Italy May 23 - June 2

This is a long one because we're playing catch up because we finally found a faster internet spot. Thanks for all the comments everyone has posted in the blog. We love reading them all!



In the morning we drove over the Plocken Pass on our way to the Dolomites and proceeded to get horribly lost. What we thought was going to be a short day of driving, ended up far from it! Up the mountain, down the mountain, around the mountain, up the mountain, thru the mountain mostly in the rain! We learned the lesson, buy the local map and don't count on the road signs! At the end of the day we think we ended up 15 kilometers from where we started just on the other side of the mountain from Austria. It's not all good! BUT, we did get to check in that night into the "hotel California".......you know that place, "you can check in any time you want but you can never leave"! The guy running this place was a little scary. We were the only ones staying in the hotel and eating dinner at the restaurant that night so there was a little to much personal attention but we did have a room with a balcony and the view was outstanding. It actually made getting lost worth it.

We were supposed to stop in Bolzano but because we lost so much time the day before, we blew it off and went right to Castelrotto, the town that is the gateway to the Alpe di Siusi. The Alpe di Siusi is Europe's largest high alpine meadow and is 8 miles wide and 20 miles long. It is also a National Park and car traffic is strictly controlled to certain hours of the day. Because we wanted to drive up there to check it out, we had to wait until after 5:00 so first we went to check out the town and the surrounding countryside. We thought we would experience Italy. These people are confused..... they think they are either German or Austrian but definitely not Italian. They even speak German. Here we were with our scusis and pregos and they were still doing danke and auf wiedersehens.


Once it hit 17:00, we drove up to the Siusi. It looked like a golf course with no trees and the sand traps were made of snow. The only hazards were the mountain cabins strategically placed around the Siusi. Unfortunately, it wasn't a clear day so we were unable to really see all the ragged snow capped dolomite peaks that surround the meadow except for occasional peeks at the peaks. It seems it would be a more special place when the weather cooperates. We took a bunch of pictures, had a beer at a lodge we planned on staying at the next day and figured we would try again in the morning.

On our way back that next day, as we drove past the town, we noticed all these Italians walking to town dressed as Germans and Austrians. Today was Sunday and was the day that they celebrated Corpus Christi in the Dolomites (remember Hallstatt).


This celebration was actually ten times the size of the one in Hallstatt and you would not believe the number of different traditional costumes being worn. First there was a procession into Church for the Mass which we got to attend and were able to get a seat right near the Ostrich Feather hat group.


Once Mass was over the march from the church started. This thing was organized like a miniature Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with banners on huge poles and banner escort teams tethering the banners instead of balloons. There were at least 5 marching bands, 10 groups of men and 7 groups of women with each group dressed in a different traditional outfits.




We couldn't figure out what the different outfits represented but did realize that to be in the "blue and black" group you had to be at least 90.





Once again, it was a great celebration to be a part of.
Alternatively, the drive up to the Siusi was not as rewarding because the weather still had not cleared but truthfully it was nice to just sit up there and appreciate the solitude of the meadow. Leaving, we drove the Great Dolomite Road which meanders through the mountains and over a couple of passes before we hit the road to Lake Garda and the town of Sirmione. The Lake Garda area is a little more of a resort area with activities that all center around the lake.

The old town of Sirmione itself is a beautiful old stone walled town set out on an isthmus surrounded by the lake. As a result, they have these classic lake boats driving in and out of the port taking people on tours which were great to watch.

On the way into town, we noticed a couple of campgrounds that advertised camping right on the lake, so we decided to take them up on it.


Back to the resort theme, this campground we picked out, in typical Italian style, had huge endless pools, a cafe and a restaurant along with all the other usual camp facilities. We planned on pitching the tent and heading right to town but this spot was so nice that we ended up staying right there, walking the promenade along the lake and dining "al fresco" at the cafe lakeside. This is when Tom first started actually becoming Italian! The vowels were just rolling off his lips.


The next day, feeling obligated, we went to the town, which truly was very nice, but within a couple of hours we were headed back to our spot on the lake where, miracles of miracles, Tom scored ice for the first time since hitting Europe. We put on our suits, jumped in the very cold lake and then enjoyed the best cocktails we ever had!!


We could have hung out at this cafe enjoying breakfast and dinner lakeside for a few more days but it was time to move on as we were bound for the rolling hills of Tuscany. Again, in true Italian style, while checking out they gave us a bill but they also gave us a bottle of vino!

After camping for two days, our plan was to make a beeline to the hilltown of Montepulciano, get there early, check into a place, savor the comforts of a real hotel room and bed and taste some vino but NO, that would just be to easy.

We just didn't "feel it" in Montepulciano (we could taste it, just not feel it). Although the town was nice and had that hilltop ambiance, it had a cold feel and was kind of empty. So we tasted some vinos and headed out towards the next hilltop town of Siena. We drove for what seemed forever through the beautiful countryside












and stopped for the night at a hotel where we thought we would have internet access to post the next blog. The connection stunk, it was kaput, it didn't work and we couldn't post.

We arrived in Siena in the morning. Ahhhhh, Siena...Siena has our vote for the best piazza in Europe. Il Campo, designed like a fan with nine sections representing the nine districts of the town spreading out from the city hall, and gradually rising like an amphitheatre to the surrounding buildings and cafes.


The entire piazza is made of dark red brick and is where the name of the color "burnt Siena" comes from. Siena is also a town where we got to invoke our motto, "don't just look at it, live it!". While we were walking around the town there was this wonderful pizzicheria that would put together an antipasta of salamis, cheeses, roast pork and gourmet spreads served with a basket of bread and glass of Montelchino, so we indulged. This was the best, and most costly, anitpasta we ever had and you didn't even get a table to sit at. Instead, it was served outside on the street set on a bicycle, and you stood around eating off this huge platter while the tourists walked by looking on jealously. What a Siena moment!










Before leaving we walked around the city checking out the typical tourist sites of a Tuscan hilltop town and then decided to spend some time savoring the Il Campo. The sun was shining and the piazza was full of people enjoying the afternoon so we joined them. There are three cafes that have very small balconies seating about six people each overlooking Il Campo.

We sat for an hour at one of them overlooking the piazza, sipping a glass of wine just watching the world go by before continuing our journey. While we were sitting in the cafe, we met a couple from England who were telling us how they really enjoyed San Gimignano so that is where we headed next. The guidebook we were using recommended a gastoff just outside the town walls. It was a real nice site overlooking the hills but unfortunately they were booked. What they did have available was a room inside the old town overlooking the main square. A little "hilltop towned out", at first we couldn't decide whether to take it or look for another place in the countryside, but we really couldn't resist being right in the square in this original town building, so we took it. In hindsight, we definitely made the right choice.


San Gimignano is the quintessential Tuscan town and we sat that night at the town fountain in the middle of the square, right below our room, while a senora serenaded the town with her violin for hours. San Gimignano has our vote for the best Tuscan town and our most memorable Italian moment to date.

The Cinque Terre along the southern most point of the Italian Riviera is where Tom continued his metamorphosis to becoming a complete Italian. This is a group of five towns, each perched on the rocky slopes, overlooking the Ligurian Sea . The towns have remained virtually unchanged for decades and are linked by footpaths along the coastline cliffs and trails thru the vineyards. Each town has it's own specific ambiance but all are old world Italy with peeling paint on the buildings and wash hanging from the windows, some with small fishing boat harbors and some with rocky beaches.


We decided to check into the southernmost town, Riomaggiore, where we intended to leave the car for a few days and, in the morning, start to walk the trail north through each town staying wherever we decided to stop. At first, we weren't sure the Cinque Terre was the right place for us but after being there for a few hours sipping espresso, eating focchaia and watching the locals do their own thing you get completely put in the moment and drawn into the mood of the place. We got up the next morning and it was still raining from the night before but we decided not to let that stop us. We geared up! We packed the backpacks for a few days stay, put on our rain jackets, rain hats, and pack covers and headed to the TI to purchase our passes where they proceeded to tell us the trail was closed, kaput, washed out. Talk about all dressed up with no place to go! No worries, looking like members of Sir Hilary's expedition team to Everest we boarded the next train instead to the town of Vernazza.


We hooked up with Ingrid of Germany, married to Antonio of Vernazza, her destiny as she put it, and we got a great room in the middle of town. Tired from the 1ong 15 minute train ride and all this non activity, we took a nap. Awake and refreshed we went to check out the trail and discovered that all "closed" meant in Italian was there was no one there to check your pass so we had a great two hour hike to Monterosso, the most resort type beach town of the Cinque Terre.


The views of the towns and the water from the cliffs on the trail were amazing as the sun broke through the clouds. We had some wine and antipasta in a cafe on the beach and took the next train back to Vernazza for dinner.

All in all it turned out to be a great day. In the morning we took a boat ride back to Riomaggiore we could pick up our car and head out to Lake Como, our next stop in Italy.







In Lake Como we decided to stay in Varenna, the least touristy of the main towns on the lake, and make that our base to explore the rest. The "not so good" weather in Italy continued at Lake Como. Either we were following it or it was following us! In Varenna we stayed at a small, family run hotel over a restaurant that was run by Maria Barone and at any moment we expected Raymond to come walking into the place. What was great was that this was where all the locals came to hang and in the morning it was fun to sit and watch everyone come in, down their espressos and brioche, have some conversation and move on. Tom would sit listening intently so he could pick up a few more Italian words and gestures.

Veranna was a great town, with a waterside promenade and it was nice place to sit, have dinner, enjoy and become Italian. In the morning, we took a day trip to Bellagio on the ferry and spent the day. The men with their slicked back hair, shoulder wrapped sweaters and accessory fu fu dogs became too much and we headed back to Mama Maria and Varenna where we could just enjoy the lake.

Ciao, arrivederci grazie Italy!

Best of Italy:

The best language
The Vino
hilltop towns of Tuscany
sardines and anchovies (for Pat) right...
cafe at Lake Garda
Vernazza
Mama Maria Barone