Day Trip to Venice and an Earthquake

This morning started off like every other morning, light haze but the sun was going to shine later in the morning.  This was going to be a fun day as we had planned to go into Venice by train today.   Just after 9:00AM Danna was doing her hair and I was reading the newspaper.  Then things got exciting, first there was a rumble like when a train goes by, then the windows started to rattle and the keys in the door were swinging back and forth.  At this point we were looking at each other and I said "EARTHQUAKE"! Our apartment felt like it was on a ship with all the rocking.  After about a minute everything stopped moving.  It seemed as if it lasted a lot longer.  I walked down the stairs and to the front of our building.  Lots of people outside looking around but there was no damage that I could see.  Spoke to a woman outside, she had just entered the building and was ready to get into the elevator when the quake struck.  As she put it the stairs are a better option today.  Car alarms were going off but the fellow picking up his dry cleaning did not look at all concerned.  Since there were no further aftershocks we headed to the train station for the 40 minute ride to Venice.  Total cost return for the two of us was € 11.50 or $15.00 Cdn.  

We arrived at Venice's rail station Santa Lucia to a throngs of people milling about.  Looking for their hotels, how to get to Piazza San Marco and of course the gelato.

When we in Venice a few years ago we were told that a new bridge was going to be built over the Grande Canal.  Seems as everything was going well until the prefabricated bridge was being lifted into place, they say the bridge was too short....back to the drawing board. This may just be a Venetian story but who knows.

On our way to Piazza St. Marco we came across a shop that magically Danna was attracted to, you guessed it, a fabric store.  The only way to get her out of there was to bribe her by saying I would buy her a gelato.  Even when she is thousands of miles away from home she still needs her fabric fix.

Rialto Market was our next stop.  The vegetable market was shutting down for the day but what was left looked very fresh.  It was hard to get across the Rialto Bridge with all the people trying to take pictures of the gondolas and each other.

Piazza San  Marco was full of tourists, lots of them on guided tours from the cruise ships that were in port.  Sun was shinning and since my little friend had left her hat at the apartment we had to get her one before she cooked her brain.  Not too bad only €10.00 for the hat including installation.  

Now we have 4 pictures of ourselves with the same background.  The only difference is this picture must be over exposed as my hair is lighter (greyer) than in the pictures from 30 years ago.

Continued on to the Eastern part of Venice and went to the park.  Tourists do come here but most of them would rather be running around the tourist traps.  The park is cool and quiet so it is the best place to recharge your batteries.  The fellow in this picture was very relaxed.

On our way back to the train station we see a huge traffic jam, well actually it was a gondola jam.  All the tourists happened to arrive at the same time for their rides resulting in all the gondolas being booked for the standard tour. 

The ride home was uneventful, seven stops down the line and we were home.  It is just a five minute walk to our apartment.  Then picked up a few things for dinner.  This kitchen is a bit smaller than ours and is lacking a microwave, toaster and BBQ but the dinner was still good.  No Prosseco tonight!

Last week the giro d'italia bike race went through Treviso, little did I know I would see history in the making.  The winner was CANADIAN and from Victoria.  This is the first time a Canadian has won this race.  All around town the store windows were decorated with pink balloons and pink ribbons.  

May 30
Alessandra, the property manager took us to her office to sign the rental contract and then off to the bank so we could exchange our Euro travelers cheques to pay our rent. American Express says you can cash them anywhere in the world with no problems and now we can add  "except Italy".  We thought this would be simple but it took 90 minutes to finally get our cash.  Due to current government regulations to reduce income tax evasion the paperwork the bank is required to do is unbelievable.  If Alessandra had not been there I am sure we would have left after many hours and still not had any cash.  To others traveling to Europe take cash or Canadian Tire dollars instead of travelers cheques.
The telephone company is going to instal phone and Internet on June 6th.  Finally we will have not have to go to the hotel and hook up to their system.
Danna watched a couple of old C.S.I. shows on TV tonight as they were n English.  

This is one of the rivers going through the historic area just down the street from our apartment.

At 21:30 we thought it would be a good idea to go out for a walk and reward ourselves with a gelato.  I think they put something in the gelato to make it habit forming.

Here is a picture of our favorite gelato shop. Their prices are higher but well worth it!

Since we did not have Internet for many days we kept our posts to a minimum.  Nothing like getting the posting almost done and then loosing the connection with all the pictures.  Here are some pictures of our travels.



While in The Marche we walked through an olive grove.  Some of the best olives are grown on trees that are over 100 years old.  From the picture you would think this tree was going to be firewood this winter.  These old trees are regarded as being very special.  I feel like an olive tree, getting better the older I get!

The next picture is of the little olives that are just starting to develop on the tree.

This the view from our window when we were in Chianti County.

And of course a glass of Chianti with our dinner was a must while here 

The one drawback for this hotel was the bathroom as you can see from the picture.  Then we found the modern version and we were happy.

Wild animals were found in the strangest places.  Some behind bars and others in the vineyards

Evening in Valdobbiadene 

Must say thanks to the Hotel Continental in Treviso, I have used their wi-fi to post the updates to our blog and check our emails.

Castelfranco de Venato and The Prosecco Road

May 22 we arrived in the town of Castelfranco de Venato, I guess you can say this is where the Bortolin family started their journey to Canada.  Very pretty town and we are going back to do some exploring of the old buildings.  

Due to the earthquake our plans had changed, off to Prosseco country instead of Verona.  We took a trip down "Prosseco Road" where we came across a winery that I wish we were related to....Fratteli Bortolin Spumanti.  Sampled some of their best bubbly but not too much as we were driving.  Claudia Bortolin was a very nice lady and politely said there are lots of Bortolins in the region and we were not related.

Me in front of my winery!

Vineyards covered every square meter of land no matter how steep the hill was,

Rather than driving around all night we booked a room in the Hotel Diana in Valdobbiadene, Treviso. Sat in a piazza with the mandatory glass of Prosseco and watched the people.

We are now in Treviso, our home for the next few months.
Found our way to the apartment with help from a few kind citizens.  After seeing the apartment we realized we needed a few things.  Off to Padua to visit the local Ikea store, same floor plan as every other one in the world.  Only difference was that things were priced in Euros and they welcomed dogs in the store.


Repeat of previous postings " We are lost!!". It seems as if the roads are being repaired and the signs are not always being replaced.  Two ladies that we asked for help said even the locals are getting lost.  Returned the car to the airport and saw that we had put 3315km on the car and only stalled it two times on a hill.  We survived everything from a goat path to the Autostrada.

Our apartment is in the historic part of the city. To get anywhere it is easier and faster to walk than taking a car. You can walk across town in only 20 minute. This is good considering We have to take our clothes to the laundromat as the apartment only has a washer and jeans take too long to air dry. Off to the laundromat we go with two big Ikea bags stuffed with our clothes. This was hard work so we rewarded ourselves with a gelato that we ate on the steps of the Duomo.

Went to the market and picked up some necessities for the fridge, yes the Prosseco is a requirement for all "frigos" over here.

Today we went to the local government office to obtain the equivalent to our Social Insurance Number. The Italian system worked very well and we were out of there within the hour.
Sometimes it is the little things you miss such as a coffee pot for that morning jolt. Found one at the market and now our life is complete.
Since we are sitting outside the local hotel and the bugs are starting to bite we will end things for the day. In the morning we are off to Venice and will be there all day. Pictures of Danna water skiing down the Grande Canal to follow.

Good Internet connections have been hard to find in the smaller town. Tonight in Valdobbiadene which is on the Prosecco Road we have good service for a few minutes and then the system is down. Time to blame the earthquake.
 Here are some shots from the last two days.  We left Civitanova Marche and drove to Perugia.  A drive of only 150 km.  Along the way we stopped at the walled city of Spello.  Today the small kids were receiving their first communion so there was a huge crowd at the church.

Every year the residents compete for the best decorated walkways.  Here is the one I think should get first prize. Since it was getting close to lunch time we bought a fresh bun with porcetta for our lunch, only thing missing was the wine.

Next stop the scenic city of Assisi. Time for a few pictures and a gelato. Life is good!

Could you imagine a tour bus getting through here? These gates were built for chariots or horses not cars or trucks.

Hey Graham, this one is for you. Can you imaging this is the only thing they sell so they must be pretty good at it. The pictures do not show how delicate they were.

Here is a view from our room in Perugia. Too bad the rains came the next morning.

For a few minutes I thought this was Vancouver and not sunny Italy

Hope we have good Internet tomorrow so we can get some more pictures on here.
Special hello to Nancy and Dago traveling back from Mexico, the book with all the backroads in Italy has been a real help. Today it lead us to the wine country north of Venice. Fine Prosecco wines were sampled and enjoyed!

Civitanova Marche, Italy

Saturday market in Civitanova Marche. Shoes, purses, fruits, vegetables and anything else you may need.

Giorgio, Danna, Cinzia and Alessandro in Civitanova Alta

This was our appetizer. Best fresh fish you can imagine! Thank you.

Just after our fantastic lunch. Donatella is in this picture.

English translation "NO JUNK MAIL. P.S. don't piss me off".
Think I will get this sign made.

We are now off to somewhere North of Perugia depending on where the damage was from the earthquake.

This trip has had a lot of good food and you can see someone is enjoying herself!

First formal night, clean up pretty good if I don't say so myself.

My retirement balloons

Oysters and cold beer in France

Since we had so much fun renovating the condo we thought that this should be our next project.

Tonight we heard about the earthquake in Verona. Our car has a radio but we were not listening to the news. Verona was going to be visited on Wednesday but now we will go somewhere that is safe.

Here are some random pictures from our trip.

Can anyone guess where this picture was taken?

Sunset on the Atlantic

My Little Friend on Gibratar

Who am I? Got lost in 1492 and returned to Spain a hero. Now it is 2012 and will I get any metals for finding my way out of Naples?

Finally good Internet connection. Here are some of the pictures we have taken over the past few weeks. Will get more in the next few days.

Our scooter with a roof

Amalfi Coast - had an expensive lunch if you include the €25 parking ticket. View was nice so I guess it was worth it.

Me and my best Friend

Another Amalfi Coast

View from Ravello

FOLLOWING PICTURES FROM OUR TWO WEEKS ON THE CRUISE SHIP

Part way through our cruise we saw this poster, very appropriate!

On Gibralter there are lots of Tailess Apes. Most of them are smarter than the tourists. A foolish lady found out after she was bitten by one that she was trying to touch.

Here is a picture for Dago and Nancy who are traveling in Mexico.
Their van Euri astro travels to other parts of the world when they are sleeping. We saw him in Barcelona today!

Toast to a other fantastic day!

My wife holding up the Tower.

Yes, this is a road for cars. Some of them are even narrower. Had one of these streets end with stairs going down. Danna said we should back out, I thought about the movie "The Italian Job" and if they could do it I should be able to also, well I changed my mind and backed up instead to Danna's relief.

That's all for today.