We got up this morning headed for the island of Murano. The hotel called a private water taxi and arranged for a tour and glass blowing demonstration for us. Murano is world famous for their artistic use of glass. Glass making originated in China and arrived in Venice around 1000 A.D. The Venitians moved all glass making to Murano in the 1200’s as a result of several fires that nearly destroyed Venice. Because the buildings are so close together, fires are even more of a threat than they normally would be. The glass factory that Billy and I visited opened in Murano in 1290 A.D. The glass blower that we observed has been perfecting his craft for 42 years (it normally takes 20 years as an apprentice before you are considered a master). After the demonstration, we took a private tour of the glass showrooms. There were such a variety of different styles of glass and each piece was 100% unique and very expensive (the lowest price we saw was around $800). The tour guide told us that they contributed to the glass ceiling in the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. He also told us that Keith Richards (from the Rolling Stones) bought a full size glass guitar that was $35,000). This showroom was basically for collectors who frequently spend thousands of dollars on the “art”. He then showed us to what he referred to as the “Wal-Mart” showroom that held “affordable” pieces for your normal tourist. Billy and I bought a few pieces and love the fact that there is not another piece like it in the world. For those of you who may be wondering, I will be carrying those on the plane. After returning to Venice, we strolled along Saint Mark’s square and bought some scenic pictures to remember our time in Venice painted by local artists.
We then looked for a place to sit and have dinner. Let us explain the choices in Italy: pizza, pasta, pasta, pizza. That’s pretty much it. Ordinarily, we both love Italian food (especially Wendy). However, we are both so tired of Italian food that it will be a while before we eat it again. We are so looking forward to some good Mexican food, BBQ, and burgers and may both put on a good 20 pounds our first week back. Since being in Europe, Billy and I have lost a considerable amount of weight (our version of the “European Diet”). This is probably due to the fact that we walk EVERYWHERE!
I just realized that I haven’t driven a car, cooked a meal, cleaned the house, answered a phone, or done a load of laundry in over 3 weeks…now that’s a vacation! I also realized that I have not loved on my sweet dog Allie. We have seen numerous people walking their dogs and think about Allie every time (I love you Allie).
We leave tomorrow morning for Florence, our last sightseeing stop on this stupendous European vacation. The next day (Friday) we head to Rome and are staying near the airport for our 8:00 am flight back to the U.S.
This may be our last post from Europe (we will update additional info from the U.S.) and Billy and I both want to thank all of our friends and family who posted messages and read the blog. This trip has been the best few weeks of both of our lives. We hope you have enjoyed reading the stories as much as we have enjoyed living them. We know many people will never get to travel and experience the things that we have on this trip, and we don’t for a single moment take that for granted. We have had the pleasure to meet people from all over the world and have seen things that most people will only read about in books or see pictures of on the internet. The years will come and go, but these memories will last a lifetime. Despite our illnesses, we have done and seen some amazing things. We feel truly blessed and fortunate to have been able to experience such a wonderful adventure together.
In fact, we have had SUCH a great time in Europe we have decided to postpone parenthood at least one more year (maybe two) to once again travel to Europe. Coming to a blog near you, “Farewell Freedom Tour Part 2 2008”…
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Venice
We took a 2 hour train ride from Bologna (pronounced bah-lone-yah) and arrived in the beautiful city of Venice in the mid afternoon. Billy and I both agree (for once) that Venice is the most beautiful city we have visited in Europe. It may be because Venice is a city like no other, by that I mean it is a series of islands connected by hundreds of bridges and the only way to get around the city is either by boat or by walking. There are no cars in Venice. It is a quaint city but has the feeling of a cosmopolitan city, it has music, art, history and an identity all its own.
Before we talk about the things we have done and seen in Venice, we have a bit of unfortunate news. Billy has suffered from an ear infection since we arrived in Siena (5 days ago). It went from bad to worse and Billy ended up visiting the emergency room in Venice. According to Billy, it is more frustrating to be in an emergency room where you don’t speak the language (Italian) than the ones back home. Remarkably, he was in and out in only 2 hours with a prescription for antibiotics. I have been suffering from a cold and chronic bronchitis since arriving in Rome (8 days ago). I initially was very ill but as the days went on I felt much better. The cold has subsided but the bronchitis has not and now I can’t seem to go more than a few hours without coughing so badly I can hardly breathe and feel like I am going to pass out. I refuse to go the emergency room as I do not trust the healthcare in Italy or in Europe in general. Billy and I cannot believe that we have been healthy for over a year and a half and it took coming to Europe to get ill…it is so frustrating. I think we have spent more money on trips to the local pharmacies than on wine (now that is a shame)!
On to the good stuff…we arrived at our hotel (Foscari Palace) via water taxi. Upon our arrival we were informed that Billy had booked the nicest room in the hotel…the Foscari Suite. Let me give kudos to Billy because this room is the most fantastic room I have ever stayed in. It is about 1000 square feet, has a sitting area, a dining table, two balconies that overlook the Grand Canal. The hotel also has a rooftop terrace overlooking the Grand Canal where Billy and I finish off our evenings with some wine.
Yesterday, we ate dinner at the same restaurant we did 4 years ago on our first trip to Venice and it was just as nice as we remembered. Today, we did a bit of sight seeing for a few hours because Billy was at the hospital for most of the morning. We went to Saint Mark’s square and strolled amongst the pigeons and tourists (we don’t know which is worse). There are several artists near the Grand Canal and Billy and I admired their work. We will probably buy something if we don’t find something on our trip to the island of Murano tomorrow (famous for their glass). Hope everyone is well or at least they are healthier than Billy and I. Love to all our friends and family!
Before we talk about the things we have done and seen in Venice, we have a bit of unfortunate news. Billy has suffered from an ear infection since we arrived in Siena (5 days ago). It went from bad to worse and Billy ended up visiting the emergency room in Venice. According to Billy, it is more frustrating to be in an emergency room where you don’t speak the language (Italian) than the ones back home. Remarkably, he was in and out in only 2 hours with a prescription for antibiotics. I have been suffering from a cold and chronic bronchitis since arriving in Rome (8 days ago). I initially was very ill but as the days went on I felt much better. The cold has subsided but the bronchitis has not and now I can’t seem to go more than a few hours without coughing so badly I can hardly breathe and feel like I am going to pass out. I refuse to go the emergency room as I do not trust the healthcare in Italy or in Europe in general. Billy and I cannot believe that we have been healthy for over a year and a half and it took coming to Europe to get ill…it is so frustrating. I think we have spent more money on trips to the local pharmacies than on wine (now that is a shame)!
On to the good stuff…we arrived at our hotel (Foscari Palace) via water taxi. Upon our arrival we were informed that Billy had booked the nicest room in the hotel…the Foscari Suite. Let me give kudos to Billy because this room is the most fantastic room I have ever stayed in. It is about 1000 square feet, has a sitting area, a dining table, two balconies that overlook the Grand Canal. The hotel also has a rooftop terrace overlooking the Grand Canal where Billy and I finish off our evenings with some wine.
Yesterday, we ate dinner at the same restaurant we did 4 years ago on our first trip to Venice and it was just as nice as we remembered. Today, we did a bit of sight seeing for a few hours because Billy was at the hospital for most of the morning. We went to Saint Mark’s square and strolled amongst the pigeons and tourists (we don’t know which is worse). There are several artists near the Grand Canal and Billy and I admired their work. We will probably buy something if we don’t find something on our trip to the island of Murano tomorrow (famous for their glass). Hope everyone is well or at least they are healthier than Billy and I. Love to all our friends and family!
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Siena and Pisa
We took a 2 ½ hour train ride from Rome and arrived in Siena around 2:00. The town of Siena is situated on a hill overlooking the Tuscany region of Italy. Siena is a small picturesque city with narrow cobblestone streets and abundant shops selling local merchandise such as lace, dishes, ceramics, etc. Our charming hotel, called Il Chiostro Del Carmine, was a converted 14th century monastery. There were several times that tourists would come by and take pictures of the hotel courtyard and bell tower. The first night in Siena, we walked around the streets and went down to the Piazza del Campo. It is a typical Tuscan town square with a church and a large tower. Piazza de Campo is shaped like a shell and slopes downward. Many people gather here each day to eat gelato and watch the people walk by. The next day we took a wine tour south of Siena. The tour guide, Diego, spoke English and was very friendly. He had lived in the area for several years and knew much about the history of Siena and the surrounding areas. We were also grouped with two couples from Seattle. It was nice to be able to speak with other people so easily without having to try speaking another language. One couple was here on their 5 year anniversary just like us. Our first stop on the wine tour was a place called Il Paradiso Di Frassina. The owner Carlo Cignozzi, was a successful lawyer in Milan for over 40 years and by chance visited Tuscany. He fell in love with the area and bought a dilapidated farm house and started a winery in 1999. He is now famous as the wine maker that plays classical music for the grapes. The owner told us that originally he played the music for his own enjoyment while working outside. He began to notice a difference in the growth in the vines when exposed to classical music. Currently his vineyard is conducting a study with the University of Florence and has found that the grapes grow 40% bigger when exposed to the music. They have tried other forms of music including rock and roll and jazz, but classical seems to work the best (Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, and Scarlatti during the foliage season and Beethoven and Mahler during ripening and to scare away the grape predators). The wines were fantastic and the scenery was amazing. As we have said before, the pictures do not do it justice. We moved on to a town called Montalcino which is situated on the top of a hill. It is the only town in Tuscany that was never captured by any army, according to Diego our tour guide. There is a fortress located at the entrance of the town that overlooks the river valley and the views are spectacular. The town could not be any more charming with narrow streets and many shops (mostly wine shops). We then went to the Sant’ Antimo Abbey that dates back to 1000 AD where sacred rites are still celebrated with Gregorian chant every day. Our last stop was at the Abbadia Ardegna winery near Siena. After a tour of the winery, we were treated to a wine tasting with foods such as sheep’s milk cheese, Italian breads, Prosciutto ham, and biscotti. Billy and I bought 3 bottles of wine from the tour and we will cross our fingers that all the bottles get back to the US in one piece! Tomorrow we leave for a short train ride to Pisa.
We arrived in Pisa in the late afternoon and went for a walk to the main part of town where most of the sites including the leaning tower of Pisa, the Baptistery and the Duomo. These all make up the Campo dei Miracoli.Yes, of course we both did the famous pose with our hands as though we are holding up the leaning tower of Pisa. It was funny to see other people doing the same thing. There is not a lot to do in Pisa Billy and I enjoyed just strolling around the city and taking it easy for a night. Tomorrow morning we head to Bologna. Hope everyone is doing well (I still cannot seem to shake a chest cold I have had for 4 days!)
We arrived in Pisa in the late afternoon and went for a walk to the main part of town where most of the sites including the leaning tower of Pisa, the Baptistery and the Duomo. These all make up the Campo dei Miracoli.Yes, of course we both did the famous pose with our hands as though we are holding up the leaning tower of Pisa. It was funny to see other people doing the same thing. There is not a lot to do in Pisa Billy and I enjoyed just strolling around the city and taking it easy for a night. Tomorrow morning we head to Bologna. Hope everyone is doing well (I still cannot seem to shake a chest cold I have had for 4 days!)
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
When in Rome….Day Two
First things first…We have to get a couple of things off of our chests about Rome. First of all, it is DIRTY. There is trash just about everywhere including all of the famous sight seeing stops. It really is kind of a shame that the people here don’t take more pride in the city. Secondly, the metro here is awful! There are limited stops and you have to wait in long lines to buy a ticket. However, the reason for the lousy metro is that they can not dig any new tunnels near ancient Rome for fear of destroying any uncovered ancient ruins. So, we understand the lack of metro lines but the filthiness is kind of embarrassment to such a historic city.
That being said, the city is still amazing. Today we went to the Roman Forum which is the site of the ancient city of Rome. This is where the Ceasars, Senators, and Roman citizens worked and lived everyday. You can walk around the old city and it is free of charge. There are still quite a few buildings remaining standing including several temples and Julius Ceasar’s funeral pyre. Each time we passed a building, we could almost imagine what the city must have looked like 2000 years ago and what the people must have been like. Could they have imagined that we would be walking through their city all of these years later imagining them? We walked through the ruins amazed. The pictures do not do it justice. Next we went to the Pantheon which is the famous building with the hole in the roof. It was originally built as a temple to the seven gods of the seven planets (they didn’t have telescopes then and there are nine planets because we grew up when Pluto was a planet). It was later converted to a Christian church after the Romans converted. Next was the Piazza Navana. It was originally a Roman circus or a place where they went to watch games. It was later converted to a city market. The Mausoleum of Augustus was next. This is where the ashes of Ceasar Augustus, Livia (his wife), Caligula, and Tiberius among others were kept. The ashes were scattered in 410 A.D. when the Goths sacked Rome, but the mausoleum survived. It seems to have fallen into disrepair and it not open for public viewing. It was kind of sad to see the burial sight of such famous people in such bad shape. The Piazza de Popolo was just a short walk away. This was the first view of ancient Rome for people coming from the north. It is now complemented by twin churches Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto. The water in the fountain was very cold and it felt great to splash on our faces after so much walking. We finished the day’s touring with a walk up the Spanish Steps. This is where the most beautiful people in Rome would gather during the 1800’s and wait for artists to chose them to be in their paintings. We walked all of the 138 steps! We finished the day with a wonderful dinner at a café on a small side street near our hotel. For desert we tried to order Crème Brulee but the waiter didn’t quite understand. Instead we got some sort of a cake with chocolate sprinkles and caramel sauce. We are not really what could be considered “sophisticated” diners, but we know Crème Brulee when we see it and this was not it. It was good none the less. Then the waiter brought us three tall, chilled bottles. One was brown, one was clear, and one was yellow. The brown turned out to be Amaretto (no jokes from the family please), the clear was something like Jägermeister, and the third was like a lemon drop with a kick. It was an interesting way to end an interesting day! Tomorrow we will go the Roman Colosseum and Palatine Hill before heading out to Siena in the afternoon.
That being said, the city is still amazing. Today we went to the Roman Forum which is the site of the ancient city of Rome. This is where the Ceasars, Senators, and Roman citizens worked and lived everyday. You can walk around the old city and it is free of charge. There are still quite a few buildings remaining standing including several temples and Julius Ceasar’s funeral pyre. Each time we passed a building, we could almost imagine what the city must have looked like 2000 years ago and what the people must have been like. Could they have imagined that we would be walking through their city all of these years later imagining them? We walked through the ruins amazed. The pictures do not do it justice. Next we went to the Pantheon which is the famous building with the hole in the roof. It was originally built as a temple to the seven gods of the seven planets (they didn’t have telescopes then and there are nine planets because we grew up when Pluto was a planet). It was later converted to a Christian church after the Romans converted. Next was the Piazza Navana. It was originally a Roman circus or a place where they went to watch games. It was later converted to a city market. The Mausoleum of Augustus was next. This is where the ashes of Ceasar Augustus, Livia (his wife), Caligula, and Tiberius among others were kept. The ashes were scattered in 410 A.D. when the Goths sacked Rome, but the mausoleum survived. It seems to have fallen into disrepair and it not open for public viewing. It was kind of sad to see the burial sight of such famous people in such bad shape. The Piazza de Popolo was just a short walk away. This was the first view of ancient Rome for people coming from the north. It is now complemented by twin churches Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto. The water in the fountain was very cold and it felt great to splash on our faces after so much walking. We finished the day’s touring with a walk up the Spanish Steps. This is where the most beautiful people in Rome would gather during the 1800’s and wait for artists to chose them to be in their paintings. We walked all of the 138 steps! We finished the day with a wonderful dinner at a café on a small side street near our hotel. For desert we tried to order Crème Brulee but the waiter didn’t quite understand. Instead we got some sort of a cake with chocolate sprinkles and caramel sauce. We are not really what could be considered “sophisticated” diners, but we know Crème Brulee when we see it and this was not it. It was good none the less. Then the waiter brought us three tall, chilled bottles. One was brown, one was clear, and one was yellow. The brown turned out to be Amaretto (no jokes from the family please), the clear was something like Jägermeister, and the third was like a lemon drop with a kick. It was an interesting way to end an interesting day! Tomorrow we will go the Roman Colosseum and Palatine Hill before heading out to Siena in the afternoon.
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