VENICE IN A DAY

    We just got back from a full day in Venice.  Having been here before and spending time in the city yesterday, we were able to get to some of the things that we missed the first time. The quick train ride in landed us at San Lucia station.  We decided to do the perimeter of Venice

which meant starting in the old Jewish sector and moving around to St. Mark's Square.  This would mean not having to cross the Grand Canal.   Of course there must be a thousand bridges and an equal number of churches in Venice and I think that we saw them all.  It is hard to get lost but we managed to do it a few times.  We did not have a very reliable map to work from.  After about 2 hours walk we arrived in the Rialto Bridge area.  Our destination was the local market which we just found out existed close to the bridge.  Always an interesting place.  Then we proceeded to the first of our 3 real stops - Santi Giovanni et Paulo Church.  Large, impressive Gothic in nature does not begin to describe the size and scope of this church.  It is where many of the "Ducales" were buried so you can imaging the ornate features that were on display.  I hope the photos do it justice.  After that more wandering and more lost ways.  We finally stopped for lunch in a local shop before heading to St. Mark's Square.

     Interesting thing.   As we arrived the America's Cup races
was on (they had been here all week) but today the race took them into the beginning of the Grand Canal so we sat there as they raced by.   Of course with the races and the cruise ships that are in, it was wall to wall people again today.
     The second planned stop was the  Gallerie dell' Accadema which houses art that is not in the churches.  Of course every church is an art gallery in Venice but this was arranged in some type of order.  What can on say about art from the glory days of Venice?  It was very interesting but they did not provide a guide to the 23 galleries and only Italian on the captions.  Fortunately I had information from our Italy book but there was so much to see that it was impossible to really appreciate it.
 

    This was followed by a walk back to the Square where I went up
thetower to get some high shots.  Judy opted to stay on the ground as the temperature was dropping and the wind picking up.  Funny thing.  The last time we were up the tower it was basically the same conditions except then it was raining.  It got some photos and rushed back down.  Then it was the walk back to the train station and the quick ride to the hotel.  Tomorrow we check out and head back to Canada.  Avignon, Cirque Terra and Sienna are still to come!
   

GOODBYE PORDNONE HELLO VENICE

    We just arrived back from spending the afternoon and early evening in Venice.  The day started this morning with a mid morning train ride to Venice.  We decided on the rapid train that had few stops.  The Hotel we picked was the Plaza Hotel in Mestre, a one stop train ride from Venice.  It was right across the street from the train station.    This is a very nice place.  How I managed to get 2 great locations was a "fluke".  However the staff here is not nearly as friendly as the last place.

Rialto Bridge

A    We took the train to Venice and walked for the next 8
 hours.  Having been here almost 10 years ago, we were not in a hurry to do anything so we just went strolling to the Rialto bridge.  There we at least 3 big cruise ships in so the place was packed!   Of course the streets are very narrow which added to the congestion. St Mark's Square was a mad house.  However the thing we both noticed immediately was the fact that there was no water in the square and only a few of the "walking platforms" that were here the last time.  Either they fixed the sinking problem, it is a different season or the city is rising.  Very strange.
     After taking the necessary pictures we went into St Mark's Church and did a side tour of

America Cup Race

In The Square

some of the holding.  We noticed that most came from Istanbul which means they were looted years ago.We were going to go to the top of the tower but decided that tomorrow would be a better day for that.  We crossed the Grand Canal to check out the Accademia Museum but did not have enough time to see it.  Perhaps tomorrow.  We walked to Santa Marie della Salute Church , sat on the steps and did some people watching before heading back to the train station.
      We found a little out of the way ( aren't they all!) place for some  pasta and 2 glasses of wine for Judy.  We talked to a "young couple" from California who were in Italy from the first time.  Then to the train station to get the short ride back here.  Tomorrow we will do more site seeing but we have no real plans yet.

IL GIORNO DI FIUME VENETO

IL GIORNO DI FIUME VENETO

      That is what we did yesterday.  Currently we are finishing
breakfast at the hotel and will taking the train to Venice in a short while.   I need to take you back to the gelatto with the Del Col's 2 nights ago.  We simple strolled down the main street with about 15 people to a nice gelatto shop.  The most interesting thing - besides the conversation - was the fact that there was a political rally going on in the town square.  I can.t tell you what it really felt like except that it was home town politics in action - Beatles music and all.  The subject was the raising of taxes to 23% (?).   We then said our good byes to that side of the family.

Great Uncle Angelo

   Yera Sera (?) Luciano arrived at 9:30 for our 10 am pick up

Original Basset Home

 Another interesting day with the exception that family left there is quite small.  We stopped at Great Uncle Angelo's house.  He is 94 and was born almost 2 years after my mother.  He was sitting quietly in a chair having just returned from the doctor's.   We did have a chance to tour the property.  The town is much smaller than Pordenone.  There is a nice piece of property associated with the house.  We did learn later that the family owned large tracks of land.   There were a few out buildings with an old tractor, chickens and roosters, rabbits and a small garden.  The animals were not pets!  We met Sylvia - Angelo's daughter and went to here home a few blocks away.

With Luciano

      This was a house about 25 years old and that is where Sylvia and
Luciano live.  Luciano speaks a bit of English, Sylvia none at all.  They are dances and he talked about that.  He is also in a dance troupe that tours around locally putting on shows.  He did show us a portion of a video of the show the highlight of which was their "full Monte" act.
      Time to eat.  Sylvia had prepared pasta for lunch along with the cheeses, salad, bread, parma ham, etc.  Judy and I  made good work of the local bottle of wine. Afterwards, we needed a walk (and Luciano a nap) so we just walked around the town.  That gave us an opportunity to photograph the old Basset house which is now empty (read almost falling down).  We had already visited the local cemetery earlier in the day.
   In the late afternoon Luciano took us around to 2 old walled towns where we saw some really old churches.  The first was built around 950 and was unlike anything we had seen before.  No photos allowed but frescoes all through the structure.  Venice will have painting but this is different.  The second church is about as old as Assumption  in Windsor and so by Italian church standards was "modern".  However the bell tower is leaning - like Pisa - but much much higher.  It will eventually fall over as there are no current plans to do anything about it.   We did stop to visit Sylvia's grandson who is the computer person in the family.

Who Speaks Italian

   Back to Sylvia's for dinner.  Again more food than you

Main Square Fiumo Veneto

could ever want to eat starting with soupa, then salada, carne, cheese, wine (Judy and I only) and talk.  Very little English but with the few words that I know in Italian (2 years of university helped a bit) Latin and hand gestures we made out fine.  Of course the Italians speak rapido so I only got bits of information.  As the wine wore down my Italian got better!  It as a really great experience. We arrived back at the hotel tired but happy.
      The last 3 days here have been a great revelation.  After visiting Italian cities and towns fully of visitors it was a great experience to see how the "local" folks live.  A quiet layed back (except when driving) life where days are spent talking and nights are spent enjoying the nice spring weather.
     On to Venice. Ciao!
   

     

Del Col - 24 Hours Later

    It is now the day after arrival here in Pordonne and we just got back from a full day of touring the country side.  Yesterday afternoon, we were greeted by Lucia and Roberta and walked the short distance around the block to the Del Col's shop and homestead on Via Misure.  It was a whirl wind start to almost 24 hours of visiting.  We had a tour of the Del Col

200 year old shop

workshop.  That was an experience in itself.  I was somewhat surprised how small it really was and that the only current activity was the key cutting that occasionally goes on there. We also had a full tour of the Del Col house that is nearly 200 years old.  Guiditta does not speak any English but Lucia did a great job of trying to keep up to her with the information she was providing - the original walls, the added staircase, the old kitchen sink that is now a planter in the garden, the bedrooms where people were born (including dad Gino) and where they slept.  The house is now primarily used as a

This Is The Place!

storage area and occasional office space.  Next it was up the stairs to meet Giovanni and Marina (Uncle Sante's oldest son).  Marina called Stefano who is located in Rome with the army and I talked to him for a few minutes.  By the time I was finished the house had exploded with Del Col relatives.  It was hard to keep them all straight.  We did have a few glasses of wine and then agreed to meet later for dinner with a few of them.

       Gino Del Col and daughter Lucia then walked us down the main street.  Gino was a history teacher and it was exactly like a private tour only much better.  Pictures galore!    I can't begin to describe the things we saw.  Thank goodness for Lucia who could speak English and provided a running commentary.

 

Pordenonne Church

Venician Organ

     We headed back to the hotel for a shower and a change of clothes and the met again after 8, heading to Piazza Cavour, a short walk for dinner.   The few for dinner turned out to be 22 in all including young Francesca, the only male relative among the extended family.  Marta Del Col was also there and she speaks very good English.  We were able to sort out some of the faces and names of the extended family.  Pizza, tomatoes in oil, bread, antipasto (Parma ham - prosciutto) a selection of cheeses and dolce.  Tired and overfed we headed back to the hotel.

Judy and Plat of Proscuitto

       Today was the best tour that you could ask for.  Gino,Lucia, Marta joined us.  We drove
into the surrounding area and stopped at a winery for some wine, and then at several villages to view some of the history of the area. Our first stop was a town called Valvasone that has one of the oldest organs around.  Absolutely beautiful.  Frescoes everywhere.  The old walled city and the original fortified "castle" followed.

     Next on to Spilimberc (?) and another old church with another beautiful pipe organ as well as the frescoes and walled houses.    Our last stop was San Danielle for lunch in a small cafe.  It is the heart of the prosciutto making area and of course that is what we had along with a selection of cheeses and bread.   Then the drive back to the city.  The true description of the towns will come when the photos are ready to be shown.

      Our last stop of the day was the short walk from the hotel to the local cemetery where

Lunch

Guiditta pointed out Giovanni Del Col (1872-1946 and Caterina Nocent 1876-1955 grave sites.  They were my father,s parents.  We also visited Sante Del Col and wife sites - the parents of the Pordenonne Del Col relatives.

That ended the day touring.  We were going to have dinner together tonight but be did that last night so we will all meet for an ice cream tonight.  Tomorrow we will meet my mother,s side of the family.

IN THE DEL COL HOME TOWN!

Arrived in Pordenone!

Lucia Del Col

      It has been an adventure trying to post to the blog the last week.  As the last post indicated, the ship system was totally disfunctional.  It simple did not work!  Poor Amy the teck - she was beat up on a regular basis.  We have never encountered anything like it before!  When we got to Siena, we looked for 2 days trying to find a cafe (our B and B had WIFI only.)  Now I really need a lap top!  In any case I will try to post the next few days that we are here at the Best Western where they have a system that I can use.  It did take a few minutes to get on - I needed to say that I normally connect from Florida!  Go figure!

Nino Makes Keys

   In any case we were up early this morning and after
breakfast and headed to the train station in Siena around 8:00 am .  After taking a taxi to get to the B&B (not far but too hilly) we discovered an esculator that took us to the top of the hill close to the place.  It was just outside one of the main gates of

the walled city.   We managed to get the early train to

 Florence and thought that we had missed the stop but all was well.  We even discovered that we had an assigned car as well as seats.  The other train ride was an open ticket. We had not validated the ticket because it was open but the nice conductor did that for us.  Train ride was good with the exception of a young child that ran up and down the aisle and grabbed everything in site - including my MP3 player.  Arrived in Venice a few minutes late.  We were fortunate that the train there was on the same platform.  Arrived here at 1:50 as planned.   

Del Col Italian Family

 Judy and I had a bit to eat but as we left the hotel we got a message that Gina and Juditta were coming to pick us up at 4:30.  So a quick shower in a few minutes and off we go.

     As a side note the girl working at the desk asked if we had stayed before.  I think it was because Roy was here last year.  He must have left a bit tip - we were upgraded to a suite at no cost!

      We are both ready to go.  I will post on the stops in the Med as time permits over the next few days.  We did have 2 ship tours and they were well worth it.  More on that later...

Siena - Heartland of Tuscany

  Our day travelling to Tuscany started with a 5:30 am wake up call on the ship.  after the Livorno and the Cinque Terre experience, we needed an early departure from our ship in order to catch the train to Siena.  Since it was a weekend, the best train to catch was early in the morning. We elected to depart the ship as independant travellers which meant that we could depart at any time.  We also elected to keep our bags with us so we would not waste time in the terminal.  So early off the ship and our first mode of transport was the port bus to the main gate.  From there it was the short walk to the train station and the 7:30 train to Sienna connecting through Grosetto.

Duomo

At The Top of The Dumo

   Trains are a bit of fun, especially trying to go up and down stairs with 2 large suitcases.  Next time on a cruise we intend to take fewer clothes!  In any case we made the connection and were in Siena by about 11 am.  I had checked the Google maps and street views so that we could walk in the right direction.  Unfortunately they have built a new mall since the photos were taken and we had trouble finding the road we needed.  A good decision to take a cab followed.  The B @ B was only about 2 kilometers  away but Siena has hills! After we checked into the hotel we found out that if we had taken the 7 escalators from the train station thorough the mall, they come out a short flat walk from the Porta Pispini which was our destination. When we left Siena it took about 10 minutes to get to the station.
 

Inside

 We checked in and headed to the Piazza Del Campo - the centre of the old town - about a 15 minute walk.  Our first stop was the Duomo - a church that had it been finished would have been the largest in the Christian world.  With are all inclusive pass we were able to see all 6 areas of the church.   We climbed the façade of the unfinished  nave for some great views of the Tuscan countryside.  The crypt, museum, Cathedral were all impressive.
   Since it was now late afternoon and we had been up early we headed for a restaurant called Peppe's that had been recommended by the cleaner at the B & B. It was in the Plaza Del Mercato, directly behind the town hall.  What a wonderful meal.  We found out later that Rick Stevens book recommended it.  The pasta reminded Judy and I of the Italian cooking of my mother.  We asked for a glass

Pasta and Wine

Piazza Del Campo

of wine and they brought the whole bottle and said they only charge  for what is uded.  Well we used the whole thing!  After the late lunch (?) we headed back for a good night's rest.
          The next day (Sunday) we decided to visit the other large church in the old city called San Domenico, a  very austere church begun in1226.   St. Catherine is the patroness of Siena and they have her head preserved on an altar - yes her real head!   And she lived from 1347-80!
 

Parading Colours

  Later we went back to the Campo to the town hall.

From The Top Of The Tower

 Associated with it is the second highest medieval tower ever built in Italy.  400 steps 102 meters - 335 feet later the views of Tuscany were outstanding.  This climb continued our tradition of finding the highest spot where we visit.      More wandering and a stop to people watch at a local bar.  Judy did find a purse that she liked - we negotiated the price - on a back street.  We also encountered the flag throwing display of one of the 17 contrades (districts) that had been parading all day.  Drums beating, people marching in colours, flags waving, etc.  We

Enjoying A Wine

saw them at 9 in the morning and they were still marching at 6 in the evening.  I suspect they did stop for a little wine along the way.
       We returned to Peppe's again and found out that the cleaner from our hotel is the pasta chef at the restaurant on weekends.  No wonder he recommended the place.  Still we would certainly eat there again.
        Early the next morning it was back to the train station - this time using the escalators for our trip to see the relatives in Pordenone with the thoughts that Siena is a great place to spend a few days!