We are finally at the lovely Villa Sophia here in Menaggio on Lake Como. It was a long a crazy travel day, missing both a train and a ferry connection by seconds, but eventually we got here!
What a fun night! We arrived at the Villa to the wonderful aroma of dinner cooking wafting from the villa and sat down to a delicious meal of pasta, salad, bread and balsalmic vinegar/olive oil. We are here with friends of Heather's from high school and their husbands. Amy & Scott and Pam & Whil have spent the last few days in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland and brought boxes of Swiss chocolates and a couple bottles of rare Swiss wine (apparently , they were told the Swiss make so little wine that they "don't export it," but keep it all to themselves!). Monika and Joe arrived after a couple weeks in Sweden and Finland visiting family, and Tracy and Dave joined us from Paris.
The bride and groom, Camille and Coos, also joined us for dinner tonight and it was so great to see them again and have everyone all together. It is very special to have such a wonderful group of friends still together almost 20 years after high school!
And hey, any dinner that concludes with a group of friends sharing and laughing around a table full of chocolates is a really great meal. :-)
It's after 1am here and we are all exhausted from our travels and adventures the last few days. We are looking forward to starting the RELAXING part of our vacation now! Aaron and I are taking a ferry over to Bellagio tomorrow morning for a 4 hour cooking class with Luigi. I'm sure we'll come back experts in making Italian food after our morning... ;-)
Speaking of ferries, as we left on the train today from Venice and got onto the mainland, we realized we hadn't seen any cars since we arrived. Being in Venice, we took the boat from the airport and to everywhere else, so it was our first time seeing roads in Italy! The road up the side of Lake Como is quite an adventure, especially taken at such high speeds in a big bus in such very narrow spaces. The buildings on the side of the road were a mere 1-2 feet from my window at times!
After our class tomorrow, hopefully we'll be able to actually download the pictures from our last couple days and get some posted. Probably have to do that poolside here at the villa.... that is, if I don't just fall asleep... ;-)
Looking forward to a great week ahead!
From Venice to Lake Como
We are leaving Venice by train today and headed to Lake Como. We'll write more updates from the train and post when we can. Tonight we move into the villa with 4 other couples and get to see Camille (the bride).
Aaron
Aaron
A good day's journey
Friday, August 26, 2011
Heather and I took advice of friends and tried to get lost in Venice. We started in San Marcos Square and smiled as we bypassed several hundred tourists waiting in line to see the Basilica. My adventure coordinator/travel agent/bride of 15 years had purchased the tour pass ahead of time. After some morning chocolate gelato we headed in. It was a hoarders delight. H and I enjoy simple elegance when it comes to decor. This basilica has been decorated so many times through the ages. There are hundreds of extra marble columns (not structural) and it is just dripping with ornamentation.
After that, we started down any alley that looked less crowded and saw so many amazing sights. The windows and doors and shutters were remarkable.
We bought our pass on the Vaporetti (water bus) in Venice today in order to get around wherever and whenever we wanted. Being on the boats was refreshing and we headed to the island of Murano, famous for it's glass industry. They have been producing glass for 8 centuries since 1291. They pushed all the glass makers there to avoid burning down the main part of Venice.
After a little more Gelato we headed back to wander back through Venice and hit some famous spots like the Rialto bridge
After that, we started down any alley that looked less crowded and saw so many amazing sights. The windows and doors and shutters were remarkable.
We bought our pass on the Vaporetti (water bus) in Venice today in order to get around wherever and whenever we wanted. Being on the boats was refreshing and we headed to the island of Murano, famous for it's glass industry. They have been producing glass for 8 centuries since 1291. They pushed all the glass makers there to avoid burning down the main part of Venice.
After a little more Gelato we headed back to wander back through Venice and hit some famous spots like the Rialto bridge
After 12 hours on our feet we soaked them in cold water in the tub and are headed off to bed. One more full day in Venice tomorrow.
Aaron
Entering Venice
First off, what a sweet and generous welcome!
We love you, too, Venice!
We visited the hospital today as we walked around Venice. Like everthing else, it is housed in an original very old structure of stone and brick. In Venice, you don't really clear ground for a new building or buy up empty lots, so the hospital is planned within the space of the existing buildings, with little hallways and stairs (with tiled marble floors) leading you to the various specialties. We watched as a man was escorted from the hospital in a "wheelchair" to a boat. The wheel chair looked more like a wheelbarrow with a seat- only two wheels in the back and the gentleman tilted the man back on the chair and carted him off. I imagine that's much more practical in a city with so many stairs and boats!
Below: Heather in front of the Molino Stucky. Formerly a mill and factory, it is now a Hilton Hotel and private residences. The Rezidencia Grande Veduti (where we are staying) has apartment/hotel rooms on the fourth and fifth floors. We are on the fifth floor in a great apartment! Alex, we are taking pictures of our "house" and we'll post them for you soon!
The view from our windows:
We visited the hospital today as we walked around Venice. Like everthing else, it is housed in an original very old structure of stone and brick. In Venice, you don't really clear ground for a new building or buy up empty lots, so the hospital is planned within the space of the existing buildings, with little hallways and stairs (with tiled marble floors) leading you to the various specialties. We watched as a man was escorted from the hospital in a "wheelchair" to a boat. The wheel chair looked more like a wheelbarrow with a seat- only two wheels in the back and the gentleman tilted the man back on the chair and carted him off. I imagine that's much more practical in a city with so many stairs and boats!
Below: Heather in front of the Molino Stucky. Formerly a mill and factory, it is now a Hilton Hotel and private residences. The Rezidencia Grande Veduti (where we are staying) has apartment/hotel rooms on the fourth and fifth floors. We are on the fifth floor in a great apartment! Alex, we are taking pictures of our "house" and we'll post them for you soon!
The view from our windows:
Venice!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
We have arrived, and boy is it hot! and beautiful! and amazing! and unreal! and REALLY HOT!
We just checked into our lovely little apartment overlooking the canal with a great view of Venice. We decided to take the slow boat in from the airport so got a 90 minute boat tour around Venice visiting each of the other stops. We plan to post pictures later, (including one of our amazing reception in Venice- they've obviously been waiting for us to show up ;-0) but now it's time for a shower and our first dinner in Italy. Mmmmmmm. Reservations are in 50 minutes, so I'd best be going for now.... pretty rough schedule... ;-)
Love to you all!
We just checked into our lovely little apartment overlooking the canal with a great view of Venice. We decided to take the slow boat in from the airport so got a 90 minute boat tour around Venice visiting each of the other stops. We plan to post pictures later, (including one of our amazing reception in Venice- they've obviously been waiting for us to show up ;-0) but now it's time for a shower and our first dinner in Italy. Mmmmmmm. Reservations are in 50 minutes, so I'd best be going for now.... pretty rough schedule... ;-)
Love to you all!
Safe in Amsterdam, departing soon for Venice!
We arrived here in Amsterdam about an hour ago. Of note, we met a young man on his way back to Iraq to serve after a two week emergency leave. His wife miscarried twins at 17 weeks. If you would, please keep himand his wife in your prayers- both for comfort at this time of loss, and that their marriage would be protected during the difficulties that come for military familes with deployment.
A far more important issue appeared to be the SMELL. We heard about it in detail for several hours from the couple behind us. They finally decided it must be someone's feet (we left it up to them to decide what it was as we couldn't smell anything unusual...), and were beginning the process of determining the source through a process of elimination. They asked the gentleman behind them to please put his shoes back on, informing him that if the smell didn't go away, they would inform him that he could take his shoes back off. The flight attendant brought them air freshener, but they were unconvinced. It was quite hilarious in a somewhat annoying way... :-)
We're boarding now for Venice...whoo-hoooo!
here we are in Seattle
We love you kiddos and are having a great time!
A far more important issue appeared to be the SMELL. We heard about it in detail for several hours from the couple behind us. They finally decided it must be someone's feet (we left it up to them to decide what it was as we couldn't smell anything unusual...), and were beginning the process of determining the source through a process of elimination. They asked the gentleman behind them to please put his shoes back on, informing him that if the smell didn't go away, they would inform him that he could take his shoes back off. The flight attendant brought them air freshener, but they were unconvinced. It was quite hilarious in a somewhat annoying way... :-)
We're boarding now for Venice...whoo-hoooo!
here we are in Seattle
We love you kiddos and are having a great time!
Italy tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Aaron and I leave tomorrow for a glorious trip to Italy!! A friend of mine from high school is getting married on Lake Como, and we are delighted to be able to join their celebration. We, and four other couples, are renting a villa together in Menaggio, Lake Como for the wedding week, and Aaron and I will have a special three days in Venice together prior to that.
WE LEAVE TOMORROW!!!!!!!
We welcome you to travel along with us, and we'll be sure to post lots of photos. (When do I not? :-) ha ha) Our kids will be experiencing this trip from the blog while they are at home this time. We will be missing each other a lot, but are looking forward to sharing stories of our adventures together when we get home.
Thank you SO much to everyone who is helping out to make this vacation a possibility for us. We know the kids will have a great time with you and we are blessed to be able to travel knowing that our kids are well loved and cared for!
WE LEAVE TOMORROW!!!!!!!
We welcome you to travel along with us, and we'll be sure to post lots of photos. (When do I not? :-) ha ha) Our kids will be experiencing this trip from the blog while they are at home this time. We will be missing each other a lot, but are looking forward to sharing stories of our adventures together when we get home.
Thank you SO much to everyone who is helping out to make this vacation a possibility for us. We know the kids will have a great time with you and we are blessed to be able to travel knowing that our kids are well loved and cared for!
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