Pumpkin hat noodles

We were up on time and having a casual morning- getting ready at a comfortable pace. When Cas emerged from the bathroom moving at a totally different rate of speed, I looked at my phone, and frankly, I said a word I won't write here. We had 12 minutes to get our luggage out the front door of our historic hotel room.

Let me pause here and say that porter service is amazing. We put tags on our bags- in this case, green ones- that say our names, then someone else scoops them up, takes them to whatever mode of transport we are using, and stows them for us. Kind of makes me wish we packed more, just to get maximum bang for our buck, but nevertheless, if you have access to porter service, use it.

Back to the important stuff, though. We got our bags out the door in time for the porter service to do its job, then we were off to the hotel breakfast. As we have come to expect, it was a very good breakfast. From there, we were free for just enough time to head to the beach and have another look around before hopping on a water taxi and meeting up with our bus driver to head out of Venice.

The next stop on our adventure was Ferrara. Misia is our tour director, and she swears Ferrara is where the best food in Italy exists. I have no reason to doubt the veracity of her claims. We were specifically told to get our hands on a pasta that is shaped kind of like a hat, and filled with creamy pumpkin. Sounds strange, but if you’re ever in Ferrara, don’t miss it. Wow. Cappallacci- I think that’s what it’s called. Nevertheless, its new name is pumpkin hat noodles.

After lunch, we walked around town. I wanted to go back through the castle that had, in more modern times, become a museum. This particular museum is open from Wednesdays to Mondays, meaning it was only closed on Tuesdays. Guess which day of the week I was reading that sign. Actually, though, it turned out for the best. I had no interest in walking around in an exhibit hall. I really wanted to check out the drawbridges and the moat. I mean, how often do I stand on a drawbridge and look at a moat? I think Cas and I have to have a few more discussions about home redesign before we determine if a moat is a thing we can put in back in Dallas. I think any homeowners association would have a few words to say to the homeowners who attempt to install a moat.



Following that, it was back to the bus. I need to stop here and mention the Autostrada. We keep stopping at them. The Autostrada is one part Bucee’s, one part high end coffee shop and one part really good deli/diner. They are located along the highway- apparently with locations at both sides- and they are a blessing. Whole tour buses unload, everyone streams out to the bathrooms and we all grab a bottle of water or a snack before hopping back on the bus. And we’re never the only busload in the place. Last time, I got a very well made cappuccino in a proper cup- with a saucer and a spoon and everything. I mean it when I say it’s a very fancy gas station.

From that Autostrada stop, we were on to Florence. We arrived, pointing at things out the window, and made our way to the hotel. It was time to check in and give everyone about two hours to dinner. Cas and I spent the two hours walking around, then cooling down a little. Jeff and Reema spent the two hours “chillin for a bit,” which is probably just about right, given the flurry of activity over the past few days. Nevertheless, we all made it to the group dinner. There were about 30 people in one room of a restaurant that had several different spaces. Some walls were brick and some were plaster, and the echo of that many people chatting over dinner was pretty serious. Somehow, the restaurant only put one waiter in that space, as well. The poor guy was all hustle, but nobody could really keep up with that.

From there, Cas and I joined with Jeff and Reema, and another couple, Nicci and John to find a pub. There was a little confusion when Reema kept seeing things that had a sign out front that simply said “bar.” From what we can gather, a bar here could be any countertop that serves stuff or provides a service. They may be literally describing the furniture.

Just a little more wandering, and we found an Irish pub. They handed us drink menus, and I have to pause again to tell you the funny thing to me, a kid who was raised mostly in Texas: We were at an Irish pub in Florence, and there, on the menu was a Margarita. They listed the recipe as tequila, Cointreau and lemon juice. Ooh- so close. It’s probably tasty, but it definitely isn’t a margarita. Just sayin.

But, that’s where we wrapped up for the evening. Most of us, I suspect, went back to wash out a few shirts in the hotel sink and hit the hay.

Today, we have an appointment with the David. We’ll check back in later!

Here are our photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PR6jn1ZzhDS6cx8q8

Volare!

First of all, my fancy watch says I have walked over 15,000 steps today.  That is a little more than my usual number.  Today is also Jeff’s birthday, and to celebrate, we went to the main part of Venice.  We actually went because that’s what was on the tour schedule for the day, but serendipity is pretty great, too.  

We took a water taxi to the most famous part of the series of islands that make up the city, and from there, we did a bit of a walking tour.  It was extremely humid in the morning, and we were all feeling it when we walked in then out of the Saint Mark’s Cathedral on our tour.  We had a local guide there, and she was very good.  She took us from the cathedral, across the square and through some very narrow streets. By the time we got to the place that was scheduled to show us a glass blowing demonstration, we were very damp and sweaty.  Riddle me this- if you have about 30 people and they are very hot and dehydrated, where do you take them?  I bet you didn’t say a glass blowing demonstration with a super-hot kiln that melts glass.  If you did say that, you’re not a very nice person.  

We watched the demonstration, which was very good, then endured about 75% of the sales pitch that followed before a small fraction of us splintered off to find a bathroom and some air conditioning.  After that, we had a little walking around time (not much) before our trip to the gondolas.  Cas and I must have had the same idea as Jeff and Reema, because without discussing it beforehand, we each booked a couples thing.  So, Jeff and Reema were on a gondola with their gondolier, an accordion player and a singer.  We were on a different gondola with a similar crew.  We had an absolute blast.  The accordion player on our gondola was probably somewhere in his 40s of 50s, but the singer was a bit older.  He had a full head of white hair and a big, walrus mustache.  He stood up to sing, and when he did, there were occasions when he held a note so long that I nearly forgot to breathe myself.  It was really dramatic.  There is a short video clip of him somewhere in the photo album, but you can hear him singing Volare here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e7s6UHuX5Ogxa8CK9LrJsJfsT2EKlJqJ/view?usp=drivesdk

That was a tough act to follow.  From there, we went to a nice lunch of seafood risotto and gnocchi, followed by a bit of wandering that led us to Harry’s Bar.  Jeff is pretty taken with the idea of drinking classic and prohibition era cocktails, and the Negroni was the thing to get at Harry’s Bar.  Evidently, it was the thing that Earnest Hemingway would drink there.  Often.  I had a sidecar- I couldn’t hang with the Negroni.  It made Jeff very happy to have a fancy cocktail at the legendary spot, and when I raised my glass to wish him a happy birthday, the manager rushed off and returned with two pieces of cake.  I thought it was a nice touch, and since the drinks were about 20 bucks each, the free cake seemed correct.  

After Harry’s, it was a brisk walk back to the meeting spot, which was the clock tower in Saint Mark’s Square.  We made our way to a waiter taxi that dropped us very near our hotel, and we collapsed on the bed for a few moments.  I got a little too comfortable lying down, and it didn’t even feel like dinner time yet, so we had to make an active choice to get up and go get some food.  We decided the smart option was a meal in the courtyard of the historic hotel where we’re staying.  The chef special was a sea bass ravioli today, and at our level of exhaustion, it was very easy to say “I’ll have the special and some red wine, and charge it to Room 24.”  We needed that kind of simplicity- working at anything was simply out of the question. 

Tomorrow, we wake up, eat breakfast and head to our next destination: Florence.  

So, Happy Birthday, Jeff, and everyone else, have a great day! 

Here are our photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PR6jn1ZzhDS6cx8q8

Romeo doesn’t rhyme with Montague

Juliet rhymes with Capulet, but Romeo doesn’t rhyme with Montague.  Apparently, the story of Shakespeare’s “star crossed lovers” is ever present in the minds of people from Verona.  Honestly, it was not his best play.  Heck, it wasn’t even his best play set in Verona.  Still, it’s the most famous.  Every kid in every ninth grade class ever has read about (or heard the Cliff notes of) Romeo and Juliet.  Warring families produced two kids who fell in love, despite the Hatfields-versus-McCoys situation happening around town.  Juliet pretends to kill herself with a potion that makes her appear dead, assuming Romeo will come to her, and she will wake to run off with him.  He comes to her, but thinks she’s dead, so he kills himself.  She wakes up to a dead sweetheart, so she kills herself, too.  Everybody dies.  Romantic, no?  

The big draw in Verona is, apparently, Juliet’s balcony, or Giulieta’s balcony, in local spelling.  I saw it in the ‘90s, and since Cas and Jeff had both seen it, we all persuaded Reema (without a whole lot of effort) that it wasn’t that big of a deal.  Instead, we went for pizza and wine.  Following that, we went hat shopping.  I was the only one who was on the lookout for a new hat, as I didn’t feel good about packing my hats from home into luggage.  Still, having Cas, Jeff and Reema on my fashion team let me pick a hat that worked with my face, as well as my style.  

Our time in Verona was capped off (see what I did there,?) with a trip to a gelato shop where we had a treat, found a restroom and refilled our water bottles.  All in all, not bad for about three bucks a cone.  

From there, we boarded the bus and headed to the spot where our bus drove up on to a ferry boat.  Our ferry boat was a lot of fun- as we rode into Venice, the majority of the interesting, historical things were on the left.  We were told that at the outset, so we sat on the left.  Then the boat turned around so the other side became the left.  Dagnabbit.  So we moved around a bit and fount that the best vantage point with the maximum shade was actually in the font of the thing.  There we stood with our hair in the breeze until we got to the city proper.  We boarded out bus while it was on the ferry boat, then we drove to the restaurant where we were scheduled to have dinner.  

The dinner was fantastic, though Cas and I were, for the first time, at a different table than Jeff and Reema.  We ended up getting a little bit of a different perspective, just by sitting with other people.  It was truly a great meal, and it was nice to get to know other folks in our tour group.  

When that ended, we got to our historic hotel.  It’s a protected building by whatever historic society runs these sorts of things, and thats cool, but we sure would have liked an elevator.  Nevertheless, if you can swing a tour with porter service, you should do that.  It’s pretty great when someone else moves your luggage to your room.  

When we got here, Cas and I walked across the street to the Adriatic Sea and dripped our feet in the sand.  Had to be done.  Then, we came back to the hotel and had a few glasses of wine in the courtyard.  Jeff came by, as Reema was already asleep..  It was, overall, a pretty great day.  Tomorrow is Jeff’s birthday, and we plan to celebrate.  We will accomplish this by doing some very Venice things.  Not sure what those are yet, but you’ll find out just after I do.  

In the meantime, here is a photo of Cas, looking lost in thought in front of a statue of Dante Allegheny, who also looks lost in thought.  I thought a lot of this picture in fact.  

Here are the rest of our photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PR6jn1ZzhDS6cx8q8

Como has a Duomo

Como has a Duomo.  And a fun funicular.  This morning, we had options after breakfast.  First off, it was an amazing hotel breakfast.  This one beats out the spots in the US with do-it-yourself Texas-shaped waffle irons, just because their bacon was fried prosciutto.  We met Jeff and Reema for that, and after the coffee was gone, we moved on to the optional guided walk through the town.  Jeff and Reema went for a little more rest and relaxation.  After our guided walk, we made our way to the Funicular car that takes folks from Como to Brunate.  It’s a cable car of sorts that pulls people up and gently lowers them back down at about a 45 degree angle to and from the top of a mountain.  This one takes passengers to Brunate, which is at the top.  While there, we wandered around and saw some pretty spectacular views.  Jeff and Reema went later in the day, and by all reports, they had a great meal up there.  

When Cas and I got back down, we had one drink each and split a sandwich at a very touristy spot in front of the Duomo.  It was an extra large sandwich and a very fancy Aperol Spritz, which is apparently a signature drink around here.  If I’m honest, it was a little bitter for me, but I can see the appeal.  The sandwich was great, though.  

We headed back to the hotel and met Jeff and Reema on the way to the bus that took us to Villa Caroltta on the way to Bellagio.  In Villa Carlotta, we wandered around an amazing home that none of us could ever imagine living in, and we did that for about an hour, until it was time to take a boat to Bellagio. There, we had a little fee time to wander until dinner.  For our meal, we sat down to a pasta dish that was made with whole grain pasta, which is darker than traditional noodles.  It was great, but since yesterday, I have learned that restaurants may bing you pasta before the main course.  I didn’t finish a big plate of noodles, because I was actively trying to save room for that main course, which was beef cooked in a Valpolicella gravy, served with Polenta.  Wow.  

The meal was good, served at a relaxed pace and plenty of fun.  After we wrapped that up, we all piled back on the bus and headed for Como again.  It was a pleasant ride back, and we talked to some of our fellow travelers.  When we got back, everyone parted for their respective rooms, but Cas and I wanted just one more glass of wine.  We invited Jeff and Reema, but they were pretty wiped out.  

Cas and I walked across the street, but not inside the ancient wall.  Outside of that wall was a sidewalk cafe that appeared to be populated by Como residents.  The waitress didn’t speak English, which is a good clue you’re not dealing with a tourist place.  Through Cas’ language skills and a little help, we still managed to score a few glasses of wine.  

Now, we’re in for the night with an early wake-up time and a pretty darn early departure for Venice by way of Verona.  It should be a great day tomorrow, and I suspect we’re ready for it.  

Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PR6jn1ZzhDS6cx8q8

Day one, done

I left you here in the middle of the afternoon, and the last question mark was: do we stop for a mid-day shower or go explore.  It turns out, the answer was both.  Cas and I rapidly cleaned ourselves up with the quickest of quick showers- just to the point where we felt human again, and took off with Jeff and Reema.  We walked through the tower in Como to the city center, which was behind a very old wall.  In there, we wandered streets that felt like really wide sidewalks, and that’s how we treated them, until I realized that cars were headed our way.  So maybe, we walk off to the side.  Gotcha.  We were all getting pretty hungry- the breakfast of the airplane was juice or coffee and a muffin, which was very good, but our sense of time is so wackadoodle, it’s hard to say what we should eat and when.  I have always heard that you should land in a place and power through until that place’s regular bedtime.  You’ll be tired and a little goofy but you’ll be on track for the rest of your visit.  We’ll, I hope that’s true this time, because it was really hard to help the eyes open.  

On our walk, the four of us went past a church, a dome (duomo), a series of very cool, old buildings and a bunch of shops until we found a place that would sell us a few truly amazing pizzas and a bottle of wine.  Italy moves at its own pace, and it takes a moment of adjustment if you’re used to American style restaurant service.  Honestly, the waiters aren’t in such a frantic rush to see you, but you’re not in such a frantic rush to eat.  You just sit at the table on the sidewalk and watch the world go by- sip your wine and have a lovely afternoon.  It was just what we needed.  

From there, we walked to the lake itself.  It is a gorgeous lake with blue water and boats all lined up, ready to go for a quick trip.  None of us had slept more than an hour at a time on the flight over, so the long walk was just about enough to persuade us a trip back to the hotel was in order.  Jeff and Reema later admitted they grabbed a nap, but Cas and I tried to stay awake.  I admit, I drifted in and out a little, but this room has one chair and one bed.  If it had two chairs, I may have sat instead of laying down, and there may have been some narrow chance I could have stayed fully awake.  Nevertheless, we had to make it down the stairs by nearly 6 so we could get a full run down of our details and our tour from its director.  After that, we headed out to a welcome dinner with the rest of our tour group.  It was a pretty large, unruly bunch, and the restaurant brought out carafes of wine.  As good as it was, it didn’t take much time or much wine for me to start to think I may end up with my face splashed down in a plate of noodles.  

No matter, it was a great day, a great meal and a fun time.  I will now share, without comment, a photo I took of my big bother drinking a mochachino

And that’s all she wrote today.  I am too tired to say anything else, which is good, because I am too tired to go out there and do/see/write about more interesting things.  See you tomorrow for a lake cruise, folks! 

Check out the photo album here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PR6jn1ZzhDS6cx8q8

Travel day

We have arrived.  We’re in our hotel next to Lake Como, having just completed the travel day to get here. I hate to complain about first world problems, so I will just briefly advise others- if you have a choice when flying through New York to another country, try not to use JFK airport as your spot to switch flights.  It’s chaotic, and you have to leave one terminal, enter another and redo the TSA check in.  Not my favorite thing.  Partially, that was a drag, and partially, the one hour flight delay was pretty disappointing.  That delay was because one of the passengers was, in the pilot’s words, “not fit to fly,” and they had to get him and his luggage off the plane, 

Honestly, after all of that, the rest of the flight was fine.  They gave us lasagne and red wine, which seemed appropriate.  We landed in Milan and immediately got on a small-ish transport bus with about a dozen people to head to the hotel in Como.  Without saying a word, the driver reminded me that Italian traffic is purely insane.  He was a master of aggressive traffic circle entry, and at one point, his phone rang, so he reached to get it from a leather pouch just above the visor.  When he reached to put it away again, he used both hands.  I hope he was steering with his knees…. 

Nevertheless, we have a little free time today- time to either explore or take a shower- we still haven’t decided- then we have a nice pasta dinner with our tour group.  

Whew- we made it!  

Counting down

This week, as a school employee in a larger-than-average District, I have plenty of opportunities to learn a new thing, participate in some professional development and get ahead of the game to plan for next year.  I think that would be a good use of my time, too, but I just don’t see it happening.  I am way too distracted.  Cas and I are, instead, counting.  We are counting the days until our trip, counting the number of clean shirts we need to pack, counting the tasks we need to accomplish before we are sitting at DFW airport, waiting to get on the plane.  

Cas and I are excited, and this time, we are traveling with another couple. No worries, though, I have known one of them since high school, and I have known the other since the day I was born.  Seriously.  My big brother and his wife were married just before covid came in and snatched up their honeymoon, and Reema has always wanted to go to Italy.  When we mentioned our wish to travel to Italy this summer, we all decided to book the exact same thing.  It should be a great trip with some excellent company- hey, I’m counting on it.