ON THE WAY HOME

We fly home tomorrow, so this will be the last time you hear from us until we arrive home.  It has been a great trip.  At the same time we are looking forward to sleeping in our own bed and just being home. We will, of course, miss the maid service and the meals being prepared for us.  However, the price tag that comes with all of that will not be missed.

ODE TO NUTELLA

Your rich creamy chocolate,

With a hint of hazelnuts.

How I will miss thee.

You are a perfect compliment,

Smothered on my morning croissant.

How I will miss thee.

In large, medium or condiment sized packaging

You are the perfect addition to any croissant.

Oh, how I will miss thee.

Nutella sandwiches, Nutella desserts,

Nutella gelato, Nutella on a spoon.

Ah, glorious Nutella, how I will miss thee.

EXCITEMENT LEAVING VENICE

We woke up on time, ate with time to spare, walked to the vaporetto station in plenty of time, then Rex forgets his backpack on the bench at the station.  He remembered it only as the vaporetto was departing the station.  Fear struck us both knowing that the computer was in the backpack with all of the photos we had taken on the trip, and other necessities.

After arriving at the train station stop, Rex hoped on the next vaporetto going back to the prior station, praying the whole way that the backpack would still be there as I waited in the shade at the station with the rest of our luggage.

Once he arrived at the station, he asked the ticket booth about his bag.  They didn’t have it.  Then he asked the person at the station entrance and voila, he had the bag there for him.  Thank goodness!  When he arrived smiling with his pack on it was a huge relief to see that we hadn’t lost anything.

Of course, since I told Rex that our train left at 10:30 he was freaking out that we might be late, but until now he hadn’t really figured out that I had be baking in an extra 20 minutes on every train without telling him.  So, we had plenty of time to make the train without a rush.

Close call avoided, we were able to enjoy our final train ride to Milan.

SINGING IN THE RAIN

It was surprising today, we received a break in the heat and cool rain fell from the sky.  This evening in Piazza San Marco, James Taylor was performing.  It was hilarious watching crowd with their umbrellas fighting the wind to enjoy the show.  We didn’t buy tickets, however we could hear him throughout the square.  Rex and I were enjoying a gelato when we arrived in the square.  We tried to stand there for a bit to enjoy the music, but the wind was pulling our umbrellas every which way and Rex didn’t want to lose his gelato for the second time.  We listened to a few songs and then headed back to the hotel.

Right now we are packing for our journey to Milan tomorrow.  It is so sad to be this close to the end of our journey.

IMPORTANT ITALIAN PHRASES

ENGLISH	ITALIAN	PRONOUNCIATION
Good Day	Buon Giorno	Bwohn-jor-noh
Good Evening	Buona Sera	Bwoh-nah say-rah
Hello / bye	Ciao / Ciao	Chow / chow
Goodbye	Arrividerci	Ah-ree-vay-dehr-chee
Check, please	Conto, per favore	Kohn-toh, pehr-fah-vor-ray
Bathroom	Toilette	Twah-leht-tay
Entry / Exit	Entrata / Uscita	Ehn-trah-tah / oo-shee-tah
Yes / No	Si / No	See / noh
Please	Per favore	Pehr-fah-vor-ray
Thank you	Grazie	Graht-seeay
Excuse me (attention)	Mi scusi	Mee skoo-zee
Do you speak English?	Parla Inglese?	Par-lah een-glay-zay

MURANO GLASS

When in Venice the shops are filled with fabulous glass sculptures, vases, jewelry, and anything else that could be adorned with glass.  Anything with the authentic Murano glass is pretty expensive.  Of course, the less detail in the glass the lower the price.  Rex and I heard that you could arrange a tour and demonstration in Murano at the glass factory.  The water taxi ride was free.  Once there, we experienced a master glass blower make a small vase in minutes.

Then we were taken around the showrooms which displayed all styles of the art.  The prices were out of this world.  Even though the gentleman said that he would take 50% off and pay for insurance, and shipping to the US, one small piece that we liked started at 5000€ - OUCH!  However, he would gladly let us take it for 2500€.  Needless to say, we left without buying anything.  Although, we might bring home a “small” display piece, if the price is right.

the glassblower and the vase we saw take shape in minutes

THOUGHTS ON VENICE

Venice is a wonderful city and one we’ve been excited to visit for many years.  We’ve loved its beautiful canals, narrow streets and rich history.  Unfortunately, we’ve had to look past the crazy amount of fellow tourists crowding the streets, shops and restaurants to find it.  The population of Venice is 60,000 people and we were told on a guided tour today that Venice averages 20 million tourists a year.  Twenty million!  Tourism is the only thing supporting the Venetian economy these days.  We are told that the younger generation is leaving Venice to find work in other parts of Italy.  They are leaving to seek more high tech jobs but also to get away from the high cost of living here.  We asked a waiter at a pub if he had a recommendation for a good restaurant.  We asked “where would you go to eat?” he smiled and said honestly that he wouldn’t eat in Venice because it is too expensive. 

Speaking of expensive, we chose not to take a romantic gondola ride.  Why?  The rides cost €150 ($215) and that doesn’t include the gondolier singing.  If you want him to serenade, you need to pay even more.  It was something we wanted to do, but just couldn’t justify the cost.  Maybe we’ll take a ride the next time we’re in Las Vegas at the Venetian Hotel.  It won’t be exactly the same, but it will have to do.

THE CARBONARA FIASCO

One of my all time favorite dishes is spaghetti alla carbonara.  If you are on a diet, this would not be a dish for you.  However, since calories don’t count on vacation, I was in search of the best carbonara Italy had to offer.

Spaghetti alla carbonara is spaghetti pasta with a creamy sauce made with black pepper, crispy pancetta, cream, butter and a nearly raw egg.  The egg is supposed to be mixed in at the very end as the sauce is cooling, so the egg doesn’t scramble. 

However, we found that the” tourist effect” seems to be impacting the way traditional Italian food is cooked in Italy. 

The first time we had carbonara was in Lake Como.  When it was served I almost sent it back.  The egg was visibly overcooked.  It was like pasta with scrambled eggs.  Sounds gross, right?  Rex enjoyed it.  When I asked the waiter why, he said that the traditional carbonara was usually sent back because tourist didn’t like the thought of the egg raw, so now they cook it through.  Please people, try something new.

The second time was in Santa Margherita.  Now, the carbonara was only slightly over cooked.  But you could still see the bits of scrambled egg in the dish.  By this point I honestly didn’t believe I would actually find descent carbonara anywhere in Italy.

Finally, in Venice, I saw carbonara on the menu and almost didn’t order it.  I asked the waiter how they made their carbonara and he described what I expected from the dish.  So, I took a chance and ended up with carbonara made the traditional way and it was great.  We are actually considering going back tonight to have it again.  However, I think we will go to another restaurant and see how their carbonara is.

WHERE GONDOLAS RULE THE CANAL

Ah, Venice…what a gorgeous place, expensive, but still gorgeous.  Once we arrived at the train station in Venice, we needed to take a water taxi or a vaporetto to the Piazza San Marco, which is on the opposite end of the Grand Canal.  The water taxis were 80€ (ouch), however the vaporetto was only 56€ for a 48 hour ticket.  Although, there was a line for those tickets that was a mile long and in direct sunlight.  After waiting in the line for about 10 minutes, I started noticing some of the locals purchasing tickets at these automated ticket boxes.  So, off I go to the automated box and within a few minutes we were on the vaporetto to San Marco. 

The Piazza was packed with people and navigating to our hotel was quite interesting because of the small streets and bridges.  Thank goodness we had small bags.  We saw some people with these huge suitcases trying to get around. 

When we arrived at our hotel, the Albergo San Zulian, near Piazza San Marco, we were eagerly awaiting some air conditioning.  However, our air conditioning unit seemed to be on the fritz.  Our room was very warm and the air conditioner said it was on full.  Once the repairman couldn’t figure it out, he was very kind and moved us to a new room.  

Our new room is smaller than the other one and Rex says the room is too cold.  I gave him a blanket and said that “too cold” isn’t something to complain about in this heat.  Believe me, it is a relief after walking around Venice all day.

SIESTAS AREN'T SO FUN ANYMORE

We’re finding that nothing is ever open between 2PM and 7PM.  This really makes the afternoons frustrating as there is nothing to do.  All the shops, restaurants, grocery stores, bars and cafes all close for the afternoon siesta.  I guess people get to go home to their families during this time each day, but for travelers it can be difficult.  We tried to visit the bar in our hotel to talk and pass the time until dinner at 8PM and were told that the bar does not open until 7PM.  What?!? 

BOLOGNA

We arrived in Bologna today.  We are staying at the NH Bologna de la Gare which is conveniently close to the train station.  We are blessed with wonderful air conditioning here, by far the best we’ve had on our entire trip.

We arrived before our room was ready, so we ventured out to explore the city.  We went to the Piazza Maggiore at the city center surrounded by ancient buildings.  Unfortunately the Basilica de San Petronio was under construction.  Interestingly though, they had draped the scaffolding with a life sized image of the Basilica.  We also saw the Fontana Del Nettuno (Neptune’s Fountain) which is one of the most photographed locations in Bologna.

We encountered our first gypsy today.  There have been many beggars sitting on the sidewalks.  However, we had not yet encountered the aggressive gypsies.  Today, we had a young woman approach us quickly with her arm wrapped in a scarf and with her other hand outstretched for money.  She attempted to move in close to us quickly.  Luckily, we said “no” rather loudly and she backed away.  Had she gotten close, we probably would have been pick pocketed.

Tonight we will eat at Trattoria Anna Maria.  This restaurant was featured in May’s edition of Bon Appétit magazine.

THE BEST RESTAURANT IN PARMA

Rex and I stumbled upon the best restaurant in Parma, Italy on our first night in Parma.  Since then we have eaten there three times.  Each time we ate there for dinner.  The price was fantastic for the caliber of food and service the restaurant offers.  We had been paying almost double the bill in other lesser restaurants throughout the trip.  I can honestly say that the Ristorante Il Trovatore has saved the reputation of Italian food.

The first night we enjoyed the following menu items:

Per Primi (for starter):

·         Pasta with green beans, potatoes and crispy pancetta

·         Sciatattelli with prawns on saffron infusion

Per Secondi (for main course)

·         Lamb chops with peppered crust of cacio cheese (we split this)

Per Dolce (for dessert):

·         We skipped dessert this evening

Per Vino (for wine):

·         Lambrusco Rosso

The second night we enjoyed:

Per Primi (for starter):

·         Tagianeile with culatello ham, green pea vellutè, and smoked ricotta cheese (we split this)

Per Secondi (for main course)

·         Lemon scented John Dory fillet with seasonal vegetables ragout

·         Their signature beef filet with aged balsamic vinegar

Per Dolce (for dessert):

·         Traditional chocolate salami on English cream

·         Limoncello

Per Vino (for wine):

·         2008 Vermentino (wonderful white wine)

And tonight we tried the:

Per Primi (for starter):

·         Riserva Parma ham cured 36 months, served with Giadiniere

·         Classic ricotta and spinach tortelli tossed in organic butter and parmesan cheese

Per Secondi (for main course)

·         Grilled piglet chops with apple, pine nuts and raisin compote (we split this)

Per Dolce (for dessert):

·         Limoncello

Per Vino (for wine):

·         2008 Nabucco (wonderful red wine)

You can’t go wrong with anything that you order at Il Travatore Ristorante. 

They serve two free appetizers when you sit at a table:  champagne and a slice of toasted bread with a basil ricotta spread and some julienned vegetables.

The service was amazing.  Our waitress was attentive and great with her wine recommendations.  Prior to dessert, she comes by and cleans the table.  If you don’t have dessert, she comes out with a tray of lovely cookies prior to the bill.  These are all at no additional cost to you.

Last night, we decided to order the limoncello prior to dessert.  She brought out this icy cold bottle and two glasses after pouring the glasses she left the bottle on the table for us to decide if we wanted more.

We highly recommend that when you are in Parma that you dine at Il Trovatore Ristorante located at Via Affò 2/A in Parma (cross street is Strata Giuseppe Garibaldi, on the north side of town).  You don’t need reservations, but if you choose to make them their telephone number is 0521.23.69.05.

Oh, one last thing, they don’t open for dinner until 20:00 (or 8 p.m.), so don’t go before that.  Also, the interior of the restaurant is air conditioned.  So, if it is a hot evening, you will want to choose to go inside.

For more information about this great restaurant visit:  www.iltrovatoreristorante.com

Bravisimo!

AN INTERESTING PHENOMENON

Throughout our trip we have seen clothing items and jewelry left prominently in the place of loss.  We have seen a pair of brand new women’s shoes (still in the box), kid’s shoes and socks, jackets, jewelry, and even parts of bikinis.  Everyone walks on by without taking the items.  Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t think that the items would still be there for the person that lost them if we started doing this in the United States.otHoHo

THE PARMESAN CHEESE FACTORY TOUR

 

We watched a master cheese maker make parmesan cheese today.  It was part of a tour we took of a factory that makes certified Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.  What an interesting experience!  We had to put on a poncho, hat, mask and even shoe coverings before we entered the factory.  Here’s us posing in our lovely attire.

Cheese gets made here every day.  There are no holidays for the master cheese maker, although the factory workers do get one day a week off and vacation time.  This is very manual work.  There is no automation; it is all done by hand and the expertise of the master cheese maker.  The cheese making process is all part of a co-op of dairy farmers from the region and the cheese factory.  The master cheese maker is ultimately responsible for the factory’s finished product.  The higher the quality of the product, and the more profitable the co-op, the master cheese maker then makes his salary through a share of the profits. 

After the cheese is set in molds, it has to age in a brine solution for 25 days where it is flipped once a day.  We got to flip the cheese:

Some interesting facts about the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese making process:

•  270,000 cows are milked twice a day.  The milk has to be at the cheese factory within 2 hours of milking.
•  One wheel weighs approx 40 kg (88 lbs) and costs approx €600 ($840).
• It takes about 600 liters (160 gallons) of milk to make one wheel of cheese.
• Each wheel ages for a minimum of 12 months and then inspected again every 12 months to determine which level of Parmigiano Reggiano it will be sold at.  For more info, go to www.parmigiano-reggiano.it . 
•  At the end of the tour we went into the “aging” room and saw over 10,000 wheels of cheese aging on massive sets of shelves.  It was truly one of those awe inspiring moments.

THE LAUNDRY FIASCO

We decided to take an hour to take care of some laundry at a nearby lavanderia (laundry mat).  Our clothes washed, however when the dryer completed its cycle our clothes were still wet.  Oh Joy!  We had to pack them into our duffel and lug them back to our room.  Our room is now a pig sty with clothes hanging everywhere.

PARMA

We took the train to Parma this yesterday (July 13).  We checked into our Hotel, the Hotel Palace Maria Luigia.  It is a lovely hotel, with air conditioning (yeepie).  However, we have to pay for the internet connection.  Bollucks!  We will search for an Internet Café to be able to continue to keep you updated or we will just breakdown and pay the fee.

This town is full of great shopping and cathedrals, if you are into that sort of thing.  Otherwise, most things are closed down for the summer holiday.  Even some of the great restaurants are shut down.  High season must not be the time to visit Parma.

We have a Parmesan Cheese Factory Tour tomorrow morning (July 14).  We hope there will be a tasting.

HAPPY FEET

Wow, I have discovered “toe hose.”  We were spending 4,60€ on bandages for my feet.  I had to buy three boxes of bandages to get the ones I needed. 

However at the Santa Margherita train station I found little nylon slips that only cover your toes.  I understand that the Chinese have been wearing them for awhile but I haven’t seen them at home.  They are brilliant little things.  The ones I bought were only 2,90€ and they are perfectly protecting my feet from blisters.  They are perfect for most all sandals. 

Click here to buy yours for your next trip > HUE Women's Toe Cover

THE ITALIAN RIVERIA

We’ve spent the past two days at La Cinque Terra or 5 Terre.  This is an area on the west coast of northern Italy.  It is made up of 5 small towns on the water.  We stayed in Monterosso, the largest of the 5 towns.  It is primarily a beach town where hundreds of people escaped the heat by playing in the water.  We wanted many times to jump in the water to cool down, but packing light, we left the swim suits at home instead opting to partake of the popular Italian gelato, or to continue our afternoon siestas to stay cool.

The 5 towns are all connected either by walking trails, train or ferry.  Due to the heat, we chose to ride the train between them, except for the shortest walk between Manarola, and Riomaggiore.  It is called Via Dell'Amore, or “Lover’s Walk”.  It was a nice walk with a beautiful view of the sea.  Similar to the Lover’s Bridge in Paris, it is common practice for people in love to connect a lock to the railing of the path and then throw the key into the sea.  This is said to seal their love forever.

We leave Montorosso tomorrow (July 12) and travel next to Parma, Italy.  Hopefully the temperatures cool down a bit as we get away from the coast. 

AMERICAN MUSIC EVERYWHERE

We are finding it strange that everywhere we have gone so far they have played American music, or at least music in English.  There have been the crooners, like Harry Connick Jr., top 40 music, and a cab driver with an Elvis Presley ringtone.  It just seems odd that there wouldn’t be French or Italian music played locally.  We have just never heard it.  It is all in English and often not even edited for content like it is in the US.  We are learning that the “F” word isn’t as taboo here as it is at home. 

THE CINQUE TERRE, ITALY

These are five little towns along the north-western coast of Italy connected by walking trails, but you can also move between them by train or boat.  It is a very cute place.  They are beach towns and lots of people are taking advantage of the hot summer weather and enjoying a day at the beach.  That is, everyone but us.  We didn’t pack for beach weather, so we are taking daily siestas during the hot afternoons and staying inside our hotel or enjoying a cool drink in cafés with shade.  Being so close to the Mediterranean Sea, it is quite humid and being spoiled northern Californians, neither of us do very well with the humidity.  We plan to go back out later and do some exploring when it starts to cool off.

Again, we have a great hotel with air conditioning.   It's called the Hotel Villa Degli Argentieri, monterosso Our hotel was a villa built in the 1950’s and was renovated in 2003.  It is very quaint and right across the street from the beach.  Well, if you can call large gravel a beach.  We are so spoiled with our silky soft sand.

NO EYEBALLS PLEASE

Tonight (Sunday, July 10, 2011), we had dinner at Café Del Porto.  This restaurant doesn’t have a waterfront view, but I can say the food was wonderful.  We both started with a pasta.  Mine was Bolognese and Rex had spaghetti with clam sauce.  There were so many clams in this sauce, I think it was clams with sauce.

For the main dish, I ordered the Sea Bass with olives and tomatoes and Rex ordered the Scaloppini.  When my dish was served, I was surprised.  I wasn’t expecting my Sea Bass to be looking at me.  I will need to make sure in the future to order my food with the caveat of “neinte con gli occhi, per favore!”  In English, “nothing with eyeballs, please!”

The fish was great once Rex took the skin and bones off for me. 

SUNNY SANTA MARGHERITA

The train trip to Santa Margherita was uneventful.  Once here we walked along the bay to our hotel, which is a lovely Best Western with awesome air conditioning.  This hotel and our hotel in Paris are both Best Westerns and I can say honestly they are the best hotels thus far on the trip.

We have a huge room and a large covered balcony overlooking the yacht harbor. 

MY DOGS ARE BARK'IN

Not sure if it is the heat, the humidity or the amount of walking we have been doing, maybe it is a combination of all three.  Whatever it is, my dogs are bark'in.

I am wearing 4 bandages per day.  And my feet, ankles, legs, and arms are so swollen.  I wake up with a mild case of the swelling, but then by nighttime I have cankles.  Yesterday it was so bad that I couldn't close a fist or open my hands all the way.  This is a crazy phenomenon.

I hope that once we are home the swelling goes away.  If it does I might be a whole size smaller.

I WANT MY ONE EURO!

Do you remember the movie, “Better Off Dead?”  In that movie, a young boy chased a teenager around for the $2 he owed him for the newspaper.  Well, in Varenna(a little town down from Belliago) yesterday, I had an old woman chase me down for one euro because I used the toilette in the hotel.  Not our hotel, but it was the closest toilette to the ferry station. 

When I went in I asked where the “bagno” was.  A nice lady told me where it was.  After using the bagno (toilette), this old woman said to me, “one Euro for the toilette!”   

You really need to tell someone that there is a pee charge before they pee.  I think it is unethical to allow the person to pee, and then inform them that there is a charge.  I may not have chosen to pee in that location had I had then information ahead of time.

 Annoyed, I told the old woman that my husband had the money and would come back. I was not planning to return to pay the one Euro, so I walked out the door a different way from where Rex was waiting and then signaled him to come to me.

However from around the corner she came with her hand outstretched saying, “one Euro for the toilette!” 

I was stunned.

Lesson – always order something, even if it is a small something, and use the toilette after the purchase.

EXPLORING BELLAGIO, LAKE COMO, ITALY

This interesting little town filled with delightful restuarants and great shops starts at the waterfront and then staggers up the mountainside.  We are getting our exercise here.  Even though the town isn't all that big, just walking a block is a workout.  The steps are all cobblestone of varying widths and slants.  I definately brought the wrong shoes with me for this trip.  So far I am managing though with only a few blisters.

The streets through the town are nearly vertical in some areas.  This was great fun navigating during a down pour yesterday.  It is difficult in a photograph to show you just how steep some of these streets are.

EXPLORING LENNO, LAKE COMO

Today (Saturday, July 9th), we visited Lenno, which is another town on Lake Como just across from Bellagio where we are staying.  In Lenno there is a famous villa called Villa del Balbianello.  Famous films such as, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and the James Bond movie, Casino Royale were filmed on the property.

The hike straight uphill was quite a challenge.  I never thought we would get to the top.  But once there and took a little rest, we wandered around and found the property and its view absolutely gorgeous.