home again home again jiggedy jig

Here are a few last picks to leave you with. We are home and getting back into the swing of things. The plane ride home was longer than expected with a 5 hour delay in taking off from Milan and then a wait and change to Jet Blue in New York, but we made it safe and sound.
Our last days in Corneglia and Lago Maggiore were beautiful and I know we all hope to return someday.
Corneglia was great in our cute little apartment with the most fantastic vues out our windows. Lago Maggiore wasn't short on great scenery either and the gardens we visited were some of the prettiest I've ever seen.

one of the views out of our Corneglia window

Our apartment is in the yellow building where the clothes are hanging


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a view from the chapel in the Ville Tarata gardens


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we're on our terrace in Corneglia, here's to travelling and enjoying the sights arrivederci!

 Travel opens you up to so many thought provoking situations and I hope everyone starts making plans to do as much as you can. Don't wait!

Arreviderci Italia!

What can we say, but Oh the sights we've seen. Tomorrow morning we fly home full of incredible memories, food, wine and beer. After this evening we've also got a little lemoncello, thanks to our sweet waiter Daniel at the Cafe Torino.
Since we last blogged we have journeyed to Corneglia. The travel was fast and furious for a while. We had three changes of trains on the way and madw two of them. With only 5 minutes to change trains in Pisa and no idea which track to go to, we checked the schedule and ran to track 2. Hopping on we sat and high fived because we thought we were so good. Our trusty guide Ricky Davy happened to look at the display, at the same time I noticed it didn't look right. I looked at the only other passenger in the car and said La Spezia? He said no,no. no over there, pointing toward the station. We moved fast and got off only to realize we were short a bag. I jumped back on and grabbed it. We then ran down stairs and up stairs only to see our train pull away. Luckily our tickets were good for the next train and we got to Corneglia in time to meet our inn keeper. That's a whole other story too long to go into now so you'll  have to wait. Once settled in Corneglia, we had time to visit the area on train and foot, including a brisk walk to Vernazza full of treacherocity, we had seen some spectacular views and the Legurian Sea but not enough to make us want to walk back, so we got the train and bus back to town. We also had time to just sit and admire the view out of our apartment. The local market provided an opportunity to cook with some local foods, delicioso!
On an early morning train we set out for Genova to pick up our car. Once settled in to the car we were on our way to Lago Maggiore a bit further north.  We picked this place to make an easier departure to Malpensa airport and now it seems it will take just as long as from Milan, but we have seen so may beautiful sights in a a much more layed back fashion. We also drove to Switzerland today, hoping to get our passports stamped, but they didn't care a flip about seeing our passports much less stamping them.
We drove to a botanical garden that was incredible! Many pictures will follow.

We have learned that driving in Italy can be a bit circuitous. The maps very seldom show everything you need and we guess it's just supposed to be intuative. We did make it to our destinations on every occasion. We'll hope for the best getting to the airport tomorrow.

Our last few hours were spent shopping and dining and now posting and packing are in order, We have an early wake up call tomorrow and a long day in store, See you all soon with more stories and pics. Arrivederci and ciao!
Re and Mi

The end of our Siena experience-Da

olive tree in side garden in Assisi

Montepulciano landscape, breathtaking!

picnicing at lago Tresemino with food from the market in Montepulciano

Michele enjoying the picnic

one of the many churches in the Assisi complex

Piazza Il Campo and the Torre del Mangia

the view of San Domenico (The Duomo) from Torre del Mangia

The pictures above are from a few different days. The olive tree is in the St. Francis compound and we saw them throughout he hillsides along with many grape vines. The views from the car were breathtaking! Our picnic was delicious with the food from the Montepulciano market. The driving, done by our hero David was nice most times but parking had us going higgledy piggledy through the town, with an expletive shouted here and there. We finally found our spots and enjoyed shopping at the market and going  up the Grande Plaza, more fantastic views and some wine and olive oil tasting. Out of Montepulciano with food and drink in car we set out for Lago Tresemeno
, another adventure in the car.  Re

The maps and signage left much to be desired.  God bless Dave for his patience and sense of direction and Anne Marie for her navigation under complicated circumstances.  This was another day that perseverence was the word of the day (along with a few others).  After our picnic at the lake we headed for Assisi.  The church of St. Francis was beautiful as all the churches have been.  There is a green area in the front with a  cross and PAX sculpted out of hedges.  This part of Assisi was very peaceful.  When you leave this point though, the commercialism takes over.  There are shops everywhere.  In fact as we arrived, the first thing I saw was a sign for YogAssisi.  The streets were wide and made of stone, very hilly, as in Siena.  The drive back was a small adventure until we actually got on the highway out of Perugia.  Being in the back seat and of no help reading maps, I was able to just close my eyes and pray for those in control.  We made it back to Siena around nine o' clock and had a european style late dinner at the restaurant around the corner from our hotel.  We met a couple there from Maryland.  It was fun, but too close to bedtime to be eating.  That didn't stop us, of course.    

Yesterday we stayed in Siena and explored the cathedral, the battistero, the museo and walked up two different towers that overlooked the city.  The second tower, Torre del Mangia, was 330 winding narrow steps to the top of the bell tower.  Re waited in the plaza below for Dave and I to make this hike on our own.  I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to spend 8 euro to work my gluts and get a spectacular view of the surrounding area.  The sights took several hours and then we just hung out in town window shopping, eating gelato and people watching.  It was a pleasant day topped off with a scrumptious meal at a restaurant recommended to us by our hotel hostess.  We walked a little more around the city then went back to our room to prepare for our departure for Corniglia (core-nay-yah).  We've been pronouncing it the way it looks and wondered why no one seemed to know where we were talking about.  It made getting train tickets a little more difficult, but we managed and will be on our way in a few moments, leaving our lovely hotel with its beautiful terrace. 

There probably won't be any internet service for the next few days, so arrivaderci!  Mi

Higgeldy-piggeldy

What  a day! We drove all overTuscany and Umbria. Actually David drove, I tried to navigate and Michele sat in the back of our Ford KA and had a little nap when we weren't oohing and ahhing over the landscape. Rick Steve's makes it seem so easy, HA! After diving to the small town of Montepulciano we had to find parking. Round and round we went until we figured it out. We saw the big Thursday market, bought some groceries and then went up the hill to check out he views from the Grande Piazza, spectacular!
Groceries in hand, we wound our way out of there and drove to Lago Trasimeno another adventure with questionable maps.We finally found it and had a lovely picnic by the lake. Then to Assisi where we walked up and down very steep hills as we did in Montepulciano, we were getting our workout today. Saint Francis Basilica was lovely but the surrounding village was disturbing to me because of it's comercialization. I can't imagine that Saint Francis would approve. The views were again fantastic!
After a long drive home we went around the corner to a restaraunt and had dinner, a true European dinner, it was 11PM when we finished. Now I am finished for the evening. We haven't down loaded our pics from today but boy are they doozies! So hopefully tomorrow we will get those added. Bouna Notte!

More Venice and the first day in Sienna

The Grand Canal

Dinner at restaurant only steps away from our hotel Bernardi

View from our terrace in Sienna

One of many markets in Venice (huge cacti with peppers)

Glamour shot on the wet Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco after a rain on Tuesday night

Our last day in Venice was spent doing laundry; going to the Leonardo Da Vinci mechanical exhibit; visiting more churches; a trip to the Hubble exhibit by Dave; and shopping in between.  Re and I had planned to explore the San Marco cathedral while Dave hung out at the laundromat, but our attempts were thwarted by flooded walkways.  I've been all around it, but not actually in it.,,another trip, perhaps.  So far I've had coconut, caffe, limon, hazelnut, rum raisin and cherry gelato.  Coconut, with bits of coconut throughout is a favorite, but there is more gelato to come.  Our hotel in Sienna is in the historic district and is surrounded by sites yet to be seen.  The streets are made of large stones and it is very hilly.  I'm doing plenty of walking without Leslie.  The weather today has been gorgeous with sunshine and cool breezes.  We are venturing out for a night stroll before turning in to prepare for a road trip to Montepulciano and possibly Assisi tomorrow.
Ciao for now. Mi
Our trip to Piazza San Marco was damp last night but turned out to be quite enjoyable, with the orchestras playing and of course we had to do some singing along. We found a good cheap wine and enjoyed a bottle as we sat on the steps of the paizza on David's rain poncho,deluxe accomodations.
Love to all, Re

Venizie

Riding the bus from Villach to Venice, not a bad view.



Piazza San Marco, basilica and bell tower



We found a garden in Venice, so we had a pinic.

The Realto Bridge, about half way down the  Grand Canal.

 The crowds have been thick, especially upon our arrival on Sunday. The weather continues to be cloudy with episodes of sun and drizzle. Besides people, there are more leather and glass shops than you can shake a stick at. Our hotel is modest but clean, with a shower the size of a broom closet. The Salzburghof will be hard to beat. We have one more day here before we go on to Sienna. Tomorrow we'll see an exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci's machanical inventions, the Basilica San Marco, perhaps a little more shopping and we might even wash some clothes. Bouno Notte! Re and Mi

Venice was not the serene place I had envisioned, but apparently this is the second high season for tourism.  Today was much quieter than yesterday and we found some calmer streets and garden spots.  I've never seen so much Murano glass and leather!  Re and I have looked at many purses today and then I settled for a canvas Venezia bag to carry my odds and ends around.  There may still be a leather purse in my future...tomorrow.  The city is filled with winding walkways dotted with shops and sidewalk cafes.  We have only had gelato once, but that will be rectified tomorrow.  I'm sure there will be a gelato bar near the laundromat...the church...the Da Vinci exhibit...you get the picture.  We are 6 hours ahead of you, so when we're having our first gelato tomorrow, you'll probably be sleeping.  Until tomorrow,Arrivederci! Ciao for now! Mi

Guten Morgen



Overlooking Salzburg from the Hohen Salzburg fortress



Altstadt & Hohen Salzburg Fortress

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The original gazebo that was replicated & enlarged for the Sound of Music film

Re with sausage from Gerhardt's Imbus

We're taking it easy this morning and staying in our room a little later.No rushing off to another sight. We will go down stairs for breakfast shortly and then leave for Villach, Austria for the night. We met a new friend at an imbiss, his name is Gerhardt. He makes some delicious sausage and sells Stiegl beer. We've had to visit him a couple of times. He steered us to a very good restaraunt for dinner last night. On our Sound of music tour yesterday, all the passengers were from Austin or San Antonio. The tour was conducted from a van instead of a big bus. Our guide was very entertaining and let us in on some little known facts about the shooting og the movie and its actors. Although it was drizzly and cool again the veiws were spectacular!

Alas we didn't get to run on the mountain and sing "the hills are alive...", but we did sing along with the Sound of Music CD all the way back down the mountain. We also had a tasty lunch and desserts at a little restaurant in the area.  Pumpkin soup, apple streudel with ice cream and a many layered haustorte.  MMM good.  We're off to Villach after breakfast.  This mountain air can really make you hungry.  Mi

trip to Salzburg

Hey kids we have arrived in Salzburg, had a wiener at a roadside imbiss and seen the Hohen Salzburg. We rode a vinicular to get up to it and saw some awesome sights. We haven't downloaded the pics yet but we do have some from Vienna and some of it's sights. teh first isform up above the Schonbrun Palace, the second is teh Wienerschnitzel from a popular restaraunt in Vienna. Acouple from New York told us about it. she kept saying how OUTRAGOUS it was, It was tasty and the salad consisted of a little of all their salads, potato, carrot coleslaw and green. The third picture is is along the country side on our crazy adventure to catch the boat in Melk. The 4th is from the Danube in a little town called Durnstein. The timer is ticking so We'll write more later. Oh, we just got back from the Augusteener Brau Stuble, those monks can brew some beer. YUM!

leaving Vienna

Da has nothing to report at this time, but he has plenty to say we're sure.

We've just finished our breakfast of cheeses, preserves, bread and meats, not to mention the delicious strong coffee and now we  prepare to leave  for Salzburg. The train trip will be 2 1/2 hours. Yesterday is a blur with too much action to relay at this writing. Suffice it to say it was quite the adventure. Weather has remained cool and damp but we go on undaunted. Love to all, Re

I'll just say this about yesterday.  Think of an I Love Lucy episode with Ricky/Dave on a train in a foreign country and Lucy/Re with Ethel/Mi, locked out on the platform, banging on the door to get in as the train speeds away.  That's all I'm saying about it for now.  The word for the day was perseverence.  Cell phones and a sense of humor were handy too.  We did actually get to cruise down the Danube, finally.  Today will probably be boring in comparison as we take the train to Salzburg.  Boring is good!  TTFN, Mi

In Vienna

Whooo! finally we have found a place to do this. We have been in Vienna for a day and a few hours and we've seen a lot already. Pictures will have to wait until we can use the net book, but man do we have pictures already. Schlöss Schönbrun this morning, it was lovely. We've walked more than a few miles since our arrival so now we go for a bier and a schnitzel, YA! Later, Re

Vienna reminds me a lot of New  York.  Lots of people, street vendors, narrow streets, subways & trains/trams.  We have done as much walking as I've ever done in New York in one day.   The Schönbrun palace and gardens were amazing.  We are heading out now for the Stephandom cathedral and dinner with a few brewskies. Tomorrow we sail on the Danube.  Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love 'ya tomorrow.  Mi

Packing, the real deal

Well the deed is done. I've finished packing and as predicted, it all fits. A few changes were made but essentially the same number of articles were included. One on line weather site has us in rain, a lot, but another says more sun. They do agree on the temps. that run between the 60's and mid 30's. Cool man!

Here are a few pics of the packing process. Re                          Auf wie der sehen!

traveling with drugs

We found out we can take any non prescription meds mixed together so I put all our vitamins in easy to get to packets. Handy eh?  All prescription drugs need to be in their original bottles. FYI