emanuele monument (the main monument, unfortunately, is obscured by scaffolding) and pretty buildings across the way.  Into Chiesa del Gesu, the Jesuit “mother ship,” where we catch the end of mass.  I get shushed a bit by one parishioner because my shoes squeak as we walk in.  A very ornate church, though (again!) much of it obscured by restoration work.  Marjorie spots a priest giving confession who looks very much like my Methodist minister stepfather Bill. 

On to the Pantheon, considered a “perfect” dome.  Very pretty inside, nice piazza outside.   

Nearby is the Piazza Navone, a very busy, large plaza, rectangular with a major fountain in the middle and smaller ones at the ends.  Lots of places to dine under umbrellas; we share pizza, salad, and beer.  Today feels more like Rome, and less like NYC, with so many spacious piazzas, fountains, churches, monuments.  More strolling, then a bus back to the hotel to rest sore tootsies and calves from all the walking and stair-climbing. 

          Early dinner near the hotel (salad/pasta/a little wine), sharing a table with a friendly couple from Las Vegas headed for a cruise.  We top off the day with a “Rome by Night” bus tour; the guide presents in English, German, and Spanish.  Parts of Rome we hadn’t gotten to, and some we had seen (including the Colosseum and Trevi) but now illuminated.  A nice way to see Rome.  Some rain, but not much when we had stops to get off the bus.

Monday, 10/5:

          Very early to Termini to find the binario for our 2-hour treno to Napoli: 1^st class, reserved seats in a 6-seat compartment (seems like a “spy train”), 3 facing each way, nice big windows, air-conditioned.  We share our compartment w/ 1 napping passenger.  This is nicer than 2^nd class, w/ 4 less-comfortable seats across and quickly filled w/ smoke.  A rainy/cloudy AM, which CNN says is left over from a hurricane.  We brought rolls & jam from the hotel, Marjorie goes to the dining car for cappuccino.  This becomes an adventure when a conductor starts yelling in Italian.  A young woman intervenes as interpreter, explaining that he wants her ticket and threatens to take her off at the next stop!  They convince him it’s w/ “the husband,” all is well.  Otherwise a very relaxing smooth quiet ride, comfortable reclining seats.  Quickly into farm areas with very rich soil.  Some long tunnels, pretty hills, our first view of the Mediterranean, cattle/sheep/corn/etc. 

In Napoli we catch the 1-hour Circumvesuviana commuter RR to Sorrento.  This is more like subway cars, doesn’t go through especially pretty areas, tho views of mountains (including Vesuvius) on one side and Bay of Naples on the other.  A short walk from the Sorrento station to Hotel Loreley, in a spectacular setting: high on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Bay of Naples, Mt. Vesuvius one way, marina and coast the other, gleaming white cruise ships anchored nearby.  Beautiful!  After a few more language complications, we figure out the manager will return shortly and return our passports  but we can go up to our room, and the boy carrying our bags is asking if we want lunch. The hotel (like Rome, “only” 2 stars, which seems plenty for us) has very colorful floor tiles; our spacious room has a burst of flowers outside the window, views of mountains beyond.  This area has flowers all around and lots of fruit trees (especially juicy lemons).

Into town for a mostly sunny, breezy afternoon.  We really like Sorrento  ̶  pretty piazzas and churches, narrow streets lined w/ shops spilling outside, flowers in balconies above.  

Even what seems a "union hall" has a beautiful entryway.

 A great place to wander and explore.  We decide it would be too rushed to try to get to the Amalfi coast, we’re having a relaxed good time here.  There seem to be lots of British tourists, we even have lunch in a “pub,” excellent pasta again.  Marjorie makes a new friend later  ̶  Nino, an older man “on holiday,” joins her on a bench by the hotel overlooking the bay for a long chat to “practice his English” (supposedly).  I meet Nino later on our way into town in the evening, lights around the bay and brightly-lit cruise ships.  

 The streets are very pretty at night.  Pizza & wine for dinner outdoors in one of the little piazzas, accompanied by Stefano & his somewhat cheesy synthesizer music.  Marjorie is enticed into a pastry shop by a man w/ a kiss on the hand and promise of “the best cake.” Hmmm, she seems to be attracting a lot of attention from Italian men (back home an Italian friend will explain that this is a national pastime).  We have some excellent dulce and cappuccino, chatting w/ an English couple who’ve been coming here for many years.  The owner, whose son also does pastry, comes out and chats desserts with Marjorie (who does some dessert catering back home).  On the walk back we encounter policia and carabinieri near the hotel, a car crumpled into a tree.  We also encounter a group on a Rick Steves tour (he has travel books & TV shows) staying in our hotel, so I guess this was a good choice.

Tuesday, 10/6:

          Breakfast of rolls and very dark coffee.  A bit overcast, but sun peeking thru here & there.  Bus to Marina Piccolo, 20-minute hydrofoil to Capri where we splurge on a taxi (with pleasant commentary) up to the town.  We stroll around, enjoying Giardini Augosto with pretty flowers and views of rock formations along the coast (I Faraglioni)and houses up the hills above town. 

 A snack of pastry w/ cappuccino (me) and coffee (Marjorie  ̶  Maxwell House!) outside on the main square.  Marjorie decides to forget American-style coffee to stick with cappuccino for the rest of the trip.  Shops here are pretty upscale; Sorrento is more interesting and quaint.  Funicular back down to Marina Grande for the return to Sorrento.  We beat the crowds (i.e., bus tours) here, leaving as it’s getting crowded. 

          After a stop at the hotel, a 30-minute Circumvesuviana ride to Pompeii.  As we walk toward the entrance, a man pulls Marjorie aside (again!) promising “the best sandwich.”  So, lunch under an umbrella.  It is a good sandwich, but the highlight is real orange juice (hotel breakfasts include a Tang-type drink).  Very refreshing!  Nino had said that missing Pompeii would be “a crime,” and he was right.  

It’s more intact and city-like than expected, w/ interesting interiors, including erotica on the walls of one house and pictorial advertising of services in a brothel.   

It can be confusing to navigate because of the high wall. I help two couples (one seemingly ready for a good fight) find the exit.  A warm, steamy PM.  It must get quite uncomfortable in the summer.   

We grab 2 more OJs and catch the train back to Sorrento.  Marjorie to the hotel, I to an ATM and get a USA Today for baseball/football news. 

I return to find the lovely Marjorie sitting on her favorite bench by the hotel, where another man has struck up a conversation (I’m starting to get a complex!).  He’s in the hotel business, has lots of tidbits of information, offered to buy her a drink, which she declined.  Later M does some grocery shopping for breakfast & lunch on the train tomorrow: bread, cheese, fruit, juice boxes.  A relaxing dinner on the hotel patio overlooking the bay.  More varieties of pasta: cannelloni and risotto; no duplicates yet, and everything has been excellent!

Wednesday, 10/7:

Early AM commuter train to Napoli.  Another language snafu: the conductor (w/ help from a fellow passenger) explains  that the tickets I’d bought two days had to be used that day.  Mi dispiace (sorry!)  ̶  a phrase I put to good use, w/ appropriate hand gestures, several times on the trip.  No big deal, I pay him the 9800 lire (about $6) for the tickets. 

At Napoli we find our train listed under Partenze (departures) to Milano, Firenze an intermediate stop.  A ferocious storm, hard rain w/ thunder/lightning, as we wait on the platform.  We have a very sleek & luxurious high-speed “Eurostar” train.  Onto carrozza #4 and settled into our 1^st-class reclining seats.  Sounds pricey, but our 3 main train trips for the two of us cost less than $300.  The train departs right on schedule; Eurostar trains give coupons for ½ off your next trip if they’re more than 30 minutes late.  This train began in Salerno, w/ stops at Roma, Firenze, and Bologna.  After getting underway an attendant comes by w/ an airline-type snack: cookies, nuts, coffee (espresso), and headphones for music.  One per passenger; he asks where you got on. 

Ahead of schedule into Firenze (about a 4 hour ride), a walk to Hotel Casci, in a building that was Rossini’s home in the 1840s.  On a busy street 1½  blocks from the Doumo; a lift takes us up two floors to a quiet “retreat.”  The old lift here and other places is quite small, you have to springere (push) the door to uscita (exit).  Our room has a very tiny bathroom, toilet that folds up into the wall (and keeps the seat warm!), a shower that floods the floor!  Marjorie settles in while I go scouting, thru the courtyards of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi 

and up the 414 steps (Whew!) of the Campanile (bell tower) for spectacular views of the city & countryside.  A mix of sun & light sprinkles, a bit steamy for my climb; my camera filter steams up from the humidity.  Florence has had a lot of rain, but the weather is generally good for us. 

We stroll by the Duomo and Baptistry, w/ spectacular bronze doors of Biblical scenes, then to the Piazza della Signoria, the central spot in Florence w/ many sculptures, including a copy of David. 

        

Very busy w/ crowds, policia, and a motorcade.  Some dignitaries are just leaving a meeting at Palazzo Vecchio, which serves as City Hall.  A tour of the Palazzo and its ornate rooms (and beautiful tickets, as found in many places and kept as mementos).  So many frescoes, fountains, sculptures (many anatomically correct)! 

Through the Mercato Nuovo w/ its Porcellino, a boar sculpture whose snout has been rubbed smooth for luck.  We find a place for early dinner, nothing fancy but good food.   

Then to the Galleria dell’ Accademia.  Good timing, no line and not many people inside.  The collection includes David and other work by Michelangelo, some unfinished, and other paintings, frescoes, sculptures.  We’re especially taken w/ a long room full of sculptures, many by 19^th C students and some very whimsical.  Gellati on the way back to the hotel. 

Thursday, 10/8:

       

   Buffet breakfast of cereal, fruit, bread in a pretty room with frescoed ceiling.  The husband “scolds” Marjorie for taking coffee back to the room, but the wife apologizes and says to just ask for a different cup.  People here are very helpful, as in our other hotels.  A gorgeous day, bright sunny AM, mix of sun & clouds later.  While I get our train tickets to Venice, Marjorie spends time in the Mercato San Lorenzo only a block from the hotel.  This is a large open-air market of many booths selling all sorts of leather goods, ties, t-shirts, and other things ranging from high to low quality. 

          Interesting to wander here and the nearby Mercato Centrale, a meat/vegetable/fruit market on two floors in a large building covering an entire block which Marjorie particularly enjoys.  She stands by one vendor as a couple say they’ll be back later; he turns to say, “They talk, you buy?”  She gets a discount on dried porcini mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, such a good deal she returns later for more.  A walk to the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi to see the Chapel of the Magi w/ frescoes of the magi traveling thru Tuscan countryside, including many portraits of Medici kin and self-portraits of the artist (the attendant says there are no giraffes in the scenes, despite what some guidebooks say), in a tiny room where they allow only 15 people at a time.  Back to the hotel for a noon snack of apple, bread, and cheese left over from the train ride.  We share a Coke; it’s almost impossible to find Pepsi in Italy.

          Into the beautiful Duomo, then a stroll toward Ponte Vecchio, past street musicians and performers and vendors (lots of GI Joe and Mickey Mouse toys outside the Duomo  ̶  no sale, thanks anyway).  Many fancy stores on Ponte Vecchio, much gold & silver.  People rowing shells on the river, huge rats at least three feet long!  Into some lace stores for a christening dress our friend Lorrie had asked us to look for, but they’re too pricey.  

Thru Giardini Boboli, a very green sculpture garden with many hills and views of Florence & the countryside.  After the views and climbing here, I lack the energy to look elsewhere for panoramas. 

           Into Palazzo Pitti and its Palatine Gallery, still not crowded.  A sumptuous place, artwork displayed in ornate rooms w/ frescoed ceilings (we’re getting stiff necks!).   

The neighborhood nearby is a “Left Bank” area: furniture restoration and artisan shops of antiques, glass, rugs.  Dinner at our first ristorante (fancier than a trattoria), i’ Toscane, recommended by our hotel hosts.  Excellent, and we’re stuffed by two courses.  The exchange rate has declined a bit, from over 1600 lire to the dollar at the start to closer to 1500 now, though it will be back above 1600 by the end.  To get the best rate, we use credit cards where possible and ATMs for cash (these are widely available).

Friday, 10/9:

          Awakened to many church bells, surrounded by the Duomo and many basilicas.  We chat w/ a British couple at breakfast, walk a ways to get our rental car for a day trip (Thrifty/Italy by Car): a Daewoo, similar to Toyota Camry and not one of the teeny cars we’ve seen on the streets.  Very comfortable, power windows & doors, AC, radio/cassette.  Not having driven a standard in a while, I drive around the garage a bit; a good thing, since I can’t get into reverse!  Someone shows me a ring on the shift lever to pull up to shift into reverse.  Out of the city onto a fast road toward Siena.  Thought we’d go to an abbey south of Siena, but my not-so-unerring sense of direction can’t find the right road, so we head for Siena. 

Thru a gate in the old city wall to a garage (not too costly, 10,000 lire for 4 hours), then to the Duomo, with much-needed toilettes (we gladly paid 500 lire to use them).  The Duomo has a particularly beautiful exterior; interior includes marble floors w/ Biblical scenes and impressive altar and pulpit.  The organ is being played as we enter, later a touring choral group “bursts” into lovely song.  I go into the museum for a climb to a panoramic view of Siena and surrounding countryside.  

The town is hard to navigate, our maps show only some streets and things tend to jumble together.  But there are many beautiful medieval views even if you’re not sure where you are.  The Campo is the best-known feature, with its beautiful Campanile.  Lunch at a nice ristorante; Marjorie especially likes her pasta.  We’ve been enjoying wine with our meals; it’s hard to find it by the glass, but we’ve discovered ¼ liter is about right.  We find a music academy in an old palazzo with a pretty courtyard, but unable to chat with people in the academy.  Nearby a car is being towed, it doesn’t look like they are especially careful; a good lesson to watch where we park. 

So many beautiful old buildings and facades.

         For the drive back we find the “Chiantigiana,” a scenic very winding road thru rolling countryside past many wineries, loaded olive trees, fields full of dried sunflowers.  A beautiful, if tiring, drive.  Doesn’t look much like Fall, though.  A stop in a small town where Marjorie encounters another language barrier  ̶  she runs in to get “coffee” and comes out with a very small cup of not very good espresso.  Interesting pictorial road signs: snowflakes & clouds with rain to indicate the road may get slippery.  About 10 km from Florence the clouds thicken, it begins to rain, becoming hard just as we hit the edges of Florence and rush hour!  Without meaning to we get onto the autostrada circling the city.  Turns out OK, we follow what we take to be signs to the city center (a bullseye) to the bridge we want and the garage by the rental place.  Whew!  We park here for the night; a bit more expensive than one nearer the hotel (35,000 lire, still better than NYC), but this avoids driving thru the city center. 

          Out for pizza & beer (Nastro Azzurra, very tasty, but we can’t find t-shirts; Guinness does more promotional work), then creme caramelle, served by a nice young waiter with a sense of humor who reminds us of one of Matt’s friends.  Waiting tables is clearly a male occupation here.  On the way back to the hotel we encounter a prayer meeting for young people at the Basilica San Lorenzo; we later learn these are people we’ve seen wearing yellow bandannas, a weeklong gathering of some world youth group.  Marjorie comments on the many nuns in habits, something that’s pretty rare back home.  It’s also odd to see the square that was filled with carts for the Mercato now empty.  Where do they keep all that stuff?

Saturday, 10/10:

          The world moves on as we travel: the Italian government has fallen (losing a vote of confidence), Congress has voted to begin an impeachment inquiry, CNN reports that “world markets are crumbling.”  As we leave the hotel we see lots of policia, here for a morning visit by the President of the Republic.  We get our car and, after fog getting out of Florence, bright sunshine as we drive thru Poggibonsi to San Gimignano.  We beat the crowds, able to park free near the main city gate.  An interesting little town.  Pretty details on buildings, lots of flower boxes in windows, a lovely church.  

 Shops selling ceramics, wild boar salami (but non toccare, don’t touch, the stuffed boars outside), Pinocchio things.  Into a park w/ an old fortress that gives a nice view of the “skyline” of medieval towers for which this town is noted.  A snack of pastries & cappuccino in the square.  I decide to skip the Museo di Tortura (also called Medieval Criminology); my criminology colleagues will be disappointed.  Back to Florence, returning the car.  We filled the tank for 45,000 lire for about 320 km of driving; gas is expensive here!  I’ve enjoyed driving, but you need to be on your toes, partly to avoid motorbikes weaving in & out.  And traffic coming on to a traffic circle apparently have the right of way over cars in the circle, the opposite of home!  You need to spot destination signs at intersections and circles, be ready to make quick decisions.  Sometimes we backtracked a bit, sometimes stopped to ask directions (tho that’s against my male instincts).

          Back to Ristorante Nuti for pasta.  We haven’t done much fancy eating.  Everything is good, when we’re hungry we find a place to eat.  Marjorie has noted how the pasta is al dente, thinks she tends to overcook it.  A bus to Fiesole, about 20 minutes NE into hills overlooking the city, passing ritzy areas on the way.  In Fiesole a couple of weddings, war memorials (a statue of Garibaldi in 1860 and plaques for the “war of liberation,” which we presume to be WWII), a less-quaint group of young bikers.  A beautiful evening, panoramic view of Florence nestled in the Tuscan hills.  Particularly enchanting: a young couple kissing on a terrace with the sun setting over Florence in the background.  La dolce vita!  And yes, I sneak a photo of them.  Back to the hotel for our daily reward of gellati, very therapeutic for sore feet.  And our train rides have been coming at the right times for a relaxing break.

Sunday, 10/11:

          Another pretty morning.  Waiting for our train, we see a coal-burning steam engine with vintage cars full of people.  A nearby conductor explains, w/ translation help from another waiting passenger, this is a special excursion on the history of trains in Italy.  Where’s Marjorie’s Uncle Bill, a train buff?  We have another Eurostar train for the 2½ hour trip to Venezia.  The woman next to me has a “Born to Shop” book on Italy which she suggests Marjorie look at for Venice.  Should I be worried?  Countryside is very flat after Bologna, lots of farming.  

 Arrival in Venice about noon, a very short walk to the Hotel San Geremia.  Have to wait a bit for the room, so a stroll in hazy sun, watching the different boats, sharing a snack.  Our room looks onto a small campo.  It’s made up as a triple w/ a double bed comprised of twin beds slid together (as in some of our other stays).  There’s room for friend Karen, who inspired this trip but wasn’t able to come along; we think of her frequently.

          After settling in onto a vaporetto to San Marco, lots of people and even more pigeons.  Crowds aren’t overwhelming, reasonable lines for the Basilica (5 minutes) & Campanile (20).  Just when we thought we’d seen everything in Italian churches, the Basilica really wows us.  Though not as big as expected, a very ornate exterior, gold mosaic is everywhere inside, an incredible gold/jeweled altarpiece behind the tomb of St. Mark.

 A lift takes us to the top of the Campanile for wonderful views, tho you can’t see really the network of canals.  I’ve had to climb other towers, so Marjorie doesn’t get full credit for this one.  Gellati in the square listening to orchestrinas playing at several outdoor cafes.  Pretty lighting as the sun lowers.  For dinner we hunt for a restaurant suggested by a friend, but after walking quite a way along a smelly canal under repair we can’t find it (tho we pass Mexican & Arabian restaurants).  Finally into a neighborhood trattoria for their tourist menu.  Good food, but it seems better to just order pasta a la carte.  We finish off w/ pastry & cappuccino (again!).

Monday, 10/12:

          A clear, cool AM, tho more overcast in the PM.  It’s Columbus Day, but Italians appear to take no note of it.  We continue to benefit from good timing, as Venice had lots of rain & flooding last week.  As we leave the hotel, a large group of Italian Marines in blue t-shirts come running and singing in formation thru the street.  We get a day ticket for the vaporetto to ride all we want and spare our feet a bit.  First stop the Ca’ d’ Oro, a patrician palazzo on the canal.  An interesting art museum, including frescoes transferred from a local church (“too late” according to one guidebook).  

           Then a traghetto (this will be our gondola ride, for only 1000 lire) across the canal, I stand up just like the locals (supposedly).  

 There’s a vegetable market along the canal, but no fish market today.  

A walk to Ponte Rialto, lots of shops lining the streets.  Of course, glass is everywhere, plus a great variety of masks associated with Carnival (like Mardi Gras) and lace.  One store has an entire orchestra done in miniature blown glass figures; and look here: an intriguing variety of rather pornographic figures!  

 To the Scuolo Grande di San Rocco, suggested by two fellows we met earlier.  Beautiful artwork, especially in the gilded ceiling.   Good-sized mirrors are provided to carry around and save your neck while studying details in the ceiling.  Pretty guitar music filters in from the campo outside. 

We continue walking thru atmospheric old streets by small interior canals, laundry hanging above.  Had planned to eat at a restaurant listed in Frommers, but, as usual, when we get hungry we stop to eat.  We’re enticed to outside seats at a trattoria by an energetic older man w/ an amusing spiel, accompanied by periodic whistling and singing.  A bit pricey, but a nice setting in a small campo with an uncrowded mix of tourists and locals. 

          After lunch a stop into a music store.  A nice chat with a young woman and a young man who’s a percussionist and knows some musicians in NYC.  We buy a tambourine, in the style of Napoli, for percussionist son Matt.  Back to the hotel for a mid-PM snack of milk & cookies.  To San Marco in early evening.  Such pretty views riding along the canal: building facades, some w/ very intricate and colorful details, lots of flowers in windows.  A Navy ship now in the lagoon probably accounts for the Marines.  

We pass the "Bridge of Sighs" headed for the Palazzo Ducale, but discover that tho it’s open to 7, admission closes at 5:30.  So, let’s eat (always a viable option in Italy!).  Shared pizza, Marjorie has grilled eggplant “swimming” in olive oil, a real treat she wouldn’t do at home.  Our dining is accompanied by singing gondoliers in a nearby canal.  I can’t answer all of Marjorie’s questions: How deep is the canal?  What’s underneath?  Where do children play?  I tell her to look these up for extra credit.  We gawk at the posh Hotel Danieli, not so “quaint” as our hotel.  Now we head off for a nice romantic walk thru San Marco, only to discover all the lights are off in the square due to a localized power failure.  Oh well, we still enjoy a pretty ride back along the canal.

Tuesday, 10/13:

          We wake to bells in the campo.  A 10-minute train ride to Mestre, across the causeway to the mainland, then a longer than expected hike with luggage to get our car.  A brief stop in a grocery, where Marjorie gets help selecting chocolate to take back; but not enough money when she gets to the checkout, so some gets left behind.  We pick up our Fiat Punto, smaller and more basic than our other car.  Some difficulty shifting into reverse again, but Marjorie has the knack (from her youthful Jeep driving) from her seat until I get the hang of it.   

We head off toward Bergamo, mostly on the autostrada.  It’s your basic toll road (a bit pricey: 18,500 lira for 220 km), complete with service areas w/ little grocery stores (but no Roy Rogers).  I stay at about 120-130 (km, not miles), faster than trucks but not as fast as most cars, some that go whizzing by.  A gorgeous day, bright & clear, snow-capped mountains to our north most of the way.  From Bergamo about 40 km to Lecco.  A bit of confusion when I see water to our left and think we’re on the wrong side of Lago di Lecco.  Friendly folks at a coffee bar say it’s a river, we’re OK.  Another 30 km on a very narrow, winding road (described by Frommer as “downright dangerous”) along Lago di Lecco to Bellagio.   

We arrive mid-PM and get a lakefront room in Hotel Excelsior Splendide, where my brother Doug & wife Ann stayed last year.  Spectacular view from our room: flowers in a window box, lake, mountains, little ferries criss-crossing the lake.  This is our roomiest lodging, a large room (and bathroom!), pretty lobby.  All for 130,000 lire (about $80), including buffet breakfast!

         A snack by Lago di Como, then we walk thru beautiful gardens of the Villa Melzi.  Honeymooners ask us to take their picture, they return the favor.  What a place for a honeymoon!  This area is indescribably beautiful, perfect to decompress at the end of a trip.  Bellagio is on a promontory at the meeting of two lakes w/ many flowers & snow-capped mountains.  It’s very quiet now, season almost at an end.  Some shops already closed, our hotel closes up on Sunday.  It’s a good thing we weren’t a week later.  

 More walking & exploring, including lovely lake paths at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni.  The Rockefeller Foundation has a study center on the hill above town; one of my colleagues has been there, another will be coming in the Spring.  A great place for deep thoughts.

          Nice shops; Venice had a lot of junk amidst the good stuff.  Marjorie finds a pretty scarf and the kind of silver bracelet she’s been looking for.  We get caught smooching  ̶  a friendly smile and comment from a distinguished looking older gentleman.  The young man at the desk says the new Bellagio hotel/casino in Las Vegas was done by a man who fell in love with the real Bellagio, will renovate an old hotel here as a casino.  Dinner at La Grotta, up one of the narrow winding streets.  One of our best meals.  After a warm day, the evening is cool, heat on in the hotel.

Wednesday, 10/14: 

          I’m out for sunrise & first light on snow-capped peaks at the northern end of the lake.  A pretty AM and another (!) sunny, warm day.  Another narrow, winding road along the lake 30 km to Como, luckily only one oncoming tour bus.  Como is bigger than expected, lots of traffic.  A walk around the waterfront w/ a few colored leaves, then onto the autostrada 40 km to Milan.  Some final language confusion: a parking lot attendant tries to explain that I get a ticket after I park, and an exasperated toll operator telling me to pay before I get on this autostrada.  We’ve always figured things out, often with some handwaving and charades.  We find the Hotel Berlino in Milan w/o much trouble; some excellent parallel parking (if I say so myself) earns us free parking in front.  A comfortable American-style hotel (Best Western), but not as interesting as our other hotels.  The big city hustle-bustle of Milan is quite a change from the tranquillity of Bellagio.  Milano is very modern, not the ruins and interesting old streets of Roma or Firenze; but we don’t have much energy left anyway. 

          A trolley ride to the Duomo, lunch in a place full of businesspeople: tasty antipasti buffet, something we haven’t seen before.  Up on a lift to the roof of the Duomo, where we find the energy for one last Wow!  This cathedral took 5 centuries to complete, we can see why: spires & sculptures everywhere, like walking through a forest.  

Thru the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a 19^th C enclosed mall filled with fancy shops & cafes, a place to watch the well-dressed Milanese.  In the midst of this is a big McDonald’s!  At the end is a view of La Scala opera house.  Some gellati near the hotel; we’re convinced you can’t get bad pasta or gellato in Italy.  Take-out calzone in our room later from a place next to the hotel.

Thursday, 10/15:

          Sunny again, a nice buffet breakfast.  I maneuver thru some heavy traffic to get to the autostrada, then 40 km to Malpensa airport; it’s not that big but handles  intercontinental flights.  I return our car, Marjorie gets some more of the pretty 1000 lire coins, exchanges most of our Italian for American money (keeping some as souvenirs), and has a last cappuccino.  Fabulous view of the Alps (including the Matterhorn) after takeoff a little before 1:00.  “Hope Floats” (Sandra Bullock) the in-flight movie.  On time (about 3:15) at JFK.  A beautiful afternoon, nice views coming in of the Long Island seashore, NYC skyline, lots of Fall colors.  Not too much traffic getting out of NYC.  A stop for cheeseburgers at Roy Rogers (Back in the U S of A!), and home about 8 PM (2 AM in Italy!).

A spectacular trip.  Everything went very smoothly.  Hotels were lovely, interesting, and convenient.  Trains were comfortable and on-schedule.  Packing was efficient and appropriate: still had clean undies for the last day, and Italians wear lots of black, so Marjorie’s choice of wardrobe was right in style.  I had enough pockets for maps, glasses, other paraphernalia.  Very good fortune with the weather and crowds.  We never encountered the gypsies and marauding children everyone warns you about.  Managed to survive lots of walking.  Each part of Italy we saw was distinctive, beautiful, and interesting.  We couldn’t go everywhere in Italy, and every place we stayed had more to see and do.  What we did was fabulous, we’ll do the rest on our next trip to Italy.  Un Buon Viaggi!