Travel With Betsy

San Miguel’s Feast for the Senses….

May 17, 2014

Another banner day here in San Miguel! I realized as I was walking around today that my experience here has been a treat for each one of the senses. Every day I see bright colors, smell extraordinary scents of food cooking, flowers, etc., taste incredible and varied flavors, touch interesting fabric textures as I look through the shops, and hear music from all different kinds of sources…sometimes all at the same time! I haven’t had this much stimulation in years! I’m liking it. The other thing I’m liking is that this is the low season here, which means fewer people, which leads to better service and special attention.

I told you in my last post that I was going to check out the tasting of local wines and then head to a concert at the Biblioteca. I did both and managed to fit in dinner as well. It was quite a night……followed by another fun-filled day.

Around 5:30 last night, I moseyed on over to the wine bar. It is located in an upscale hotel that is pretty close to where I would attend the concert. So, I figured I would taste wine and if I could still walk (HA!), I would go on over to the concert. What an interesting experience.

First, I was the only person in the bar. (Low season….remember?) So, I had the full attention of the Sommelier, German, who was beside himself at the prospect of sharing his wine with someone who works at a California winery. He was an interesting character in his own right. He knows a lot about wine and about business. He has a degree from Texas A & M in business and spent some time in Australia getting some sort of a wine certificate. I was pretty impressed. He talked about the lack of opportunities in Mexico for someone like him and hoped he could get to California to continue his wine education and work in some of the wineries. I hope he is able to do this. He hopes I will be able to help him….not possible. But, interesting…

For those of you who are winos like me, here’s a small review of what I had. All of the wine except for one was made in the Baja area of Mexico. The exception was made in France near Toulouse. German explained that even though the grapes came from France, the wine was made by Mexicans living in France. I guess that’s how they are able to categorize it as a Mexican wine. HMMMMM…… Not sure I am buying that one!

Anyway, the Baja region is the most developed of the wine regions here in Mexico and so, in German’s opinion, produced the best wines. There are some wines here that are more local, but German said I would be disappointed in them. So, Baja wines it is! I found all of the 6 wines he poured to be quite good. Some, of course, I liked better than others. But, much to my surprise, all were very solid. I had a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay for whites, in addition to a Carignon Blanc that was blended with Maccabeo, a grape that I have not heard of. At Adelaida, we grow Carignon, which is a red grape that is usually used in a blend. I have to say that the Carignon Blanc was not my favorite. But, it was interesting.

The reds were outstanding. I had a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Barbera, a Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Sirah blend (my favorite) and another unusual blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Sirah, Barbera adn Zinfandel. The last 2 were my favorites, and I found myself unable to resist purchasing a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Sirah blend. Just what I need….another bottle of wine to add to my mounting 200 plus bottle collection. So, when you all come to my house for a Mexican Fiesta, I will open some of my stash and give you a swig of the Mexican wine as well. You could do worse, I’ll tell you that!

After the tasting, I was able to walk (barely) and, so, headed on to the concert at the Biblioteca. I walked up to the ticket office at the appointed time and handed over my 150 Pesos (about $12.00) for the concert. The vendor looked at me and said, “You are the only one in the audience.” I politely suggested that they may not want to do the concert for just one person. But, the ticket vendor and the performer insisted that “the show must go on”. And, so it did.

I had the full attention of the performer who regaled me with tunes on both the guitar and the harp. He was fantastic! My favorite pieces were the Flaminco numbers. I think they were his favorite, too. He and I had a great time talking about the music and the instruments as he went along. And, in the end, I thanked him again for doing a private concert just for me! He said he really enjoyed it (I think he did!) because he knew I was paying attention and watching him. I guess people often zone out during concerts…I’ve done it myself. It’s almost impossible to do when you are an audience of 1. So, 2 CDs later, I left him and went on to find dinner. When you come for the Mexican dinner and wine tasting, I will put the CDs on so that you, too, can experience the wonderful sounds.

I was hungry, so I decided that I would find one of the restaurants recommended by my airplane friend. It was in my neighborhood, so it would be easy to get home. It was getting late, and I wasn’t too keen on making a long trek for food. What a treat!

When I arrived, I was greeted by an American couple and a single woman at another table. We all talked about what we would eat. They were all having chicken pot pie, so I had it too. They are frequent long-term visitors and said they all come to this restaurant as soon as they get into town for the pot pie. They were right, it was great! Always love comfort food. We all chatted until we were through with dinner and then went our separate ways.

This morning I was up and at ’em early because I wanted to do the walking tour of San Miguel. The group meets at the Parroquia (I told you about that place yesterday). It takes me a few minutes walk into town, so I wanted to be on time.

I was early…talked to a few people sitting on the benches…and then met Kathleen (from Estes Park, CO), my tour guide. She looked around and said, “We aren’t supposed to do the tour unless there are at least 2 people. But, I see that you are very interested. So, we will go ahead and do it anyway….we won’t tell anyone. So, off we went. I had the best tour of San Miguel that you could possibly get….and had her undivided attention! When we passed the theater, she pointed out a concert that was going on in the evening and said that I really must go. So, we went around to the ticket office and I got a ticket for 100 Pesos (about $7.50). The show will be Mexican singing and dancing. Should be great! After about 3 hours she and I parted ways. I’m sure I will see her later at the concert.

I will sign off by telling you about my last feast of the senses for the day. I stopped at a restaurant on the edge of the Jardin for lunch that was recommended by my airplane friend. I had chips and guacamole with salsa (one of the best I have had here….really!!), 6 butterflied shrimp with garlic and chilis, rice, a salad, a beer and a cup of coffee (because I was so happy just sitting in the square) all for the whopping price of $22.00. I thought the cost to value ratio for this meal was outstanding. I’m very happy.

So, I’m heading off to see the Mariacchis in the Jardin. I missed them last night. Too much to do. And, then on to the concert. Fun times!

Hasta Manana!

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Funeral for my Phone…..

May 15, 2014

……..will be held at the Whitaker/Cramer residence on Wednesday at 7:00 pm. Come prepared to say a few kind words on its behalf.

Sadly, today, mid-picture, my phone went black and has not come back on. I think it’s dead. No, I know it’s dead. How inconvenient. I have solicited the help of the Telecel people (Mexican cellular provider) and my new friend here in town that I met on Monday’s flight. (By the way, she did provide a list of fun things to do here this morning via email before my phone went dead. Very nice woman.) However, my phone is still dead. What that means for me is that I don’t have a clock. (I don’t wear a watch anymore and there are no clocks in my room.) What it means for all of you is that there will be no more pictures. Sorry.

Despite the phone debacle, I did manage to have a great day! The weather here has cooled off quite a bit and now it feels just like San Luis Obispo usually feels at this time of the year. No more profuse sweating. Lovely!

Again today, I did a very nice “sleep in”. Just cannot wake up in the morning. But, who cares really? I don’t have a time schedule on this trip. Nice relaxed pace for a change. But, again, after I realized I could miss breakfast, I was up and out within minutes.

I spent the majority of the day at “La Aurora”. It’s a little bit on the outskirts of town…too far to walk from where I am staying. So, I broke down and had a taxi deliver me there. It cost me about $2.50 American. It was worth it! What a delightful stop!

The Aurora used to be a cotton factory where fabric was weaved. It went gangbusters until international trade agreements changed in the early 1900s. The building is quite historical, and in the middle there is a pictorial history of the activities that went on when it was in full swing. Now, it is a facility for local artists to show their works and upscale vendors to show their wares. The overview I read said that the building is much as it was when it was functioning except for a restaurant and a small outdoor cafe. It was a delightful way to spend the day!

The building houses a wide variety of artists and shops. I saw art that reminded me of my favorite Monet waterlilies. It wasn’t exactly the same, but the ideas were very similar. There was also an artist that did art that was very like what Warhol did. It’s not my favorite, but I do appreciate the talent needed to pull that off. There were many rooms of extreme abstract art, which I really don’t understand. I like to see art that looks like things that are easily identifiable. Although, I have to say, that if you look at the abstract pieces long enough, you can usually put them together with an idea. It takes some looking, though. At least for me.

In addition, there were shops with beautiful glass items for sale, metal works, kitchen items, and home goods. There was even an upscale shop selling mattresses. The sales displays were quite nice with detailed explanations of the inner workings of the mattresses.

There was also a woman in a shop weaving cloth at a loom. She was fascinating to watch and was producing some of the prettiest cloth items I have seen on my travels. They were a little more than I wanted to spend on something like that, but the items were well worth it when you consider the time and effort that goes into the making of them.

The other section that I spend a lot of time with was a display of a joint education program with the Corcoran Museum. They have frequent classes on teaching people to connect their experiences in San Miguel with art and writing. There was some great writing. They followed a philosophy of story telling that I heard reviewed on NPR lately. Most stories come from things that are obscure to most people. The job of the writer is to find those things and make them into an interesting story. Good stuff!

My last shop stop was in the only clothing store I saw there. I had a very nice conversation with the shop keeper, my next friend of the trip. She was an American married to a Mexican man. He was the clothing designer. The clothes were lovely….way to big for me for the most part. But, I loved the free flowing styles and the bright colors, which are typical here. She was also selling some jewelry made by a 17 year old Mexican girl from Leon. It was beautiful and fairly reasonably priced, so I bought a few pieces.

I shared my phone story with her and she got on the phone and called her computer guru to see if he would be able to help me. He couldn’t, but directed me on to Telecel. They couldn’t help either. But, what a nice gesture. I am always blown away by the kindness of strangers and their willingness to help you. Kind of restores your faith in human-kind.

Anyway, after a nice Latte at the outdoor cafe, I decided I would move on. I have heard varying reviews of this facility from people I have met. I think people find the items to be too expensive. I agree. My level of sophistication in this area is not that high. So, I have a hard time justifying the cost. But, I found it interesting to look, even it I wasn’t buying. And, the shop keepers were fine with that. I liked the experience.

I’m headed tonight to a bar/restaurant recommended by my airplane friend that has a large selection of local Mexican wines. Yep, you heard it. Even Mexico has wine! I’m going to check it out and then head for a concert at the Biblioteca Auditorium.

By the way, I did get to the Rosewood last night. Sadly, there was a windstorm going on here. You can imagine how it was on the top of the hotel. I’m luck to have lived to tell about it! I had a Margarita and left. Planning to try it again if the wind dies down. It was pretty and the views were spectacular. This is the only other picture I will be able to share from this trip. But, it’s a doozy. The view was spectacular!

So, signing off for now. Please forward any items to include in the obituary for my phone……HA!

Adios for now….

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“These Boots are Made for Walkin’……”

May 15, 2014

Actually, boots will not do the trick here in San Miguel. You MUST have a good pair of walking shoes with thick soles and ankle support if you plan to do any kind of real walking. Unless, of course, you want to turn your ankle. In that case, wear any shoes you want!

Every street in San Miguel is made with cobblestones. It’s very beautiful, but not easy for walking. So, I opted for my “American detector” brilliant white gym shoes. I have been pegged as a tourist. But, my back, ankles, and feet are still in tact…at least at a high level….which is key to my enjoyment of my next few days here. So, for the time I am here, you may identify me as a tourist. I don’t care.

I spent today walking the city. You may remember from other posts that this is usually something I do on my first day out. I like to get a lay of the land early on so I have some idea of where I am going and what’s around me. So, after a very good “sleep in” this morning, I started out. (Isn’t it funny how a kind of “sleeping sickness” sets in when you are on vacation? I just didn’t want to get up this morning. I also didn’t want to miss breakfast. So, I rolled out of bed and got started for the day.)

The ladies I met yesterday suggested that I go to the Rosewood Hotel for a drink while I am here in town. It is apparently a great place to see the sunset. The hotel is not far from my B & B and I haven’t walked in that direction yet, so I decided to try to find this so as not to be wandering aimlessly through town with a map at night. This is never a good idea. This place looks very upscale. I hope they will let me in later when I go for a drink! I’ll have to clean up a bit.

I walked on a little further to the Benito Juarez Parc. This is a rather substantial park full of well-manicured greenery. There is an area for small children with things they always love like swings, teeter totters, slides, etc. There are also many quiet sitting areas where one can contemplate life. I decided I will have to go there tomorrow with my book and stay awhile.

The park is also home to one of the few “Banyo Publicas” (public bathrooms) in town. Even though I just left my hotel about 10 minutes before, the suggestion of a bathroom within close proximity prompted me to stop in.

Here’s my next installment of “Tales of Using a Bathroom in a Foreign Country”. There was, of course, a cost for taking a pee here. It was $5 Mexican Pesos, about 38 Cents. When the nice woman guarding the bathroom collected my money, she handed me a receipt (for 38 cents) and one square of toilet paper. When I got in the stall, I realized that this was the only toilet paper I had. I found this amusing, but was grateful to have it. I did wonder, though, what one would do if they had to do more than just tinkle. I don’t think I could do it with just one square. Oh well! Anyway, the park was delightful, and I will go back there tomorrow for more. (Might carry some extra tissues with me…tee hee)

I then made my way to the main square and gathering place for the people of San Miguel. The square is right in front of the Parroquia (main church) and is surrounded with little shops and cafes. I spent some time contemplating life there, too. (To be honest, one needs to frequently sit after walking on the cobbles. I’m grateful for some nice places to do that.)

The Parroquia is interesting. It is fashioned after the Familia Segrada in Barcelona…same style, color, everything. Had to stop for a minute to remember where I was. The inside was quite pretty and very ornate. There are many churches here in San Miguel. I stopped in many of them on my travels today. They are all pretty in their own way…and ornate.

After my meditation at the churches, I decided I would try to find La Biblioteca, the public library. This was recommended as somewhere that American and Canadian expats come to gather and make friends. (You KNEW I would need to find this.) This is an interesting facility. There is an English and Spanish selection of books to lend and a small book shop where I purchased the updated guide to San Miguel. (had one from 2006….still functional, but updated is better.)

There is also a section at the Biblioteca where cultural events are held and another section where movies are shown. I’m guessing I will be back to one of these venues while I am here. There is an interesting concert tomorrow night that I have my eye on.

The buildings of the Biblioteca are formed in a square wagon-wheel type format. In the middle is a small courtyard where the expats “hang out”. I picked up a copy of “Atencion” (a publication in English that outlines things to do for the week), sat down and began to read. My next new friend, John, sat down across from me and we began to talk. Had a real nice conversation about a lot of things. He is from Atlanta then Texas and decided to move here when he met a woman, with whom he now lives. I asked him if he liked it here. He said he did, but if he had more money, he would probably do something else. It’s not a perfect fit (is anything?).

San Miguel was voted best small town (or something like that) in 2013. There are signs all over town to tell you about it. John said that’s all well and good. But, they only review the main part of town. When you get to the outskirts, there is filth and poverty. They don’t tell people about that part.

So, he was happy….sort of.

I did relay my bathroom story because I thought it was funny (it WAS…don’t you think?). He looked at me with very serious eyes and said, “You need to always carry toilet paper with you in San Miguel.” He wasn’t kidding. There was another public “banyo” at the library that I made use of. (I was there…why not.) I started to go into a stall and an English speaking woman looked at me and said, “I have to be honest. I just peed all over the seat in that stall. You might want to use another one.” First, I can’t remember the last time I have actually sat on the seat of a public toilet and second, why would you say that to someone? But, I thanked her and she went out. I did my business and guess what? No toilet paper! Thank goodness for tissues.

I ended my afternoon back at the square with a cerveza and some very good (and cute) Mariachis. I understand they will be back at 6:00. So, I am going to head back there to see if I can get another “fix”. Then, off to Rosewood for my drink and a light dinner. Should, be a great night.

Buenos Noches!

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Making Friends in All the Right Places

May 14, 2014

Don’t you just love meeting new people? I surely do, and I can honestly say that I am becoming something of an expert at it. I have said this in my blogs before, but I’ll say it again. For some reason, people just love to tell me their stories. I love to hear them, so I guess we’re even. On day 2 of my trip I have made 7 new friends. It might be a record, even for me.

Let me start from the beginning. First, I don’t think I told you where I was going. I am in Mexico in a small town called San Miguel de Allende. It’s in the Guanajuato area of Mexico, which is north of Mexico City in the middle of the country. I am not at a Mexican beach, which you may have thought. When I was looking to do a small get away on my own, I, as usual, began to ask people I know who are well traveled if they had any ideas. When I suggested to one of my good friends at the winery that I might go to Cabo or Puerto Vallarta he said, “Why would you do that? What are you going to do there? It’s a beach. After about 3 days, you will be looking for something to do.” So, he told me about San Miguel. He was right. It’s a little bit of Europe right here in central Mexico. What a great spot!

Truth be told, I was a little nervous about going to Mexico to begin with, let alone going on my own. The stories of Americans traveling in Mexico have not been too positive as of late….you know….people being detained….people having their heads cut off…..that kind of thing. I’m adventurous, but not that much!! I’m happy to say that after day 2, I have a different opinion. I still have my head (such as it is!..HA!) ….and I have the 7 new friends I told you about. Not too shabby right out of the gate!

I may have mentioned this in some past posts, but traveling from San Luis,where we live, is an adventure in itself. It’s not easy, or cheap, to get anywhere from there. We have a small airport, but most of the time, it’s not possible to use it for the reasons mentioned. So, mostly, we go out of LAX, which is about 3-3.5 hours away from San Luis. This requires a ride on the Central Coast Shuttle, which runs out of Santa Maria, about 30 minutes away from us. We use it often and it is great! But, because I was traveling internationally and on the 11:30 am flight, I had to catch the 4:00 am shuttle to get to the airport at the required 3 hours before flight time. (I sat in the airport doing nothing for about 2.5 hours. Was this early morning really necessary?!) But, Mike and I were up at 2:00 am getting me there. YIKES!

I wanted to ride shotgun with the shuttle driver because it’s the best seat in the car, and I like to chat. SURPRISE! But the driver was not up for this. Oh well, I should sleep anyway. I wanted to be alert in case I needed to make any important decisions about keeping my head, etc. As it turns out, I was the last person to be dropped off at the airport. As soon as the bus cleared out, guess what?! It turns out that the driver was up for a chat after all. In a short…..or long (depending on your perspective)…10 minute ride to my gate, I heard his life story. Interesting fellow…and hard working, too. He was my first friend of the trip….very exciting!

The flight to Mexico went smoothly and was pretty short. On the way, I met my 2nd friend of the trip. San Miguel is known for its allure as a retirement destination. The livin’ is easy….and cheap…so, many Americans and Canadians buy property and retire here. The woman I met on the plane was one of these people. She assured me that I would love spending time in San Miguel. And, if I gave her my email address, she would send me a list of fun things to do. Great! (I’m still waiting for the list, but it was a very nice gesture.)

I arrived at the airport in Leon (the most common airport that one uses when going to San Miguel) at the appointed time. I met my driver without a hitch and climbed into his van for the 1.5 hour drive to San Miguel. I was the only passenger. My new friend, George, invited me into the shotgun seat and we chatted the whole way to San Miguel. I also learned his whole life story…. and some information about Mexico.

We talked about all the different kinds of cacti that grow here (including one whose juice would make me feel “happy”. Happy is good!). I learned that corn and alfalfa are the most common crops grown and that much of the land we were traveling through was ranch land. The other interesting tidbit was that gold and silver mining are a big occupation in this area. I’m sure I should have known that. Oh well, he was happy to tell me about it.

George dropped me off right at my B & B where I was greeted by Tere, my host. She gave me a quick tour of the property and when my eyes glazed over from exhaustion and confusion, she said she understood. The building is like a labyrinth, but I would get to know it in about 10 minutes. She was right. It is a beautiful property, with many quiet sitting areas, a garden and fountain in the middle and a roof top terrace where one could sun bathe, if desired. I have to say that I will not desire to do this unless the temperature here drops about 10-15 degrees. WOW! Very hot!!

Tere was very concerned that I was traveling by myself and maybe I would not be able to find things to do and would be bored. She doesn’t know me. I never let too much grass grow under my feet, and already have my week somewhat lined out. Very nice woman, though…and helpful.

My next 4 friends came as a result of a cooking class that I took this morning. I learned to make 5 different salsas and one chicken dish, had hibiscus tea for the first time, and got a very good tutorial on chilis. The next time you have dinner at my house, it will be Mexican. Be ready! It was a lot of fun…and, great food!

Maria, the instructor was great. Gabriella and her mother were the only other 2 in the class with me. They were on a trip together in celebration of Mother’s Day. They were a “hoot”, and the 4 of us had a great time.

In fact, we had such a great time, we are meeting for dinner at a restaurant recommended by Maria in about an hour. So, I will sign off now. I need to get a shower before I go, not that it will make me smell any better. As soon as I step out into the heat, I will be a sweaty, stinky mess again. But, I will make the effort. I think this will be the type of place where you have to be OK with being stinky all the time. Not my favorite, but I think I can adjust.

Hasta Luega!

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Cruising……and the Livin’ is Easy

November 7, 2013

Well, it’s day 6 (I think) on the cruise. My brain still functions (at a low level) and I can still button my pants (barely). So, I thought that I would give you all an update on our activities before I totally lose all track of time and sense. Here goes!

Our trip from the center of Rome to the port (about an hour and a half ride on the slow train) was actually pretty uneventful, except for the slight panic attack I had about halfway there. I began to look around the train and realized that there were no other people in our car who appeared to be going to the ship…..no large suitcases, no excited chatter about what to eat after boarding the ship…..I mentioned this to Mike. Maybe I had the wrong day. I haven’t missed a connection on a trip for a VERY long time, so maybe I am due! I hoped not! After some of our adventures on this trip, it wouldn’t be surprising. When we got the dock, however, my fears subsided as I looked back at the others on the train platform who were leaving the other cars on the train. That’s what I was looking for…..lots of older people lugging lots of big suitcases. They were there in droves! We were at the right place! YIPPEE!!

We are cruising on the Celebrity Reflection. It is the newest and largest ship of the Celebrity fleet holding well over 3,000 people. I’m sure it’s the largest ship I have ever been on and is quite a sight from the shore. It is literally “stories” above the ground. Impressive!

Normally, we don’t pick a large ship when we cruise. We like the intimacy of the smaller ships and the customer service that is possible typically with a smaller ship. This is particularly appreciated on a Transatlantic cruise (which is what we have chosen for our passage home) where there are a very small number of ports of call. (This time, we will stop at Tenerife, St. Martin and St. Kitts.) But, this particular ship provided us the opportunity to leave on the exact day we wanted to sail and it was dirt cheap. Two things that are very important to us. So, we signed up!

I have to say that we have been very pleased with what we have found. Despite the size of the ship, we have, in our 6 days, never felt that we were crowded or overwhelmed with people. From the check-in process to meal service to disembarkation on our first shore day, we have never waited more than a few minutes. It’s much better than we expected. Also, the architectural design of the ship provides for small sitting and gathering areas all over the ship. So, you don’t typically see large crowds of people struggling for a place to light, even at the pool, where seating is usually a real challenge. Instead, you see small intimate groups chatting in small spaces and many open seats around the pool. Very well done Celebrity!

We have once again chosen the inside cabin for our transit. This is also far better than we expected or have had in the past. Usually, the inside cabins are the size of a postage stamp. This time, the room is the size of 2 postage stamps and the bathroom is bigger and more roomy than the phone booth type that is typical. We can drop the soap on the floor of the shower as much as we want and not hit our heads on the shower walls or faucets (OUCH!). I am grateful for this as I can be pretty clumsy, especially on a moving vessel!

The other thing that we are finding very nice are the perks that we are entitled to as past cruisers. You may know that cruise ships, like the airlines and hotel chains, have special programs that provide increasingly valuable benefits for those who are past cruisers and cruise often. The more you go, the more you get! Again, very important as we always try to get the best deal! We have now cruised so many times, that we are in the “Elite” category of cruisers. This the highest level you can attain and the benefits are really great!

The one that I have appreciated the most is the laundry benefit. You may remember from an earlier post that we were unable to do our laundry in Rome, as there were no laundry services in the area where we stayed. So, for about a million dollars, we had the hotel do about 6 pieces of laundry for us so that we would have some relatively clean clothes throughout our week in Rome. We were hoping not to spill so that we could maximize our clothing stash. As it turns out, I did spill. I am now the proud owner of a pair of European jeans purchased for the whopping sum of 16 Euro at a high level Walmart type of store in our Rome neighborhood! Wore them all week! They walked onto the ship by themselves…..TEE HEE!!

Anyway, as you might guess, when we got on the ship, we had not one stitch of clean clothing. Much to our surprise, the “Elite” benefits included 2 free loads of laundry and some free dry cleaning! We were even able to get Mike’s sport jacket, that he has been wearing every day for a month and a half, dry cleaned for free! Very exciting for us! It’s the small things…..you know!

We are also getting about 3 hours of internet time for free! Internet service is very sketchy on these ships and it’s always slow. It’s understandable when you realize that you are in the middle of the ocean trying to get an internet signal. I wonder how they are able to do it at all. But, when you are paying for the service, it’s maddening. They don’t factor into your cost for internet service, the lost time while you are waiting for a connection. So, you lose money every time you log on. When it’s free, this small hardship is a little easier to take.

The other benefit that we are really enjoying are the free drinks. On the cruise ship, one pays extra for any kind of drink beyond tap water, lemonade, coffee, ice tea and some limited juices. If you have a craving for a Diet Coke or a glass of wine, you are paying extra for it and it’s not cheap! Our “Elite” benefit gives us each 3 free drinks each day if we want them. Trust me, we WANT them and have taken advantage of this on each day so far. Nice touch Celebrity!

Out of our 6 days at sea, 5 of them have been sea days, which we are thoroughly enjoying. For us, sea days include sleeping, reading and eating. I always throw in at least one workout in the gym each day. ( I figure if I am going to eat 24/7, I really have to exercise. Not Mike, though. He is his usual svelt self, even without the exercise. A fantasy, really! ) For others who want to be busier, there are ship board activities running all day long. You can find just about anything you want here on the ship from trivia contests to dance lessons to wine instruction! We get a run down on these on each evening for the next day. If you want to, you can plan every minute. This is not our cruising style, but everyone is different. There are lots of opportunities to meet people, as well, which I always love. It really IS like summer camp for adults!

On this trip, to mix it up a bit, we have also randomly attended some of the entertainment shows that are provided on board. We have particularly enjoyed a men’s a cappella group and a classical guitarist that we have heard twice since we have been on the ship. The magician we saw on the second day was pretty good, too. Tonight, we will hear a pianist that we saw on our last cruise. He is Liberace reincarnated! No kidding!….he was actually “discovered” by Liberace when he was a kid….has the same flamboyance and showmanship….it’s quite enjoyable! Good stuff!

So, we are enjoying our selectively quiet passage home. What a great way to unwind after the active month that we have had traveling through Europe!

The livin’ is surely easy……….

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On the Bus to Assisi……

November 4, 2013

Our last day in Rome……what to do……what to do! In the last few days, we have had some experiences that would be hard to top! What an enjoyable education we have had about Rome. But, as we were coming to the end of our European adventure, we were getting tired and in need of an activity that was stimulating, yet less complex to organize and carry out than those we have had in the last few days. HMMMM……

Mike has a fascination with St. Francis of Assisi, but had never visited Assisi. As it turns out, our hotel had an arrangement with a local touring company. They offered several tours in and around Rome, and believe it or not, one of them was a trip to Assisi. Kismet! We signed up and were off for a fun day in Assisi!

I visited Assisi years ago on my first solo trip to Europe. A good friend of ours married a Spanish woman and a group of us went to the wedding in Spain. It was one of the best times I have had in my life. For days, we ate, drank, and mingled with the local Spaniards in the small town where we attended the wedding as we celebrated the nuptials of these 2 wonderful friends. I was between jobs at that time. So, when the celebration was over and everyone else went home to go back to work, I stayed on and did a month-long tour of Italy. Assisi was on my game plan.

It was an interesting experience that I will never forget. When I was doing my planning, I wanted to find a home base for myself where it would be convenient to do some side-tripping. I landed on Siena in Italy. From there, I could side-trip all over Tuscany, the area where Siena is located, and also reasonably get to Assisi, which is in the Umbrian section of Italy. After my solo time, I was meeting my sister and nephew in Florence to further explore Tuscany and take a cooking class. Siena was a great choice!

The best way for me to travel to Assisi from Siena was by public bus. I scoped it out the day before I planned to go and purchased my ticket, identified where to pick up the bus and outlined the timing for the day. Simple! Well, at least that’s how it seemed at the time…..

As it turns out, there was one bus from Siena to Assisi and one bus back. That’s it. I was a fearless traveler, so this didn’t bother me. I can DO this!

Had I known then what I know now about Italy (you know…..IT’S ITALY!….) I probably wouldn’t have attempted this adventure. But, I had gotten very good at using public transportation and figuring out schedules, so I never gave it a second thought. Why NOT visit Assisi by bus?!

The morning I planned to go, I got to the bus station in plenty of time, boarded the bus and was at the start of my 2 hour journey to Assisi! No sweat! When I left the bus, I confirmed with the bus driver (who had the worst B.O. I have EVER smelled), the pick up time and location for the trip back to Siena. Easy!

I decided that since there was only one bus back, I would be very cautious about getting back to the bus station in plenty of time to meet the bus back to Siena.

About 45 minutes before the appointed time for the bus to pick up, I went to the stop and sat down at the small cafe near the stop for a glass of wine while I waited. I waited….and waited……and waited….. 45 minutes, an hour, an hour and a half…..still, no bus. OH NO!!! What if the bus doesn’t come back, what if there was a problem. How would I get back to Siena?

All of this was running through my mind as I tried to get some information from those that were waiting around the bus stop. I saw a newspaper stand and went there to try to get some information. Surely, they would have some idea of why the bus wasn’t there. NOPE! Between my non-existent Italian and their non-existent English, I was no better off after asking than I was before.

So, I sat down on a bench next to the newspaper stand with some other people and calculated my next move. If the bus didn’t come in the next half hour, I would take the train. It would take me all night, as there were no direct routes between the 2 cities. But, at least I could get back to my home base.

In the next 15 minutes, the bus came, now about 2 hours late. I heaved a sigh of relief, boarded the bus and counted my blessings. From what I could gather, the bus was just running behind and arrived at the pickup location late. REALLY?! And, they weren’t going to share this information with someone?!

Anyway, I got back to Siena and decided to stop and have dinner in the main square, where I proceeded to have a half bottle of wine and a small glass of Grappa to settle my nerves. I had never tried Grappa. Why not!? I deserved this after the day I had just had. This imbibing led to a drunken call to Mike in his office when I finally figured out how to get back to my hotel,dial the phone and use the calling card (no cell phones in those days). The only thing I could say when Mike picked up the phone was HEE, HEE, HEE, HEE…….continuous laughing jag. HA! It’s a great story to tell at parties!

Our trip to Assisi this time was much less adventurous. We went on a tour bus that picked us up and dropped us off right at our hotel door. (In fact, that was part of the draw of this tour!) But, being in Assisi and seeing the exact newspaper stand and the bench where I waited for the bus took me back to that day in Assisi. It’s funny now….not as much then. But, hey, it’s an experience. If I could get through that, I can probably figure out just about anything.

I found Assisi to be as moving this time as I found it the last time. Despite my adventure there, Assisi has been one of my favorite and most moving travel experiences. The town reflects a chronology of the life of St. Francis. In the famous basilica, the painter, Giotto, demonstrated this through paintings that outline the path of St. Francis’ life. It is quite moving!

For those of you who don’t know, St. Francis was born into a wealthy family. As a young boy, he had a dream indicating to him that he should use his life to build churches. So, he built churches……and a lot more!

Much to the distress of his father, he renounced his worldly goods and began to focus on helping the poor and infirm. His father, as you might guess, was pretty upset and took extreme measures, such as locking him in a cell, to be sure that this kind of behavior didn’t continue. (Imagine, helping those less fortunate than you. How could someone stoop that low!?) Eventually, St. Francis’ mother freed him and gave him enough money and supplies to start out on his own. He continued his work and is now one of the best known symbols for kindness, compassion and humanitarianism in the world.

As we traveled along with the tour guide, we learned about some of the many things that St. Francis did for his fellow man, beast, and the environment. He was also a lover of animals and did what he could to protect and take care of them as well.

What a great day we had! It was a perfect way to end our trip! In a world where there are so many people ready to take advantage of their fellow man, it’s nice to know that there are some positive role models for people to follow. It gives me hope for the future.

Friday, we boarded the cruise ship and started our trip back home. (I’ll keep you posted on our activities as we have access to internet. Internet connections at sea are a little sketchy.)

We will have 15 days, mostly at sea, to reflect on all of our experiences of the last few weeks. We have lots to think about!

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“Lend Me Your Ears……….”

November 1, 2013

We have had a whirlwind few days here in Rome. I want to tell you about all the things we have seen and experienced, but there isn’t really enough blog space to write it all down. And, I think your eyes would cross about mid-way trying to read it all. But, I really DO want to tell you about all of it. So, I’ll do my best to point out some of the highlights in a concise and entertaining way.

Since last I posted, we have visited St. Peter’s, the largest church in the world and a very small church near the Piazza Venezia, where we attended a concert of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Today, we rubbed elbows with the common people at the forum, the heart and sole of ancient Rome, and we visited the great Colosseum, where the brave Gladiators fought great battles for the entertainment of the masses.

In between visits, we managed to find a Sicilian restaurant down the street from our hotel that was filled with locals and presented some of the best food we have had on the trip. As you know, food is very important to us. And, as I write this, I am using the last teeny part of my brain that’s not filled with fun and interesting facts about Rome to plan where we might eat dinner tonight. HMMM…..so much food, so little time….but, we are up for the task!

As you can probably gather, I am a pretty independent traveler. As a rule, it’s not my style to engage tour guides or do organized tours as I travel. And, I have followed this pattern as we have done our traveling on this trip….until I got to Rome.

As I usually do before we started on a trip, I picked the brains of every person I could find who had been to the areas we were visiting to gather tips on important and interesting things to see. I had lots of great suggestions from people on all of our target areas. But, when I started to talk about Rome, literally, everyone I talked to said, “You need to see the Vatican and the Colosseum, and you need to do an organized tour.” So, I did….for each….and, I slipped in the night walking tour of the city. I am so glad I did!

Rome is a mass of artifacts, history, and art. It’s overwhelming…and without someone to guide you through, I think it would be difficult to really appreciate all that it has to offer. There’s a big difference between seeing something and actually understanding it. I don’t know about you, but if I am going to spend the time to go somewhere, I want to do more than just look. I want to understand……and connect. Thus, I now have 3 new friends in Rome….Jeanette, Simone and David….tour guides extraordinare! The credentials of this group were absolutely incredible…one was a master’s prepared art historian, one was an archeologist, and one had and extended education in Roman architecture and history. I can’t think of a better way to get a Roman education. Can you?!! What an opportunity!

I have to say, though, the best thing about my new group of friends, besides their vast knowledge, was their enthusiasm around their subjects. I have never seen people more excited to share their knowledge. Kudos to all of them!

We happened to be at the Vatican and the Colosseum on days where they were not jam-packed. Don’t get me wrong, it was crowded, but you could actually move around freely and look at things and linger…unheard of in the summer. Both of the guides took this opportunity to move us back and forth in a systematic way so that we could put the together the stories of the art and history. They were like “kids in a candy store” running us from place to place so that we could see their favorite things. In a word, it was fantastic!

The Vatican tour included the museum, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. We also had a small extra, the Raphael rooms, which was an area of the Vatican that was painted by Raphael. For the Vatican, we had what I would call a private tour. There were just 4 of us in the group and Simone, our guide. Before we really got started, Simone sat down with us and her trusty iPad and walked us through some history of the Vatican and showed us pictures of its evolution. She also walked us through what we would be seeing in the Sistine Chapel with pictures, so that we could recognize the important pieces as we looked at the real thing. We went through panel by panel and looked at some of the nuances that make this work of are so incredible!

A fun fact……It seems the famous ceiling that we are all familiar with was actually a project assigned to Michelangelo in order to get him “out of the way” of another project that he had already begun…..a very political story. I won’t bore you with the details, but, definitely a long way around to getting this famous final product.

It took Michelangelo about 5 years to complete the Sistine Chapel. He worked alone on the actual painting and scheme, with some assistance only on building the scaffolding to support him as he worked on the project. As he came to the end of the project, there were many negative changes happening in the power centers of Rome, which touched him deeply and he became depressed. This is reflected on his work. Here, there is a self-portrait that shows just his skin being carried away by a saint. Historians felt that this was a depiction of his mood at the time. He felt that everything he respected was being taken away. How sad!

The Vatican Museum was just filled with a wide variety of pieces produced across a wide scope of time. There were sculptures with absolute perfect bodies that we learned Michelangelo had studied in order to get the Sistine Chapel work exactly right. There were some pieces by Matisse and Dali, which surprised me. There were also some pieces that were very modern……abstract, really. Simone admitted that as an archeologist, she had a hard time connecting with these pieces. But, she continued to study them in order to gain an appreciation.

In St. Peter’s, we saw the golden altar and Michelangelo’s pieta, which he created at the age of 23. The detail on this piece and the artistic flow was incredible. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know many 23 year olds that have the talent and insight to produce something like this. Phenominal!

In St. Peter’s we also saw the body of Pope John the 23rd. It was actually in view in something of a mummified state. His face was preserved with wax, Kind of creepy!

All in all, our day at the Vatican was amazing!

The Colosseum and forum tour was equally as good! Our guide, David, walked us through what life in ancient Rome might have been like.

The forum was the gathering spot of the people of Rome back in the day. All of the major activities were carried out here from lawmaking in the Senate to addresses to the masses to entertainment in the Colosseum. As you might guess, the remains of the buildings are not in tact as they were in Roman times. The remains are arranged in the form of what the buildings would have been like in ancient Rome, so as to give one an idea of the original buildings. David was a genius at connecting the dots for us and painting a picture of how things looked and felt in Roman times. When we got to the area where Marc Anthony presented his famous address to the masses (you know the one…..”Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears…..”) we felt like we were among those listening to the address. You could almost hear the words linger in the air. What an experience!

Our tour through the Colosseum was fascinating as well. This was the venue that was built by the Romans to keep the masses entertained. As it turns out, the Romans were a generous society. As long as you followed the rules, there were lots of tangible perks….food, clothing, shelter, entertainment… and, they were all free!

Gladiators, who were really slaves that were trained to do battle with each other and some pretty fierce animals, provided the entertainment “show” in the Colosseum. The job of “gladiator” was one that was actually sought after by the slaves. The death rate was quite high, but if they could stay alive and become popular contenders, they could buy their way to freedom. Such a deal!

The most fascinating thing to me, though, about the Colosseum was the vast size of the structure and the engineering done by the Romans stage these “shows” for the masses. As part of our tour, we looked at the underground area where the “shows” were staged. There were 12 or so underground elevators that lifted the large animals to the arena area and about 28 smaller elevators that lifted the Gladiators to the stage area from the underground. All of these were manually driven by slaves. Imagine this kind of technology being developed in Roman times. It’s incredible when you think about it. Those Romans were pretty smart fellas!

Throughout the Forum, there were other examples of forward Roman engineering that were equally as impressive. One was an aquaduct that was built by the Romans and was still in use today to carry sewage to the river. The other one that I thought was interesting was a space that was engineered under the marble floors where they could blow hot steam in during the winter to warm the floors. My mother’s retirement home used the same kind of engineering to warm the floors in her condo. Amazing!

My overall thoughts about my last days in Rome are this……the ancient Romans were engineering geniuses and Rome, in the time of the rise of the papacy, was the gathering place of some of the most insightful and talented artists in the world!

As Mike and I have walked the streets and observed the shoddy road repair, dirty streets and graffiti on just about everything, we wonder where the genius of this culture has gone. We’re hoping it comes back. Italy has a lot to offer.

But, for these times……”IT’S still ITALY”……

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Buon Giorno Roma ………..

October 28, 2013

We arrived in Rome on Thursday mid-day. After our many train mishaps, we decided that we would leave from Bologna early and give ourselves enough time to meet the train as scheduled and still have enough time to account for any problems that could occur along the way. As it turns out, this was one of our only train experiences since we have been on the road that went without a hitch. Great!

We are staying at a very nice hotel called Hotel Relais 6. It is in a residential area in the north eastern section of Rome. The room is a tiny bit tight, but very nicely appointed with antiques, nice linen, thirsty towels and a pair of slippers for both of us….how nice. No tissues, though. Isn’t that funny?! They provide slippers, but no tissues. You would think it would be the other way around. Mike and I have both picked up colds and are searching for tissues everywhere we go. This could be a real hardship for us!

I can honestly say that this is probably the friendliest hotel that we have stayed in on our trip. The front desk staff is very attentive and eager to assist with setting up tours, answering questions, etc. I talked to one of the staff this morning about this and he said it is a condition of hire at this hotel. They want you to feel like you are visiting someone in their home rather than staying at hotel, which makes customer service a key factor. As he said, there are lots of hotels in Rome to pick from, they want to be a step ahead of the pack. In the hustle and bustle of Rome and as we are getting more fatigued as we wind up our trip, this is very refreshing and appreciated.

The hotel really is set up like someone’s home! There is a lovely sitting area near the main lobby that is also appointed with antiques and large comfortable chairs where you can sit and read your own book or pick from one that is available from the shelves that are scattered throughout the common area. There are also 2 smaller sitting rooms in the common area as well as a small breakfast room where we have had our morning meal in the days since we have been here. It really is delightful!

We also like the little neighborhood where the hotel is located and have found some really tasty food here, so far. We had pasta at a couple of little neighborhood places in our first days here that were good and at minimal cost. Last night, we had a fantastic meal at a newer restaurant near the hotel, which was quite different. I had the leg of a pig, which they called proscuitto. I don’t know about you, but the proscuitto that I know is the kind that is sliced wafer thin and served with melon, breads, etc. This was a different story. It was actually the upper part of the pig’s leg that still had the hip joint attached. It had been slow roasted in the oven and was so tender that it was falling off the bone. It’s been a long time since I have had ham/pork that was quite this tender and juicy. Just great!

The restaurant is also known for its antipasto bar, which we sampled. It was like a salad bar, but more. My 2 favorite things on the bar were a skewer lined alternately with fresh mozzarella and cherry tomatoes…..a little bit of a cappresse salad….really good. The other winner was an eggplant dish that was done up like an eggplant parmesan. We could have just done this for dinner. So good!

If there is a downside to our little haven outside of the hustle and bustle of Rome, it is that we are a little far out from the main sites. There is a close metro stop and pretty good bus connections, but it still takes a good long time to get to where you want to be each day. We have used taxi service a few times, but they are expensive and the taxi drivers are anxious to trick you with incorrect change, etc. So, we are trying to stay clear from using them if we can.

There are also few services for travelers available. Laundry is the most needed at this point, and literally non-existent. On our first day here, I did a walk of the neighborhood and found 4 dry cleaners. There were no laundry services, either self serve or those that will do the laundry for you. Hard to believe! But, true. The hotel will do laundry for you for about a million dollars. Since we don’t actually have a million dollars, we are recycling our clothing and hoping we don’t get too sweaty or spill anything, a particular challenge for me! Wish us luck!

In our first few days here, we have covered a lot of ground. We did an evening walking tour of the city that started at the Spanish Steps and ended at the Piazza Navona. We had a great tour guide who was a Floridian, of all things, with a Master’s Degree in art history. She was transplanted here through marriage about 10 years ago. She was a very interesting and entertaining host who guided us through some of the must-see sites in Italy. Although we looked at other things, the highlights for me were the Trevi Fountain, The Pantheon and the Piazza Navona……and, of course a stop at the best gelateria in Rome. All (including the gelato) are really great examples of the history, art and /or architecture of Rome. In these venues we saw sculptures by Raphael and Bernini as well as other lesser known artists and heard the stories behind the pieces. All were very moving and interesting…..and, experiencing this by night is also a treat with the lights of Rome in the background.

We are off to a great start in Rome!!

By the way, I stopped off in one of the bathrooms in a delightful wine bar near our hotel yesterday and had another “PRE” sighting (you remember this from a few blogs ago). This particular restaurant also chose to identify the men’s and women’s room with pictures. These were quite different from those in Bratslava that I talked about in my earlier post. They were much more sophisticated, with their antique look and feel. No one’s butt cheeks or cracks were hanging out. But, the very proper woman on the women’s room picture was bare-breasted…….HMMM….a little sexist if you ask me. But, again, no question on which bathroom was which.

We are off in a few minutes to attend a concert of the Vivaldi Four Seasons at an old church in the middle of Rome. We will go on the bus, which we haven’t used yet. I hope we get there……and on time! You never know in Rome!

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My Bologna has a First Name, It’s O…..

October 24, 2013

Oh…..wrong Bologna. OOPS!!

Oscar Meyer has the best little ditties, don’t they? Since I stepped off the train in Bologna on Monday, this one has been in the back of my mind. I was just waiting for the right place to put it! Tee hee!

Mike and I had a few unscheduled days between Venice and Rome and were searching for something to do with them. After some research, some discussion and a little pressure from me, we decided on Bologna. For those of you who don’t know, Bologna is the food capital of Italy, serving up some of the best food in the country. After our food experience in Venice, I decided that Italy needed to vindicate itself in the food department. Maybe Bologna could help them.

We were able to find a 4-star Mercure Hotel that was right next to the train station for the whopping price of $70.00 per night. And, we could take the very luxurious “Frecciargento” train. Bologna is kind of the center of the Italian world…..food, university….good train connections. Can’t beat that! So, we were off!

Because of our several less than perfect train experiences in the last few weeks, I am now ultra-cautious about getting a reservation on the train. I decided, before we boarded the train to Venice in Bolzano, that we would get our reservations to Bologna from the friendly and helpful people at the Bolzano train information station. They were so efficient. (This, of course, was before my middle seat, stinky man train ride!) I explained to the nice ticket person, the issues we had so far with the train system and, in a nice way (really), stressed that we wanted to have a very nice seat on the very fast train to Bologna. She was all too happy to help us. Gotta love these train people!

So, on Monday, we boarded the train to Bologna. As we entered our cabin, we realized that we were not in first class, but in second class. This must be a mistake. Nope! This was our assigned seat. It wasn’t bad, but we had paid for first class.

I try to be flexible when traveling because things happen. It’s just the way it is. No matter how careful and seasoned you are, things STILL happen, and sometimes you just have to go with the flow. I thought that maybe this was one of those times. It was a short ride, after all, and what difference did it really make anyway? So, we put our luggage in the overhead rack and sat down.

The more thought I gave this and the more I watched the increasing numbers of people coming into our second class cabin, though, the more irritated I became. So, I decided to check out the first class cabin. If it was significantly different from where we were, I would say something about the seat.

What a difference! First class had a lot more room, nice leather seats that reclined and they were doing a coffee service that was complimentary….and, they were less crowded.

So, I found a nice female conductor that had very good english and explained the situation. Again, I got the blank stare….and then. “Did you pay for first class?”

I have a pretty long fuse, but as the discussion continued, my fuse grew shorter. I looked at her with my train pass and reservation in hand that reflected what we had paid and said,

“Yes. I paid for first class, which is significantly different from where we are seated. You WILL find me a seat in first class. I have paid for this and WILL be sitting in this section for the next 45 minutes.”

She fooled around with her scheduling device and finally came up with 2 seats that we could have. I looked at her and sweetly said, “Thank you very much.” …nasty woman……

We had a lovely ride, a nice espresso and arrived at our hotel relaxed and rested. Imagine, a non-chaotic situation in Italy.

The people at the hotel were SO friendly that I mentioned to Mike that the train people might have called ahead to tell them that a “bitch woman” was on her way to them and to be on the lookout for her. Is that possible? I don’t know, but we had a very nice stay at the Mercure.

We came across a few interesting things about the hotel, though. First, we were so happy with the hotel that we thought we would sign up for their “club”. You know the kind. You stay at the hotel chain and gather points toward a free stay. We had booked this stay through a travel agent and knew we couldn’t count these points, but we might book directly at the hotel for future stays. Much to our surprise, they wouldn’t let us join. Couldn’t do it! Really?! OK!

I also don’t think they have tourists like us. We had lots of questions for them. They were very nice and extremely helpful. But, we could see them scatter when we approached the desk for information, which was pretty often. There were about 3 people, 2 young women and 1 man who were always delegated to help us. They were very nice. KUDOS to them!

We LOVED Bologna. Bologna is kind of “old school Italy”. There aren’t many tourists here and it is obvious. There are not a lot of crowds and chaos. Just some friendly people and some good old fashioned cooking in spots that are frequented by mostly locals. Just great!

As we anticipated, we had some of the best food of the trip here. In fact, after the first meal, we decided that we would not take any side trips from Bologna, but just stay here and eat for 2 days….and, that’s what we did. We had tortellini and taglietelli with Bolognese sauce more than one time. We had lasagna with green noodles twice. These items are typical for Bologna and just spectacular made with homemade noodles and covered with lots of the parmesan cheese that this area is famous for! YUM!

We also had a very good artichoke salad that was sprinkled with a lovely vinaigrette. Just delightful!

The other winner in the food category was an eggplant parmesan that I had on the first day. The eggplant was sliced paper thin and just covered with a wonderful Bolognese sauce and lots of parmesan cheese. It was the best I have ever had. So good!

We had dessert each night, which we don’t normally do. But, it was pretty inexpensive and so tempting. The best of the desserts was a panne cotta with a burnt carmel sauce. I have never had anything this creamy and smooth.

One of the nights, I had a shot of Strega with my dessert. Mike insisted because I have never had it. It was a little better in taste than the Grappa we had in Vienna, but had the same effect. Couldn’t finish it. I am the navigator…..someone had to get us back to the hotel!

The other winner was the wine. This area is known for its Sangiovese. We had it with every meal and sometimes in between. I couldn’t get enough of it. We had bottles and just single glasses. Even the house wine was Sangiovese and tasted just great! And, it was cheap. We were getting this wine for between $10 and $18 Euro a bottle, which is between about $14.00 and $25.00. For those of you who buy wine in restaurants you know throw reasonable this is!. You could get more expensive wine, but why would you?!

OK, Italy, we feel better about you……or, at least the food. And, you have Bologna to thank.

My Bologna has a first name…..it’s Y..U…M….M….Y…….HAHA!

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The Carnival that is Venice……..

October 23, 2013

A weekend in Venice…a dream come true…..romantic walks by the water and over the bridges, leisurely window shopping in the many shops, a cup of coffee at St. Mark’s Square and great food! We were ready! Boy, were we in for a big surprise! WOW! Venice on the weekend (even in the off-season) is a carnival! Here’s what I mean…

We left our sleepy little mountain village on Saturday morning to head to Venice. Again, we were taking the train. This time, we planned ahead and were sure to have our reservations in hand before the day of departure.

READY……SET……..GO………..!!

Sadly, the 4 of us were not able to sit together…the train was too full. We were OK with that. We have been tied at the hip for the last few weeks, so breaking the group up for a few hours was not a big deal.

First, we passed Gene and Carrie’s seat. They had one of those nice 4 seat Business Class cabins with lots of room. Great! Then, we approached the cabin where Mike and I would sit. It was one of those cabins with the 6 seats. This one already had 3 people in it who had the biggest suitcases I have even seen…and lots of them. There was no room for our luggage. In the window seat, next to my middle seat, was a large, stinky, Italian man. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think he was dirty, but he smelled of old food. It was probably stuck to his clothing. (This was part of what inspired my “PRE” post about the toilets, etc.)

After some grumbling on my part, the stinky man got up and moved the luggage around so that we could put one of our suitcases up in the rack. Guess where the others went. Under my feet…UGGHHH!! Really??!! Again?!!!

I sat for the entire 2 hour trip with my feet propped on 2 pieces of luggage. What a way to start our dream-like trip to Venice. Oh well….these things happen when you travel as much as we do. So, you learn to brush them off and just continue on. The ride was OK, but I was glad to free my legs and feet when we got off the train.

Our next great dilemma was figuring out how to use the vaporetto when we got off the train in Venice. By now, Mike was frustrated about the Italian train system and tired of walking and we were all getting a little bit grumpy, truth be told! But, we had to get to the hotel and the vaporetto was the only way….no taxis here!

So as not to make it more difficult, Carrie and I separated to gather information and met back with the group in a few minutes. Between the 2 of us, we figured it out and headed to the correct vaporetto. In minutes, the 4 of us (and everyone else in the known world) were on our way to Venice. What a crowd! We were literally shoulder to shoulder with every tourist in Italy. And, it was hot! I needed a shower when I got off the boat! You don’t know stinky until you have this experience.

We (and our luggage) made our way to the hotel. The path was made up of Mike’s favorite cobblestone streets and a small bridge with several steps to climb up and then down. It wasn’t too far, but it felt like miles. Always does when you have luggage to tow along.

The hotel was right in the center of Venice, just steps from St. Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge. SWEET!! The door had a teeny tiny sign on it that was marked with the name. We almost missed it. Even when we identified the sign, we weren’t sure we were in the right place. But, we followed the directions and rang the bell and were buzzed in. WOW! Great security!

This was the good news. The bad news was that we were on the 3rd floor (top floor) of the hotel. There was no elevator and we had to negotiate our luggage up the very narrow and windy staircase. Gene and I knew this going in. We had discussed the fact, and agreed, that he would need to carry my suitcase because of my back. This was really best we could do! A 3 star hotel with no elevator and also no air conditioning for about $250.00 per night. Sticker shock!! Right?!! This is what you get at the last minute for a weekend in Venice.

Gene, Carrie and the very tiny, anorexic looking hotel clerk carried all of the suitcases up the steps. Again, a gold star for Gene. I am also awarding one to Carrie as well. The 2 of them were great sports in helping us with the luggage! There WAS a tangible reward for them, though. Gene and Carrie scored a junior suite that had a loft/balcony in addition to the main area of the bedroom. It was a mansion in comparison to the room that Mike and I had which was the size of a postage stamp with a telephone booth shower. Oh well, it’s only 2 nights!

By the time we got settled in it was late afternoon. Mike had had enough and announced that he would be staying in the room until we went to dinner. So, Carrie, Gene and I went out to explore the area. After we all had about 10 gelatos each and some pizza, we found St. Mark’s Square and the water front. We wandered back through the winding streets and over the many canal bridges that connect the city. It was stunning, very peaceful and pleasant and we 3 decided we liked this place.

I found Mike back in the room, lying on the bed in his underwear. No air conditioning, top floor, heat rises…oh, well. He reluctantly got dressed and we all went for dinner.

The very tiny hotel clerk gave us a recommendation for a restaurant around the corner. We were excited and hungry and anxiously anticipated what we would get for dinner. We were in for a real treat! The restaurant looked nice enough, so we went in. We all ordered. Mike ordered a beer and Carrie and I ordered a liter of the house wine that was recommended.

What we ended up with was 4 unpalatable meals, 2 beers, a bottle of water we didn’t ask for and a liter of wine that we couldn’t drink. Have you heard the expression “cat pee” when wine is being described? That was the quality of this horrible wine. The nose was so bad that you could barely get it to your lips. Carrie made an effort to drink some, but I just couldn’t do it. In addition, they added a cover charge that came to about 12 Euros for the pleasure of this rotten meal. We think the cover charge is comparable to a tip, which we would have been glad to pay if the service had been good or even mediocre. This particular restaurant targets tourists and takes them to the cleaners. Isn’t that nice? This was the worst and most expensive meal of the trip so far. YIKES!!

Deflated, we went back to the room and drank some of the very delicious wine that we brought along with us from the Alto Adige area. Then, we went to bed. Tomorrow is another day.

The next day, Sunday, is when the carnival really began. When we stepped out of our iron clad hotel front door, people started coming from everywhere. There was a cruise ship or 2 that had let people off, there were tour buses that had dropped people and all of the tourists in Italy were in town and out walking around. We could barely move as we negotiated our way to the main sights again. I have never seen such chaos. People pushing and pulling and trying to buy things. WOW!

At about noon, Mike announced that he had had enough and wanted to go back to the hotel, where he remained for the rest of the day. As for the rest of us, Gene and Carrie went to explore some other areas of the island and I did the same. I found myself wandering through the area where the museums were. As you might expect, this is a less populated area and it was quiet and very pleasant. I had a very nice afternoon looking around there.

As we got closer to the evening, the tour groups died down and it started to rain. Restaurant cover charge experts that we now were, we carefully searched for a restaurant that had no cover. It was adequate…..better than the night before…but, not great. We went back to the hotel and again sipped on the wine that we brought from the Alto Adige area and thought happily of our time there, where it was quiet and calm and the shop keepers appreciated the money the tourists brought in. Sigh……….

Gene, Carrie and I were all glad that we had visited Venice. We all enjoyed different parts of it in our own way. I decided that I would come back sometime during the week in the off season. I think it has a lot more to offer than I was able to glean in this short and busy time. As for Mike……well, let’s just say that I will be coming back on my own.

The next day our traveling group parted ways. Gene and Carrie headed back to Munich to spend a day before heading home. Mike and I boarded a train heading for Bologna, where we heard we would find the best food in Italy.

I hope so. I’m hungry…….