This day started out with something that we haven't experienced yet...being very sick... For some reason Louise went to bed lastnight with a headache, but when early morning arrived, she had more than a headache. Very bad headache, shivers and hot at the same time, up-set stomach, and everything else you can imagine with it all. Not good... I thought we might have to go see the doctor, but she fought me on that, at least for a while. After getting sick a few times, she settled down on the back seat and kind of slept off and on until noon. I made some tea which she tried. Finally things started looking better. Tonight she is finally doing something that is more toward "normal", playing games on the computer. I'm pretty sure we will be on our way to Venice tomorrow, but getting sick kind of wakes you up to some of the possibilities that could come our way. Hell, let's not even think about it...
20 September '05, Tuesday.
This day started out with something that we haven't experienced yet...being very sick... For some reason Louise went to bed lastnight with a headache, but when early morning arrived, she had more than a headache. Very bad headache, shivers and hot at the same time, up-set stomach, and everything else you can imagine with it all. Not good... I thought we might have to go see the doctor, but she fought me on that, at least for a while. After getting sick a few times, she settled down on the back seat and kind of slept off and on until noon. I made some tea which she tried. Finally things started looking better. Tonight she is finally doing something that is more toward "normal", playing games on the computer. I'm pretty sure we will be on our way to Venice tomorrow, but getting sick kind of wakes you up to some of the possibilities that could come our way. Hell, let's not even think about it...
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19 September '05, Monday. What a day...we arrived in Padua just before noon and after setting up we were underway to find a bus into town. Our campground is quite a way out from Padua, so it took a little time before we finally got a chance to see the sites. Wait a minute, I guess I should get back to yesterday because I didn't have a journal done for Sunday... All night Saturday and all day Sunday it rained, so we decided we should do some washing. The campground in Vicenza has a large covered area in the same area as the washer, so Louise decided that rain or no rain, the wash would probably dry anyway...wrong...it hung all day and throughout the night and it was drier, but still not dry enough to pack away. Yesterday we also met a great couple from Great Britain...Rob and Loes. Rob came by about 5 and said that they were thinking of pizza for dinner and wanted us to join them. That did sound good, so of course we accepted. Not only was the pizza good, but their company was also very enjoyable, but unfortunately much too short. They pulled out this morning and headed out toward Pisa. We'll try to get them over to see the northwest after we get back. Ok, back to today, after packing "Bumble Bee" (including the very damp wash) we were underway to Padua as I wrote earlier. With Rick Steves book in hand, we started out to enjoy some great sites that Padua has to offer. Now it's not that we did everything right, because we didn't, we got lost again trying to follow his map (I think we would have gotten lost using anyones map). The problem was, they change the street names constantly. When there is a major intersection, that seems to give them (the Italians) the idea that now they can change the name to keep those damn tourists confused...it works !!! Thank god Padua isn't too large, so we were able to finally get to the spot we were looking for. Rick Steves tells us in his Italy 2005 guide book that we will NEED to book reservations to see the Cappella degli Scrovegni (Scrovegni Chapel). This chapel has over 40 frescoes that were painted by Giotto from 1303 to 1305. These are large paintings that are painted on the walls and ceiling of the chapel. These scenes are depicting the lives of Jesus and Mary. It's said that Giotto "placed real people into real scenes, expressing real human emotions". Some of them were like looking at 3-D, they were so good. We thought we would drop by and see if it were possible to either get right in, or possibly set up a time for early tomorrow. They will only allow 25 people into see the chapel at a time, and then only for 15 minutes. This is because they want to control the humidity inside the chapel to protect the paintings and the rest of the interior from decaying. When we walked up to the ticket window, I asked for 2 tickets and was blown away when she told us we would be in the next group. Not only were we excited with getting right in, but we were in a group of only 6 people (small is good...), the group in front of us was 24, and the group behind us, 25...go figure.. Anyway, this was really an exciting opportunity, and we both walked out feeling we had had the opportunity to see some important works of art, and fortunately someone has taken the responsiblity to do something to preserve it. Leaving there, we walked casually through the rest of the town just soaking in the atmosphere of Padua, and it does have atmosphere... Finally at the other end of Padua, we came across the next "Must See" while we are here..."THE" Basilica of St. Anthony... It is "The", because it is where Friar Anthony of Padua, "St. Anthony" is buried (1195-1231. This Basilica is not one that you would call small, it is large..very large...and very impressive to say the least... In the last 18+ months, we have seen a few churches, chapels, DOMS, Basilicas, and on, but this one is something special...no doubt about it and it's been here for over 800 years. The Basilica also has an outstanding collection of fine art and sculptures. About half of these were done in the 13th century and a large balance in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is a lot more to say about today, but that will just have to wait for now. It was getting late, and we had a bus to catch. The traffic was at a stand-still for more than half the way back, and seeing as it was totally dark, we missed our bus stop. Thanks to Louise, we were only one stop away, but that seemed like a mile. The walk back in the dark was interesting, but mostly uneventful. Tomorrow....Venezia (Venice) 17 September '05, Saturday. What I didn't see in Verona, I've found in Vicenza...what a beautiful town. When I mention town, I mean the "old town" area. We normally don't get a chance to visit the "newer" areas of the places we visit, as we are like most other tourists...interested in the past historys. We had about an hours drive from Verona to Vicenza and we went directly to the town. I don't know how we found our parking lot, but did. It was not crowded, and it wasn't too far out of the main areas we wanted to see, and we will take every break we can get. Everytime we drive under one of the towns gates, I kind of duck my head in hopes that "Bumble Bee" will make it through without loosing her top...so far, only once did we make contact, and we were able to back out without too much of a headache. Now this was a "photographers delight". A number of things about Vicenza make it unique, but one is being the home of Palladio... Andrea di Pietro della Gondola, or better known as "Palladio" was the 16th century Renaissance architect who gave us the Palladian style architecture we have seen throughout Europe and the states. "Palladio" was a one man construction team. He designed and built more than 20 major buildings here in Vicenza, and all are spectacular. Fact is Thomas Jefferson was so taken with his work that he was inspired to build Jefferson's Monticello from the design taken from Villa la Rotonda here in Vicenza. We also took in the Teatro Olimpico (Olympic Theater) which again was built and designed by Palladio. This happened to be his last and some say his greatest. It was and still is a "preforming" theatre. He started construction in 1580 but, unfortunately he didn't see it completed because of his death. The "movable" scenes on the stage depict 5 streets that were idealized from the city of Thebes. These scenes are still being used today in the gala opening of Oedipus Rex, that has been protrayed each and every season since. Other classical plays are staged throughout the year, but unfortunately again, we have just missed one by a day and the next wont start until next week. We will have to come back... We also had a chance to visit the Church of the Holy Crown (Santa Corona). This 13th century church was built to house a thorn, supposedly from Jesus' crown of thorns. Today was a lot of looking up and looking through the buildings of Palladio. It was also a day of some very fine art in some beautiful churches, and as always, window shopping...you really see some very different clothing designs here in Italy...is this the designs we will see coming to the states? We'll just have to wait and see... Tomorrow...Padua 16 September '05, Friday. Pulling into the campground about 2:30 we ran to the bus stop to catch the 3:11 bus to Verona. After waiting another 40 minutes for the bus to arrive, we finally were on our way. Unfortunately the bus was tied up behind an accident. Arriving in the middle of town, we headed off to the "old town" area. Following a small map from the campground and one we had in Rick Steves guide book we entered through one of the city gates and directly into the Piazza Bra (one of the plaza's). Directly in front of us stood the Roman Arena, which dates back to the 1st century. The Romans used this arena to seat and entertain over 25000 spectators to Roman gladiator battles, medieval executions, and modern plays. Today, the "spectators" are entertained by a popular opera festival and other music preformances throughout the year. Unfortunately we just missed being able to enjoy one of the operas. The season for the festival ended at the first of the month. What we were able to do, is enjoy splitting a pizza and salad while sitting across the plaza from the arena. Verona has a lot to see, but we are just going to have to be content with Rick Steves "walking tour", and even with that, it is going to be shortened. One of the highlites of having a snack or meal at one of the sidewalk cafes is watching the people. The closer we get to evening time, the towns people come out for their evening "stroll", and they are dressed to kill...this is a passion with the Italians. I do have to say, that I just don't understand the young ladies wanting to wear their 3 and 4 inch high healed shoes...ouch !!! Then onto the Piazza Erbe, which has been described as "the photographers delight". Ok, but I guess I just didn't see it that way. It was nice with all the old architecture and the beautifully painted buildings, but we have seen so much of that same quality in and out of Italy. I guess I just didn't get the feel for Verona as most others seem to get, so I'm going to leave it to their stories which you will have to search for. We did get to the Piazza dei Signori where there is a whale's rib hanging over the passageway. The story, is if you have never told a lie, then the whale's rib will fall from the chain onto your head as you walk under. Obviously it didn't work... Oh yes, there is another story that comes from here...I think it comes from the 15th century...this area including Verona was ruled by the Scaligeri family. The Scaligeri family were to Verona as the Medici family were to Florence. The story goes that the Scaligeri family got rich making ladders, but money can't buy culture. When Marco Polo returned from Asia boasting of the wealthy Kublai Khan, the Scaligeris wanted to be associated with this powerful Khan by name. But misunderstanding "Kan" as "Cane" (Dog), one Scaligeri changed his name to Can Grande (Big Dog) and another to Can Signore (Lord Dog). We did see their tombs, and the dog's heads peer over the family shields which have a ladder in the center of the shield. My feet were getting tired and I've had enough for the day, so back to catch the 2nd to last bus back to the campground and call it a day. Tomorrow...Vicenza 15 September '05, Thursday. You know there are days when I feel like I'm getting a little older...then, I meet someone (well, not exactly meet) that has really been around for a long time...like 5,200 years. What a story, there were these men that were hiking a glacier here in Nothern Italy, and then all of a sudden they thought they had come across another "mountainier" that had come to his death by falling into a galcier. Little did they know, until they discovered an ice axe and some of the clothes from this fallen man, that he was really someone from long ago. They had practically finished removing him from the ice when they came across those items and then they know they had discovered someone special. They only thought he was someone who had died an unfortunate death while hiking not hunting. This morning we had mixed feelings about leaving the Lake Garda area, but we have a lot of Italy to see yet. After reading about "Otzi the 5,200 year old Ice Man", and finding that he was just a few more miles north, we knew we just had to make the trip. Our distination was Bolzano to see "Otzi", visit the town, have lunch, and then move into the mountains to Castelrotto. We found "Otzi" laying there behind glass, completely naked, and still frozen, his clothes, hunting equipment, and a couple of baskets also in refregerated glass containers...5,200 years old...hard to believe...the way his clothing and boots were stitched together...all made out of skins with the fur still there. His boots were something like a sock with lots of straw for insulation, all tied together with strips of hide, and then covered with a "slipper type" of over cover that was also stitched with hide. His leggings were attached to a "belt" with a strip of hide. He also wore a "loin cloth", that could be easily removed for washing...this is amazing to me, thinking of the "thought process" that it took to make all of this and survive in that atmosphere... Well, "Bumble Bee" had her work cut out for her on the trip going up to Castelroto. I don't know what the grade was, but we didn't get out of 2nd gear but twice, and then we had to move into 1st gear. I know we weren't able to go any faster than 25km the whole 12 km ( 6 miles ) climb. I've mentioned many times about the winding and twisting of roads, but this one was in the top 1 percent of twists, and they were all very steep. Saying all that, she came through without a hitch. As we pulled into Castelrotto, we decided to continue a little further...Mount Mikeal...then a U turn and we headed back to Castelrotto. Our new campground is there and we were ready to settle down for the night. We are right in the middle of the Dolomites, and are visiting the highest alpine meadow in Europe. From there, the rock croppings jut straight up into the air, leaving the trees and brush way behind. What a sight... In setting up our table and chairs for our "Tea Time"...we are over-looking the valleys below and the Dolomites above...great campsite. Early tomorrow morning we plan to take the cable car to the top of some of those Dolomite peaks. Then catch the "Friday Market" in Castelrotto before heading south to Verona. 14 September '05, Wednesday. Toes pushed to the end of our shoes ("I hope I don't lose my toe-nails"), calf and thigh musles burning, and we are only halfway down... We started this day with a great American breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee all served at the table on the "patio". Then after dishes were washed, we walked up the hill to the cable car. We are heading to the top of the mountain. This cable car is unique to anything that we have ever been in before. They each hold about 70 people and make the trip up and down while the car is "rotating". This gives everybody a different view as it goes to the top. When we arrived we found a long line ahead of us. Today wasn't quite as clear as yesterday, but the sun was out, so the whole world got up and wanted to make this trip with us. I guess we waited about 45 minutes before we were on the 30 minute ride ourselves. One thing we had to wait for was the mountain bikers...there must have been 40 of them, all dressed for the down-hill and carrying and pushing their fine tuned bikes ahead of us in line. It took 2 cars to leave before all of them had found their way toward the top. By the time we got there, they were all gone. Then there was the tour groups of students from Germany, or was it Austria... Oh well, we got there and we had a good time. The views were as we expected, fantastic. The Italian Alps were just stretched out in front of us and with Lake Garda below...WOW!!! We walked some of the trails for an hour and then grabbed the car back down to the "first" level. We got off there, because there was a restaurant that I wanted to visit. We both had wonderful salads, and then went looking for the hiking trail that would take us the rest of the way down the mountain. The walk was to take us about an hour, so off we went. First of all, it did take us an hour, but that was only because we couldn't hold ourselves back...it was down hill all the way, and I mean DOWN HILL !!! The path was laid with rocks, kind of like "river rocks". They weren't the easiest to walk on and diffinately the toughest to walk down on a steep grade like we were on. When we reached "Bumble Bee", we were happy puppies (and so were our feet)... The only time we actually moved once we got back, was to walk to the top of the driveway and get 2 chicken quarters to barbeque for tonights dinner. We've been wanting a little hike here lately, and I think we accomplished that task today... Tomorrow..."Otzi" the 5,300 year-old man...still in ice... 13 September '05, Tuesday. Yesterday was a kick, and our time here in Malcesine is well spent. Even this morning, after grabbing a bite to eat, we ventured back to see if and when Louise could get a haircut. While she was getting a haircut, I was to get some internet work done. I found that both internet locations were closed, so I just ventured around town until Louise had all her hair cut off. Seeing as how it was a bright and sunny day (which we hadn't seen much of lately...), we decided to jump on one of the ferries. The ferry system here is great. Round trip, which covers 6 stops (3 each trip), gives you about 3 hours of a boat ride, and introduces you to 3 other towns along the way. I think I mentioned that Lake Gorda is about 60 miles long. We are just about 2/3rds the way from the top of the lake, so what we saw today was the last 1/3. The Italian Alps line the sides and extend well beyond the end to make this lake very special. The towns and villages that line the lake, all sit right at the edge and the slope of the mountains. We didn't get off the ferry at all the stops, but we did step on ground when we got to Riba del Garda. Riba is right at the very end and is almost swallowed up by the Alps. The architecture is all Italian (like all the villages along the lake), and with the warm colors of the lake and the buildings...something special. We arrived in Riba just in time to hear the bells of the clock tower that was built in 1200. Not only was it built in 1200, it was striking 12 noon...lunch time if you ask me... It must have been the breeze and fresh air off of the lake that made us both hungry. We checked out 6 to 8 sidewalk cafes before deciding on one that we could enjoy ITALIAN PASTA with clams and in my case clams and mussels. Riba is about 3 times larger than Malcesine, but along the water front, it still has the charm of the 1200-1600 period. Of course I just had to see what I could find for internet access, so off to find the TI. I was able to find the best internet access I have ever found, and there was only one computer and it was in a stationary/comuter store...good equipment and FAST !!! I was not only able to up-load my journal, but a lot of my pictures that we had just taken in France...what a joy. Walking the pedestrian streets and alley ways and then the boardwalk just as the sun was going down behind the mountains was quite a treat. Now for the boat ride back..."This is quite a life"... 12 September '05, Monday. After our stay at the "Palacio", we drove into the village of Desenzano del Garda. Finding a parking place, we ventured through the streets and alley ways just to get a feel for the place. Other than that, we went looking for the usual TI and internet. Finding the TI and then heading up the street we found, with good instructions, the internet. We are always excited to find the emails from home, and this was no exception. Opening each and everyone is always a "family affair". After reading all the great news, and answering most, I got to work to up-load to the web. Now I've got a problem... It turns out that the program that I am using to write my journals on this new "French" computer isn't recognized with the one that I am trying to use here at the internet cafe (in this case, the Western Union office). I was fit to be tied... After trying every possible way I and the young lady who was in charge could imagine, I had to leave rejected. Now I've got more work cut out for me... How in the hell am I going to make all this work on this silly "French" computer??? Well I couldn't set right down then and get things all settled, as we were on our way to the next site that we wanted to see this morning. About 20 miles up the lake is the village of Sirmione. Now at the very end of a long peninsula sits the walled village with the Sirmione Castle. This was what we had come for this morning...it was closed...what do you mean..."closed"? I wont go through all the details, but it was and we just decided that that was just "hunky dorry" with us as well. We did get a chance to leave some money behind in the village...you know, things like an "GELATTO" (great ice cream cones) and parking... It wasn't at all negative, as we really did have a good time, even with out getting into "another" castle. Two hours spent there and we were underway again. This time we are continuing our route along the coastline of Lake Garda, all the way to Malcesine. Now Malcesine is about an another hour up the coast. We had been told about this "wonderful" campground that is real close to the village of Malcesine, so we could have an easy walk right into town. As we entered the town our eyes are jumping from one sign to the next, looking for our campground sign. Just as we entered the heart of the town, Louise called out "there it is"..."No, it couldn't be, it's too close" (I couldn't see it.). With a good point of the finger in my face, I saw that I was going to have to make a quick turn and down a very steep drive. Yep, here it is..."not bad, fact is, really good"..."I'll bet it's expensive"..."I don't care" (she says..). All checked in and we are "happy campers". It wasn't even expensive...$18 Euros (expensive is when it gets above $25). Seeing as how we are parked right in town, we immediately headed out just to see what this "village" had to offer. Right away it started to show us that this was something "special". Within 25 yards and we were passing under a low and long rock gate that lead us into the "village". No traffic (except those of us on foot) and all the "streets were cobbled with rocks from the lake...a white stone with a black stone accent. All the buildings date back to the 15-16th century and there is even a little castle that overlooks the whole thing. Everything is on a hillside that slopes to the lake...winding from right to left and angles beyond that...everything towards the lake. I was a happy camper with all the photo opportunities, and there are lots. After about an hour walking and 30 minutes people watching while we had a glass of wine at the marina, we headed back to the van for dinner. Just before we were to exit through the "gate", we came across an interesting pastry. Apparently it is exclusive to this area and comes from as far back as the 15th century. It's about the size of a baseball. It looks like they take pastry strips that have different fillings (like chocolate, champagne, etc.), then roll them into the ball. After baking, they put a coating of flavoring on the top. Actually it was pretty good, and something that you would enjoy, but not all the time. We took it home for our dinner desert. Later when it got dark, we headed back to see just what was lit up for another picture op. This little Italian village is wonderful, and we diffinately will have more to see tomorrow... 11 September '05, Sunday. We didn't make it to Torino yesterday. Boy it was a tough day, one wroung turn after another. I'm afraid that I even let my temper show a little... I don't have any idea just how many kilometers we traveled all day, but it wasn't much. Finally we pulled into Biella in search of a campground. Now Biella is a town of fair size, so we hoped that we would find a campground there. Being a Saturday, the traffic wasn't too bad. Driving through the town wasn't too much trouble either. Once we saw our first sign for the Information Center we just kept looking for the second. After a while we found the largest congregation of people and cars and there in the middle was the TI. Seeing as about half of the cars were double parked, I didn't see any reason for us not to find a parking place in a bus stop. Running, no, walking to the TI and getting our information asked and answered didn't take too long, as we only had one question to ask and we only got one answer: "Can you tell us where we might find a campground?"..."The only campgrounds are about 30 kilometers back from where you've come"... They didn't have one...It just seemed to fit the pattern of our day. There was one redeeming grace...the cars and the people that were all around this area had come for "the best ice cream cones in the city", says our host at the TI...Well after trying a big double, we agreed, they were vvveerrryyy good... Back tracking we finally found our campsite for the night. We parked right on the bank of a beautiful lake. For dinner, we decided that we just couldn't cook for ourselves, so we went into the restaurant at the campground. Dining at waters edge took some of the "edge" off of us. We needed something like that to end this day. About 4:30am I woke to hear a lot of thunder in the distance, so I got myself out of bed and went out to cover our "storage tent" with tarps, just in case it started to rain as it had in Antibes. Boy, it was a good thing that I had. About 10 minutes later, all hell broke loose. Just like Antibes, it was one hell of a storm. About 11:30 it let up enough so we could pack up and move on. Our destination was Desenzada d Garda on the shores of Lake Garda After yesterday we weren't taking any chances of getting messed up on these roads that all of a sudden change road numbers on you. We were taking no chances, we headed straight for the "pay roads" and took them all the way...damn the cost !!! Just as we were hitting Milano, we caught up with the storm that apparently had hit us earlier. Boy, once some of the cars hit the heavy rain, they either stopped completely on the side of the road, or slowed down to a crawl. This is something I didn't think I would ever see an Italian driver do...they aren't normally timid on the road...then after 8 to 10 miles of heavy rain they all got back to the "heavy foot" and "making it" down the roadway. Our campground tonight is located right on the banks of Lake Garda. After doing the normal check-in, we followed this young lady to our pitch. After we wandered around several corners filled with permanent campers and bungalows we finally we guided through a very narrow arch. We finally found ourselves in the garden area of a very old "Palacio" with the water of the lake right at our sliding door. Most of the "Palacio" has been let go, especially the garden area where we are parked, but it is absolutely beautiful...we can only imagine what it must have been in it's day. Tomorrow we will explore a little around this area of the lake and then move onto Malcesine, which is about half way up the otherside. Lake Garda is a 60 mile long lake with lots of wonderful little villages all along the banks. It would be nice to have a whole summer just to explore this lake by its self. That would be another time for us... L/R= Bob and Mary, OB and Kris 9 September '05, Friday Last night the rain stopped just before we all had to put pontoons on our vehicles. It did rain, but then again, it was surprising just how fast most of the water soaked into the ground. When the "coast looked clear", we all kind of poked our heads out to see just how long this lull might last. It had possiblities, so Bob and Mary gathered OB, Kris, and us over to enjoy a glass of wine and some great eats. A little while into the evening and we had 2 couples from Great Britain join us. We all had a good time...just ask those who were there how they felt this morning. One thing the we did do this morning was to gather everything together, pack up, and move on down the road. Bob and Mary were headed towards Spain, OB and Kris were heading to Italy like us. The rock slide over the roadway to Italy has traffic still deverted around it for at least a couple of towns. I know for us, we were delayed for over 2 hours before we broke free. We decided to take the coast road from Monaco to our turn off to Torino. We followed the coast to Imperia before we turned north. This small road was a kick, or should I say a twist...one after another and we were climbing a 11% grade up and beyond the cloud cover. The coast ride was as always just beautiful. The water was mostly that green/blue, but with all the rain we have had, there was a lot of mud that had flowed down into it in a number or areas making it a light brown. When we got into the mountains, they were covered with the darkest green leaved trees we have seen. It was dense and it was beautiful. It seemed like we were following a canyon all the way, because of the steep road and hillsides around us. Like we saw on our first trip through Italy, the Italians build tunnels...boy do they have tunnels !!! By the time we found a campground, my butt was getting numb from sitting too long. We finally called it a day when we pulled into Cuneo. Louise had purchased some incredible large shrimp. So, add a side of pasta and some bubbly, and you have a great meal to end the day. Tomorrow we will continue to Torino. |
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