Category: Italy

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April 13, 2018

Everyone slept pretty well so they felt ok today.  Rick was up early and went out and got us croissants for breakfast.  Mike also made eggs so some had a big breakfast.

We planned to go to Murano and Burano today.  We walked across the island to get the vaporetti to Murano.  Here are some pictures from our walk.

We took the vaporetti with 9 million of our closest friends; it was very crowded.  After getting off at the first stop in Murano, we wandered along the canals and went into interesting shops.  So many beautiful things and such large prices!  Nancy got a couple of small items as presents but otherwise we didn’t buy anything.  We had a nice pizza lunch in the plaza.  Here are pictures from Murano.

Then we got back on the vaporetti and took the 30 minute ride to Burano.  Burano is more focused on lace and textiles.  More beautiful things at high prices.  The houses are brightly painted.  Here are pictures of Burano.

We took a vaporetti back to Venice, returned to the apartment and relaxed a little before dinner.  We had made reservations for a special dinner at a restaurant called Covino.  Rick and I had had a wonderful dinner here when we were in Venice two years ago.  We had another wonderful dinner this time.  Here’s a picture of us at the restaurant.

All in all a great day.

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April 12, 2018

Mom and I were up early to get ready to go to the airport.  We had breakfast at a nice little coffee shop around the corner from our apartment.

We walked back down to Arsenale which is where we caught the water shuttle to the airport.  The shuttle took about an hour an 15 minutes.  On the shuttle we met a nice lady who was born in Newcastle.  My mom is going to Newcastle in July so they talked about places to go in Newcastle.

Mom checked in and then we spent about a half an hour together before she had to go through security.  I waited about an hour and then Rick, Nancy, and Mike can out from immigration and customs.  We got back on the water shuttle to go to Venice.

I showed them to the apartment and they spent a few minutes getting settled.  Then we went out walking.  We walked all over Venice, we did almost 18,000 steps today. They had not slept much so they either needed to keep moving or they would fall asleep.  We started by walking by our apartment from our visit 2 years ago.  Then we went to San Marco square where Mike and Nancy got a gelato.  They we walked over to Rialto bridge stopping in a few shops along they way (but not buying anything).  Nancy and Mike were loving all the little alleyways, waterways, old buildings, bridges, everything; there’s really no place like Venice.

At the bridge we stopped for a snack and a glass of wine along the grand canal.  We enjoyed watching all the water traffic on the canal.  Refreshed we headed back to the apartment.  We made several provisioning stops.

That evening we had our usual dinner of bread, cheese, meat, and wine. Yummy!  They all stayed awake until 8:30.  Pretty good on just a few hours of sleep.

Here are some pictures from our walk through Venice.

 

 

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April 11, 2018

After breakfast we went over to the Palazzo Pubblico.  Yesterday we couldn’t go in because they were in session but luckily we were able to go in today.

The legislature of the republic is the Grand and General Council.  The Council is a unicameral legislature which has 60 members, elected for 5 year terms.  Every six months, the Council elects two Captains Regent to be the heads of state.

The building in which they govern is beautiful inside and out.

After a look around the Palazzo Pubblico we dragged our suitcases down the hill to the bus stop and caught the bus back to Rimini.  At Rimini we took the train to Bologna and from Bologna we took another train to Venice.  We almost got on the wrong train in Bologna but luckily we realized before it was too late. The countryside along the train tracks was very green.

We left San Marino at 10:30 and arrived in Venice at 3:20.  But wait, we weren’t done with the public transportation yet . . . Once we arrived in Venice we had to take the vaporetti, the public water transport system, to our apartment.  The vaporetti took us down the grand canal so we enjoyed this leg of our journey too.  It was 4:30 by the time we got to our stop.

We were met at the vaporetti stop by our Airbnb contact who showed us the way to our apartment.  It wasn’t too far and luckily there was just one bridge so we could roll our suitcases most of the way.  Our apartment is very nice and comfortable.

Once we were settled I purchased tickets online on a different water transport system to the airport for the next day.  My mom was leaving the next day and Rick, Nancy, and Mike were arriving.  I planned to go to the airport with mom, then met the others, and show them the way to the apartment.

Mom and I walked down to the San Marco stop to convert the voucher to tickets.  There are a lot of tourists in Venice and we were just two among millions.  But we walked by San Marco square so that was nice for mom to see.

After relaxing for a few minutes at the apartment we went out for a very nice where we met another couple from Easton, MA who had just arrived in Venice.

It was a nice day even though it was primarily a travel day.

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April 10, 2018

Today we wandered around San Marino.  All the streets are either steeply up or steeply down.  The main attractions are the towers which protected the city.  We visited two of the towers and just took pictures of the third from a distance.

The town itself is quaint and looks very old with what look like very old stone walls.

The streets are lined with stores and many people come here to shop since the tax is about half of what it is in Italy.  There are many weapons stores, guns, swords, etc.  I asked why there are so many gun stores and the answer was it is legal to sell them here but not legal to sell them in Italy.  Apparently Italian citizens need a permit which requires a lot of paperwork in order to buy a gun.  There are a lot of scary looking, automatic guns. 😖

We also walked to the Palazzo  Pubblico.  Sammarinese calls it ’‘the heart of San Marino.’’ It was built between 1884 and 1894 and is the official government building as well as a town hall of the capital city.  We couldn’t go in because the government was in session but should be able to go in tomorrow.

There were fanastic views from the palazzo.  Although the weather wasn’t great.  You could see all the way to the Adriatic Sea.

That evening we had a very nice dinner with Kassandra who had done pretty much the same things we did.

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April 9, 2018

Today we leave Ravenna.  I would definitely suggest a day trip to Ravenna if anyone is coming to Venice!  Here are some general pictures of the town.

After breakfast this morning we went to Domus die Tappeti di Pietra.  The remains and floor mosaics from a house, dating back to the 5th and 6th century, were unearthed when they were digging to build a parking lot.  Here are a couple of pictures.

After visiting the museum we went back to pick up our suitcases and headed to the train station.  Buying the tickets and finding the train was easy.  We took the train from Ravenna to Rimini where we got a bus to San Marino.  The bus ride was about an hour and did not take us all the way to the top.  There were a number of people on the bus including us that stayed on the bus expecting it to go higher.  The bus driver eventually kicked us off the bus.  It had started to rain during the bus ride.  There was another American woman on the bus who is staying at the same hotel.  Turned out we had to hike the rest of the way up the hill.

After checking in and getting settled, I went out to explore the hotel and ran into the other American woman, Cassandra.  She and I went to the tourist office and got our passports stamped.  (Rick Manser – I got the country of San Marino and you didn’t!)

We didn’t go out to explore further as it was raining.

That evening we had a very nice dinner with Cassandra in the hotel.  After dinner Mom and I played several games of dominoes and I beat her decisively.

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April 8, 2018

 

Sorry this is a long entry but the mosaics were spendid.

After a really good night sleep and breakfast at the hotel we started our mosaic trek.

First stop, Battistero Neoniano which is the most ancient monument in the city. The octagonal brick structure was erected at the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century and finished at the end of the 5th century, at which time the mosaic decorations were added. The octagonal design of the building symbolizes the seven days of the week plus the Day of the Resurrection and Eternal Life.  Here is a picture of the outside.

The ceiling mosaic depicts John the Baptist baptizing Jesus standing waist high in the Jordan River. To one side stands the personification of the Jordan river, with a reed in one hand and a garment in the other.  The twelve apostles surround the center mosaic.  Here are pictures of the dome.

Here are other pictures from inside the battistero.

Then we went to the Museo Arcivescoville. In the museum relics of early Christian Ravenna are preserved, including fragments of mosaic from the first cathedral church, and the chapel of Sant’Andrea, dating from the Gothic kingdom.  We couldn’t take pictures but here are a couple I downloaded from the internet.  The first is an ivory bishop’s chair and the second and third are mosaics from the chapel of Sant’Andrea.

Our last stop of the morning was Basilica Sant’Apollinare Nuovo which was erected in the first quarter of the 6th century.  Here are pictures of the church and the mosaics.

After that we stopped in a workshop where they made mosaics and a very nice lady told us about how mosaic are made and gave me the name of a glass shop in Venice that I hope we can go to.

We thought about about having some lunch but neither of us was very hungry so mom had a gelato and I had an apple. We hung out in the room for a little while to make sure mom’s stomach was ok and then headed to the last two mosaic locations.

First, we went to Mausoleo di Galla Placidia.  Here are pictures from here.

Last and certain not least, actually it’s considered the best, was Basilica di San Vitale which was consecrated in 548.  Even the floors were amazing.

After touring we came back to the room to rest up for dinner.  😉

We had a nice dinner at a restaurant recommended by the fellow at the hotel.  After dinner we came back and packed up because we are going to San Marino tomorrow.

 

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April 7, 2018

After a better night’s sleep we packed up our stuff, went to our breakfast spot and had our juice and croissants. We returned to the apartment to collect our stuff. I double checked that I had my passport before closing the apartment door. (Two years ago I closed the door and left my passport in the apartment which meant we missed our flight, etc. etc. but not this time!)

As we were leaving the wheel on my mom’s suitcase started to break but we pushed forward and essentially dragged it the 1/2 mile to the train station. We are traveling from Padova to Bologna and then on local trains from Bologna to Ravenna. This meant we needed to go to two ticket offices to purchase the tickets. Tickets secured, our next challenge was the ATM, after several tries we got money. We are very accomplished travelers. 😉

We had to wait about an hour for our train.  The train worked well for us.  We traveled through farm lands. All the trees and plants are greening up with spring. Farmers were out planting.  Here’s a picture of mom on the train.

and a picture of the landscape.

Switching trains in Bologna was easy.  When we arrived in Ravenna we walked 0.4 miles to the hotel.  Mom’s doing great with all the walking.  Ravenna seems like a very cute little old town with a nice shopping area.  Our hotel is very centrally located.

After getting checked in and settled we went out for a late lunch.  We were told that piadina, essentially stuffed flat bread, is a specialty of Ravenna so that’s what we had.  While it as tasty, it didn’t agree with mom so we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the room.

We didn’t go out to dinner (gave mom’s stomach a rest) and just stayed in.  You might have noticed I added categories to the blog!

Tomorrow . . . Byzantine mosaics!

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April 6, 2018

Mom slept pretty well all night.  I was up from 3 until 6 and then was really sound asleep when the alarm went off at 8.  I guess I’m still struggling with jet lag and it seems she’s worked through it.  Oh well!

We were up and out by 9 because we had tickets to the Scrovengni Chapel at 10:15.  We had breakfast, fresh orange juice and a croissant, at a little local coffee shop.  Then we walked over to the Scrovengi chapel.  Here’s a picture of the outside of the chapel, unfortunately it’s somewhat obscured by scaffolding.

We had trouble finding our way into the chapel and met a woman who is from Wisconsin, living for a year in Florence and working on her Ph.D in Islamic art studies.  Her dissertation is on Turkish tents.  I am only including it because she showed us an amazing picture of a Turkish tent.

Eventually we found our way in.  We watched a short video about the chapel and then were allowed to enter the chapel for 15 minutes.

It contains a fresco cycle by Giotto which was completed about 1305 and is considered an important masterpiece of Western art. Giotto and his team covered all the internal surfaces of chapel with frescos, including the walls and the ceiling. The largest elements are two extensive cycles showing the Life of Christ and the Life of the Virgin. The wall at the rear of the church, through which the chapel is entered, has a large fresco of the Last Judgement. There are also panels in grisaille (monochrome) showing the Vices and Virtues.  It was beautiful.  Here are pictures.

Then we walked through the pinacoteca, the painting museum, and went to the multimedia room to watch another video about the chapel.  By this time we were hungry for lunch so we had sandwiches at the museum cafe.

After lunch mom rested on a bench in the park and I tried to go to the ATM (no luck so we are still working on getting some Euros for mom) and I brought her purchases back to the apartment which was right around the corner from the chapel.

Then we walked down to the Basilica of Saint Anthony.  The original structure was built between 1233 and 1310.  Saint Anthony is buried here and therefore the basilica attracts a lot of pilgrims.  We walked around following Rick Steves’ tour which included the relic room.   The most prized relic in the glass case at center stage was Anthony’s tongue. When Anthony’s remains were exhumed 32 years after his death (in 1263), his body had decayed to dust, but his tongue was found miraculously unspoiled and red in color. Other relics included his lower jaw with all his teeth impressively intact and his vocal chords, discovered intact when his remains were examined in 1981. How appropriate for the great preacher who, full of the Spirit, couldn’t stop talking about God.  Pictures were not allowed inside (sorry no picture of the tongue) but here are some pictures from outside.

Here are several pictures of his tomb that I downloaded from the internet.

And here’s a picture of the relic room.

We walked back from the basilica and returned to the apartment.  I worked on figuring out the train for our trip to Ravenna tomorrow as well as blogging.  At about 7, we went out for some dinner.  In the square there were lots of stalls set up selling various types of food, some vegetable stands and some speciality food stands.

We found a restaurant, had a lovely pasta dinner and then came back to the room and went to bed!

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April 5, 2018

Today was primarily a travel day.  I left Boston yesterday at 7:15 pm and arrived in London at 6:50 am.  Luckily the plane was quite empty so I was able to get a row of four seats to myself.  I ended up sleeping most of the way.  Unfortunately my mom was not able to sleep on her flight.  I found her easily in London and we flew to Venice.  In Venice we managed to find the bus to Padua or in Italian, Padova.  I wasn’t totally sure which bus stop but we got off at the right one and took a taxi to our Airbnb apartment.

Our apartment is small but just find for the two of us.

After a nap and a shower we went out for some dinner.  The place we had selected was in the old section so we wandered around for awhile.  We were a little early because we arrived at 6:30 and they started serving dinner at 7:00. We ended up have pizza which was a dinner appetizer and then stopped at a gelato shop for dessert.  We took the long route back to the apartment and were ready to collapse.

Here are some pictures of Padua.

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April 4, 2018

I leave for Venice today.  I’m meeting my mom there and we are going to Padua, Ravenna, and San Marino.  Next Wednesday Rick, Nancy, and Mike are flying to Venice and my mom is flying home.  Then for the next 2 weeks, we are spending time in Venice, Cinque Terra, Florence, and Rome.  Then Nancy and Mike return home and Rick and I go to Switzerland to visit his family.  Stay tuned for more updates!