Category Archive: Italy

Photo Friday: Wisteria on Capri

From Sorrento, a visit to the island of Capri is a short boat ride away, making it an easy day trip.  In high season, reservations may be important, but otherwise just head down to Marina Grande, figure out your timing, and buy a ticket.  The ticket will depend on the time of boat service and the current Euro exchange rate, but figure about $15-17 and allow 20-30 minutes transport time. Before you go to the island, though, learn how to correctly.  It’s pronounced CAH-pree.  The often heard cuh-PREE is a pair of pants.  Locals will know what you’re talking about if you say it incorrectly, but what not try for a little authenticity. Once on the island, visitors typically either head off for a tour of the famous Blue Grotto, or take the funicular up to Capri Town.  The town […]

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Remembering Tuscany: Opening Wine Sent Home From Italy

You know how there are those moments when you get to re-live your travel experiences all over again?  Well tonight is one of those nights for me. For the last few years that we’ve been in Italy, we’ve made a point to send a case (or two) of wine home.  The process isn’t difficult, we head off to Montepulciano where we have a favorite wine shop, do a little tasting, select a nice combination of favorites and new discoveries, and let the shop take care of the packing, shipping, and customs part of things.  We look for a combination of wines that we love, wines we cannot get at home, and choices that represent good value.  It’s not a precise science or art, but I choose wines I like and that’s most important to me. Tonight I opened a bottle […]

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Throwing Three Coins in Rome’s Trevi Fountain

Fontana di Trevi, better known to most of us as Trevi Fountain, is  Rome’s most spectacular and popular fountain.  In a city with so many impressive fountains, that’s a pretty big claim. The Baroque-style  fountain, designed by architect Nicola Salvi and completed in 1762, is located in a busy section of the city, not far from the popular Via del Corso.  To get to the fountain you walk down narrow streets, some of which seem more like alleys than streets, to the historic center of Rome.  There’s signage to help you find the way, and asking for directions will help get you pointed in the right direction, but if you find the noise gets louder and louder it means you’re getting close. When I first stepped into the Piazza di Trevi, its intricate sculptures, cascading water, and faded stones wowed […]

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Photo Friday: Venice by Water

While riding in a gondola in Venice is one of the most common ways to see the city, it is also one of the most expensive.  A ride on the traghetto, a sort of foot ferry on a gondola, is usually crowded and quick, leaving little time to see the city from the water.  A ride on the vaporetto (water taxi) can be so crowded that you may not even be able to see the water from your standing spot. Although I think a trip to Venice should include all three of the above, on a hot summer day I’d suggest taking to the water on a motor boat. A motor boat will take you nearly everywhere that a gondola will.  The faster pace may be a little less romantic, but the trade off is a little breeze on your […]

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Italian Vacation: Gondolas in Venice

Can there be a more iconic experience of Venice than a ride in a gondola?  For centuries this flat-bottomed boat was the primary means of transportation and moving goods within the city Venice, but today they are primarily used for sightseeing by visitors, weddings and funerals, and the occasional regatta.   So yes, riding on a gondola is a touristy thing to do – but that doesn’t mean you should dismiss it out of hand.  This quintessential experience can be relaxing, fun, and romantic.  It will let you see the city from the water, and for a few minutes, let you imagine what the city was like in an earlier era. The cheapest way to ride a gondola is also the quickest.  For about a dollar (depending on exchange rates) you can take a traghetto, a sort of foot ferry shuttling […]

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Europe 2011: Exploring Italy & Portugal

I’m back home from my shortened travels to Europe, with a few shopping souvenirs, lots of photos, fun experiences to talk about and write about for the coming year, and enthusiasm to get started planning next year’s trip. It might seem like visiting the same place every year could get boring, but in Italy that’s never the case.  Our base of operations at La Montalla in Contignano (Tuscany) is a perfect spot to combine days of relaxation and days of exploration, both of which I need during extended travel. Here’s what was new this year: Portugal – Although original plans called for us to be here a week prior to heading to Italy, our rescheduled plans cut that way back.  We stayed at a lovely flat in Estoril, just a few minute walk from the beach, and enjoyed time walking […]

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Celebrating Holidays Internationally

July 4th, 2011.  In the United States it was a holiday celebrating the 235th anniversary of the country’s independence. Back home friends had get-togethers with family and friends.  There were steaks, chicken, and burgers on the grill.  There was time for a game of baseball, badminton, or maybe a little time to be out on the water.  There was probably ice cream, watermelon, beer, and plenty of good natured fun.  When it was finally dark, the fireworks came out – whether they were the safe and sane sparklers, the bigger fire power purchased on the reservation, or the even bigger powered community displays.  The weather looked like it was fairly nice (and that’s a real blessing in Seattle right now) and I’m guessing it was a pretty good day all around. But here in Italy, July 4th, 2011 was simply […]

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The Vatican Celebrates the Beatification of Pope John Paul II

May 1, 2011 celebrates the beatification of Pope John Paul II, the ceremony by which he will becomes a Saint.  The Holy Mass for the Beatification of the Servant of God John Paul II will be held in Saint Peter’s Square at 10 a.m., with Pope Benedict XVI officiating.  The casket has already been exhumed and is now lying before Saint Peter’s tomb.  It will be moved to the main alter during the ceremony, and following will be reinterred in the Chapel of St. Sebastian.  While only a select delegation will be allowed inside for the ceremony, hundreds of thousand of visitors of all religious backgrounds will gather in Saint Peter’s Square to watch and listen as Pope John Paul II becomes a saint.  As is typical for many events, large television will show the events inside to the outside […]

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Planing Summer Travel to Italy

Today is travel planning day!  Summer travel looms, and for the first time in many summers we have no plans firmed up.  Air fare has been outrageously expensive, and although I have been tracking it since last fall, there has been no meaningful movement on it up and down.  I expected fares to be high for peak summer travel, but these price points are shocking even me!  But we can’t put it off any longer, and so today is travel planning for our Portugal and Italy holidays. First up, buying airline tickets.  They’re nearly as much as a mortgage payment, but it’s time to bite the bullet and lock things in.  They’re not going to get any cheaper. Our first stop on our summer travels is Lisbon, Portugal.  We’ll be there for a week,  for a week.  We’ll be looking […]

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My Love Affair with Italy

Do you remember the first time you fell in love?  Was it love at first sight, or was it the kind of love that grows over time?  Did you go through the ups and downs that all relationships seem to experience, or has it been nothing but smooth sailing?  Do you still see the goodness behind the facade, or has your love faded over the years?  When you see your love, whether it’s every single day or with extended absences, does it still make you smile, perhaps your heart skips a beat?  And when you finally must part, do you start planning and counting the days until you are reunited once again? That’s how I feel about Italy. I forged a relationship with Italy rather late in life.  I first knew her through family and friends who teased me with […]

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