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  • Argentina and Italy 2023/2024
    Day 125

    There's No Place Like Home

    April 9 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Wow, that was a big one! One hundred and twenty-five days, four continents, nine countries, twenty-four cities, and who knows how many thousands of miles traveled. But today, after one last long travel day, we made it back to our cozy little nest in Vancouver.

    I'm looking forward to rocking out with my band, getting back on my bike, and eating a cleaner diet. It'll also be nice to not constantly be in translation mode to talk to people. I'm not sure how much weight I've gained over the last four months, but my pants are feeling a little snug. Such great pastries, pizzas, and breads.

    Brenda is itching to play her real cello and rehearsing with the two ensembles she's part of. We're both anxious to provide better fuel for our bodies and to give our livers a well-deserved break.

    Most of all, we're looking forward to catching up with friends and family.

    We're not in Argentina anymore, Toto.    Read more

  • Argentina and Italy 2023/2024
    Day 124

    Montréal

    April 8 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    The 7.5-hour connecting flight from Frankfurt landed us in Montreal just after noon on Sunday. We wanted to get here the day before the eclipse to ensure travel delays didn't cause us to miss the spectacle.

    The flight was amazingly good for an Air Canada ride, good food, on time, and not completely sold out.

    We hopped on the 747 bus to get us into town, and I couldn't believe how much the city has changed in seven years. So much construction has taken place in that time that I literally did not know where I was, even in areas that were once my stomping grounds.

    But let's get to the main event. I've always been a bit of a sky watcher, always fascinated by the things that go on in our heavens, meteor showers, planetary alignments, giant harvest moons, and, of course, eclipses. It was last October, while watching the partial solar eclipse, that I learned of today's event and immediately started making plans to see it. We were supposed to spend more time in Italy after our cruise, but neither of us could pass up this once in a lifetime experience, so we cut our Italian stay down to just seven days and decided to stop in Montreal on our way back to Vancouver.

    Today's celestial spectacle confirmed that we made the right choice.

    We made our way to Montreals Old Port to watch the show, and when we arrived at 1:15, thousands of people were already there awaiting the 2:17 start time. Some Cirque de Soleil performers worked through the crowd to help pass the time.

    The eclipse would only reach totality at 3:26, and the crowds anticipation grew with each passing minute.

    Exactly as predicted, at 2:17, the smallest little portion of the lower right corner of the sun disappeared. As the minutes went on, more and more of Old Sol went black until only a tiny sliver of light shone from the top right corner.

    As the sun gradually disappeared, the sky took on a strange hue, a circular rainbow formed in the wispy clouds above, the temperature began to drop, and lights in nearby office buildings began turning on.

    When the last bit of sun was obscured, Baileys Beads danced around the outline of the moon and a brilliant corona formed, allowing everyone to look at the sun without eclipse glasses. The crowd was cheering, clapping, oohing and aahing, and every eye was fixed on the ring of light in the sky.

    A short ninety seconds later, the corona began to dissolve, and we all had to go back to watching through the blackout glasses.

    The beauty and magic of the eclipse is something we will never forget, and Brenda and I agreed we would consider traveling to see another one. I may not be around by the time the next total eclipse crosses North America in 2044, but there will be one over some parts of Europe on August 12, 2026. Time to start planning!    Read more

  • Argentina and Italy 2023/2024
    Day 121

    Veneto - Part Four: Treviso

    April 5 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    While looking for things to do on our last non-travel day in Veneto, Brenda came across Treviso, another ancient city, only a seventeen minute train ride from Conegliano. Like Venice, Treviso has several canals running through it, but on a much smaller scale. Its historic center is surrounded by a five kilometer long Venetian wall that was built in the fourteenth century.

    The city was founded in the fourth century, and ancient and historic buildings are everywhere. There are two massive places of worship: the Church of St Nicolo, built in the 14th century, and The Cathedral of St Peter The Apostle with its four domes, some parts being built in the 11th century. Oddly, the former is the larger of the two. We couldn't get in to explore St Peter's, but St Nicolo was really impressive. There is also a baptismal building that dates back to the 12th century.

    A lot of the city was destroyed by bombing raids during World War ll, and the city has done a magnificent job of restoring many of the historic structures. The Palazzo dei Trecento has a picture hanging next to the repairs on the outside wall that shows what it looked like after the bombing.

    Best of all, Treviso is home to La Fontana Delle Tette, the titty fountain. The original was built in 1559 following a terrible drought, and from that time, until the end of the Venetian Republic, every year, for three days, white wine would flow from one nipple and red wine would flow from the other to celebrate the end of the dry spell.

    Other points of interest include the restaurant where Tiramisu was invented. At €9.50 ($13.75 CAD) per portion, we decided to give it a miss.
    In 1963, Luciano Benneton was selling a small collection of sweaters that became so popular, two years later, he and his three siblings opened their first of 5000 stores. Luciano, now a billionaire, still resides in Treviso, where the flagship United Colors of Benneton store is located.

    We ended our visit to Treviso with a focaccia sandwich and a glass of local Gewurztraminer in a small cafe.

    When we got back to Conegliano, we stopped for a final glass of Prosecco in the same square where Brenda had one 20 years ago. The price has gone from €1.00 to €3.00 per glass, but despite the prime location, that was the lowest price we paid anywhere in Veneto.

    We enjoyed our day trip to Treviso so much that our next trip to this great country will include lots more time there.    Read more

  • Argentina and Italy 2023/2024
    Day 120

    Veneto - Part Three: Valdobbiadene

    April 4 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    When buying Prosecco, we always look for DOC or DOCG Valdobbiadene on the label. It's the benchmark for quality Italian bubbly. We were, naturally, very excited to take the one hour bus ride from Conegliano for a day trip to the city bearing that name.

    The fact that the bus was almost empty should have tipped us off that something was wrong.

    The bus dropped us off very close to the main town square, which contains the requisite bell tower, municipal building, cathedral and what looks like the world's biggest bird bath. What it didn't have was people. It was like a ghost town. There were a couple of cafés open, but for the most part, it looked like it was a civic holiday.

    Where are all the enotecas and wine shops? We Googled where we could do wine tastings, and most of the better rated ones were far outside the city. Brenda found Casa Brunoro, with a 4.8 star rating and only a 28-minute walk from town. After yesterday's long walk through the hills around Conegliano, the last thing I wanted was another uphill climb, but that's exactly what we got. On the plus side, the winery and tasting were outstanding, and the winery deserves its high rating. We tried four different Proseccos and were shown the different types of soil from the different vineyards where the grapes were grown.

    After the tasting, we walked back down the hill into town, hoping to have a bite to eat, but, according to Google Maps, the closest open restaurant was back in Conegliano!

    Mamma mia!

    We found a cafe that served us some pretty good veggie sandwiches and then hopped on the bus for the return trip to Conegliano.

    Not our best day in Veneto, but at least we discovered Casa Brunoro.    Read more

  • Argentina and Italy 2023/2024
    Day 119

    Veneto - Part Two: Prosecco Hills

    April 3 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Most Prosecco is produced by the fermentation of the Glera grape variety, which was formerly known as Prosecco until 2009, when the name was changed to protect Prosecco as the name of the geographic region.

    The hills in this region are literally covered with acre upon acre of vineyards which, at this time of year, are just beginning to bear leaves.

    On Tuesday, we set out on a 12.3 kilometer hike that took us on a circular route up into the foothills of the Dolomites just outside of Conegliano.

    The weather wasn't perfect, and we had to open our umbrellas on a couple of occasions, but the spectacular scenery made the uphill climbs and wet feet well worth the effort.

    There is nary an inch of hillside that isn't sprouting a vine, many on hills so steep it is incomprehensible how the day-to-day maintenance, pruning and harvesting is performed. Aside from the thousands of grapevines the hills support, there are also homes, churches, and all manner of very old buildings perched upon them.

    Although we came across a couple of wineries along the route, neither of them was open. We did, however, manage to stop at the Enoteca in the oldest wine school in Europe to enjoy a glass or two of Prosecco.

    So much wine, so little time.    Read more

  • Argentina and Italy 2023/2024
    Day 117

    Veneto - Part One

    April 1 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    Veneto is the Italian region that runs north from Venice to the Austrian border. There are so many interesting things here, I'm going to cover it in three or four footprints.

    And here is Part One:

     After a short visit to tourist-laden Venice, Brenda and I hopped on a train north to the charming little town of Conegliano. Yeah, I know, I'd never heard of it either, but the promise of cheap and plentiful Prosecco convinced me it was a place I needed to visit.

    Valdobbiadene is the region where all Prosecco is produced, and Conegliano is the second largest city in the area.

    The town of 35,000 is surrounded by hills covered with vineyards and is home to some of the oldest structures we've seen on this trip. The historic part of the city has streets lined with porticos that bear frescos as old as the 1400s. Atop the hill overlooking the town stands a 1000 year-old castle. The basilica was built in the 1200s and has artwork inside from the fifteenth century and fabulous wood sculptures from the 1500s. Ancient walls, roadways, and buildings seem to be around every corner.

    Brenda was here twenty years ago and used to enjoy a glass or two of Prosecco in the main square for one Euro per glass. Prices have more than tripled since then, but the pleasure factor remains the same.

    When we arrived on Easter Monday, literally everything was closed. Fortunately, we had brought a bag of chips and some soup with us that we had bought in Venice, and our AirBnb host had left us cookies and a bottle of Spumante in the fridge. And that was our Easter Monday dinner. It could have been worse.

    Despite the miserable weather outside and the poor diet we consumed on our first day in Conegliano, I just know we're going to like it here.    Read more

  • Argentina and Italy 2023/2024
    Day 115

    Venice

    March 30 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Saturday morning, we docked at the final destination on our twenty-five day cruise, Venice, Italy.

    To get to the cruise terminal from the ship, all two thousand passengers were ferried, by tender, a few kilometers over water. So, even though we arrived at the dock at 8:00, disembarkation was a slow and painful process that saw us arrive at our accommodations after 4:00 PM.

    We stayed in Mestre, about a 20-minute bus ride from downtown Venice, and by the time we got there, we just wanted to grab a bite to eat, buy a few groceries and chill out for the rest of the day.

    On Sunday, we made our way to the island, took a walking tour of the lesser known southern part of the Venice, and spent the rest of the day exploring this fascinating city.

    We learned that the island is, in fact, 120 individual islands, some natural and some man-made, that are now interconnected by 450 bridges. We also learned that when the canals were built, wooden foundations were driven deep into the clay to support the stone walls above. Over the course of time, the wood has petrified and now provides a fairly stable base to the beautiful buildings above. However, before the foundations firmly settled, many of the structures developed significant tilts that are most evident in the numerous bell towers in the city.

    No visit to Venice would be complete without a visit to the magnificent and enormous Piazza San Marco and the historic Rialto Bridge. When we turned the corner to enter the square, my jaw literally dropped and a completely unintended WOW! popped out of my mouth.

    On our way back to Mestre, we stopped at a little hosteria for a half liter of red, a mushroom pizza, and a slice of lasagna.

    Had Venice not been the last stop on our transatlantic cruise, I probably wouldn't have ever taken the time to see it. I'm sure glad I did.    Read more

  • Argentina and Italy 2023/2024
    Day 114

    Dubrovnik

    March 29 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    When you think Jacques Cartier first landed in Montreal in 1535, three to four hundred years after a lot of the amazing structures we saw over the last few days were built, you realize just how young Canada really is.

    Today found us landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia at 7:00 AM, another new country for me and Brenda, and, to be honest, not one that was on my bucket list. But the more we researched it, the more interesting it became.

    If China has The Great Wall, Dubrovnik has The Pretty Good Wall. The old city is surrounded by a two kilometer long stone wall that was built between the 12th and 18th centuries, and stands as high as 25 meters tall. Dubrovnik is very hilly, and by the time you walk around the wall, you've negotiated 1080 stairs.

    We read that access to the wall opens at 8:00, and one should get there early to beat the crowds as sometimes there are so many tourists doing the circuit, it looks like a two kilometer long conga line. We arrived at the entrance to the wall at exactly 8:00 only to learn the gates open at 9:00. So we spent an hour just wandering through the narrow streets and wide plazas of this medieval city. It truly is astounding that so many enormous and beautiful buildings were erected centuries before Canada was even a twinkle in Jacques Cartier's eye.

    Aside from the wall, Dubrovnik's other claims to fame are that Game Of Thrones and some Star Wars films were shot here. Now I feel like I need to watch GOT.

    But back to the wall. It took me and Brenda a little over an hour to circumvent the wall, mostly because the views from there are breathtaking, and we were constantly stopping to take photos. It's going to be hard to pare down my photos to the 20 maximum that this platform allows.

    We had to be back on board the Lirica at 12:30, so there was no time to explore the downtown area or the beautiful beaches that are around the city.

    If we're ever in the neighborhood again, we'd definitely like to spend a little more time exploring this part of Europe.    Read more

  • Argentina and Italy 2023/2024
    Day 113

    Corfu

    March 28 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Our second to last stop on this cruise brought us to a country that neither of us had visited before, Greece.

    We docked at the medieval city of Corfu at 10:00 this morning, and we went ashore kinda without a plan. There were no walking tours available today, so we decided we'd check out the forts and the old town and have some spanakopita.

    We started out by trying to get into what they call "the new fort," which was built in the late 1500s. Unfortunately, it was closed today, and we could only walk around the outside.

    After wandering around the old town in a quest to find the best-looking spanakopita, we set out to explore "the old fortress." This impressive structure's first fortifications date back to the 6th century, but the main hilltop fortress is about 600 years younger with origins in the 1100s.

    Walking to the top of the citadel offered us a breathtaking view of the city, the new fortress, and the stunningly beautiful turquoise-coloured water surrounding the island.

    With our appetites piqued by the hike up the hill, we retreated to the old town, found two very delicious spanakopitas, and fought off some pigeons as we enjoyed every last crumb.

    It's safe to say this is not going to be our last visit to Greece.    Read more

  • Argentina and Italy 2023/2024
    Day 112

    Messina

    March 27 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Messina is located on the far northeastern tip of Sicily, right about where the toe of the boot is about to kick it. The last time we were in Sicily was in 2009, and we were mostly on the opposite side of the island in Castellamare del Golfo, which we loved.

    Today, we docked at 9:00 AM under hazy skies and 18 degrees. Castellamare is a quaint little fishing village, but Messina is a small city of about 250,000. Unsurprisingly, history is everywhere. Because of it's strategic location, Messina has, at one time or another, been controlled by just about anyone you can think of. It was discovered by the Greeks in the 8th century BC, sacked by the Carthaginians in 397 BC and reconquered by Dionysius the same year. In 288 BC, the Mamertines (Italian mercenaries) attacked, killed all the men, and took the women as their wives. They formed an alliance with Rome in 264 BC for added protection, but nonetheless, they were ousted by the Goths in 476 AD. In 535 AD the Byzantine Empire took over, then the Arabs in 842, The Norman's in 1061 , Richard the Lionheart in 1189. Spain ruled from 1282 until a revolution, starting in 1674, ended their rule in 1713.

    Earthquakes in 1693, 1783, and 1908 have all but destroyed the original structures, but remnants of many buildings, dating back as far as the 11th century, still remain.

    We spent most of our day simply wandering through the ancient streets with our mouths agape much of the time. We climbed the 170 stairs up to the Sanctuary of Madonna di Montalto and the neighboring Shrine of Cristo Re.

    We visited the very impressive Duomo, built in the 12th century, and watched the noon spectacle put on by its clocktower, which houses the largest mechanical clock in the world. Some of the display is in the attached videos and more info can be found here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messina_astrono…

    To end our tour, we bought a beautiful bottle of wine from Sicilily's indigenous grape, Nero D'Avola, and a dozen of Brenda's favorite cookies, Brutti ma Buoni, that you can only find in Sicily.

    Strangely, despite all the great history, interesting buildings, and big city conveniences in Messina, Brenda and I would rather spend our time in Sicily in our little fishing village on the west coast of the island.    Read more

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