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Christmas in Italy --2017
  • Laurie Reynolds

Christmas in Italy --2017

A 20-day adventure by Laurie Read more
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  • Trip start
    December 17, 2017
    Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    At the airport

    December 17, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 2 °C

    Two flights down and one to go. We have a three hour layover in JFK and have taken advantage of the new Admirals Club. It's nice, but in my snotty opinion, the Iberia lounge in Madrid is still far superior. Not complaining, mind you. Where else can you get roasted brussel sprouts on the food line? Heading for Milan, where we will spend three nights. I will try to check in regularly. Merry Christmas 🎄 and happy holidays to all.Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Cold, sunny, and Christmas-y

    December 18, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

    I guess American Airlines figures that when they are taking you to Italy, they can serve you the worst food imaginable and it won't dampen your spirits. I've had a lot of bad meals on a plane, but last night's gets the prize. Oh well, the flight was fine and we had a great view of snow-capped mountains (Dolomites, I think?) and arrived right on time.

    Our hotel is very close to the main train station and we were there by 10. No rooms ready so we checked our bags and headed out for the cathedral. Wow. We spent most of the day in the area, which is very festive and got us in the holiday spirit. Cappucinos and pastries in late afternoon didn't hurt either.

    Joe took a short afternoon nap while I powered through-- which is why I'm wilting fast. Mama Rosa was the osteria recommended to us and we chowed down on fabulous bruschetta, grilled vegetables, carbonara and see bass.

    It's only our first day, but so far I really like Milan. The people who say it's ugly must be the same people who say Madrid is ugly. Not in my book! Can't wait to sleep, which is what I'm going to do right now!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Museums and Palaces

    December 19, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

    Today was quite a wonderful day. Weather was cold but sunny and we did a lot of walking. One gorgeous art museum, one 15th century castle and a lot of detours down pretty residential streets made for a full day. Highlights of the museums --!a 12th century holy water bucket, some Romanesque capitals, a Picasso painting and the pieta Michelangelo was carving when he died.

    On the way back to the hotel around 5 pm, we passed a fitness center about 3 minutes from the hotel. Since Joe was going to rest anyway, I decided to go work out on the elliptical. 15€ is quite a steep charge, but it's worth it. I am addicted, let's face it. But it was a much better workout than yesterday, when I walked up and down four flights of stairs in the hotel for an hour.

    We had dinner tonight in a lovely Osteria called Fara. Close to the hotel. Great ambiente and top notch pizza in a wood oven. One more day in Milan. Love to you all.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Mostly churches and one more art museum

    December 20, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

    Another chilly, ok cold, day. But sunny all day till the sun set. I won’t bore you with the details of the 4th century San Lorenzo and the Romanesque Sant Ambrogio churches, but one had 16 roman columns at the entrance and the other some beautiful mosaics, columns, and capitals. A ten minute ride on the excellent and cheap Milan metro took us to the Modern Art museum, located in a gorgeous old mansion/palace with lovely park grounds. By modern they don’t mean anything beyond Picssso, so nothing too intellectually challenging, and the rooms and collections were really nice. Turns out there is a very trendy and good restaurant next store (Lubar) and we had a great lunch.

    Then back on the metro for our fifteen minutes’ viewing of The Last Supper. With 28 other people who reserved their viewing spot months and months ahead of time. Very nice way to end the touring day, even though it felt like you were going through decompression chambers as you inched closer to the prize.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Great dinner

    December 20, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 -1 °C

    Just to say that Il Tavolino was our favorite restaurant in Milan. Although it seemed that all the English speaking customers got put off in the same room (coincidence maybe?) we had a delicious dinner. Sitting next to three US businessmen who drank four bottles of what must have been a very expensive wine since the waiter had to climb a ladder to the highest level to retrieve each bottle. We were very happy with our much more modest choice of red. Off to Bologna tomorrow!Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Arrived in Bologna

    December 21, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

    Took a fast train to Bologna and we were checked into out apartment by 2. We spent the afternoon getting our bearings and doing some grocery shopping — not that we plan to cook much! What a beautiful city. We are right in the center of the old town and every direction you walk you see something beautiful. Heading out for an early dinner because we are taking an early-ish train to Ravenna for the day.Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Mosaics everywhere in Ravenna

    December 22, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 4 °C

    About an hour by train from Bologna, Ravenna has more churches in its historic core than I think I have ever seen. We concentrated on the early Christian ones (4th- 6th centuries) though there were lots of medieval and neoclassical as well. I don’t think I saw any gothic, though. The mosaics are the prime attraction — hard to believe they’re from the 4th and 5th century Some beautiful scenes with maidens and martyrs going to pay homage, lots of bible stories, and some emperors and empresses thrown in for good measure.

    We had a good lunch in a recommended place, sharing a risotto and a pizza but leaving more than half of it untouched. I just can’t get used to eating a big meal at noon. One of my favorites of the day was the moving nativity scene in the cathedral. Women drawing water, weaving, spinning; men shoeing horses, at a forge— obviously made with a lot of love.

    We didn’t feel like a big meal, so we went to the market area and had a meat and cheese plate. Very very good.

    Tomorrow we will explore Bologna. Museums and churches, our daily ritual.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Day in Bologna

    December 23, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 3 °C

    Today was another beautiful day in Bologna. We climbed the 498 stairs to the top of the tallest of the Two Towers, with gorgeous views below. We then went to the Medieval Museum that had some amazing stuff for people who like medieval things like me (and Joe tolerates it). Then to a special exhibit of Mexican muralists -- Diego Rivera, Siqueiros, and Orozco, apparently the trinity of Mexican muralists. Great exhibit -- it had been scheduled to arrive in Santiago Chile the very day Salvador Allende was deposed, so it never was shown. Now it is making a comeback.

    After a grilled panini, boy are they wonderful here, we spent a few hours wandering around, looking at Renaissance buildings, and marveling at the beautiful historical center. On weekends, no cars are allowed in many places, so it was really wonderful. Dinner at Cesarina, in San Steffano square, near an amazing complex of churches starting in 350 AD. The food was absolutely great, this is definitely a place to recommend. The waiter recommended a San Genovese wine, and we were happy. After a post-prandial saunter around the old town, ending in the Piazza Maggiore, we were filled to the brim with good feelings. Tomorrow a day trip to Ferrara, which is a fully walled town (I'll have to compare it to Avila) will a highly touted historical center. Hoping for good weather and good food, which seems to be the norm so far!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Day trip to Ferrara

    December 24, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    Another nice sunny day with temps getting above freezing, hooray! We took a morning train to Ferrara, where the main attractions are the 14th century castle, a medieval quarter-Jewish ghetto, and a Romanesque cathedral. Lots of walking, a cappuccino or two, into dungeons, through narrow streets and big plazas, but BAM-- turning one corner to see the facade of the cathedral covered for repair. Talk about bummers. I am no stranger to cathedral facades being covered, as the one in Santiago has been covered for years. But unfortunately I won't be back in Ferrara anytime soon, unlike Santiago. Oh well, we had a great lunch to make up for it, in the Osteria del Ghetto.

    After lunch, walking up to the Renaissance quarter, we passed the Resistance Museum and went in. The woman asked where we were from and when I told her the US, I added that we needed some training in resistance right now. Lots of interesting stuff from early fights for Ferrara independence up through WWII. Some very graphic and sad.

    Now back in Bologna, the city is busy and animated, not at all like I remember Lisbon on Christmas Eve. I'm sure we will have no trouble finding a good meal, once Joe gets up from resting his sore feet.

    Merry Christmas one and all!!!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Christmas Day in Bologna

    December 25, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Our day can be summed up in three words -- walking, eating, and churches. We had a reservation in a fancy place (the menu had been vetted by our foodie friends Tina and John and they told us to go for it) for 1:30. That gave us a few hours in the morning to work up an appetite and a few hours after lunch to walk off some of our massive caloric intake. The morning walk included the Jewish Ghetto and several churches, my favorite being Sao Giacomo. Then a 3 1/2 hour pause for a very excellent lunch (probably my longest meal ever). And then more walking for more churches, where we saw a beautiful automated nativity scene in San Francesco and the church of San Dominic (where he is buried and his resting place is adorned with three Michaelangelo statues!). Walking from church to church is also a fun way to see the city. They are spread all over, in all kinds of residential districts, frequently in beautiful piazzas. Most streets in the old part of Bologna are arcaded, so even if the weather hadn't been marvelous, we wouldn't have needed any umbrellas. Rain is in the forecast at last, so we may test those arcades out!

    Christmas Day is a great day to visit churches in Bologna, as you might imagine. All seemed to be open well beyond their stated opening times. We often heard bells ringing, Christmas carols being sung, lots of candles lighted inside. Lots and lots of people out walking in the squares, but now that it's about 8 pm we are ready to call it quits on what has been an outstanding Christmas Day. Hope yours was very merry as well!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Day trip to Parma

    December 26, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌫 4 °C

    Today as we walked to the Bologna Train Station, it was misty and chilly. Same when we got off the train in Parma. No sun today, but hardly any precipitation either, so we are not complaining.

    Though most people think of parma ham and parmigiano reggiano when they think of Parma, I think of a Romanesque cathedral and a Medieval Baptistry. They were just gorgeous. Well worth the trip in and of themselves. Unfortunately, Dec. 26 seems to be a semi-official holiday, and though the monuments were all open, all of the salumerias (places selling all those local goodies, like a delicatessen I suppose) were locked up tight. There are also local factories to visit, but they are all out of town and we had no means of transport. So we took our guidebook's advice and went to eat lunch at a place called Trattoria del Tribunale. Best sauteed spinach with garlic and parmesan I've ever had. Plus an eggplant parmegiana for me and a yummy veal cutlet for Joe. Definitely highly recommended if you ever get to Parma!

    After lunch we spent a couple of hours in the art and the archaeological museums —a Leonardo, some Carveggios and an El Greco. And I finally found some pilgrims to Santiago in a 14th century tryptych.

    The one hour trip to Bologna was easy.

    Many restaurants are closed on Dec. 26 in Bologna, but we were lucky and found the Osteria Broccaindiso. Joe’s tortelloni with ricotta and sage was very yummy.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Last full day in Bologna

    December 27, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    This morning we started in the Resistance Museum, a pretty somber place dealing with Italian fascism and WWII. Lots of information and pictures, with even an interesting room about Italian participation in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. We were very happy to get English translations of all of the panels, even though the translation at times was not quite clear!

    Wandering through the old town, we came upon the oldest building of the University of Bologna, which itself is one of the contenders for the title "world's oldest university." Though the city now owns the building, several of the rooms are open for visitors, very nice.

    At noon, we met up with a good friend of our pal Lorraine. Irma, an African Historian at Bologna, took us to lunch at an old lively place where they still make their pasta by hand, the Osteria dell'Orsa. This was the place to eat tagliatelle with bolognese sauce, no doubt about it.

    After a walk through the university district with Irma, we went to the largest art museum in Bologna. Lots of medieval art (yay) and lots of Baroque/mannerist (boo). The rain stopped by the time we left the museum, and one more stroll through the old town looking at all the food and markets was a nice end of the afternoon. Some good dark chocolate was a special treat. We are now trying to decide on dinner, not sure whether to return to a known place we loved or to try something new. Hard choices here in Bologna!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Modena Museum Moratorium

    December 28, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    We decided to have a low key strolling the streets kind of day, which we stuck to even though there were showers off and on, and the pull of the art museum with its Velazquez painting was tempting. But we decided we were pretty oversaturated with museums right now, and given that we would have many days of many museums in Venice, we opted for the outdoor approach to Modena.

    Of the day trips we have taken, Modena was probably my favorite little town. It is just beautiful in the center -- well maintained, obviously prosperous, and the Piazza Maggiore with its pure, unadulturated, un-updated, "unimproved" Romanesque cathedral is one of the most beautiful I've ever been in or enjoyed from the outside.

    The town market is one of those classics, great for walking around and seeing how lucky the townsfolk are to have this place for all sorts of beautiful looking food. And it’s also the place where balsamic vinegar got its start— we saw some little perfume size jars with prices near 100€. No, I did not buy one.

    And the food was great, the little we sampled. From Joe's cappuchino (pronounced excellent) to our plates of pasta in the Trattoria Giardinetto (mine with a creamy lemon sauce, Joe's was arrabiata, and the pastas were all made on the premises) we were very happy when we got back on the train in the late afternoon for the half hour ride back to our little apartment.

    Sent from my iPad    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Arrived in Venice

    December 29, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    We arrived around noon on the train from Bologna and decided to take the vaporetto to our hotel instead of trying to navigate all those bridges and stone streets with the carry-ons. I think anyone who arrives in Venice for the first time must have a reaction like mine -- jaw drops and you are awestruck.

    We were lucky to snag a table near our hotel at Zucca for a delicious lunch. Joe's tagliatelle with gorgonzola, walnuts and pears was yummy. We made dinner reservations there for Jan. 2 at the only opening they had for the next week. Then we walked to San Marco to see the main square and get our bearings. It's about a 20 minute walk from our hotel and we were happy to see that even though reading a map is pointless, there are lots of signs pointing you to Rialto Bridge, San Marco, Train Station, or Piazza Roma. So with a little bit of a sense of direction it actually isn’t as hard to navigate as I thought it would be.

    Several hours walking around, and we knew we would have no trouble filling the days here. The crowds are pretty huge so I can’t imagine what high season is like. Traffic jams of gondolas in the canals!
    People shoulder to shoulder on the Rialto Bridge! But I understand why.

    I don't want to overdo it with the superlatives, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    San Marco

    December 30, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    Our first full day in Venice, we decided to bite the bullet and shell out the 120 euros for a vaporetto pass for the two of us. This way we can hop on and off whenever we make our way to the Grand Canal after walking around a neighborhood or visiting a church or museum. We are apparently not the only people with that idea. At 6 pm tonight, the crowds on the vaporetto were crushing -- so much for the idea that you should use a vaporetto trip as a way to enjoy the sights along the canal! I think that getting off at a stop, enjoying the views, walking around the neighborhood and having a cappuchino is the better alternative. Think of your trips on the vaporetto as a necessary evil, you are unlikely to find a way to enjoy the Grand Canal while in transit. And as I have said before, if this is off-season, what can high season possibly be like?!

    But in spite of that, it is an inescapable truth that Venice is a gorgeous city. We visited the Doge's Palace and the Cathedral today, both spectacular. And in the afternoon we walked and walked through old streets to visit the beautiful church of Santa Maria Gloriosa del Frari. Two of my favorite paintings so far were in there, one a Titian (who is also buried here) and the other a 14th century Madonna. Another great dinner, also close to our relatively untouristy neighborhood near San Stae.    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Happy New Year from Venice!!

    December 31, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    Today was absolutely my favorite kind of tourist day. The sun was shining in the morning and the vaporetto was not at all crowded, so we had a Grand Canal ride with great weather and great views. Then we took another across the lagoon to San Giorgi, a church designed by Palladio (the Italian architect whose name has been given to McMansion designers' favorite type of window). Amazing views from the bell tower.

    Then an hour or so walking in the main square area, and realizing how lucky we are that our hotel is not in this part of town. We are in San Stae, well located between the train station and the Rialto/San Marco area. Still lots of tourists, but nothing like the crowds closer in town.

    After a decent lunch in a little trattoria (when in tourist landia it pays to raise your budget a little and go for a white tablecloth place), we got back on the vaporetto and spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the neighborhood named Canareggio. No more than 4 tourists on any bridge we crossed! In fact there were lots of streets adjacent to canals where we saw no gondolas, no trinket shops, nothing but regular people with their laundry hanging from the line outside. We saw a couple of beautiful churches, two in particular, both named after Mary, both gothic but radically different styles. We saw Tintoretto's house, and the churches had lots of Tintoretto and Titian paintings, so even though we didn't go to any art museums today we had our fair share of art.

    Surprising factoid of the day -- We went to the first Jewish ghetto and learned that the name comes from the Italian word for forge, because the Jews here were forced to live in an area of Canareggio that was the site of an old Italian forge.

    Well, tonight is New Year's Eve. We were kind of on the fence about braving the crowds to go down to the square for fireworks, but then our hotel owner gave us his opinion about the crowds and the fact that it will take hours to walk back in the throngs. And then to top things off, we saw the weather forecast is showing possible rain. So after Joe "rests his feet" (code for "takes a short nap") we will go see if there is any food to be had in any place in our neighborhood. If not, we have a bag of clementines and a bar of chocolate, which will hold us till tomorrow if need be.

    Happy New Year to all!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Rain on New Year's Day

    January 1, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    Despite our best efforts, Joe has come down with a little cold. He decided to go back to bed after breakfast, giving me two hours to walk around our neighborhood and get a little exercise. I made it up to see the Calatrava bridge (WHOSE idea was it to put a Calatrava bridge over the Grand Canal?), found a few more churches and nice piazzas, and just as my time was running out it began to rain. I am sure I was wandering in circles, but by following the signs to one end (train station and bus station) or the other end (Rialto and San Marco), I was always able to make it back to my little spot in the middle. I saw a fair number of people using their phones, but I think it is more fun to follow the signs, especially since I had no real destination in mind.

    We decided to spend the day in two museums that had unexpectedly opened on New Year's Day. One, the Modern Art Museum, had a painting by one of my all time favorites, Sorolla. That alone was worth the visit. Picasso, Miro, Calder, Max Lieberman, Klimt, Andy Warhol, Chagall and a few others you'd recognize also had paintings there. Lunch in the museum café was fine if not exceptional, and then we got a vaporetto down to a Doge palace open for visits, Ca Rezzonico. Though the building was much older, they had restored its furnishings and interior decoration to the 18th century style and it was quite grand. Lovely views right over the Grand Canal, those doges and their families had it pretty nice.

    The rain was still coming down a bit, so we decided to head back to the hotel so Joe could get another nap before dinner. I brought my cold-eze and Airborne, so he hopes to nip it in the bud. While he sleeps, I will try to figure out how we will get out to two islands tomorrow, Murano and Torcello, both of which have ancient churches. Murano is also the site of all the famous glass making, and a glass making museum, but I doubt we will be buying too many 45 euro glasses. Though some of them are very pretty! Dinner in a few hours back at a place where we ate a few nights ago. The waitress told us they were one of the few in the area that would be open for dinner on January 1, so we went ahead and made a reservation then.

    Only two more days, can't believe it!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Island hopping, Venetian style

    January 2, 2018 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 3 °C

    I think we got our 120 euros worth on the vaporetto today alone! From 9 till 5 (for Joe) and almost 7 (for me) we were hopping on and off. We visited three outlying islands and saw two drop dead gorgeous ancient churches, with mosaics from X and XI century.

    First stop, Burano, a pretty little island that is home to the Lace Museum (which we did not visit). But walking the streets was a real pleasure, this is a place with a lot of life. From there it was another 5 minutes on another vaporetto to the island of Torcello, which has a Byzantine cathedral and an XI century church. And what is "said to be" Attila the Hun's throne. Amazing, beautiful, jaw-dropping.

    From there to the island of Murano, more on the normal tourist circuit, with its glass blowing tradition, a glass museum, AND an astonishing basilica from the XI and XII centuries. Truly one of the most beautiful romanesque exteriors anywhere. Lunch in a trattoria and a visit to the glass museum rounded out the day. When we got back to Venice, Joe went to "take a load off his feet" while I went out for a couple more hours of walking/vaporetto riding in central Venice. It never gets boring, from San Marco to Rialto to the train station.

    Tomorrow is our last day, and I guess it's only fair that Joe should decide our activities, since he followed me to the ends of the lagoon to see these romanesque churches!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Last vaporetto rides on the Grand Canal

    January 3, 2018 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 4 °C

    For our last day, we decided to visit a couple of museums and churches in different parts of town. That means we spent our last day doing pretty much what we have done on the other days -- riding on the vaporetto and walking through the neighborhoods. The Palazzo Mocenigo was our starting place. An 18th century palace preserved with original furnishings and a beautiful collection of 18th century male vests, embroidered of silk, linen, and lace. Wow.

    Then to the Guggenheim, lots to see and great views over the canal. I even saw a Jackson Pollock painting that I liked! After lunch, we navigated our way around to see a couple more churches. My favorite was San Nicolo di Mendicoli, kind of tucked away in a remote corner but we found it.

    Back to San Marco Square for one more walk around (still stupefied by the huge crowds) and then had a hot chocolate and sweet for twice what we spent on lunch in a cafe in the square. But where else can you listen to a piano player, eat a canolo, and look out the window and see the Doge's Palace? We have a reservation for one last Italian dinner in a recommended trattoria near the hotel. Tomorrow morning at 5 am we will be in a water taxi heading to the airport.

    Home sweet home beckons. I was glad to see that the temps have risen a bit. High tomorrow of 8 F (-13 C) with a low of -7 (-22 C). Always sounds so much colder in centigrade!    Read more

  • Laurie ReynoldsChristmas in Italy --2017Laurie Reynolds

    Home

    January 4, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ -15 °C

    No pictures, no stories. Just 22 hours since I got out of bed. Our 5 am water taxi had to drop us off for a cab because of too much fog on the lagoon. I was really hoping to pull up to the Venice airport in a water taxi but oh well.

    We missed the brunt of the east coast bomb cyclone, but O’Hare’s international terminal was overflowing with people from flights diverted from New York, Boston, etc. It was crazy and chaotic. Our little puddle jumper down to Champaign was the most peaceful part of the journey. Home again! This was a wonderful trip.    Read more

    Trip end
    January 5, 2018
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