.
On Tuesday afternoon I was meeting Mama and three of her friends: Judi, Miriam, and Jane at the train station in Venice. I was going to ride the train with them back up to Pordenone and then drive everyone back to my house. So their train arrives and I'm waiting on their track looking for them to exit the train. Sure enough I see Mama and her friends trying to unload 8 (massive) bags and four carry-ons off the train with a good 2 foot step down. It was almost comical. I ran down to them and helped unload as the train worker was standing outside the door with his whistle ready to get the train going again! But they all made it.
.
On the way home they told stories of their cruise which sounded absolutely wonderful. They had such a fun time and got to see SO many places!! Barcelona, Rome, Florence, the Amalfi Coast, Tunisia, Sicily, etc...they all were so funny and were in such great spirits! They were proud to announce they made it through the whole trip with only being scammed one time. Some guy told them he worked for the train station and then offered to load their (8!!!) bags on the train. They allowed him to help and he then asked for 5 euros a piece. But if you ask me, judging from my experience helping them load and unload their luggage on the train, I might consider the "scam" more of a blessing...I'm just saying!! :)
.
When we arrived in San Quirino at my house, we had time to drop bags, do a quick tour and then literally run out the door to dinner. We had reservations with a local Italian lady who does dinner parties in her home. She does a home cooked meal and serves it in her dining room. It is such a unique and delicious experience. We went with my girlfriend Jennifer and her parents. We had a salad, bread, pumpkin risotto, rosemary chicken with peppers and eggplant, and a marscapone dessert. Despite being worn out I think everyone had a fun time!
.
.
 |
| After dinner with Raffa and her husband "Cinderella" because he does the dishes!! Pictured: Judi, Jane, Mama, Me, Raffa, "Cinderella", and Miriam |
.
We finally made it back to the mainland with enough time to walk through the square. And in Mama's case, dodge the hundreds of pigeons. She HATES birds and I didn't even think about it, but the Square is FULL of pigeons. I look over at her and she has put her backpack over her head and is ducking while walking through the crowded Piazza! It was so funny!! We then wandered our way through the city back towards the train station. Wandering might be the wrong word...we were attempting to make a 5:00 train so we were rushing through the city, only to miss the train, but we caught the 6pm one.
.
.
 |
| Mama with her pigeon helmet protecting her from the swooping birds!! |
 |
| Mama and Judi riding the ferry over to Murano...the one ferry ride I actually got right! |
 |
| Lunch on Murano Island. Taking their "wine picture". They were so funny, they hid their bottle of water for every picture...no need for water when you're in Italy!! |
 |
| Mama and I |
Thursday was spent in Venice as well, this time focusing on the city and the less touristy parts. We walked through the little neighborhoods and the more local area. Miriam and Jane were catching a 2pm train out of Venice to head back to Rome. We had another great day and on the way home, Mama, Judi, and I stopped in Treviso to pick up a menu for my uncle. He has a restaurant in Sarasota called Treviso, so he was interested in some menus from the local area. After scouring the town we were finally lucky with a restaurant owned by the "greatest man to walk the earth..." or at least you would think so after talking to him. After first denying us a menu, then later giving us a life story and complete tour of the restaurant including the kitchen he finally decided to give us a menu and he even thought he'd autograph it for us. Ha! Don't be jealous.
.
 |
| Judi, Jane, Mama, and Miriam on the bridge over the Grand Canal...world travelers! |
 |
| Love this one :) |
On Friday morning Judi, Mama, and I head out BRIGHT and early to catch the 6am train to Milano to meet Judi's daughter. She was in town on business to buy silk for her company. We met up with Kimberly and her Italian liason and friend, RoseAngelo. They met us at the train station and showed us all around the city. It was so great to have them there to explain things and to know the local area. We went to the Duomo, to the Galleria, and to the Castello. We ate lunch at a fancy restaurant on the top of a shopping mall overlooking the Duomo. It was a beautiful, massive city. It is considered the business capitol of Italy (along with the fashion capitol, obviously). There are so many office buildings and banks and businesses which isn't nearly as common in many of the other big cities.
.
.
 |
| The Galleria (I think that's what it was called!!) |
 |
| Inside, full of shops... |
 |
| Inside the open air Galleria. The first Prada store, with the original windows and door frames. |
 |
| The Duomo. |
 |
| At lunch overlooking the Duomo with our new friends! Pictured: RoseAngelo, Kimberly, Judi (Kim's mom), and Mama |
 |
| How appropriate, right? We walked by a fashion photo shoot going on in the streets! |
After spending the day in Milan we took the train out to Como to check into our hotel and go to dinner on the lake. Como is a beautiful area surrounded by mountains located about 10 minutes south of the Swiss border. Kimberly and RoseAngelo took us to a cute little restaurant in Como for a 3 hour dinner with good food, good wine, and good company!
.
Saturday we spent the day on a ferry touring the lake by water and keeping a close look out for George Clooney and his house. We took a picture of 3 different houses we were told were his. At dinner that night we showed RoseAngelo our pictures to see if it was his house and she said that none of them were his house! Wow, we were such dumb tourists! The homes/estates/villas were beautiful all the way through the lake. We stopped at one town to tour one of the villas. It was Balbianello (or something like that). But it was a gorgeous house built on the tip of a peninsula with views of the lake on three sides and out every window of the house! I found my future vacation home. I mean, along with Monaco and Nice, and Austria...looks like I have some serious saving/working to do!!!
.
 |
| A few of the estates around the Lake. |
 |
| The Balbianello Villa we toured...gorgeous! |
 |
| From the grounds of Babianello. |
 |
| Mama and Judi waving to their subjects down below :) |
 |
| Another view from the villa... |
 |
| Gates to Babianello from the Lake. We took a water taxi there! |
 |
| At the Lenno stop on Lake Como. |
After spending the day on the ferry we headed back to Como to walk around the city. It was a much bigger city then I expected. The streets were beautiful as was the Duomo and there was a fun market (where I found the perfect rug for my bedroom!!!) We headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and look who we ran into in our lobby!!!! George Clooney!!! :)
.
 |
| And here is sweet RoseAngelo who showed us around the city and her husband Carlos. |
We were so very blessed with our Milan trip to be with Kimberly and RoseAngelo, it made the experience so much better. And they both were so kind and so generous it was unbelievable. Sunday morning is when we left Judi and Kimberly. They took a flight back to the States and Mama and I took the train back to my home to spend the next week wandering my town and base, enjoying our rest, and showing Mama my day to day life in Italy!
.
 |
| Mama at Lake Barcis. Unfortunately the lake was not nearly as pretty as usual because of recent flooding. But it was still a gorgeous day! |
.
 |
| After our picnic of fresh cheese and crackers, home grown apples, and parma proscuitto! |
.
 |
| Mama at the spring in Gorgazzo. |
.
Happy Halloween!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment