Day 33: 29 July 2010

Wanted to see Dublin one more time this morning so we went for a walk down to Temple Bar, Grafton Street, Trinity College, and then back to Brayden’s along the Liffey River.  Many things about Dublin remind me of London, but it’s a much quainter and smaller city.  We both agreed that we’ll be back here someday soon.  Not sure if it was the friendliness of the Irish people, a common language, some similarities to life in the U.S., but we really enjoyed Dublin, and would love to see the countryside next time, too.

Day 32: 28 July 2010

  

Chef Brayden had eggs and toast waiting for us this morning when we woke up in Dublin.  After a quick breakfast we set out on foot to walk around Dublin and see the city.  The weather is a little cool, but comfortable.  We walked around in jeans and short sleeved shirts today with an occasional sweatshirt.  The first stop on our walking tour was Christ Cathedral, then it was on to the pretty park at St. Stephen’s green.  Walked down the pedestrian zone on Grafton Street, a main pedestrian way with lots of shops.  Couldn’t resist one more 1E McDonald’s sundae on the trip along the way!

Day 31: 27 July 2010

Woke up in Barcelona today, and I think we both were not entirely sure where we were! In the past 24 hours we’ve been in three countries and visited several different places so I’m sure that explains our slight confusion!  Decided it was best to check out and have the hotel hold our bags for the day so we could explore the city.  Hotel del Comte was a good last minute find since it was located a block from the train station.  Grabbed some breakfast pastries at a local passticeria and hopped on the train.  Noticed pretty quickly how Catalan, the language of this region is definitely different from Spanish.  It seems like a mix of French and Spanish combined as we looked at street signs and tried to read a few words from our guidebiook. 

Day 30: 26 July 2010

Had to get off to an early start today since we still had a three hour drive to Germany from here.  Hotel Arte had a surprisingly great breakfast buffet complete with fresh whole grain bread, eggs, sausage, fruit, and buttery croissants.  Definitely a welcome change to the bread and crackers we’ve been having the last few days.  Checked out by 9am, grabbed some last minute souvenirs at Coop, then hit the road for Germany.  Unfortunately, Zurich has eluded us for the second time on a Swiss trip.  We decided that there’s not much there anyway, so if we get a cheap flight through Switzerland, that would be the time to come back.

Day 29: 25 July 2010

  

Finally…the sun is shining in Gimmelwald!  First thing we did this morning was check the webcams on the top of Schilthorn and sure enough, the sun was out and the view was finally clear!  Quickly checked out and left our bags downstairs before racing for the early bird cable car discount that is valid before 9am.  Getting to Schilthorn from Gimmelwald involves three cable cars: one to Murren, one to Birg, and one to the top.  Schilthorn is one of the tallest accessible peaks in the Swiss Alps at 2,970m high (10,000ft.).  It was made famous in the late 60s when the James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was filmed here at Piz Gloria, a revolving restaurant at the top.

Day 28: 24 July 2010

Bonus Video!

Woke up at 6am today to steady rain and heavy fog.  We were hoping to go to the top of Schilthom this morning, but no luck.  Joe took the cable car down to pick up some things we left in the car.  The weather did not improve by the time he got back so we decided to go back to bed hoping the fog and rain would burn off later on.  Unfortunately, by noon there was still no change in the weather so we made the most of another rainy day here and ventured out in the warmest clothes we had and plastic bags over my socks to keep my feet dry. 

Day 27: 23 July 2010

Woke up in Pension Gimmelwald to steady rain and fog.  From our window, we were able to see many waterfalls running down the sides of the mountains in between passing clouds of fog.  Went downstairs to check in and realized when the receptionist asked us for a 20chf deposit for the room key that we could only pay her in Euros.  In the chaos of last night, we forgot to stop at an ATM to get Swiss francs.  We had used the leftover francs from Judy and girls and from our last trip here to get food at the rest area and pay for the cable car ride up here.  We always do extensive reading on the places we are going so we are prepared when we arrive, but today we felt like pretty stupid tourists! 

Day 26: 22 July 2010

Today was by far our craziest day yet, and quite possibly the most stressful travel day we’ve ever had.  Woke up to the usual beautiful sunshine in Montegalda and knew the dreaded day was here.  As it was, neither of us wanted to leave Italy or the comfort of Lisa & Benson’s house in a country that we’ve fallen in love with for the past three weeks.  But like all good things, we knew our time here had to come to an end.  Even with a week here, we still didn’t have enough time to do everything we wanted to do.  We barely scratched the surface in Venice, we didn’t make it to downtown Vicenza, and we hardly spent much time in the relaxing town of Montegalda.  Of course that means we’ll just have to come back.

Day 25: 21 July 2010

Today we finally had time to return to Venice!  Lisa was off so the three of us drove into the city.  We would have taken the train, but it was actually less expensive to park the car at Tronchetto for the day.  We arrived around 12:30, a lot later than we wanted to due to a late start and a few wrong turns along the way.  Decided to take the 1E people mover to Piazzale Roma and walk through the city this time instead of seeing it by water.

Day 24: 20 July 2010

It was an early morning for us today since we needed to drive 1.5hrs and be in Pordenone by 9:30am today.  Met Francesca in her modern condo in downtown Pordenone, then hopped in her car for a day in the mountains in Cansiglia.  On the way, we stopped once as Francesca explained a geologic phenomenon that occurs here.  From what we understood, there is no visible water or rivers in the mountains; it is all underground in caves until it drains at the base of the mountains outside Pordenone. 

Day 23: 19 July 2010

Got up early today to drive to the seaside beach town of Caorle to meet Joe’s relatives.  It took a little under 1.5 hrs. from Montegalda to get to Caorle.  Zio Guido and Zia Terezina (Joe’s great uncle and aunt), and Francesca (Joe’s second cousin) were waiting with delicious pastries when we arrived.  They welcomed us into their summer condo and we were quickly immersed in Italian since only Francesca speaks a little English.  Joe did his best to listen and respond in some Italian phrases, but it was still difficult to understand.   We later learned that Teresina was speaking primarily dialect which is why we were so lost in the conversation at times. 

Day 22: 18 July 2010

Benson was our chauffeur and guide today in Bolzano, a city in the Dolomite Mountains.  The drive took about 2 hrs. each way from Lisa & Benson’s primarily on the scenic A22 that we drove down on from Austria…lots of vineyards, farms, and increasingly tall mountains.  We arrived around 2pm and headed straight towards Hopfen and Company for lunch.  Benson had been here once and wanted to make sure we got to experience a meal at this old house/tavern.  Benson and Joe got the huge mixed plate for two that came with spinach and speck dumplings, roasted chicken, tomatoes, sausages, sauerkraut, and lots of ribs.  Lisa and I enjoyed the mushroom risotto, and I had a tasty leek and potato soup.  Of course, the boys tried the microbrew, too.

Day 21: 17 July 2010

Drove to Padua today to check out this nearby city.  Padua sort of a college town so there is a large student population there.   At one time, many intellectuals including Galileo came here.  Joe and I decided to continue learning more art history here by going to Scrovegni Chapel to see Giotti’s masterpiece.  In a way, this is kinda like Giotti’s Sistene Chapel, but it was actually painted two hundred years earlier from 1303-1305.  Like the Sistene, it has “The Last Judgement” on one wall and scenes from the Bible on the side walls and ceilings.  The scenes primarily depict the birth and life of Mary and Jesus underneath a royal blue ceiling of stars. Our ticket to the Chapel also gave us entry to the Musei Civico to see Giotto’s crucifix and paintings from artists of the 13^th through 18^th centuries.  We didn’t recognize many of the pieces so we didn’t stay long despite efforts of the excited museum workers around every corner who were eager to tell us about each exhibit. The air conditioned museum was a nice break, though, from the heat and humidity outside.   

Day 20: 16 July 2010

  

Lisa was off today so we decided to take the short 30 min. drive to Verona.  Like many of the cities we’ve been to here, Verona has a pedestrian-only old town, and a modern new town.  As usual, we took Rick Steves’ walking tour through the old walls of Verona, past the Roman arena (a smaller version of the Colesseum), walked by some churches and piazzas, and by the tombs of the Scaligeri family, a wealthy family who once ruled the city.

Day 19: 15 July 2010

    

This morning we took Rick Steves’ walk through Old Nice.  It brought us past some pretty fountains, and into the heart of the Old Town where we ate dinner last night.  I decided last night that I like Nice.  It won’t be my favorite place on the trip, but it’s still a likeable city with a cute downtown, some good French food and some authenticity to it despite all the tourists and French people on holiday.  We made sure to have pan au chocolate and some type of spinach and zucchini quiche before we left…heavy, but good!

Day 18: 14 July 2010

We were definitely dragging our feet today.  Neither of us really wanted to leave Erba Persa or the Cinque Terre.  It was by far one of our favorite stops on the trip.  There is something about the slow pace of this area, beautiful water, small towns, and fantastic cuisine that has nearly hypnotized us.  Even the Erba Persa has grown on us!  It has been such a neat experience to have keys to our own farmhouse in a quaint town, a cozy room, great stargazing overhead and tons of pets that are magically taken care of for us.  There were a few other couples and a Norwegian family staying here, but we rarely saw them, or Grazia.  However, we did find her easily for check-out. 

Day 17: 13 July 2010

We had good intentions of getting an early start on the most challenging part of the Cinque Terre hike today, but it didn’t happen.  We decided that no matter what time of day we did the hike, it would be hot.  We’ve pretty much given up on wearing clean clothes/we’re running out of them, so we’ve gotten pretty good at recycling gross sweat shirts.

Day 16: 12 July 2010

Woke up bright and early to the sound of birds chirping and traffic passing on the main road.  Still baffled by the exchange with Grazia the night before, we went about our morning routine and expected her to be waiting for us downstairs.  Instead, we found a breakfast spread waiting for us in the breakfast room/sitting room/library.  Grazia was out in the gardens picking string beans and didn’t seem to care that we still hadn’t checked in.  Joe told her he would run in and grab our passports, and meet her in a few minutes.  Much to our dismay, Grazia was no where to be found when we returned.  We spent a good 30min. looking around in the gardens for her.  All we found were lots of cats, a cage of parrots, dogs, a pony.  When she did appear, she was busy for at least another 30min. with visitors and customers who had come to buy fresh produce.  Apparently there is no such thing as time around here…and that’s coming from us who take time as merely a suggestion.

Day 15: 11 July 2010

Had a quick breakfast at the hotel, then took the bus to Florence this morning to attend Mass at Santa Croce.  Mass was in Italian, but at least this time we knew what the readings were about from Mass yesterday.  They also had a bulletin with Italian responses so we could at least pretend to say the prayers a bit.  Caught a glimpse of Michaelangelo’s and Galileo’s tombs on the way out.  Michaelangelo’s tomb is fairly simple considering his amazing contributions to art.

Day 14: 10 July 2010

Early morning today as we have a long 5hr. drive to Florence ahead of us.  Decided over breakfast today that while we didn’t love this area, the hotel was a great find and value. Ironically it is the second lowest priced hotel of our trip, in what is otherwise an expensive area. Meridiana was clean, the staff was friendly, and our stay included parking and breakfast.  Speaking of breakfast, that’s one thing I do miss about home.  Every morning no matter where we’ve stay, breakfast is about the same…croissants, sandwich bread, deli meats and cheese, hard rolls, fresh fruit, cereal, yogurt, and some kind of Italian pound cake dusted with confectionary sugar. To most people (including Joe) that probably sounds great. Unfortunately, I only like some of the bread and the dense yellow cake that sits like a brick in your stomach for the rest of the day! Forget whole grains and added fiber here…everything is white flour.  Can’t wait to have eggs and French toast when we get home!

Day 13: 9 July 2010

Today was our laziest day so far.  Our plan was to see the Amalfi Coast and explore the towns of Positano and Amalfi.  Due to the railway/bus strike, we decided to drive the coastal road ourselves.  We had heard that it was a crazy ride and were a little nervous about doing it ourselves. Turned out to be not bad at all.  Sure there were sharp turns on the edges of cliffs and very narrow stretches at times, but the drive was doable, especially since Joe’s driven on many winding roads like this on our trips to Switzerland and the Canary Islands.  The drive was very scenic….similar to the Pacific Coast Hwy in California, or what the drive would look like if you could drive the Napali Coast in Hawaii.

Day 12: 8 July 2010

 Today we went back in time to Ancient Rome!  First stop...Mt. Vesuvius.  Even at 9:30am there was already traffic on the SS145 from Sorrento towards Napoli.  We didn’t arrive at Parco Nazionale Vesuvio until 11am.  As we quickly discovered, we had arrived at the entrance that leads up to Vesuvius through the forest which is only accessible by a private bus.  With no choice but to drive 60km further, we decided to suck it up and take the 2 hr bus/truck excursion.

Day 11: 7 July 2010

Got off to an intentional slow start today.  We’ve found that after a jam packed day, we need a little extra sleep and a lazy morning the next day.  Walked around the town of Sorrento en route to the TI.  Sorrento has sort of a resort feel to it.  Lots of tourists (Americans and various EU citizens), tons of shops (specialty boutiques, souvenir shops, and stores that will custom make sandals for you), lots of families and lemon products everywhere. It kinda reminds us of Marbella and the Costa del Sol in Spain due to all the people on holiday, but much nicer.

Day 10: 6 July 2010

Even on a return to Rome and a 3 night stay, we still had to get up early to see the remaining sites we wanted to get to.  Our first stop was St. Peter’s to climb the dome.  There was no line to the dome once we got through security at 8:30.  In the interest of time, we took the elevator half way up, then walked the 300+ stairs to the top.  A third of the way up we were able to walk next to the mosaics on the inside of the dome.  Further up, the wall slanted sidewards on our climb, then up several spiral staircases before reaching the top.  We had a great view of Rome from St. Peter’s.  Definitely worth the early morning trip to get there.

Day 9: 5 July 2010

Today we explored our Catholic roots.  Joe and I first ascended the Scala Santa on our knees.  The stairs are supposedly the ones Jesus went up to go before Pontius Pilate that were brought to Rome by early Christians.  The original stairs are made of marble, but they are covered with wood today.  Afterwards, we went into St. John Lateran Basilica to view Constantine’s church (1^st Christian emperor) which supposedly housed the altar and and heads of St. Peter and St. Paul.

Day 8: 4 July 2010

Hard to remember that it was the 4^th of July as we ate our not-so-American breakfast of breads, cheese, meat, and fruit at the hotel.  On Lisa’s suggestion, we went to one of the only English Masses in Rome at St. Susanna’s, the American Church.  Although we were hesitant to attend a regular English Mass while we were near the greatest Catholic Churches in the world, it was actually a good choice.  Fr Greg gave an excellent homily about his family’s immigration through Ellis Island and the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty.  Mass ended in typical American fashion with the singing of “America the Beautiful” and coffee hour (American coffee and croissants…no donuts here!)