Here are some shots of our vacation, from Flickr.com
Day one (9/15)- Venice
Day two (9/16) - Venice
Day three (9/17) - Venice
Day four (9/18) - Venice, then Villa Foscaro, Villa Barbaro, and Villa Emo. then back in Venice
Day five (9/19) - Venice
Day six (9/20) - Venice, Murano, Burano, Torcello, then back to Venice
Day seven (9/21) - our final day in Venice
Day eight (9/22) was a travel day - no photos
Day nine (9/23) - Zevio market and Soave, plus vineyard tour and wine tasting at Massimago
Day ten (9/24) - Verona
Day eleven (9/25) - Strada del Vino Valpolicella
Day twelve (9/26) - Villa Capra then Vicenza
Day thirteen (9/27) - was a travel day back to the US - no photos
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Haven't updated in a while
Surrounded by too many things to get online to post updates. I'll try to catch up tonight after we have a day of touring around the area.
We are absolutely in love with Massimago, and it's going to be difficult to go back to reality after this trip is over
We are absolutely in love with Massimago, and it's going to be difficult to go back to reality after this trip is over
Friday, September 21, 2012
Our last full day in Venice.
So much left to do, so little time to do it in.
But we're not going to be able to do all of it. Today's agenda - Basilica di San Marco, lunch, a gondola ride, a wine tasting, dinner, then back to the apartment to pack for tomorrow's departure to Massimago.
Got to get going soon though, so I'll catch up with what we've done so far once we get to our next destination, which should be much more relaxing and laid back than this week was.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Three islands today (not counting Venice itself)
Went to Murano, Burano and Torcello today. Too tired to write much more, about to go to bed. Will fill in details later.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
My feet hurt!
So let's see, it's "international talk like a pirate day" so let's get that out of the way real quick
Arrrgh.
And given Venice's history, that seems appropriate!
So yesterday was a blast. We took a tour to visit three of Palladio's most amazing villas - Foscari (aka Malcontenta), Barbaro (aka Mestre) and Emo. All of them were great, but I think my favorite was Emo. Palladio's style of Renaissance architecture works much better outside of Venice than it does in Venice. Fibonacci numbers and all that seem out of place among Venice's great Gothic style, but work very well on their own isolated spaces in the Veneto countryside.
Holy crap, I sound like John Ruskin!
So anyway, after a long day of touring all over the countryside visiting the villas, we got back to the apartment around 6:00 or so. Freshened up a bit, took naps, etc, then went to Al Covo again for dinner, which was supposed to be at 8:30, but given bad timing on our part and typical Italian time tables for public transportation, we didn't get there until about 9:00.
Had an amazing meal, and got back home from that around 12:30 AM, after literally closing the place - we were the last to leave.
So ended yesterday.
And the reason my feet hurt is that we had another tour with Venice Art Tours. We started around 9:15 and walked all over the southern part of the city, literally on our feet for over four hours. It was a fantastic, albeit very tiring tour. Highlight of the day, for me at least, was stopping in the Frari church. The Titian painting of Mary's ascension into heaven, behind the main altar, is one of the greatest works of art I've ever seen.
Eric, the tour guide, left us off in the Dosoduro area, near gelateria Nico (those of you who are friends on Facebook know we stopped there :) ). We were going to try to eat at a pizza place named Ae Oche, but for some reason we never got an order in, got fed up and walked to a decent little restaurant named Osteria 1518. Good thing we did, because we were going to try to sit outside at Ae Oche, and by the time we had our food ordered at 1518 it was pouring down rain.
We had a nice meal there, and afterwards went to Nico for dessert. Since it was rainy, we decided to forgo our plans for the rest of the day and visit Ca' D'Oro. Jan and I had been there before, but Paddy and Jeff had not. We were a bit disappointed to learn that we were unable to walk on the ground floor out to the Grand Canal now, which we did before. I assume that someone did something stupid in the last 11 years to prevent tourists from doing that today.
Anyway, we're back at the apartment after a long day of touring all over the city, and we've decided that we're too tired to go out. Jeff and I are going to head out to get carry out pizza at the good Ae Oche, near the train station, not near Nico, and bring it back for Jan and Paddy.
And with that, we're planning to have an early night.
Arrrgh.
And given Venice's history, that seems appropriate!
So yesterday was a blast. We took a tour to visit three of Palladio's most amazing villas - Foscari (aka Malcontenta), Barbaro (aka Mestre) and Emo. All of them were great, but I think my favorite was Emo. Palladio's style of Renaissance architecture works much better outside of Venice than it does in Venice. Fibonacci numbers and all that seem out of place among Venice's great Gothic style, but work very well on their own isolated spaces in the Veneto countryside.
Holy crap, I sound like John Ruskin!
So anyway, after a long day of touring all over the countryside visiting the villas, we got back to the apartment around 6:00 or so. Freshened up a bit, took naps, etc, then went to Al Covo again for dinner, which was supposed to be at 8:30, but given bad timing on our part and typical Italian time tables for public transportation, we didn't get there until about 9:00.
Had an amazing meal, and got back home from that around 12:30 AM, after literally closing the place - we were the last to leave.
So ended yesterday.
And the reason my feet hurt is that we had another tour with Venice Art Tours. We started around 9:15 and walked all over the southern part of the city, literally on our feet for over four hours. It was a fantastic, albeit very tiring tour. Highlight of the day, for me at least, was stopping in the Frari church. The Titian painting of Mary's ascension into heaven, behind the main altar, is one of the greatest works of art I've ever seen.
Eric, the tour guide, left us off in the Dosoduro area, near gelateria Nico (those of you who are friends on Facebook know we stopped there :) ). We were going to try to eat at a pizza place named Ae Oche, but for some reason we never got an order in, got fed up and walked to a decent little restaurant named Osteria 1518. Good thing we did, because we were going to try to sit outside at Ae Oche, and by the time we had our food ordered at 1518 it was pouring down rain.
We had a nice meal there, and afterwards went to Nico for dessert. Since it was rainy, we decided to forgo our plans for the rest of the day and visit Ca' D'Oro. Jan and I had been there before, but Paddy and Jeff had not. We were a bit disappointed to learn that we were unable to walk on the ground floor out to the Grand Canal now, which we did before. I assume that someone did something stupid in the last 11 years to prevent tourists from doing that today.
Anyway, we're back at the apartment after a long day of touring all over the city, and we've decided that we're too tired to go out. Jeff and I are going to head out to get carry out pizza at the good Ae Oche, near the train station, not near Nico, and bring it back for Jan and Paddy.
And with that, we're planning to have an early night.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Fun day yesterday
It started off with the Doge's "Secret Itinerary" tour, which was fantastic.
After that, we had an amazing lunch (if you can call a two hour meal at 1:30 PM lunch) at one of our favorite restaurants in the world, Al Covo. It's owned by Cesare (the chef) and Dianne (the pastry chef and amazing hostess) Benelli, and when we were in Venice the last time, back in 2001, we ate there a bunch of times. They remembered Jan and me, and treated Paddy, Jeff, Jan and me like family.
After that we ducked into the Church of San Giovanni in Bragora. The altarpiece of the baptism of Christ by Cima da Conegliano is amazing.
Then we stopped by a bar on the steps of the Rialto bridge for a few drinks, followed by shopping for cheese, prepared fish, various salamis and bread for a meal in the kitchen of the apartment.
Today, we've got a full day ahead of us. We're heading out of town for a tour of three of Palladio's most famous villas - Barbaro, Emo and Malcontenta. We've booked the tour with Avventure Bellissime, and are really looking forward to it.
After we return, we're going to Al Covo for dinner at 8:30.
After that, we had an amazing lunch (if you can call a two hour meal at 1:30 PM lunch) at one of our favorite restaurants in the world, Al Covo. It's owned by Cesare (the chef) and Dianne (the pastry chef and amazing hostess) Benelli, and when we were in Venice the last time, back in 2001, we ate there a bunch of times. They remembered Jan and me, and treated Paddy, Jeff, Jan and me like family.
After that we ducked into the Church of San Giovanni in Bragora. The altarpiece of the baptism of Christ by Cima da Conegliano is amazing.
Then we stopped by a bar on the steps of the Rialto bridge for a few drinks, followed by shopping for cheese, prepared fish, various salamis and bread for a meal in the kitchen of the apartment.
Today, we've got a full day ahead of us. We're heading out of town for a tour of three of Palladio's most famous villas - Barbaro, Emo and Malcontenta. We've booked the tour with Avventure Bellissime, and are really looking forward to it.
After we return, we're going to Al Covo for dinner at 8:30.
Easier to do things than write about doing things
As I knew would happen I've fallen a bit behind. Just woke up in the middle of the night from a combination of mosquito bites and noises of the vaporetti, so thought I'd hope on Blogger to apologize.
We finally got our phones to work with Internet and tomorrow is a big travel day with an Avventure Bellislime tour to the villas of Palladio, so I should be able to catch up quite a bit in the car.
Until then, buona nottte.
We finally got our phones to work with Internet and tomorrow is a big travel day with an Avventure Bellislime tour to the villas of Palladio, so I should be able to catch up quite a bit in the car.
Until then, buona nottte.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Buon giorno!
Awake and properly caffeinated to face the day. We're going to take Venice Art Tours walking tour of Venice, which seems a great way to get ourselves re-acclimated to the city. We're supposed to meet our tour guide at 9:15 on the Ponte delle Guglie. The tour should take around 3 hours so we'll be done just in time for lunch.
Yesterday, we stopped by a TIM store to buy a SIM card for our phones. Jan's and mine worked fine for phone service on our Androids, but the Internet is not working yet. We'll stop by the store again today and ask what's wrong with it.
For those who need it, my number is 331 2376041, and Jan's 331 2376037. To call from the USA, the international access code is 001, and the code for Italy is 39. So to call me from the States, the number would be 001.39.331.2376041. To call Jan, it's 001.39.331.2376037.
Jeff also bought a SIM card for his Verizon iPhone 4, but it refuses to work at all. It will not activate, in spite of the fact that Verizon "unlocked" the phone prior to leaving for Italy. Yet another reason to go to the TIM store sometime today to figure out how to fix it.
Oh, and the weather is magnificent!
Some videos of us arriving in town yesterday
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151175678418620
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151175685123620
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151175700753620
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151175748513620
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151176203478620
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151175685123620
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151175700753620
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151175748513620
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151176203478620
Saturday, September 15, 2012
We are here!
Got to the apartment about noon local time, and spent the last five hours wandering around town.
Had lunch, did some shopping and now we're trying to stay awake.
Desperately tired, but very glad to be here.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Volare!
Two days, until we are volare (flying)
Lyrics (in Italian)
Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai più
mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu
poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito
e incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito
Volare oh, oh, cantare oh, oh
nel blu dipinto di blu, felice di stare lassù
e volavo, volavo felice più in alto del sole ed ancora più su
mentre il mondo pian' piano spariva lontano laggiù
una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me
Volare oh, oh, cantare oh, oh
nel blu dipinto di blu, felice di stare lassù
ma tutti i sogni nell'alba svaniscon' perché
quando tramonta la luna li porta con sé
ma io continuo a sognare negli occhi tuoi belli
che sono blu come un cielo trapunto di stelle
Volare oh, oh, cantare oh, oh
nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu, felice di stare quaggiù
e continuo a volare felice più in alto del sole ed ancora più su
mentre il mondo pian piano scompare negli occhi tuoi blu
la tua voce è una musica dolce che suona per me
Volare oh, oh, cantare oh, oh
|: nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu, felice di stare quaggiù :| - con te
Lyrics (in Italian)
Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai più
mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu
poi d'improvviso venivo dal vento rapito
e incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito
Volare oh, oh, cantare oh, oh
nel blu dipinto di blu, felice di stare lassù
e volavo, volavo felice più in alto del sole ed ancora più su
mentre il mondo pian' piano spariva lontano laggiù
una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me
Volare oh, oh, cantare oh, oh
nel blu dipinto di blu, felice di stare lassù
ma tutti i sogni nell'alba svaniscon' perché
quando tramonta la luna li porta con sé
ma io continuo a sognare negli occhi tuoi belli
che sono blu come un cielo trapunto di stelle
Volare oh, oh, cantare oh, oh
nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu, felice di stare quaggiù
e continuo a volare felice più in alto del sole ed ancora più su
mentre il mondo pian piano scompare negli occhi tuoi blu
la tua voce è una musica dolce che suona per me
Volare oh, oh, cantare oh, oh
|: nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu, felice di stare quaggiù :| - con te
2 Days, 10 Hours, 47 Minutes and a number of seconds from right now
Until our flight is scheduled to land at 11:00 AM Italian time at Marco Polo International Airport (VCE). We've got a water taxi scheduled to pick us up and I figure we'll get to the apartment around noon or so.
That will be 6:00 AM our time, so jet lag is going to be a pain in the you-know-what. But I think I figured out the perfect solution to help get over it - take the Number 1 Vaporetto (water bus) the entire length of the Grand Canal. It always seems easier to get your circadian rhythm reset to local time if you get outside during the daylight when you arrive, and stay up as late as you possibly can.
Given the fact that Jan and I are going to get up at early on Friday, drop the dogs off at the kennel when it opens at 7:00, then come back home, pack up the car and drive four hours to Paddy's and Jeff's in Tarrytown, planning to get there around lunch time.
Our flight leaves JFK at 5:40 PM, and it's about an hour taxi ride from their place to the airport. So by the time we check in at the apartment on Saturday, we'll have been going for about 24 hours straight, with little to no sleep, and THEN we're going to try to stay awake at least another 9 or 10 hours before going to bed in Venice.
Yeah yeah, I know I'm sure all of you are feeling very sorry for us, right? Then again, maybe not ;)
That will be 6:00 AM our time, so jet lag is going to be a pain in the you-know-what. But I think I figured out the perfect solution to help get over it - take the Number 1 Vaporetto (water bus) the entire length of the Grand Canal. It always seems easier to get your circadian rhythm reset to local time if you get outside during the daylight when you arrive, and stay up as late as you possibly can.
Given the fact that Jan and I are going to get up at early on Friday, drop the dogs off at the kennel when it opens at 7:00, then come back home, pack up the car and drive four hours to Paddy's and Jeff's in Tarrytown, planning to get there around lunch time.
Our flight leaves JFK at 5:40 PM, and it's about an hour taxi ride from their place to the airport. So by the time we check in at the apartment on Saturday, we'll have been going for about 24 hours straight, with little to no sleep, and THEN we're going to try to stay awake at least another 9 or 10 hours before going to bed in Venice.
Yeah yeah, I know I'm sure all of you are feeling very sorry for us, right? Then again, maybe not ;)
Saturday, September 8, 2012
We'll be there in a week!
Currently waiting at the FIAT dealer to get some work done on the 500 (no Fix It Again Tony jokes please, this is just standard maintenance). When I'm done here, I'll head down to AAA to buy an international driver's permit - doubt I'll need it, but better safe than sorry.
Then home again to do the laundry and pick out all our clothes to take on the trip and cut the amount in half since we'll have a washing machine in the apartment in Venice. Not sure if there's one in Massimago.
One week from right now, it will be a little after 3:00 PM in Venice, and we'll ge fighting off jet lag. Hopefully we'll get some sleep on the plane.
Then home again to do the laundry and pick out all our clothes to take on the trip and cut the amount in half since we'll have a washing machine in the apartment in Venice. Not sure if there's one in Massimago.
One week from right now, it will be a little after 3:00 PM in Venice, and we'll ge fighting off jet lag. Hopefully we'll get some sleep on the plane.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Flight information
On our way to Italy
Friday, 14 Sep 2012:
Aer Lingus (EI) Flight 104 New York to Dublin
Departure: 17:40 Eastern (JFK)
Arrival: 05:20 Irish (DUB) +5 hours
Total flight time of 6:40
2:00 layover in Dublin
Saturday, 15 Sep 2012:
Aer Lingus (EI) Flight 422 Dublin to Venice
Departure: 07:20 Irish (DUB)
Arrival: 11:00 Italian (VCE) + 1 hour
Total flight time of 2:40
Total travel time from JFK to VCE is 11:20
On our way back home
Thursday, 27 Sep 2012:
Aer Lingus (EI) Flight 423 Venice to Dublin
Departure: 11:50 Italian (VCE)
Arrival: 13:35 Irish (DUB) -1 hour
Total flight time of 2:45
3:35 layover in Dublin
Thursday, 27 Sep 2012:
Aer Lingus (EI) Flight 109 Dublin to New York
Departure: 5:10 PM Irish (DUB)
Arrival: 7:40 PM Eastern (JFK) - 5 hours
Total flight time of 7:30
Total travel time from VCE to JFK is 13:50
Friday, 14 Sep 2012:
Aer Lingus (EI) Flight 104 New York to Dublin
Departure: 17:40 Eastern (JFK)
Arrival: 05:20 Irish (DUB) +5 hours
Total flight time of 6:40
2:00 layover in Dublin
Saturday, 15 Sep 2012:
Aer Lingus (EI) Flight 422 Dublin to Venice
Departure: 07:20 Irish (DUB)
Arrival: 11:00 Italian (VCE) + 1 hour
Total flight time of 2:40
Total travel time from JFK to VCE is 11:20
On our way back home
Thursday, 27 Sep 2012:
Aer Lingus (EI) Flight 423 Venice to Dublin
Departure: 11:50 Italian (VCE)
Arrival: 13:35 Irish (DUB) -1 hour
Total flight time of 2:45
3:35 layover in Dublin
Thursday, 27 Sep 2012:
Aer Lingus (EI) Flight 109 Dublin to New York
Departure: 5:10 PM Irish (DUB)
Arrival: 7:40 PM Eastern (JFK) - 5 hours
Total flight time of 7:30
Total travel time from VCE to JFK is 13:50
Monday, September 3, 2012
Heading back home from Florida
On board AirTran flight 744 to BWI, Accessing the Internet using gogoinflight wifi. We had a great weekend with the family.
Out adventure to Venice and the Veneto starts in 11 days!
Out adventure to Venice and the Veneto starts in 11 days!
Friday, August 31, 2012
Off to Bradenton tonight
We're heading down to Florida tonight, coming back home on Monday afternoon.
A nice little mini-vacation before our big vacation to Italy which starts TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY!
:)
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Phone stores (Tim and Wind) in Venice
Just posting this link so it's easier for us to find the TIM phone store locations when we arrive in Venice.
We'll buy SIM cards as soon as we arrive so we'll have Italian numbers with data plans.
edit - Hmm, apparently Wind can provide cheaper service than Tim in many cases, so I'm adding a link to their stores in Venice.
In addition to phone calls, we'll want to use data access. Planning to use my phone as our main navigation device, and for that to work you need data access.
We'll buy SIM cards as soon as we arrive so we'll have Italian numbers with data plans.
edit - Hmm, apparently Wind can provide cheaper service than Tim in many cases, so I'm adding a link to their stores in Venice.
In addition to phone calls, we'll want to use data access. Planning to use my phone as our main navigation device, and for that to work you need data access.
Slow Talk and Slow Travel web sites
I love these sites for planning trips:
Slow Travel and Slow Talk with the Slow Talk forums (or fora, if you want to use proper Latin). If not for the Slow Talk we would not have found Massimago.
And there are so many like-minded travelers on both sites, who are all about slowing down, taking it easy and enjoying what you see.
Staying in one place for a week or so, and taking various day trips is my favorite way to travel. I'm not a fan of "if it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium" sort of vacations.
Slow Travel and Slow Talk with the Slow Talk forums (or fora, if you want to use proper Latin). If not for the Slow Talk we would not have found Massimago.
And there are so many like-minded travelers on both sites, who are all about slowing down, taking it easy and enjoying what you see.
Staying in one place for a week or so, and taking various day trips is my favorite way to travel. I'm not a fan of "if it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium" sort of vacations.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Labor Day Weekend
Hard to believe that Labor Day is coming up. Jan and I are flying down to Florida on Friday night. The entire Lastort family will get together in Bradenton for what should be a very nice weekend.
Airtran flight 413 from BWI to TPA, scheduled to land around 10:30, which should get us to Bradenton no later than midnight.
Countdown to our scheduled landing in Tampa
.
Countdown to our scheduled landing in Tampa
Sunday, August 26, 2012
In Tarrytown NY this weekend
We're at Paddy and Jeff's house this weekend to finalize our plans for Venice / Veneto. We've got a bunch of things on our calendar for Venice, but nothing for Massimago, so we'll work that out today.
20 days! I can't wait!
20 days! I can't wait!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
23 days until we leave
Another vacation to Italy. It's been a while, since the summer of 2007, to be precise.
I tried to blog during that trip, but didn't keep up with it very well. Going to try to do better this time around.
We flying out of JFK on Friday, 9/14/12, at 5:40 PM, on Aer Lingus. Two hour layover in Dublin, and a scheduled arrival at Marco Polo International at 11:00 AM Venice time. Total trip time is just under 12 hours. Well, that's not counting the drive from our place to Paddy's and Jeff's house in Tarrytown, and the cab ride from there to JFK.
In fact, here's a countdown to our arrival.
We'll be staying at the Apartment Smeraldo from 9/15 - 9/22, then we'll pick up a rental car and drive to Massimago, a vineyard resort in the middle of the Valpolicella, just north of Verona.
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