ITALY ADVENTURES 2017 ISSUE II

Now begins our Rick Steves tour, way too many cities in just 17 days.  At a little over a week in and I am already confused by where we went and in what order.  A quick review of our itinerary tells me our first stop was Castlerotto, in the north east corner of the country.  This is where the Dolomites

intersect with the Alps.  Mick could probably tell you a whole lot more about the geomorphology of the area, for me it is just beautiful mountains.  This is a ski area in the winter and a hiking destination in the summer.

Several of our group tackle some serious hikes but the majority of us settle for a wander in the panoramic upland meadow, with a stop for hot chocolate and cookies. It is a truly beautiful location with little to do except enjoy the out of doors.

My declared intent was to eat my way through Italy but this stop entailed an included dinner at an excellent restaurant that featured some outstanding German food.  I chose Wiener schnitzel and I think Mick had some sort of big German dumpling and stew.  Regret not ordering the lamb

but managed to snag a taste from another diner any way.  

 As I look back at my pictures I realize that our first stop was not Castlerotto but Verona of Romeo and Juliet fame.  Not to mention two Gentlemen of Verona and the Taming of the Shrew.  It quickly becomes obvious, the pattern for the trip is on the bus between eight and nine, a stop on the autostrada for toilets and a quick espresso and a sightseeing stop for lunch.  Back on the bus to our final destination and spend two nights.  Local  sight seeing on day two, sleep and repeat. 

Verona was a walking tour with a local guide who pointed out some of the architectural details that help define the place and its history.  One of the things that intrigued me, and admittedly something she stressed, was the crenellations or shape of the top of the parapets. 

The explanation was that the “M” or swallowtail shape denoted a Germanic influence rather than papist.  This is not to say they weren’t Catholic but by her explanation a bit more socially independent.  The parapets with a shape more like an upside down “u” or "n” indicated strong support for the pope. 

We were able to see the exterior of the local Roman Arena which is still being used for concerts.  All of this led to a discussion of the different forms of theatre buildings produced by the Romans.  Fundamentally the difference between a Roman amphitheater and a Roman theatre is the shape, theatres have a semi-circular arrangement of raised seating looking into a stage, whereas an amphitheater is a 'theatre in the round' much like a football stadium.

More architectural minutiae, Greek buildings are never more than a single story as they never mastered the intricacy of the arch. Our tour guide was a serious fan of a particular Veronese family and provided tons of details about their good works and family history which I shall refrain from imparting to you in the guise of a travel blog.

On to Venice via Bolsano where we stopped for a museum devoted to Otzi, the Ice Man. His body was found by hikers in

1991 and they thought he might be a hiker who had gone missing much earlier in the century. Instead what they found was a “wet” mummy with skin and bones intact that was more than 3500 years old. Not a great museum, how much do you really want to know about a 3500 year old mummy but somewhat intriguing all the same.  There was a lot about the fight between Italy and Switzerland as to ownership of his body, Italy won.  The ground floor was pretty indifferent and seeing his mummified body was unnecessary but what they were able to determine was fascinating. I tend to think of the Pharaohs and the pyramids as being really early history but Otzi lived before that, somewhere between the time of the Lascaux cave paintings and the Pharaohs. The upper floors had lots of information about how his clothing was constructed and of what materials, his weapons and tools, his last meal and how he died, all in good English.  Modern technology has provided us with so much information, I can’t begin to fathom what they might learn from relics like this is another 50 years.

New experience for the day . . . Ugo.

Not to be outdone by other regions of Italy that champion the cause of the “Aperol Spritz”, Campari Spritz or the Negroni.  Bolsano is the place for Ugo, a drink of Elderflower syrup, Prossecco, “spritz” (aka soda water) and mint. It must be 5 o’clock somewhere even if it isn’t quite noon in Bolsano.

We explore the farmers market. It is September and there is an abundance of peppers and tomatoes, plums and figs and plenty of other food stuffs. I spot Italian plums, the oblong purple fruit with the yellow flesh that my aunt used to grow. I’m thinking snack but the proprietor is thinking too much trouble. When I ask for four plums the look I get speaks volumes, no need for rudimentary Italian to get the message.

 Next stop Venice. The one thing I can say about Rick Steves tours, it is all about location. We get off the bus in Maestre, for Venice is truly a city without vehicular traffic. We board a vaporetto, or water taxi, though it would be more accurate to describe it as a water bus, and proceed down the Grand Canal to our final destination.

Our hotel, a reasonably short walk over cobbles, up and down stairs and across several bridges, is around the corner from the Opera House and perhaps three blocks from St. Marks Square. Couldn’t hardly be more convenient to all the sights. With Rick Steves, you may trade a bit of comfort or luxury for a central location. Having said that, you do have to be prepared to lug your bags across those selfsame cobbles, up and down the stairs, over the bridges and having arrived at the hotel, you then have to carry the same luggage and your tired self up and down multiple flights of stairs. Glad to have Mick along. He would take off to our room with one bag, while I followed behind, much more slowly. The, magically, he would appear to take over long before I made it to our room.

DELIVERY BOATS BEING LOADED

Venice is magical and exhausting. They say there are more than 400 bridges over the various canals. EVERYTHING comes in on small boats. Early morning the canals are alive with delivery boats. All of the things we expect to be available in stores, toilet paper, wine, groceries, pencils, washing machines, building supplies, milk, paving stones, it all comes in loaded on boats about the size of your typical speed boat. That however only gets it as far as the edge of a canal. From there it is transported to its final destination via hand carts. 

Someone yelling ATTENZIONE, means you are likely to see someone pushing a cart carrying new windows or a grocers supply of wine. Not only does everything come in this way, including the mail, it goes out in the same fashion. Consider what garbage removal must entail!!

Venice means gondola rides, which we actually did and trips to Murano glass factories, which we didn’t do. Gondolas seem so touristy that I admit to being just enough of a snob

to want to bypass. Glad we didn’t pass it up, what a delight. The gentle motion of the boat, soft shadows, the quiet sound of the poles in the water and quick glimpses in through windows of the residents and their spaces, lovely. Also a place of “small world” moments. Exiting the gondola and headed for St. Marks Square, I hear my name being called out. I turn to discover Pam Thomas an acquaintance from Ashland walking down the narrow lane. Ain’t life amazing.

One more moment of food and surprises to share before moving on. Food is always important and I had plans of eating clams in Venice but with so many other choices, expectations are not always met. We tried to get in to a Trattoria that offered seafood only to find they were full. We are immediately directed across the street and ushered in to a small bar with perhaps four tables. I’m a little uncertain of what is happening but decide to go with the flow. That is what adventures are made of. In pidgeon English we are told the food comes from the same kitchen and it is his wife that does the cooking. We barely order before we are presented with bread and then a saucepan appears and we are dished up a small portion of gnocchi, prosciutto, bread, and cheese. Our dinner arrives and I realize when they said the same kitchen it was quite literally true. The filled plates are coming from across the street. serving of apple cake and a bag of pasta!

Don’t get too concerned, by “across the street” I really mean across an alley probably no more than five feet wide which functions quite successfully as a pedestrian street in Venice (remember, no cars). As if the unordered starters are not enough we enjoy grappa with raisins floating in it, limoncella, a sweet red wine and cookies as a complimentary dessert. When asking for the bill my wine glass goes crashing to floor, so along with the bill there is an additional 

 

ERRATA

•  Inside the city walls of Verona there are no “churches”, just chapels. 
• Acqua alta occurs when certain events coincide, such as: A very high tide (usually during a full or new moon). Low atmospheric pressure. A scirocco wind blowing up the narrow, shallow Adriatic Sea, which forces water into the Venetian Lagoon.
• When St Marks Square floods they simply put up wooden walkways that allow you to traverse the space without getting your feet wet
• The Bridge of Sighs is nothing special.  It was named by Lord Byron and the stories about prisoners are poetic license. 
• Shakespeare never visited Verona and his characters in Romeo and Juliet never existed but tourists still flock to see Juliet's Balcony.