A Wonderful Trip in Review

Dear Reader,

It's been far too long since my last blog and there are many new stories to tell. John and I just returned two weeks ago from three weeks in Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey, by land and by cruise. It was a wonderful vacation and we made many lasting memories. I would like to tell some of the highlights and lowlights today but will go into more detail about some of my favorite experiences throughout my next several blogs.

First of all, those of you who run your own business and travel a lot know how difficult it is to get caught up once you return home with the mail, bills, clients, family, weeds in the garden, and just business in general. It can be quite daunting and I tend to allow it to take over my life for a couple of weeks. My apologies for waiting so long to tell my story.

For the fourth year in a row we decided to combine our land tour of a European country with a cruise for several reasons not the least of which is financial. The Euro has once again risen to terrifying heights and our dollar just doesn't compete anymore. Hotel prices are higher than ever as well as meals and everything else. On a cruise ship you take your hotel room with you everywhere you go and get free meals as well. This saves quite a bit of money. Plus the transportation is another consideration. We got to travel all the way to Croatia, Greece and Turkey without spending an extra dime. This is decided advantage.

Another reason to combine a cruise with a trip to Europe is that it allows you a chance to relax, wind down, and catch your breath. Our cruise had two free days at sea which was a wonderful opportunity to heal blisters, catch up on some reading, swim and heal sore muscles in one of the many spas. By the time we joined our cruise ship in Venice we had already hiked all over Northern Italy with our packs and without and had pretty much been on the move non-stop. We were ready for some pampering.

This vacation was our second visit two years in a row to Northern Italy, Bergamo, Bolzano and Venice. Last year was so much fun but our visit was too short in some places that we felt a return visit was warranted. Also we had two good friends going with us to whom I wanted to introduce these places. Unfortunately they were unable to make it and we mourned their absence. However, after a few days John and I were back to our usual delight at being in such wonderous places.

Bergamo was as wonderful as we remembered. This medieval hilltown is only an hour from Milan and easily toured in one day. The weather was fabulous, warm and sunny, and our apartment was perfect, just down the street one block from the main piazza. We spent our first two days just enjoying the place, wandering about, revisiting some of the sights and basically recuperating from our 11 hour flight to Frankfurt, a second flight to Milan, a train to Bergamo which got stuck on the tracks for an hour's delay while a man who apparently had a stroke was being tended to, then a hike to the funicular because the buses had stopped running. It is the perfect place to begin a long vacation and just smell the flowers.

Next we returned to Bolzano to once again see Ortzi the Iceman, the worlds oldest mummy, as well as see the rest that Bolzano and the Alto Adige in the Dolomites has to offer. Once again we reserved an apartment in Soprabolzano, the small village high in the mountains overlooking Bolzano and accessible by a 16 minute ride on a funicular or cablecar. They call it a funicular but it's a large car on wires dangling over the mountains as you ascend. This ride alone is worth the trip and with three nights in Soprabolzano, we had plenty of opportunity to ride it every day, sometimes more than twice.

One disappointment I must mention was our apartment. Our landlady had promised to meet us at the top of the funicular and give us a ride to the apartment because it is straight uphill and we had our packs. I promised I would call her the minute we arrived by train and had also provided her with our train information just in case. After walking about 8 minutes from the train station to the funicular station I managed to call her but there was no answer and no machine. I tried calling all the way up the mountain and never reached her.

A group of teenage students and their teacher were riding with us on the funicular and overheard my problem. The teacher told me one of her students lives next to the apartment and would take us there. That was really very kind. As soon as we arrived in Soprabolzano he took off on foot with us in tow. The climb wasn't too bad at first but long and I had to eventually stop and rest. It was once again sunny and felt very warm and my pack was getting very heavy. John kept up with him and told me to follow when I could. The boy finally stopped and walked through a gate. John asked him if that was the apartment and he said "No, it's my place, the apartment is right around the corner." So off we went again up up and up somemore. The road got very steep and was bordered mostly by forest and an occasional house but there were few addresses anywhere. I lagged behind once again. Finally, the boy stopped and told John the apartment was just up a bit further on the right side and left us. John stopped and waited for me.

By the time I caught up with John I was really a mess and my bad ankle was hurting. There appeared to be no end in sight and no apartment was visible. We had no way of finding it so I tried calling her again but there was no answer. Moments like these make you wonder why you spent countless hours planning and studying maps to make sure that moments like these don't happen! We looked at each other and agreed to screw the apartment and find a hotel down near the funicular. We had passed a beautiful place early on and also a short cut dirt road leading down to it. It was quite steep but we both managed not to sprain any more ankles.

At this point I would like to highly recommend the Hotel Latemar in Soprabolzano. We walked in without a reservation and got a beautiful modern corner room with a wrap around private balcony facing south and the mountains for only 60.00 Euros per night including a fabulous breakfast. This mother and daughter establishment looks like a giant chalet with the geraniums in all the windows and even has a lift. There is also a beautiful garden in front with a very large tiled terrace. Breakfast wasn't just coffee and corneto. They served a dish called ham/eggs with homemade prosciutto like ham and two fried eggs cooked on top. There was also cappucino, orange juice, lots of different homemade breads, jams, fresh honey and chocolate. The hotel is located just uphill a short distance from the funicluar which made coming and going to Bolzano much easier. We were very lucky to stay there and will stay there again next time we visit Soprabolzano.

One cannot mention Bolzano without talking about the best bar in Europe, at least in my opinion! We couldn't wait to return to the Fischebank Bar and see the delightful owner, Cobo. The surprising thing was that he remembered us from the year before and was and funny, charming and entertaining as ever. I will write more about this in detail in a blog dedicated to Bolzano. There is just too much to tell and it would be unfair to condense it now. Bolzano is definitely worth a few days and we had an outstanding visit ending every hard working tour day with a few hours at the Fischebank Bar. You ever feel like you've come home again when you are away because the place makes you feel at so comfortable and welcome? That's the Fischebank Bar.

Our next stop was another hilltown, Asolo, in the Trento Adige, about an hour northwest of Venice. Asolo is quite famous and very popular as a tourist destination and yet we had never been there before so I thought it was about time to see what all the fuss was about. It was another hot and sunny day when we took a very crowded train from Bolzano to Trento and another to the small yet bustling Castelfranco Veneto.

My hours of research on transportation to Asolo failed us completely. That combined with the inability to get a map of Castelfranco in advance combined into another minor setback. Supposedly there is an intercity bus which leaves from the train station and stops at the base of Asolo. Then there is supposed to be a free shuttle bus running every half hour from the base of Asolo up into the town itself.

Upon arrival in Castelfranco we bought bus tickets to Asolo at the tabacchi bar in the station and asked the server where and when to catch the bus. She advised that the bus does not leave from the station but rather from the bus station which is only a 15 to 20 minute walk to the left. John and I were in no mood to do another long walk with our packs so we asked a taxi how much for a ride to the bus station. We were quoted 8 Euros. This seemed like a lot to us. Then the owner offered to take us to Asolo for only 20.00 Euros so we said yes! What we didn't realize was that he would drop us off at the bus stop at the base of Asolo instead of taking us up into town. Oh well, we were sitting down and happy to do so.

At Asolo Ca' Vescovo, which is the name of the bus stop, we stood around wondering what to do next. There was a bus stop but we couldn't tell by reading it if any of the buses go into the old town. Fortunately the first bus to arrive did. When I tried to ask if it was the free shuttle the driver didn't understand me so we paid the 1.00 Euro fare and hopped aboard. This bus is called the De Zen. Later we found out at our hotel that the shuttle is free only on Sundays, and I think for locals everyday.

Our hotel, the Hotel Duse, named after the famous actress of the 19th century, Eleanora Duse, was very nice and located right on the main piazza. I say "main piazza" kindly because it is very small indeed. In fact, Asolo itself is very small. Most of it is residential and spreads up and out into the surrounding countryside but the bars and restaurants are all right in the center. Once again, I say "all" kindly because we found only two restaurants in town that were open on a Saturday night. As far as the sightseeing, there really is nothing in town worth all the effort to get there to see.

The sight is the town. It is almost completely Renaissance and a bit run down looking. The queen's palace as it is called is only partially in tact and not open for visits except for the one remaining tower. The castle, way up on a hill overlooking Asolo, is open only on Sundays by appointment. The Duomo is quite old and Romanesque but nothing else can be toured. We did visit a "medieval house" in the basement of the bar "Epoch" which was tiny but interesting in that one of the partially remaining walls was built by the Romans. This we visited after a very long hike through town and out into the countryside past many Renaissance buildings and grand villas to the cemetary where the great Eleanora Duse is buried. This is next to an abbey which cannot be visited. We were looking for the entrance to a grand villa which supposedly has a tunnel underneath leading to the other side of the mountain. However, there was no entrance that we could find. We couldn't find Eleanora Duse either but we did find two long black snakes completely wrapped around each other and wiggling wildly. At first I thought it was a two headed snake until they split up and went in opposite directions. One headed my way and I lost sight of it because I was about six feet above on the overlook so I tiptoed to the edge to find him and sure enough, he was climbing the wall towards me! We both jumped at the same time and he fell to the ground and joined back up with his friend.

Hot, tired, and dusty we returned to our hotel to clean up wondering why we were there. That evening we returned to the same restaurant for dinner where we had eaten lunch, on our street, Via Robert Browning. We really liked the place, Al Baccaro. The food is outstanding and reasonably priced which is rare now in Italy. After dinner we took a stroll in the other direction up Via Robert Browning and returned to the piazza past closed shops and a couple of bar/restaurants. The street was hopping with people. There was a very attractive wine bar we passed as well as a bar with a live jazz band playing. They were a small ansemble of 5-6 musicians but they were very good and the place was packed.

When we returned to the piazza for our evening digestif at Cafe Central, the most popular hangout in town, the place had come alive with crowds of people. It was an amazing metamorphis from that day. We sat and watched the people with their dogs, girls dressed up in very short short strapless dresses and spike heals, and men driving convertible sports cars cruising for parking in a town that was packed and had no parking remaining. They were all wearing silk scarves and suits. Several at the bar were wearing sunglasses at night. It was quite a scene for such a tiny town. The sky was a dark vermillion blue and the stars were abundant. The castle was illuminated as were the Duomo and the tower. John and I realized that that we liked Asolo afterall. It's all just a matter of perspective.

The day we left we knew where to catch the non-free De Zen bus, right outside our hotel in the piazza, and we used our bus tickets to get back to Castelfranco. When we arrived at the bus station in Castelfranco we asked the bus driver if there is city bus to the train station and he pointed to it. We boarded the bus and the driver, as well as a nice lady, both told us where to exit and how to reach the station. This cut our walk down to a manageable distance via a tunnel underneath the tracks and wasn't bad at all. Sometimes no matter how hard you prepare for a trip you simply cannot find out the necessary details until you are there.

That day we took the train to Venice to board our ship, the Norwegian Jade. It was a seven day cruise which is a good length of time to rest up for the next round of travel. Every stage of getting to the ship from the train station went as planned and needless to say I did not fall or sprain my ankle this time.

As far as cruise ships go, the Jade needs some work. Even though I have sailed on her sister ship, the Gem, there is no comparison. The Jade needs new decks, particularly around the swimming pools and spas. The waterfall on the adults only pool wasn't working most of the time. There are old fashioned TVs in the staterooms instead of flat screens as on the Gem. The carpeting on our deck was a hodgepodge of different patterns sewn together. New carpeting is needed throughout. Our stewards were fine but not stellar and didn't introduce themselves until I found them. Even the entertainers weren't as talented as we have experienced on other cruises. By the end of the cruise most of the staff seemed ambivalent and lazy. I've never encountered this on any other cruise and don't know why they were that way. That being said, the food was outstanding, the drinks cold and the beds comfortable. We enjoyed ourselves as always, met some fun people and had great adventures at the ports of call, which I will talk about in another story.

Many times during the vacation John and I toasted "Asolare" a verb created by a poet in Asolo to mean "The Art of Doing Nothing". We devoted as much time as possible to this pursuit and did quite well, I believe. We also realized once again how completely compatible we are when traveling. The same things amuse us, entertain us and piss us off. No matter what happens, we always manage to find a solution, a happy place and pure pleasure in our surroundings.

My parting thought for the day is if you are working yourself too hard, take a break, smell the flowers and drink a toast to Asolare.

Ciao Bella