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Italy is Calling
  • Deb Horrocks
  • Sharon Menne
  • Enrae Lanfredi

Italy is Calling

A 10-day adventure by Deb, Sharon & Enrae Read more
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  • Italy is Calling

    Manfredi’s Restaurant

    November 4 in Croatia ⋅ 🌙 61 °F

    Tonight when we arrived at Manfredi’s for our reservation we were escorted to a private dining room. A surprise for all of us, it was perfect. We were able to really enjoy each other and interact with our waitress and wine steward, who instantly appeared when we looked to see if the wine cabinet was actually locked. After dinner the staff came to bid us all farewell (there are 460 staff ). We watched a Beatles tribute, shopped a bit and stopped in the Jazz Lounge. The evening was wonderful.Read more

  • Italy is Calling

    Venice

    November 5 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F

    Today we visit Venice. Venice is 1600+ years old and divided into 6 districts. The main transportation is water taxi. All Viking cruise ships are built in Italy, some here.
    Downtown Venice is very beautiful but very crowded. Upkeep of homes on the islands is very expensive, sending people to downtown. But there are still islands inhabited by fishermen and farmers who mainly grow artichokes and asparagus.
    After my usual cappuccino we headed out to a smaller tour boat that took us to 2 Venetian Islands in the largest lagoon of Italy. Along the way we passed the hand sculpture “building bridges” built by Lorenzo Quinn, son of Anthony Quinn. We saw several beautiful buildings and the gondolas. The gondolas were previously painted and decorated to attract tourists. The gondoliers would sing and it was a romantic experience. Today they are all planted black, the gondoliers don’t sing, or even speak to the passengers.    Read more

  • Italy is Calling

    Our Last Supper

    November 5 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    Returning from our day we were forced to pack our bags and enjoy our last evening on the Viking Star. Singh, the Maitra d’ at The Chef’s Table who watched out for us all week, was able to reserve a table for us all. The chef’s choice this evening were 5 courses of Mexico’s finest dishes. It was a perfect delight to bid farewell.Read more

  • Italy is Calling

    Murano and Burano

    November 6 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    Blown glass and lace! First we visited Murano, famous for its glass blowing. The buildings on the mainland were very close together, so to avoid fires the industry was moved to the island of Murano. We visited a factory and watched a chief master show us his craft. It takes at least 10 years to become a chief master and the man demonstrating his work has been a glass blower 37 years. The glass must be worked within 1 and a half minutes to be ply able. When completed a piece will be 500 degrees Celsius and takes 5 days to cool. The pieces in the shop/museum were beyond beautiful.
    And YES I now own the piece of Murano glass that I fell in love with.
    From there the boat took us to Burano, a quaint city of multicolored buildings. Burano became famous for its intricate handmade lace created by the women whose husband went to sea to fish. Here we appreciated the quiet streets, enjoying a pizza and the shops.    Read more

  • Italy is Calling

    The Journey Must End

    November 6 in the United States

    An incredibly early wake-up call started our trek home. We really were not bright and cheerful as they packed the motor coach with our luggage and drove us to the airport. Our first stop was the Brussels airport. How many times did we show our boarding passes and passports? But grabbing some Belgium chocolate was worth it!
    Our second leg across “the pond” brought us lots of time to eat, watch movies, read, sleep and read some more.
    Leaving Dulles on time! Amazing! MSY here we come. Looks like we brought just enough luggage home. Then just four more steps…    Read more

    Trip end
    November 6, 2025
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